2 Year Old & Character Costumes

[MouseMama11]

So my DD is turning 2 in January and we are going to her first WDW visit in July (so she will be 2.5). She's currently terrified of Santa, team masscots, and other big characters in costumes that she's seen at parades, etc. So it's natural that we're a little nervous she will be afraid of all the Disney characters seeing as she might recognize them but obviously they are MUCH larger than they are on the TV!

Does anyone else have experience with their young child being afraid of character costumes at home but they are fine in Disney? Or maybe there was a certain way you approached the situation in Disney so a few days in he/she got used to meeting the characters?

If she ends up being afraid, obviously I'm not going to push the meet and greets this time around and there is much more to Disney than taking pictures with Mickey and friends. But I was just curious if anyone else out there faced a similar dilemma?

TIA!!!

 

[uagirl]

My DD turned 2 in August and we went to Disney in September. It took about 2 days, but she loved the characters! I don't know if it was the excitement of Disney or what, but she was running up to characters she didn't know. She had a blast all week long.

That said, Santa was a huge fail again this year. Maybe we should just stick to Disney.

 

[heather4Disney]

she might enjoy the talking princess type characters and the other non-talking ones maybe just from far away. Sometimes they like them, just no so close. Even if you get in line you could tell her that one of the parents what a pic with Mickey. (to prepare her ahead of time) At the last minute she might decide she wants to go up as well. Would that work ?

 

[MouseMama11]

Thanks for the reassurance!! If after a couple days she is still a little uneasy about the non-talking characters, I will definitely try just admiring them from afar like heather4Disney said. I like that idea. DD was Tinkerbell for Halloween this year and got excited when she saw anyone in a similar costume, even if she was a stranger so I think the princess, talking-type characters will be a hit with her.

Thanks again

 

[dandydad12]

So my DD is turning 2 in January and we are going to her first WDW visit in July (so she will be 2.5). She's currently terrified of Santa, team masscots, and other big characters in costumes that she's seen at parades, etc. So it's natural that we're a little nervous she will be afraid of all the Disney characters seeing as she might recognize them but obviously they are MUCH larger than they are on the TV!

Does anyone else have experience with their young child being afraid of character costumes at home but they are fine in Disney? Or maybe there was a certain way you approached the situation in Disney so a few days in he/she got used to meeting the characters?

If she ends up being afraid, obviously I'm not going to push the meet and greets this time around and there is much more to Disney than taking pictures with Mickey and friends. But I was just curious if anyone else out there faced a similar dilemma?

TIA!!!

Yes little ones can sometimes be reluctant to meet the characters maybe just maybe she will get the nerve when she sees adults ie mom and dad interacting with them she will feel more at ease One of my kids thought it was silly at first but once he realized how much fun it was he really has enjoyed himself over the years So do not stress she will come around and there maybe others to help you as well,you never know you just got to beleive Enjoy you first trip with her i'm sure there will be plenty more ,there is always a very good reason to come back .

 

[scrappinginontario]

I faced a similar situation when I first took my DN. I almost didn't book the trip because of her fear. In the end I was SO glad we went!!

We took things V-E-R-Y slowly and it worked wonderfully! When I would see a character (like 50' away) I'd pick her up and say, 'Let's wave at so-and-so.' At first she'd bury her head in my shoulder while I'd call out 'Hi Mickey Mouse' and wave. By the end of the first day she'd wave from the safety of my arms and 50' of distance.
The next day we were able to get closer and by the third day we were lining up to meet them as long as I stood holding her and they didn't touch her.

By day 4 she'd walk up to some alone but took years to trust Tigger and Goofy. Heh!

Anyway, take their lead, provide your child with security and reassurance and hopefully they'll learn to love the characters!

My DN is now 13 and last month she still lined up to meet the princesses and blushed when she met Repunzel (while trying to be oh-so-cool at the same time!) Gotta love Disney!! It brings out the kid in all of us!

Have fun!

 

[sbtw13]

DS was terrified of the easter bunny this year- so I did not expect him to want and meet characters. (29 mos for Easter-- 31 mos for disney trip).
I was totally surprised that he loved it. Loved meeting characters. I think it did help that they were more familiar than the easter bunny.
I wouldn't push the issue- just see how she reacts-- but she could change before your trip and be ready to meet characters.

 

[ScrampShopper]

I was worried my DD would be afraid of seeing the large characters when we took her at 19 months old. She saw all of the kids in front of us hugging the characters, and wanted to do the same thing and nearly knocked a few of them down when she ran up to them. Peer pressure can be a good thing sometimes!! She wouldn't allow Rafiki or Mr Incredible to touch her, but everyone else was all good. At 26 months, she still wanted noting to do with Rafiki and Mr Incredible, and Buzz (didn't meet him the first time), but everyone else was still good, and she was even more excited since she knew the main 6 this time. She has now been introduced to the Toy Story movies and likes Buzz so hopefully she won't be afraid of him.
If you have a Chuck e Cheese's nearby, maybe you can check out her reaction to a large furry character.

 

[AZMermaid]

My son LOVED the characters at 8 and 13 months and had done fine with Santa, not loving him, but okay. I was really surprised when we were in DL last week and he shied from them. He would only go up with me holding him for the first 2 days. The third day he was over it and was giving big hugs to Tigger and Minnie (Hook was still a no-no!). The characters were great with him, letting him give high fives and wave. He was really good about saying "bye" when we walked away- even the first few days!

