What to say to child if they ask if Mickey is wearing a costume and is someone inside?

[aaarcher86]

I usually just say "what do you think?" And let them answer for themselves.

 

[Just Kate]

I would handle this the same way I've handled Santa Clause. I don't say that SC isn't real. Instead I always say that part of the fun is enjoying the magic and enjoying believing. My kids get it and they just go along with me. Heck, I'm 39 years old and I still enjoy believing! But I would never outright lie to my children and try to convince them that the characters in WDW are real.

 

[NYCANC]

Both my kids have known for years (they are 9 and 7). They said they knew it was people inside and I said yes. They still want to meet all the characters.
But with the Easter Bunny this year, my DD said it was creepy that there was someone inside a costume! So I guess at Disney it is acceptable

 

[MommyJack]

First, they are cartoon characters your kids already know they're not real. Different from Santa. It won't ruin the magic if they know. If he asks again, just tell him the truth. When DS was little (about 3) he was freaked out by Elmo at the local park one day. I told him not to be afraid it was just a person in a costume. Then when we went to Disney he says, "those are people dressed in costumes." I asked him how he knew and he said "remember Elmo in the park?" I had forgotten, but he didn't. It didn't ruin anything for him, 12 years later I look at those photos and the look on his face is priceless. It didn't matter to him at all.

 

[TAngel84]

My little one who turned 7 this year asked when we were in the park and I told her that they are as long as she believes they are.

 

[elaine amj]

I tell them, "of course they are real!" in a really goofy voice. Up to them what they do with that LOL!

Then again, when we visited Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge I had both my kids (and my DH) convinced the whole backstory of the science institute getting blown off by a tornado and landing upside down...was true. I pointed out all the details inside and outside confirming my story. Eventually I think they figured it out because I kept laughing at them!

I have never tried to hide stuff from them and I don't make a big deal out of characters/Santa/etc. I know my kids have mostly always known. But if they want to make believe a little longer, they are more than welcome to. They often do since it's to their advantage. My son was not impressed when the tooth fairy stopped showing up!

 

[peg110]

I would handle this the same way I've handled Santa Clause. I don't say that SC isn't real. Instead I always say that part of the fun is enjoying the magic and enjoying believing. My kids get it and they just go along with me. Heck, I'm 39 years old and I still enjoy believing! But I would never outright lie to my children and try to convince them that the characters in WDW are real.

Santa Clause IS real. As my kids get older, I explain to them, that he is not really a Fat Jolly old man that comes down the Chimney to give you gifts, but it is the "Spirit" of the season that is the REAL Santa Clause. Those in the costume are part of that spirit. I truly believe this and as such, I don't have to "Lie" to my kids.

I am fortunate, however, that my youngest (DD10) does still believe but she is on the verge of not believing in the "Traditional" Santa Clause.

 

[YawningDodo]

Sometimes I wonder if people have just forgotten what it's like to be a kid...certainly we can't all remember all of it, but I remember having these kinds of questions and just being confused and frustrated whenever adults tried to assure me of something I'd already worked out couldn't be true. My parents were the kind to come clean with me, though, and I think it helped build my trust in them knowing that I could ask and they'd just tell me the truth (they even broached the topic a few times, like that time I thought the robotic dinosaurs at the museum were real and was deeply confused about when/if dinosaurs had gone extinct as a result). Then again I was terrified of everything as a child, so it was probably part of a general effort to help me deal with that.

If he's asking, he's probably already pretty sure he's right about them being fake and he's looking for clarification, not reassurance. I really like the responses here where people have talked about teaching their kids the value of preserving the magic for others and treating it like a big game of pretend. I think when you're frank with your kid(s) about how we're all just pretending together it's like you're bringing them into your confidences. You still get to play the pretend game, but now it's not a trick you're playing on your kid to make them believe something that isn't true (I know that's an ugly way of putting it and not how it's meant, sorry), but something both of you are playing together.

 

[AlmostAmber22]

I tell them, "of course they are real!" in a really goofy voice. Up to them what they do with that LOL!

Then again, when we visited Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge I had both my kids (and my DH) convinced the whole backstory of the science institute getting blown off by a tornado and landing upside down...was true. I pointed out all the details inside and outside confirming my story. Eventually I think they figured it out because I kept laughing at them!

