Tips for a 4YO Nervous About Meeting Characters?

[jenPSU]

My daughter has always been afraid of meeting characters, whether it's Santa, the Easter Bunny, Chuck E. Cheese, or disney characters. She was almost 3 last time we were at Disney, and she was excited and waited in line to meet Tigger, but then she panicked when it was her turn and wouldn't go near him. Same thing with Minnie, they actually had a nice interaction across the room, with my daughter refusing to get near her but waving, and Minnie covering her mouth and waving. She will be almost 5 when we go again. I'm December, she wouldn't sit on Santa's lap but she stood near him. She hid under the table when we were at Chuck E. Cheese. I have some character meals scheduled which she is REALLY excited about, and I'm hoping that this will eliminate the pressure of waiting in line to get a quick picture with everyone else waiting in line behind. Just wondering if anyone else has some tips for helping a nervous kid get over the hump with the characters. I would never force or pressure her, but she really wants to do it and tends to panic at the last second. She can't stop talking about the "special breakfast where you get to meet the princesses."

 

[PSULion]

My older DS was kinda the same... Wanted to do it, but then would get nervous. It really helped him to have his autograph book and be in charge of giving it to the character himself. His fear seemed to come from not knowing what to do/how to interact and so I think once he had a "job" to focus on, it really helped. Even now that's he's older (and with our less shy younger DS) we kind of discuss what we're going to do in line. Who's gonna hold the marker, who's gonna hold the book, is there anything special we want to tell, or show, the character, etc. Having a bit of a plan helps them relax.

 

[a742246]

Autograph book helped our GD go up to the characters. Definitely give it a try!

 

[krm222]

Make sure to give her some suggestions on what to say. My four year old is very brave but still would get nervous just before. How big is she? You can always carry her over or just hold her hand. My son was very nervous about seeing Darth Vader (even though he had just done Jedi Training and fought against him!) My husband said, "Well I'm going to meet him and you can join us if you want." After about thirty seconds he skittered over and was fine.

The first time we visited he was 22 months and we weren't sure how he'd respond so the first night we did Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Characters are there and can interact with you (dancing, autographs) but they don't go table to table. It was a good test to see how he'd do before we shelled out for character meals.

 

[jenPSU]

Thanks everyone! I did get an autograph book, so we'll try that. I'm also hoping the characters that talk will help put her at ease. The Santa she met last year was so sweet and quietly asked her questions until she was totally relaxed.

 

[Klinger13]

We went in January and our 4.5 y/o would not do any M&G except for princesses (she was ok with them since she could see their faces.). We kind of figured this might happen since she never wants to meet Chuck E Cheese, Santa, Easter Bunny, etc.

We would have loved to get pics of her with Mike & Sulley and Russell & Dug since those are her faves but she was content at just watching them from a distance.

 

[striker3636]

When my DD, then 4, met her first princesses she was incredibly shy although she was a huge princess fan and very excited to meet them at CRT. When they came to the table, though, she got very shy and the only way that I could get a picture was to hold her and stand beside the princess. We were surprised by it as she was normally pretty outgoing! A few princesses later, Cinderella came and that broke the ice a little with all the fussing over her 'matching' dress. Sometimes talking about what is happening while watching interactions nearby can help calm nerves and help them know what to expect. Our breakfast was our first day, and that really helped with later walk up interactions with characters.

 

[starsweeper]

My 4-year-old is similar to yours. We always do a few character meals and get in line if a character pops up in the area for a quick meet. She refuses to get out of her chair for a picture and stand next to them but likes seeing them. She won't even stand next to Santa for a photo yet. I try to gently encourage her to say "Hi" but let it go. She'll come around when she's ready. Even though she won't interact, she'll talk for weeks about seeing Ariel or Elsa, etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS was always ok with the costumed characters, but was completely freaked out by the face characters. I think you have the right attitude. Let her do this at her own pace. If she is more comfortable waving from afar, so be it. After all, this is a vacation and, IMHO, all should enjoy and be comfortable.

 

[loves to dive]

If she doesn't want to meet them, why push her to do it? When my son was little, around 3, he was scared of loud characters like Ronald McDonald and the some of the characters at Disney as well (Captain Hook I'm looking at you). If he didn't want to go near them, we would just walk by close enough so he could see them and that was that. For some reason the characters in costume didn't bother him but some of the face characters did. I never pushed, why would you want to, if they don't want to meet them, it just gives you less standing in line time. I would just do a character breakfast and let the little gal get some time with them there. No standing in line and no pressure.

 

[PSULion]

If she doesn't want to meet them, why push her to do it? When my son was little, around 3, he was scared of loud characters like Ronald McDonald and the some of the characters at Disney as well (Captain Hook I'm looking at you). If he didn't want to go near them, we would just walk by close enough so he could see them and that was that. For some reason the characters in costume didn't bother him but some of the face characters did. I never pushed, why would you want to, if they don't want to meet them, it just gives you less standing in line time. I would just do a character breakfast and let the little gal get some time with them there. No standing in line and no pressure.

