Oh no!!!

[happytexasmom]

My 22month old was with me at my nieces soccer game today and the mascot came out in his wolf costume.....we tried to approach him and he was afraid

What can I do so that he wont be scared of Mickey and the other characters when we leave in just a couple of weeks??

I booked Crystal Palace breakfast for the 2nd morning we are there and there will be several character meals we will be eating at

 

[deedeetoo]

I'm not sure what to say. My dd was afraid of characters in the big costumes until she was about 4. She was OK with princess type characters.

It might just be that it was a wolf and he would be OK with Pooh but you won't know until you try it. I guess you can let the first character that comes around come up and great your ds and see how it goes. If there is a problem then you can just motion later characters away when they start to approach. Then you can cancel the later ADRs that have characters. Its not ideal, but it won't be fun if your ds is scared all during the meal.

 

[Totoro]

You never know until you try it. My DS never really liked any non-Disney characters (Easter Bunny, Santa) but he is fine with Disney characters. If it ends up not being their thing, have the character sign an autograph book and tell them that the child is a little intimidated by characters. Maybe you could be in a photo with the characters. I think as my DS saw that I really enjoyed interacting with the characters and others did as well, he started to get more comfortable.

You can always scale back character dines or alter your ADRS at Disney.

 

[mannyr4me]

A few years ago we took my brothers 5 year old son to Disney. We had a lot of character meals planned. After eating at Chef Mickey and poor Tyler ended up on the floor under the table...My mom said she saw something that another family did for they child that was affraid. I laughed when she told me....but it worked. We got a little spray bottle and filled it with water and told him "Its Brave Boy spray, and it will protect your from everything" So throughout the days...he would say he needed "brave boy spray" and we would spray him. We then ate at Crystal Palace...and first Pooh came to me and I warned him about Tyler. So Pooh got close to him and knelt on the floor and grabbed his hand and then her walked away. He then said to me..."I need more brave boy spray" So I sprayed him ( the table next to me smiled and said what a great idea)...next TIGGER...again he must have seen Tyler was scared and he stood by me....and all of a sudden, Tyler got up and walked towards me and whispered "more spray please" so I sprayed him, and then Tigger got down and Tyler hugged him. After Tigger walked away...Tyler said "Im a brave boy now!" After that he was still alittle scared, but he would go up to characters.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Every kid is different. My DS didn't like characters until he was like 10. My other DS was ok with them much earlier. They never wanted to wait in line to see them.

 

[squirrel]

I would try and hit another game before you go. You could try the spray bottle trick or just see how he does with a second visit.

I think the more times kids are exposed the easier it is. I know all kids are different but some kids take a longer time to warm up to different things.

 

[disneyandme]

I think a wolf character might scare a lot of kids even if they like happy, friendly Disnay character. My kids loved the friendly characters at Disney when they were little, but they stayed away from the villans until they were much older. I think a wolf would fall under the villan category.

 

[CandleontheWater]

could you try taking your child for pictures with the Easter bunny? That way they'd get a little more exposure, and with a character that is not as frightening.

This might sound like a crazy idea (and it probably is) but do you have any costumes at home that might fit you or your husband? It doesn't have to be anything professional, maybe just something a little different? Maybe if you dress up and play with your child, they will realize that there is nothing to fear. I'm thinking that this would probably work best with a mask, and then you could play peek-a-boo, so they would get comfortable and have a little fun.

 

[clshirk]

Well we have a 4 yr old and one that just turned 3. Our 4 yr old was great w the characters. My 3 yr old would not get near them. But when we did the Tusker House Breakfast and the characters came to our table he was willing to hug them and get in the shots. We weren't sure why but I think it was the characters coming to us rather than h I'm to them.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

we were lucky with our large group of boys. we did a lot of character meals and at first the 16 month old and the 2.5 year old were afraid. as week went on they enjoyed the characters more. i would try having the characters come to you first even if you have to hold child with you between.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My ds is 9 and he still won't go close to Chuck E Cheese or Wile E Coyote at Great Wolf Lodge and he knows plain well they are costumes - doesn't matter because it freaks him out. Maybe it was just the wolf suit - when it's a character he's familiar with, it might make all the difference. He never would go near Santa or the Easter Bunny either - ever. But he started going to Disney at 6 months old and always loved all of the characters there. Dd7 celebrated her first Disney trip at her 1st Birthday - all of the characters scared her - including the face characters. By her next trip just before her 3rd birthday, she was fine with them all.

My suggestion is if he seems afraid, don't push the interaction. When the characters come to the table, you interact with them and just left him watch.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

You just won't know until you are there. My DS at 11 mos. LOVED the characters like crazy, at 24 mos. freaked out, and at 2.5 started warming back up to only Minnie & Mickey. He is 5 1/2 and still doesn't like all the characters. He love M & M and Donald, Goofy, Chip & Dale. Hates Pooh etc.

Of course the same time he loved the characters at Disney he hated the dinosaur at our local museum.

 

[bumbershoot]

You won't know until you know. Just know he might not like them.

DS didn't like characters at 17 months or a year later but at 3 he did. I never EVER liked them (not even now; I tolerate them b/c hubby and son like them). DH has liked them since he first went to Disneyland.

Luckily when they are just 1 they are fairly easy to distract, so if he's nervous about Piglet etc, just distract him.

 

[adventure_woman]

I don't think you'll know until you'll get there.

