Hi there - I am new here, but it's been a great resource. I'm hoping I might be able to get some suggestions. We are headed to Disneyland in three weeks with our almost two-year-old. This will be his first trip to the parks and I'm a little worried about how he'll respond to the characters. I LOVE Disneyland and DisneyWorld Resorts - I'm just hoping that this trip doesn't scar him to the point he'll never want to return! We are planning on only doing toddler-friendly type things since we really only have one day in Disneyland/DCA combined (we'll be in a parade the second day)! My husband and I have been before, so we're concentrating on our son this time. He's really excited whenever I tell him about Disneyland and likes to tell me he's going to see "Mow" (Mickey Mouse), "Guck" (Donald) and "Dale" (short for Chip and Dale). He's seen photos of the characters at the parks and I tell him they are all really nice, but we'll see how that pans out! We also have reservations for the Lilo and Stitch Character breakfast (Stitch is his favorite!).

Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

We took our dd when she just turned 2 for the first time to DL. We did the same thing. It was all about her. The first character she saw was Pluto and he scared her because he jumped at her. We thought that was it for the characters but the next day we saw Mickey and asked if she wanted to go and meet him and she did. We had no problem with her and the characters except Pluto. Still to this day she does not want to see him. My suggestion would be take it slow with the characters. When you see them, see how your son reacts and ask if he wants to meet them. Some characters are a little scary(for my dd anyway).

We did the Lilo and Stitch breakfast and she was scared of Stitch at first(he is one of her favorites too) but once Lilo showed up she was not scared anymore.

When she was tired she did not want to see anyone even Jessie who is her all time favorite.

I hope this helps alittle. Have fun.

Some say the face characters - especially the princesses - are the easiest on the widdle guys.

I think its different for each child. The best thing to do is go about it slowly. Point our characters from afar. Then work up closer. Dont push the issue, if they are afraid, then back off. If they like one type character (face vs fuzzy) over another, then dont push them to like every type.

My dd was great with characters on her first trip (22 months). We have great pictures of her hugging many of them. She didnt care for the face characters very much, she liked fuzzies. My son is 4, and has been 3 times. He still doesnt like characters. He will sort of stand near them, but doesnt want to get to close. And he is the one that is always pointing out they are just guys in suits. He says that next time he'll take pictures with them. Only time will tell.

Thanks for the replies, already! :) Taking it slow and introducing the charactes from afar seems like a good idea to me. Yeah, you never know how each kid will react. I just hope Pluto doesn't jump out at him! ;) That would be traumatic for sure!

He's seen photos of the characters at the parks and I tell him they are all really nice, but we'll see how that pans out! We also have reservations for the Lilo and Stitch Character breakfast (Stitch is his favorite!).

You've already gotten some great suggestions. I have three boys. The older two wanted nothing to do with characters when they were two. The baby LOVES characters. Loves them.

I think you already have your priorities straight: This isn't about making the DLR trip of YOUR dreams, it's about HIS dreams. If his needs are met, you'll be golden because you'll have a happy 2-year-old. Who wouldn't love to have that? ;)

You mention the Lilo & Stitch reservations - do you have them at the beginning or end of your trip? I would make them towards the end. By then, you'll know how he reacts to characters and if you need to, you might consider cancelling them if it's obvious that characters and your son just do NOT do well together. When I took #1 to character breakfasts at that age, I realize in retrospect, it just was not good for him at all. He was tense and anxious wondering when another one was going to come at him.

Also, the characters are trained to handle little kids well. When I see characters, I talk to them. "Hi, Stitch, do you remember meeting Johnny yesterday at DCA? He's a little scared to meet you, Stitch." Or else "Hi, Mickey, we're going to stay over here and wave because Johnny's still not sure of you..." The characters will listen to your queues.

Heaven help me, I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth (please forgive me,) but one of the best characters for little ones is Eeyore. (If you HAVE to like a Poo(h) character, I guess Eeyore isn't THAT bad...) Eeyore's personality is naturally mellow and subdued. Eeyore is also a very very soft character.

And, as others have said, I found that my reluctant boys did better when they could see a character's face than not. Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the princesses, Mary Poppins, etc.

Adrienne

Adrienne - We made reservations for the character breakfast for the day AFTER we are at Disneyland for our free day (the next day will be busy at DL for the parade). I figured we'll see what happens on Saturday and cancel if necessary. I just hope we don't have to. I like your idea of talking to the characters first to let him see that they are nice to mommy and let them know he might be a little timid/scared. Good idea!

The characters will listen to your queues.

This should say "cues" not "Lines for attractions." :rolleyes:

Adrienne

This should say "cues" not "Lines for attractions." :rolleyes:

Adrienne

We'll forgive you. ;)

It really depends on the kid. Our 2 1/2 year old just loves the characters. I've seen other children cry at them. What I have seen on various times is a character kinda slowly work up his/her way up to the kid and see how the kid reacts and take the cue from that as to whether or not to get closer.

One thing I've noticed....sometimes I will see a parent go into "protection mode" where they say out loud that the child is afraid of them, which makes the child only more scared because now "mommy and daddy don't want the character here". It's better if a parent is friendly with the character, invites them over, etc. because then the kid sees that the parent is friendly with the character and it's okay.

You should also keep in mind that your child may very well react differently to different characters as well. Our 2-year-old tends to usually be fearless around characters (probably thanks to having been going to the parks regularly since he was only a couple months old), but a couple weeks ago we were surprised that he seemed to be terrified when he encountered one of the bears from "Brother Bear" at the park. It was the first time I remember him actually being frightened of a character. I suspect it was just a case that the costume seemed a bit less cartoonish than most of the other characters and it was also a character that he wasn't already familiar with.

We have generally found that the characters tend to be good at staying back a bit until they are able to see whether or not a toddler is likely to react well to them. I know that there are occasions where a character misjudges and approaches a kid too aggressively, but those cases tend to be rare.

I am going to take an opposite view from AK and suggest that, at least in some cases, a character meal might be a better choice for first introducing a small child to characters than the encounters in the park. The character visits at the meals tend to be less rushed and much more one-on-one. The child may also feel somewhat safer sitting in a high-chair or booster seat at a dining table than he/she would feel out in the fairly high-stimulation environment of the parks. Finally, if the child simply doesn't react at well to the characters, it is very easy to wave them off at the character meal and the experience certainly isn't a loss, since you still are getting a good meal out of it.

-Jeff

Another idea.... Maybe if you take him to see Mickey or Minnie at their houses first thing, it might be easier. At their houses you get some one on one time without the crowds being around and it seems to be less intimidating without all of the chaos of Main St when a character is out. As everyone else has said the characters are really good with the kids and know to back off if a child starts to flip. I've seen many of them get down on their knees so they aren't as frightening to the little ones.

Wow - more great thoughts! I do think that some characters might create different reacations - it's just hard to tell which ones that might be! I like the idea of going to Mickey's house first - not just to have some slower one on one time, but to beat the long line as well. Great idea! I think I said this, (maybe) but we did make reservations for the Lilo and Stitch breakfast with assurance that we can cancel last minute.

Again, thanks for the great advice!

I think I said this, (maybe) but we did make reservations for the Lilo and Stitch breakfast with assurance that we can cancel last minute.


One other thing to keep in mind is that you don't necessarily have to cancel the breakfast if your child is frightened of the characters. If you still want to go for to the breakfast for the food and/or because you think he would enjoy seeing the characters from a distance, you could simply let your server know upon arrival that he is frightened of the characters and that you would prefer not to have them visit your table.

-Jeff