OP clearly said her daughter really wants to, just panics at the last minute... And also said she would never force or pressure her.

 

[SaintsManiac]

DD5 was very nervous at first. HS was our first park and she wasn't too sure when she saw Donald and Daisy, so we told her not to worry and let us know if she changed her mind. She watched me meet Chewie and was still nervous not that I blame her lol. We wandered into Sorcerer Mickey and because it was so secluded and quiet she felt comfortable there. Once she met him she was really into it. We spent most of the trip meeting characters Good luck!

ETA: She had a serious issue with Aladdin. I don't know why! She was really afraid of him and focused on Jasmine the whole time. She also wasn't sure about Flynn, but hey that one was for me

 

[krm222]

My DS was always ok with the costumed characters, but was completely freaked out by the face characters.

This is my son too. It makes me laugh: he'll run right over to hug Beast. Beast!! He's 7.5 feet tall!!! But we met Mary Poppins and he hid behind my skirt. She was very sweet and sang some songs and invited him to a tea party on the ceiling so he warmed up after a minute but I'm not sure why she made him so nervous and others didn't.

 

[disnut8]

We went to a character meal with a friend, her husband and their two year old daughter. We only did it for them We thought it would be a disaster since the mother was so insistent her daughter get pictures with the characters since they came around and so no lines. However, every time a character would come close to the daughter, the daughter would pitch a fit. So, the characters started leaving her alone. Finally, Chip started a "conversation" with the daughter from a bit aways. He did the wave, then turned a way for a bit and looked back and pointed at his mouth and then at the daughter's mouth and encouraged her to put on a smile. She did but when he started towards her, she shook her head no. So, he went around a bunch of people and came up on the other side to the mother. He did the same things with the mother and the mother let him approach. He "asked" if he could get a hug and the mother did yes and so they hugged. Once the daughter saw the mother not having any problems with Chip, she waved at him and then smiled and he "asked" her if she wanted a hug. She did and the magic was made.

So I recommend that you first make physical contact with the character and let your daughter see no harm comes from meeting him/her.

 

[jenPSU]

So I recommend that you first make physical contact with the character and let your daughter see no harm comes from meeting him/her.

I like this idea! I think this is the difference between meeting Disney characters and Santa ... you have more time and it's not just about getting a picture with the child. Everyone can participate.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

My DS was always ok with the costumed characters, but was completely freaked out by the face characters. I think you have the right attitude. Let her do this at her own pace. If she is more comfortable waving from afar, so be it. After all, this is a vacation and, IMHO, all should enjoy and be comfortable.

DS (just turned 2 on our last trip) was the same way. Totally fine w the costumed characters. He loves the princesses and Tink (he says Tink and Ariel are his "girlfriends") and was very excited to meet them right up until we walked up to them. Then he'd get bashful.

It helped to have big sister/DH/me in pics with him. We also got an autograph book (DD and DS shared). If DD or DH were in pics with DS and the characters, I'd hang back and make sure to get a lot of pics of them walking up to the characters (more unposed shots), just in case DS wasn't into posing with them. (We got a lot of cute pics this way.)

 

[Ensusieasm]

My daughter has always been afraid of meeting characters, whether it's Santa, the Easter Bunny, Chuck E. Cheese, or disney characters. She was almost 3 last time we were at Disney, and she was excited and waited in line to meet Tigger, but then she panicked when it was her turn and wouldn't go near him. Same thing with Minnie, they actually had a nice interaction across the room, with my daughter refusing to get near her but waving, and Minnie covering her mouth and waving. She will be almost 5 when we go again. I'm December, she wouldn't sit on Santa's lap but she stood near him. She hid under the table when we were at Chuck E. Cheese. I have some character meals scheduled which she is REALLY excited about, and I'm hoping that this will eliminate the pressure of waiting in line to get a quick picture with everyone else waiting in line behind. Just wondering if anyone else has some tips for helping a nervous kid get over the hump with the characters. I would never force or pressure her, but she really wants to do it and tends to panic at the last second. She can't stop talking about the "special breakfast where you get to meet the princesses."

Book the breakfast but just don't press her. You can always wave the characters off. She will still get to see them at a short distance and that might still make her happy.

 

[IrishNYC]

I would do the breakfast on your first morning there. Then you can gauge her reaction whether or not meeting other characters will be worth your time waiting.

My DD was somewhat afraid of characters before we went to Disney. She was shy at first when we arrived, and CRT was our very first activity when we got there, so it eased her in. Chip and Dale were her first non-meal characters and she loved them.

 

[RoosMama]

Definitely agree with the autograph book. I always suggest to people that they have their kids watch the live action Sing Along Songs movies, with the characters interacting with kids in the parks. There is Disneyland Fun, Beach Party (at the Water parks mostly), Campout (at Fort Wilderness), and an Animal Kingdom one whose name escapes me.

 

[SDSorority]

When I was young I didn't like meeting characters. So I didn't. I still don't like meeting characters, so I still don't. If the child WANTS to, maybe have an adult go up with them the first few times. But don't force it- a photo isn't worth a breakdown.