I have never tried to hide stuff from them and I don't make a big deal out of characters/Santa/etc. I know my kids have mostly always known. But if they want to make believe a little longer, they are more than welcome to. They often do since it's to their advantage. My son was not impressed when the tooth fairy stopped showing up!

Pigeon Forge! I'm from that area and visit all the time, mainly for Dollywood and tanger, lol.

 

[happymommy]

My kids never thought they were "real" but it was still fun! We never got into waiting in lines or doing autographs, but if we walked by a character and there was no line, we'd take a photo sometimes! My son has ADHD, so waiting in a line would not have been fun for any of us!
I wouldn't stress about it!

 

[Stitch35]

It depends on the character. For the pooh characters and the like I say they are stuffed animals, so of course they have zippers. They can only come alive at Disney. Face characters have never been a question with my kids (6 and 9). The characters look different then on TV because when cartoons come to life at Disney they look weird and their cartoon voices can't be understood in the real world. Just like when the cartoons come into the real world on Roger Rabbit. Santa has never been a question because he brought their daddy home in a huge box from Afghanistan. I know the time is coming that they won't believe, but for now I lie and keep the magic alive.

 

[jec6613]

I recall the answer that worked on me was, "They're as real as you believe they are." Mostly because it affirmed my own suspension of disbelief.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

When DS was younger he told me that his classmates told him that Mickey was just someone in a costume and asked me if that was true. I just asked him what he thought and he told me that he knew he wasn't real, but that at Disney World the magic makes it feel real in our hearts. I think that's a perfect answer and exactly how I feel.

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

I remember being very frustrated with my uncle insisting that father christmas was real when i was a kid. I made sure not to spoil it for others despite my dad being Father Christmas at our local church abd even got to help paint the sleigh in our garage. He fooled me for a while when i was very little though as he woke me up once putting presents in my stocking dressed in his santa suit!

As for the characters, I don't know when i figured that out. I was 10 when i went to WDW for the first time and already knew. Still met them all though!!

 

[Random Ninja]

My niece hasn't believed that characters are real since she was a toddler and saw me in my Darth Maul costume. Once she realized that it was me in the costume, the wool was off forever. We haven't hidden that the characters are played by people but we also believe that the magic turns people into the character they are portraying if they believe in the magic. She likes meeting characters because they "are" whomever they are portraying. However, we spent a couple of years convincing her that the animals at Animal Kingdom are real and not robots.

 

[quagmire0]

We never really pretended with our kids. I think they kind of already knew they 'weren't the REAL characters', but they have fun with it anyway. With Santa Claus, we've always just gone with the 'those are Santa's helpers' routine.

 

[Boopuff]

My dad was a great guy. When we started to be suspicious of Santa my dad bluntly said "the minute you don't believe in him, he doesn't believe in you." So that meant if you didn't believe, no gifts from Santa! I sorta went with that idea with my kids. If you believe in the characters, then that's really Mickey! To this day my "kids" (in their 20s) still always want to go at least one character meal!

 

[tink9702]

I usually just say "what do you think?" And let them answer for themselves.

We do the same thing. As of last November (DS was almost 5 1/2) his answer was Yes, I think they are real. Same for Santa at 5 1/2 years old. I'm curious if he'll ask again the next time we go to Disney. He'll be 7 by then.

 

[charmed59]

I think it would be a lot harder to believe the face characters were real. They don't look like cartoons at all, nor do they look like real people with the wigs and all. They look like people in costumes, much like my kids look when I let them dress up in princess clothes.

 

[DVCcurious]

My daughter is 5 and has figured out Mickey & friends aren't real. She also started asking questions about Mickey and I knew she knew he wasn't real, so I just asked her "are mice 5 feet tall?"

They know the characters aren't real and I think they ask us for confirmation. I don't want to tease/lie/string along my child. When the kids are old enough to ask then they already know.

So she knows Mickey isn't real because there aren't 5 foot tall talking mice, but she knows princesses are real because there are 5 foot tall women who are princesses in the world. When she starts asking questions about the real-ness of princesses I'll tell her the truth.