When do kids start knowing whats under the costum?

[dustysky]

I know this might seem like an odd question but at what age did your kids start to understand that the charactores are not real and there are people in those costumes?

My daughter is 5 (six in Nov) and she has NO clue. I offten wonder why she does not ask why she only sees charactores at parks and not in wal-mart or publix.

My son is 14 and I dont remeber when he knew.....

Just wondering how many more years I get to see her face light up with true belief?

 

[liamandcaili]

There are people under the costumes?

I don't think you need to worry about the magic effect for a while. The first time I went to Disney, I was 10. I didn't think I was really meeting Mickey, but I loved getting my picture taken with him. Okay, I admit it, I still like getting my picture taken with the characters.

DS(7) noticed our last trip that some of the characters were different sizes in different locations. I don't think he thinks the characters are real, but if he doesn't have to wait, he does enjoy meeting them. He would rather go on rides though. DD(4), on the other hand, would forego most rides to meet the characters. She loves Mickey.

 

[wdw4us2]

It depends on the child and how imaginative they are. Our son figured it out when he was about 5, our daughter didn't admit to knowing until she was almost 7.

 

[keishashadow]

As far as we're concerned...they're real!

Do you believe in the magic or not?

It's never come up in conversation in our family. Funny, most of the family pics interacting w/charactars show everyone with grins a mile wide.

I remember standing in line a few years ago to greet Scully @ MGM & some loudmouth asked "...don't you get hot under that costume?". CM's & quite a few adults all chimed in..."what costume?".

 

[diznygirl]

DS is 6 and knows. I keep saying, "What costume?" But he's not buying it. He likes trying to figure out how they can "see." I keep telling him, "With their eyes."



He really gets frustrated with me.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

My 7yo DD asked me the other day after seeing the Easter Bunny at the mall whether or not there was a person inside the bunny. So I would say 7ish!!

 

[atlnewf]

I ended up 'spoiling' it for my son years ago (he's 7 now). We went to the park and he was absolutely terrified of the characters. At the end of a couple of days of trying to get AROUND the characters, we told him they were just people in costumes like he wears for halloween. He's been fine since. He still enjoys them, though.

My daughter (4yo) is aware of the characters, but I think she still believes in the princesses.. She certainly makes a point of meeting each one.

Ashley

 

[dustysky]

As far as we're concerned...they're real!

Do you believe in the magic or not?

It's never come up in conversation in our family. Funny, most of the family pics interacting w/charactars show everyone with grins a mile wide.

I remember standing in line a few years ago to greet Scully @ MGM & some loudmouth asked "...don't you get hot under that costume?". CM's & quite a few adults all chimed in..."what costume?".

o-yes I believe, lol ... i get down right giddy over the charactors . I think thats why I dont want to face the day she asks.....

 

[robinb]

My daughter always knew because we told her. She still loves meeting the characters .

 

[Nancy]

There are people under the costumes?

.

That was my first thought. Costumes, those are costumes??? And there are people in them???? NOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[Sleepy]

My son was 7 when we went for the first time. He already knew and we did not tell him. Take a dog for example. A child even the age of 5 knows the difference between what a real dog looks like and then compare that to a much larger than life Pluto who can't move his tail or ears, his face doesn't move, tongue is material, doesn't walk on all fours and has hair that if far from life like. I think that would be a big clue. I think the face characters would be another story. Either way, believing they are real or not, you can still have fun and get the pics, etc.

 

[Aneille]

My DD has always kind of knew. When she was around 2 we went to a local amusement park and she was really afraid of this character in a costume. I told her it was a person dressed up, like at Halloween.

Then we went to WDW a few months later and she never once asked but she wasn't afraid.

She's now 4.5 and we are at the Mall and she is see's the Easter Bunny and she says "he's just a person dressed up, right?".

My DH and I didn't really answer. She concluded it was just a person.

I asked what about Mickey in WDW and she said they were real in WDW. Then she questioned herself and said "aren't they?". We still didn't answer, so then I asked about the princessess and again "they are just people dressed up" and again followed up with "aren't they?"

So she knows, but hasn't admitted it to herself yet. However she truly believes in Santa.

 

[MosMom]

Last year DD was 7 and we went with friends of ours. Mo got all excited when Tink made her flight and her friend said "That is just a person on a string" and Mo was laughing "Jules thinks its a person on a string...she is so funny". I think that tipped her off though because when talking about our upcoming trip she winks at me when we talk to her little brother about meeting the characters. So sly so sly.

 

[ScoJo15]

It was around 5 or 6 for DD, but she still LOVES to meet them and get autographs. We had a discussion about the princesses last year and I convinced her that there are princesses that are real and they also have their helpers in the parks (like Santa - there is a real one and a few helpers in the malls), so you never quite know when you are talking to the real Cindy or the helper Cindy (that takes care of why they look different in all of her pictures throughout the years).

 

[JoyG]

We were in WDW last summer when the boys had just turned 5 and they thought the characters were real.

We recently saw a bunch of characters at the White House Easter Egg roll and the boys didn't believe they were real. They kept trying to see the persons face through the masks. They still wanted pictures taken though. So for us, by 5 1/2 the jig is up.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I ended up 'spoiling' it for my son years ago (he's 7 now). We went to the park and he was absolutely terrified of the characters. At the end of a couple of days of trying to get AROUND the characters, we told him they were just people in costumes like he wears for halloween. He's been fine since. He still enjoys them, though.

We did the same with my dd at age 4, but I wouldn't call it "spoiling it", because dd was so much happier after finding out. She enjoyed the characters much, much more once she knew. Until about age 7, she'd still need to verify it before getting close to a character... "mom, it's just somebody in a costume, right?", then a look of relief and a few steps closer after I said yes. She hasn't asked lately, so I guess she's finally confident that she's right.

I also have a younger child that is the opposite way. She loves the characters. Sulley was the only one that's ever scared her.

 

[beattyfamily]

I had a 'feeling' my older DD 'knew' by around age 5 or 6 or at least questioned it then BUT we don't speak of them being real or not except for the initial question at age 5 or 6 when I say of course they're real, what do you think? and of course she says that they are real!

The characters, Santa and the Easter Bunny will always be real in our house (even if deep down they know the truth)!