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Lucyrella
07-29-2007, 07:57 PM
I was wondering what experiences or what advice you can give to prepare an almost 3 year old to the Disney Characters. We have a new member to our family, she has only been with us for 8 months, she is our 2nd daughter from China. She has made great adjustments for the most part, but she gets nervous/scared/unsure of unusual or new things. If she can see someone's face she is usually okay, but for like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc... I am not sure how she is going to react, and my birthday girl who is turning 4 while we are down there is not scared of anything. I do not want her to miss out on anything and I don't want the younger one to spoil her fun. So what advice can you give this mom of 2 little princesses, or what experiences have you had with siblings around this age? Do the characters realize that one is frightened and back away but still make sure the other one has the interaction that they want? I have only been to Disney with child/children twice, so this is an new to me as the girls.

AuntDJ
07-29-2007, 08:46 PM
My experience has been that a character will not push if a child is fearful.

I think the important thing is to make sure that if your 4 yr old wants to go and the 3 yr old does not then let the 4 yr old go up by herself and hold the 3 yr old.

Also, we talked ALOT about Mickey and friends and looked a pictures and stuffed animals and stuff so our kids would be comfortable almost like Mickey was a friend of ours.

Good Luck and Have FUN!

DJ

Dedivah
07-30-2007, 03:35 PM
We took my dd last year for year for her 2nd Birthday.

She is normally very confident and not afraid of anything. However, she was afraid of the characters. Honestly, I think she was afraid because there were 2 other little girls in the group that are older than she is and they were afraid. She they screamed and ran so she hid her face as well. I think had they not been there she would have been fine. They were not there for her actual birthday party and she had a ball at Hollywood and Vine with the Playhouse Disney characters.

Anyway, the characters never approached the kids when they saw they were scared. They stood away and waved. Which was fine for my DD. The even played peek a boo from a distance. Which I think warmed her up too! :heart:

Ithink if you and DD4 don't act afraid then she will see that it is fine as well. If she is afraid them maybe you can hold DD2 while Dad approaches the charaters with DD4. That way everyone is happy.

She will be fine.

lazydaneranch
07-30-2007, 04:27 PM
We took my DD5 when she was 2 1/2 and are going this year with her and DD 2 1/2. We watch lots of Disney movies ahead of time so they know the characters. We also get the theme park sing alongs from netflix that have the park characters in them so the appearance isn't too different.

Rafiki is the only character that concerned her last time -he was also one of the first ones we met. She did go up and give him her book to sign but hung on to my leg like I was about to float away. Everyone else was a breeze, but we didn't try to see characters that she didn't know from movies.

I hope it's as easy this time with the second one.

Good luck to you!

LadybugTink
07-30-2007, 08:08 PM
When we went last year my nephew was all excited to see Pluto and Mickey. We stood in line and talked him up and he was soo excited when it was his turn. When he went to hug Pluto his wisker poked my nephew in the eye. Now it did not hurt hima dn he did not cry but he would not go near Pluto after that he huged Mickey and Pluto tried to come back over and even got down on the ground so he could rub his belly. But my nephew woudl nto have any part of it he just hid from him behind us. Mickey even tried to get him to go back over to Pluto. But my nephew just would not have it in the end he loved on Mickey and Pluto stood to the side. They were both very good about it. And the whole trip every time he saw Pluto he woudl try to hide ...lol. So I don't think you will have a problem if she gets scared. Plus I bet if she sees her sister go up there she will be up for the fun too. :pluto::mickey2:

Sean Riley Taylor's Mom
07-30-2007, 10:43 PM
Two of my three went through being scared of the characters at first.

My oldest DS was scared of the furry ones and was okay with the Princesses or anyone else that had a face.

My DD was the complete opposite. She loved everyone except the Princesses. Especially Snow White. I think her voice freaked her out.

Both are fine now and love all of the characters. (Even though my DS will be 10 next week and won't admit it).

What always worked for us was letting the older kids and I go up first. DH would then take the scared one up when they saw that we were not getting eaten up or anything. I usually hold them while they warm up.

The characters are great about that. They do not push at all and really help to make it a not so scary situation when they can see a child that is nervous.

I find that the characters meals are a big help with kids that are scared. They are able to walk up to you and stay a little longer. It give the kids a minute or two to warm up.