 

[Mom2six]

If you have a Chuck e Cheese's nearby, maybe you can check out her reaction to a large furry character.

This is exactly what I would suggest. My DS was afraid of characters, but during the summer before our September trip, we went quite a few times to Chuck E. Cheese. The first time or two, he was afraid of Chuck E. But then, he after seeing him a few times, he got over it. Now, he absolutely LOVES characters. Sometimes it just takes seeing them a few times for a little one to start to feel comfortable and not overwhelmed.

At Disney, if she is afraid of the characters, try not to push her into it. She might loosen up about them after a day or two! And the face characters (like the princesses and Tinkerbell may help a lot.)

 

[bushdianee]

I have a 2.5yo niece that is terrified of characters. She actually cries and shakes like a leaf if she sees one. We tried Chuck E Cheese and almost had to take her out she was so scared. She saw Santa 3x this year and the third time was as bad as the first. She did see a princess though at a Breakfast with Santa and loved her, taking several pictures and talking to her. We would love to take her to Disney as she is totally into the princesses and Tink, but are thinking about waiting until she is 4 to give her time to get used to characters.

 

[valpss]

We just took DS when he was 2.5 and he was good with some but wanted nothing to do with others. I think the characters he recognized more like Mickey & the gang, Buzz & Woody he felt more comfortable with. He latched on to their legs and wouldn't let go. When we asked if he wanted pictures with others he would say no - and we left it at that. Even when he would see his older sister taking pictures with them, he still refused. Biggest surprise was he wanted NOTHING to do with any of the princesses that were "real"! Maybe they were too girly for him?

Oh, and he was screaming his head off with Santa last year when he was 2 (And all his ones before) but this year he was "Brave like Goofy the Knight" and I got the BEST picture ever!

 

[pouncingpluto]

We'll be there for DD's 2nd birthday in February, and I have a slightly different concern -- I think DD will like the Fab 5 and Pooh characters, but she is so averse to strangers talking to her right now that I think she will be rude to any face characters (rude = responding to "hi" with "BYE BYE"). Maybe CRT for breakfast on her birthday is a bad idea.

 

[MouseMama11]

Thanks again for all the suggestions! SOOO relieved I'm not the only one who is going through this. When I've went to WDW in the past I've never seen kids scared of seeing the characters so I'm glad I have a few fellow DISers in the same boat

Well we went to see Santa for about the 4th time and DD actually asked to get out of her stroller and see him. She ran up to him, stood about a foot from him, and gave him a couple high 5's!!!! Progress!!!!

 

[NCDisneyFanatic]

My DD went at 2 and had a wonderful time. Her big sister helped her with the ones that were a little scarier (i.e. Stitch). Before leaving we had her watch some of the sing along videos with characters. I think that helped because it showed how big they were in comparison to kids. Biggest thing - let kids go at their own speed. They will come around.

 

[ElenaRN]

When we were there last year in Dec DD was 11 months old. We tried some character pics adn she screamed every single time.

This year we were there in Oct and she was about 20 months. She knew all of the character names, watches MMCH all the time. We thought it would be great this time.

The first day, we were at AK and she saw Goofy and Pluto and she kept yelling "Hi Goofy, Hi Pluto." So we got on line to take pics with them. The whole time she con't to yell out hello to them. When it was our turn she kept saying hello until we got right next to them and then she started screaming her head off and saying "Bye Goofy, Bye Pluto".

The CM said its the "3 feet rule", kids are ok until they get within 3 feet of the characters.

Oh well!

 

[lolakat]

We went when our little one was 23 months and had a blast. She was also terrified of Santa so we did not expect her to like the charecters. She suprised us and ended up loving them. When we first walked into MK Pluto was meeting out front. She ran right up to him and hugged his nose. (great picutres). She did not like the face charecters that trip so we avoided princesses. She really has only come to like them in the last 2 years (age 4-5). Just let you child take the lead and maybe she will suprise you. Have a great trip.

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

Definitely go at her pace, and who knows! Both of our girls were terrified of masked characters at 1 & 2, and DD1 was until 5. DD2 on the other hand had more desire to give hugs so she started wanting to around 3. But with face characters, both have always loved them! My best advice would be to take it slow... Start with waving at a parade or at meet&greets from a distance, meet face characters, and then see what happens. At that age you can't really encourage bravery too much so you'll know fast. . For what it's worth, at that age we could get away with getting characters to come up behind our DDs without their knowledge, then asking the DD to smile for us, and we still got some great photos despite trembling at the 3 foot mark as the PP suggested. (oh, and we also got lots of photos & videos of excited waving from a distance, then the changeover as the character got near, haha!). Thankfully at almost 6 and almost 4, we are generally over it other than really tall/overwhelming characters (Goofy!)

 

[lucifie]

Our youngest is 2.5 and we're going in 3 weeks. I'm nervous about how she'll react to characters. Recently she saw Santa and a cow at Chick-fil-a dressed as Mrs. Claus. With Santa she was reluctant to go near him, but put up with it because she was actually on her sister's lap. With the cow she hid behind me, but once the cow got about 5 feet away she would wave and say, "Hi, Christmas cow!" She was OK with the cow when she gave her a cookie, too.