1. I would have back-ups for the character meals you are planning. We found out when DD was 2 1/4 that she was scared to death of the characters at a breakfast...I would have back-ups and go see them at a meet-n-greet before hand. I wouldn't go if they are petrified. NOT fun to eat with a LO latched onto you for dear life.

2. The next trip (after the she was scared to death of them) I knew enough to let her know that if she didn't want to see a character to say No Thank You...and they wouldn't come near her. I don't know if she would have been old enough to understand that at 22 mths...but it worked at almost 3 years.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My niece was petrified of characters (to the point of physically shaking and herheart beating wildly) so I really wondered how a Disney trip would work for us. I decided when she turned 5 that we would give it a try and just play it by ear.

The first day we arrived we went to MK and wouldn't you know - Mickey and Minnie were standing in front of the flowers, outside the train station. I saw them first so from a big distance (50' or more) away, I picked her up and said with an excited voice, 'Look - It's Mickey and Minnie!' I waved at them from our far away spot with my quaking niece in my arms. She had no interest in them whatsoever so we stayed a good distance away and went on our way. I told her how brave she'd been and gave her high 5's. We continued this process throughout the day, gradually shortening the distance from the characters and soon she was waving from the safety of my arms too. From there we started waving with her standing beside me and very soon she was asking to get a closer look. By sometime on day 2 she was good to go with the exception of Tigger and Goofy and by day 4 was posing holding hands with the Queen of Hearts!

The character handlers are great and if you mention your child is timid of them they'll ensure the character's don't touch them. You may also need to hop into the pictures with your child. Here's a great pic of just how far the charcters will go to help your child have fun without getting too close. Check out the smile on my DN.

My experience is more with how to help them once at the parks. Even after numerous trips to Disney and loving the characters, she never warmed up to characters outside of Disney.

My sweet niece is now 12 and will be coming to Disney with my DD and I this August when my DD goes for the very first full trip. DN can't wait to introduce my DD to the characters and is more excited about that then anything else!

Let your child take the lead and gently help them and hopefully they'll do great!

 

[ddoconnell]

...My mom said she saw something that another family did for they child that was affraid. I laughed when she told me....but it worked.

Love, love, love this idea! My kids were never frightened of the Disney characters but I was going to suggest that the character meals have always worked best for the nieces and nephews. That way you are there with them so if they get scared....then it is ok to hold your hand or have you there beside them when they get their autographs or picture made. The waiting in line thing never worked for us because they were so worked up by the time we got there that they would lose it.

I know you will have a fantastic time....just don't push the characters if your DS is still skittish.

 

[Mommy2Abby]

I have a 4 year old DD who has been to disney at 8 months, 18 months, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. The first trip, at 8 months, she was fine with the characters, had a great time. At 18 months she was scared to death and wanted NO PART of the characters. We didn't do any character meals that trip and we don't have a single photo of her with a character. We still had an awesome time.

At 2 1/2 she was still hesitant, but she had her baby sister with her on that trip who was 3 months old and we told her that she needed to "introduce" her sister to the characters. Once she had a "job" she seemed more comfortable interacting with the characters and we have some great shots of her and her sister with characters.

At 3 1/2 she was ALL ABOUT the characters and her 15 month old sister was less than enthusiastic...not petrified like her older sister had been, but she would have preferred to be left alone. Since I didn't want to rob older DD of the character experience, we couldn't simply avoid them for younger DD as we had with older DD.

What we found worked for us was to let younger DD warm up to the characters slowly. First day in the parks, we simply waved to the characters as we were passing by a greeting spot...no close up interaction, but she could watch them and get used to their size.

The next day, we let older DD greet some characters on her own, while younger DD watched from a distance. Later that day, we found a quiet spot in AK, Camp Minnie Mickey, where there were tons of characters and very few people. In fact, it was pretty much empty. We pushed DD up to the characters in her stroller and warned them that she was a bit hesitant. They were great at approaching her slowly and letting her warm up to them. They didn't move to touch her until she reached out for them. Rafiki was especially wonderful. He spent a long time with her, sitting down on the ground so he wasn't towering over her while she sat in her stroller.

On the third day we had a Princess character meal scheduled and it was her first time interacting with the characters up close. They weren't the fully costumed characters but they were still "strangers" to her, and she was OK with them. It helped that her sister was bouncing around yelling "Cinderella!" "Belle!" etc.

Next day we FINALLY did Chef Mickey's and while DD was still hesitant, she tolerated them coming up to her and taking photos.

To be honest, if I only had the one child and he/she was truly afraid, I'd just avoid the characters. I had all these wonderful images of my toddler running in to Mickey's arms for the perfect photo but I had to realize that that was MY wish, not hers. It's supposed to be vacation...it's supposed to be fun. If all of your shots are of your toddler screaming in fear, it's not worth it in my opinion. We really did still have a great time on our completely character free vacation when oldest DD was that age.

Good luck...hope your little guy warms up!

 

[nfavero]

I know this is going to be a problem for us. DS saw the Easter Bunny on Sat and freaked out. By the end of the interaction he was blowing kisses at him, but still did not want to be closer than 10 ft away. DD is very into the characters and we have a lot of meals booked. I told DH we may have to leave the table when they come by, but I hope he'll warm up by the end of the trip. At least for our free Visa photo!

 

[happytexasmom]

Thanks everyone for your responses!! I guess I will just have to wait in see if maybe he will like the Disney Characters some becuz he knows them from TV.........I will keep my fingers crossed

 

[DipsyDoodles]

My daughter was afraid until about 4 years old, she would yell "tell them to take their heads off!!".