Typical 2-yr-old's reaction to characters??

[donna in Oz]

OK, I'm helping a co-worker here . . . .

I've never taken a 2-yr-old to WDW, so I'm wondering . . . . can all you parents of toddlers let me know how your child handled their first experience with characters??

My friend Dawn thinks her daughter might be too intimidated . . .
help me out, here !!!!

 

[KellyJ]

I'm sure it will depend on the child... my daughter and son were both frightened by the characters at age 1. At age 2, my son was still a bit timid but my daughter was OK with the characters she knew... didn't like the ones she wasn't familiar with.

I do want to say though, that the characters do a fantastic job at judging when to get closer or when to stay away. All the characters we encountered, at character meals or in the parks, were very conscious of whether or not a little one seemed frightened... if they saw any indication that the child was uncomfortable, they backed off a bit, maybe waving a little from a distance instead of coming close for a hug...

Kelly

 

[Libbysmom2000]

Donna in Oz,

I agree with Kelly that it depends on the child. We were in WDW last year with our 2yr old DD and she loved the characters! We did the Pooh dinner at GF and Minnie Mouse breakfast at Wyndam Palace DTD. She hugged many of them and had a great time. She is not normally a very outgoing child.

Hope this helps.

Kate

 

[jwfla422]

The first time we took dd to WDW she had just turned 2. The only character she met during this trip was Pocahantas (very none threatening "face" character).

The next time she was about 2 1/2 we did our first character meal at the Garden Grill in the Land in EPCOT. She is a little "slow to warm up to everything". She was actually ok with Chip and Dale sitting with her. Mickey was ok if mommy was sitting with her but Pluto, nope we didn't like him. As a matter a fact it was just the past 2 trips (she's 4) that she finally got comfortable with Pluto.

We narrowed it down that she doesn't like any character with a snout. She also doesn't like any semi scary looking character. Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale and the princesses are fine & even Cinderella's mice are ok, but that's about where she draws the line. My 3 yr old niece wanted nothing to do with Pluto this past visit either. (poor Pluto).

It really depends on the child's personality. If they are timid about things in general or "Clingy" they may be shy with the characters.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

My GF nannies for a family that brought their 2.5 yo daughter on the disney cruise and she cried every time a character came around, they were so huge and scary and never said anything.

She was traumatized by them, sad to say.

 

[honeymo78]

My mom has pictures of me screaming at the characters when I was that age, except Pooh Bear. My suggestion is to keep a little distance so they can see the character and see other kids with the character and gauge their response like that. If they seem ok, have mom or dad go up with them. It's better to go home with no pictures than screaming kid ones.

 

[Tagrel]

Our first trip was when our daughter was 1.5 years old. The first time she saw the characters up close was at dinner in the Swan hotel. Pooh and Tigger were there and she loved them - when they were across the room.

Tigger was able to work his way closer (they ARE great with kids) and she started to warm up. Ti-girrr Ti-girrr - She was very cute with him.

We never pushed her, nor did the characters. We saw many during the trip, and she was very good with most, but never near them without us holding her.

The final day of our 5 day trip was at AK, and we again ran into Tigger at Camp Mickey/Minnie. When it was our turn, she was so happy. She talked to him and kissed his nose. We put her down as we started walking away - she broke away and ran back to throw her arms around his legs and give him a big hug. There was a collective 'aaaawwww' from the people in line. We got her back and headed on out. It is my single favorite memory at WDW.

You just never know what they will love and what they will hate until you try. Just don't push them to do something they are afraid of. Leave it up to them and hope for the best.

 

[mamadonna]

Like most parents, my husband and I are hoping that our 1 year old (12 and 1/2 mo.) son will enjoy the charactures. If he dosn't that's okay too, less lines for us.

We are leaving in exactly one week.

Some of the things we've done (since he was born) include:

He has the giant plush Pooh, Mickey, Bear, and, Brer rabbit. As well as some other smaller ones. These have been around him all day long. He see's them everywhere. We have a goofy strapped in next to him in the car.

We watch disney channel, and disney movies.

This week in preparation for WDW we are watching a disney movie a night with characters that we are likly to see.

And finally, we had a Target Grand Opening on Sunday and went to see scooby doo.

I really messed it up, but my son did much better. I don't know why i did this, But I set my son on the ground next to Scooby for his picture, Then I tried to step out of the photo. My son who is usally not clingy, held onto my hand for dear life. Because of this, Our plan is to always take group photos with the charactures with either my husband or me holding him. Then go from there if he is interested.

The biggest thing for us is to make this a positive experiance.

I know I have read trip reports and posts that some two year olds do great with the charactures.

 

[tjkraz]

My suggestion would be to steer your co-worker to some of the more private viewing areas, like the Judge's Tent and and Hall of Fame in Toontown. Since they are both indoor venues, and they only allow a handful of guests in at a time, the setting is a little more relaxed. Characters can now be found literally all over the place in the parks, but it feels so rushed when you try to visit in the outdoor meet-and-greets. You've often got dozens of people in line, waiting for you to finish your business and move on.

At those two indoor venues, they only take about a dozen people at a time to meet the characters behind closed doors. As a parent, I then know that my son won't be battling for a few seconds of attention, and there's less pressure to make way for the other guests.

 

[DancingBear]

My son is a pretty brave little 2yo, nothing much intimidates him (even when it should). He didn't get afraid at any of the characters. What amused me was the extent to which he took the whole character thing in stride, as if we are always running into 7 foot tall dogs around our neighborhood.

 

[disney1990]

We worked with my granddaughters: 2-1/2 and 4-1/2 for about 6 months before going to Disney. Asking, How big is Mickey? Answer: Bigger than Daddy. When we went about 2 weeks ago, the 2-1/2 year old went up to every single character without hesitation at all. Just talk about it all the time and show the Disney travel tapes/DVDs so that they know that the characters are really big. It sure helped.

 

[dandelion]

Showing the child the videotapes and huge stuffed animals is a good prep, but in the end I think it depends on the child.

Our story:
My daughter (now 6 and preparing for trip #6) has never met a character she didn't like, beginning at 6 months old. Her lauging and playing with the characters at Garden Grille at just 15 mos. old is one of my favorite memories.

My son (almost 4), OTOH, has never met a character he DID like. He hides his face or gives them that totally blank stare despite some very noble efforts by the plushy ones. Even for our upcoming trip he says he just wants to meet Thomas (as in the Tank Engine).

So even seeing his big sister run to, hug and hop with the characters has not convinced him they are ok.