I am sure your DD will warm up at some point during the trip if she is scared at first. Just make sure to get a pic or two of her reaction the first character even if she is crying, etc. I know that sounds mean but, one of my favorite WDW pics is of me holding my DS while he face is bright red and he is clinging on to me...all while standing two feet from Pooh. We walked away pretty quickly but, my DH was able to get the shot and my DS loves to look at it now. His younger brother harrasses him all the time about it. :D

Mickey91
07-30-2007, 11:32 PM
It was our experience, when our kids were little, that if we were happy and excited to meet a character, the kids were more accepting. DS loved all the Disney characters at 15months. DD at 3, loved all the girls. She finally decided to be nice to Mickey even though he was a boy, "Because he owns the place". All kids are different. It is hard to say how she will react, but if you show joy and happiness when meeting the characters, it will go a long way in helping her to accept them.:mickey:

pixiesmimi
08-03-2007, 11:13 PM
We have one DGD who was scared of the characters her first trip when she was about 2. Last year when she was 3, she wasn't scared of them as much. We just held her and walked up to the characters and she was okay with this. She wasn't scared of the "people characters" (princesses, etc.) so it might be the fur. Our other DGD and DGS who were both under a year their first times were not afraid and would reach out and touch the character or pinch their nose, etc. in the background. :mickey: My DD said that she thought it was because they are used to seeing the characters on TV or in the movies and they are small. When they see them in person, they are so large that it scares them. Her DS reacted the same way when he saw the Wiggles in person on stage. This year when he was 3, he wasn't scared of them except Donald who he had just seen go through the wall in Mickey's Philharmonic. He told Donald (from a distance) "I saw you fly through the wall!" :mickey: It all just depends on the child but don't force them. They will come around on their own and beg to see the characters when they are ready.

DISNEYFIX
08-04-2007, 04:44 AM
Have them watch a movie with the characters in it. The kids will feel better when the rocognize the character by themselves.
Just a thought.
Chris

kim1st
08-15-2007, 08:47 PM
We really lucked out that our kids weren't afraid. We had talked about meeting the characters, but I didn't go into a lot of detail. What really helped was that my older DD (almost 5) was NOT shy, so my younger DD (2 1/2) warmed up more quickly. We also had to wait in line, so they had the opportunity to see other kids hang out with the characters before it was their turn.

By our last character dinner, they had the routine down pat: "big hugs, sign the book, smile for the camera" - it was hysterical.

The other thing that was helpful was that the first characters they met were the Pooh gang - I mean, who can't warm up to Eeyore, right?

I have a friend who recently adopted from China - her daughter will be 4 in October - and she is TERRIFIED of anyone in a costume. My friend is holding off on Disney specifically for this reason. She said they were even at a birthday party with someone dressed as Cinderella and her daughter wouldn't go near her (no mask - just the dress/hair/makeup).
I don't mean to imply that this is in any way related to her having been adopted - you just reminded me of a similar concern my friend has expressed.

Have a fantastic time - when the kids are ready to warm up to the characters, there is no better magic!!! I get misty just thinking about it!

DisneyAndRedSox
08-15-2007, 08:57 PM
Congrats on the newest addition to your family!

Besides Disney Movies, I ordered the free Disney Planning video off Disney's website. It arrived in a week and my 21 month-old LOVES it! There are tons of menus on the DVD (even a section about pre-schoolers) and it shows a lot of what goes on in the parks.

Lucyrella
08-15-2007, 09:05 PM
Well thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I have prepared her about as much as I can, and what happens, happens. I think our 4 year old will lead the way, she is fearless, and the younger one will either follow along or be clinging to my shoulders.... which is okay too. I just hope I can manage the camera with her hanging on, so that Dad can take Lucyrella up to meet the characters. LeiLeibelle is definitely a mom mom's girl. We are only 11 days away from the magic!:cloud9:

Christine
08-16-2007, 12:42 AM
When we took my daughter for the first time at 2 years old, my husband or myself (whoever WASN'T holding her) went up to the character to get the autograph.

We would ask her, "Do you want to come see Mickey too?" and if she did, great. If not, fine.

Since we never made any production at all about it, never tried to coax her, plead to her, etc. just simply asked her (ONCE) if she wanted to, it never seemed like a big deal.

By about the third time, she came on her own and never had a problem at all!

KentB3
08-20-2007, 08:20 PM
I have a friend who recently adopted from China - her daughter will be 4 in October - and she is TERRIFIED of anyone in a costume. My friend is holding off on Disney specifically for this reason. She said they were even at a birthday party with someone dressed as Cinderella and her daughter wouldn't go near her (no mask - just the dress/hair/makeup.

This reminds me of an incident from my last WDW trip, when Peter Pan was doing greets with Wendy at his usual spot in Adventureland. A small girl no older than 3 was intimidated by THEM of all characters, and ran into the Pirates gift shop as fast as she could! Peter and Wendy ran after her, ALL OVER the gift shop to find her, like chickens with their heads cut off!!!! :funny:

Eventually, they found the girl, but she still wanted nothing to do with them, so she left with a lady who I presume was her mother.

cheshirecollector
08-21-2007, 01:33 AM
My DD said that she thought it was because they are used to seeing the characters on TV or in the movies and they are small.

I read somewhere that it helps to show them videos of children meeting characters in the parks, so they can see how big they are and be prepared. Maybe trip planning videos, or look on YouTube?