My DD (5) knows they aren't "real".....Ariel, and Mickey can't be everywhere all the time...they have to have some helpers. Now I'm pretty sure that DD gets that they are characters in a story....but Ariel is very much alive and real to her.....but she still understands that the Ariel she meets at the Grotto is not THE Ariel. Does that make sense? And you will probably be very surprised how she acts once she starts meeting them.

