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[15stitch]

I'm of to Disney again in May with my son who will be nearly 3 1/2 when we go.  When we went last year he really didn't like the characters.  He was OK at a distance (he loved the parade) but our breakfast at Café Mickey was a bit of a disaster. 

He loves Disney and has a mickey mouse and friends bedroom and a mickey mouse soft toy that he takes everywhere with him! He is really confident and will talk to everyone but just didn't like the characters in 'real life'.

Is there any chance that he might be OK this year?  Has anyone else got small children who are scared? Or who were scared and then got over it?  Any tips? 

I'd love a picture with us and Mickey, but I obviously don't want to upset him! 

Any thoughts/ advice very welcome 

[haribosmum]

My daughter at 15months was petrified of everyone except for Captain Smee for some reason!  When she returned just after her 3rd birthday she loved them all, especially the clubhouse characters who she recognised the most. 

I think the amount of growing up they do in a year is amazing and hopefully now he knows what it's all about he might be fine.  Did you try the meet mickey in fantasyland.  That isn't so overwhelming as a character meal (i.e. them coming to you while eating)

[rebecca20]

I used to be terrified of Goofy - literally spotted him and ran away, ending up completely lost while my mum was unaware when buying ice cream, there were also other incidents with him. Also the hyenas from Lion King massively creeped me out (luckily they haven't been spotted for years). As I got older I definitely got less scared.

They can be pretty easily avoided now, when I was little they just appeared in the hotels and hence the large amount of Goofy trauma.

[Sugaroo_]

My daughter at 15months was petrified of everyone except for Captain Smee for some reason!

This! I'm also thinking about taking my LO in Januray, she will be 15 months then. We were never really into characters my husband and I, but if we take the baby we def want some pics of her with characters. I'm a little worried about how she'll react!

[dlpowl]

My daughter was 15 months old during her first visit and she loved the characters from day 1 but my 2 sons were totally different.

They were 16 months and 3 yrs respectively when we first went and they were both scared of the characters so we just didn't 'do' any, we just enjoyed everything else.  We went a year later and they were still wary but not quite so scared so what we did was when we saw a character, myself and my husband went and had an interaction with the character (we took it in turns whilst one waited with the boys and said things like "Ooh look at Daddy having fun with Mickey!) to show them that it was a fun experience and there was nothing to be scared of.  Then towards the end of the week I started to ask them if they wanted to come and meet the characters with me and they slowly came round to the idea but I didn't push it, I just let them do what they felt comfortable with.  When we went back again 2 years later they LOVED the characters and couldn't get enough of them!

So don't worry, he'll come round but I think the most important thing is to not push him.  You go and meet the characters yourself and let him watch from a comfortable distance.  Then ask next time "Would you like to come with Mummy?"  Although DLP is a fantastic place, it can be a very overwhelming environment for little kids too, I remember thinking that my kids had to kind of adjust to it for a bit before they really started to enjoy themselves. Hope you have a great time!

[Sugaroo_]

Thanks dlpowl! No point in pressuring her, we'll just end up with lousy pictures and a freaked out baby I'm just really hoping she'll enjoy it.

[Andybear]

Thanks dlpowl! No point in pressuring her, we'll just end up with lousy pictures and a freaked out baby I'm just really hoping she'll enjoy it.

One option would be to leave it a couple of years till she's a bit older.  The two occasions I've been I've seen loads of crying babies scared of the characters and I actually heard one mother say she wished she'd left it a couple of years.  The same thing happened when I went to WDW.  I realise you want to go now though of course 

[Benjsh85]

I'm taking my son for his first visit for his 3rd birthday at end of April. He's literally obsessed with Disney and he loves going on the smaller rides at the places we've taken him to. He's seen near enough every film as well and his fav ones countless times. However he's still very wary of people in costumes. He won't go near them.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. Very common in my experience. We're just going to focus on the rides, the parades and the shows and probably leave character meet and greet until our next visit in a few years time. No point pushing them and upsetting them and possibly ruining your trip. Plenty of other stuff to do.

[Sugaroo_]

As a follow up to my previous post meeting the characters ended up being her favorite thing. She laughed her head off, especially with Goofy. We got some really adorable pics. On the flip side she was really serious on the rides. Not that she was upset or about to cry but like she was concentrating really hard

[Pete's Dragon]

My son was afraid of the Queen of Hearts on his first visit. She was standing outside the Castle entrance and he wouldn't go near her. Had to take an alternative route. The following year he was fine.

My daughter on the other hand can't get enough of the characters, and we have to keep a constant vigil that she doesn't just simply run off