A parent’s perspective: When kids are scared of Disney characters
A Mom and The Mouse, Featured, Kristin Ford — By Kristin Ford on June 11, 2010 at 11:35 am
Jedi Mickey and R2-MK, a new character at Disney's Star Wars Weekends, are kid-friendly options for meet-and-greets. (Kristin Ford/Orlando Sentinel)
Parents will pose their children in front of anything or anyone at Walt Disney World, it seems. When it’s the iconic Cinderella Castle or Mickey Mouse, it’s expected.
But what happens when kids are asked to stand next to a unfamiliar character? Sometimes it works out, but many times the unsuspecting parents have asked their child to do something they fear.
When my daughter was about two years old, she loved Winnie the Pooh and asked to see him every time we stepped foot on Disney World property. The first time the request was made, we stood in line for a meet-and-greet. When we got to the front, she was terrified of the furry character towering over her and hid behind me. Yet, when she was in her stroller and we’d pass by, she’d call out, “Hi, Pooh!” every time. So, we learned that distance was the key at that age.
The opportunity to see many unusual — and even scary — characters is upon us again with the last of Star Wars Weekends taking place today through Sunday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The characters, such as Storm Troopers, can be quite intimidating as they wander the streets. Many younger kids tend to shy away from them, even walking on the opposite side of the street.
When my son was about three-and-a-half and going through his Star Wars phase, he said he wanted to get autographs from Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers. But when it was time, he too decided he needed some distance between himself and the bad guys. At that point, though, the Disney actors broke character just enough to coax my son in doing what he wanted to. And that was perfect because he came away with the impression that Darth Vader wasn’t all bad.
If you want to skip the realistic Sci Fi characters altogether but still get some special memories from Star Wars Weekends, be sure to visit Jedi Mickey and Princess Leia Minnie during their meet-and-greets. They are adorable and always popular. This year, R2-MK joins them for the first time.
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Tags: Disney characters, Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Jedi Mickey, Princess Leia Minnie, R2-MK, Star Wars Weekends
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9 Comments
A few things to keep in mind when your child is scared also:
Never say “Pluto/Mickey/Pooh will be angry/won’t like you if you don’t stop crying.” Anger is one emotion no character should know or portray–even if meeting a villain. Also, it doesn’t help put a child at ease.
Don’t force your scared child on a character. If you insist on a photo, put someone between the scared one and the character. If your child is downright squirming or kicking, then safety comes into play. You don’t want to be kicked and neither does the character you are with.
Sometimes if you stand forward a little bit, you can ask/get the character to pose at a distance behind you. This way everyone is in the shot, but at a happy distance. Doesn’t always work, but it’s sometimes worth a shot.
All I can think of every time I see a child who’s scared to death being forced to take a photo is “well that kid’s in for seven years of therapy.” =)
A few tips from a former Disney Character Assistant: Too many parents carrying their children put the child down expecting that they’ll run over to the character and pose. DON’T PUT THE CHILD DOWN. Keep him in your arms and at eye level with the character. Then watch the character from a distance.
And remember the BEST pictures are of candid in interaction between your child and the character. The smiling poses are cool, but try taking pictures focused on the kid’s face with the character included in the frame…
Totally agree with comments by Disney Fan & Ron Schneider. My only tidbit to add is that my 3 yr old son was nervous as well about meeting the characters close up, but the break through that worked for us was getting an autograph book and special pen for him to collect the characters autographs in! So when we would ask, “do you want to take a picture with ?” he would say no. but if we asked, “do you want to sign your book?” he would say, “YEESSSSS!!!!” and we’d have no problems during the meet & greet!
bizarre… i must have used some kind of html code or something on accident in my post.. meant to say:
“do you want to take a picture with – CHARACTER NAME – ?” he would say no. but if we asked, “do you want – CHARACTER NAME – to sign your book?” he would say, “YEESSSSS!!!!”
Great tips! Also, sometimes just a wave is enough. If the child suddenly is overwhelmed when it’s time to meet the character, ask if they can start by waving. Sometimes it’s just the wave that breaks the ice.
Another thing I’ve seen is, let your child interact or respond to the character. Too many times, I’ve seen a child asked a question by a character, and before they can answer, the parent or sibling jumps in with the answer. Or, while interacting, others in the party are calling out for the child to ‘turn around’ and ‘take the picture’ now, all while they’re interacting with the character. This usually just serves to get the child confused and even more overwhelmed.
Ron pointed out how wonderful the candid pictures are, and by taking the few extra seconds to let the child relax and become comfortable with the character, you get not just a picture, but also a memory!
My two year old daughter is obsessed with Tinkerbell and her fairy friends. We stood in line for over an hour at Disney so she could meet them. She was sooo excited. But, boy did that change when it was our turn. It’s a big shock for a kid to see a character that is usually 2 inches tall on TV grow to adult size. The fairies where wonderfull though. I held her in my arms and she was able to interact with them. It’s all about making the child comfortable. We got tons of pics, some posed and some candid. All, in all, it was a wonderful experience. They signed her autograph book and Tinkerbell nightgown. For two days straight, she would not let that nightgown go. The major breakdown we had was leaving the character. “My Tinkeybell, my fairies….” Any advice on how to coax a two year old to leave the character, once they are comfortable with them?
I typically tell my four year old daughter that the character needs to meet their other firends, but we’ll be back real soon to see them again. And then I print out a picture of her and the character as soon as possible. And follow up with something else she wants to do!
Another suggestion I would offer is to start with a face character, such as a Princess, Fairy or Peter Pan. Not only are kids faced with meeting a 5 foot Mouse (or other such critter), but they also can’t talk! Yes, they can pantomime and get their point across, but the younger kids don’t get that… and these are the favorite characters that they know from TV and movies who sing and dance for them! Face characters can talk with them and reassure the kids. It’s a good ice breaker, and helps prepare them for non-speaking characters.
Imagine sitting down to a Character breakfast – Goofy comes over for a meet & greet He covers the muffin on the corner of the table with a napkin (1 foot away) and proceeds makes like he’s going to make it disappear proceeds to SLAM his fist down on the table rattling everything and scarring the daylights out of my three year old –
throughout the day whenever she would see Goofy would start crying and grab on to either my wife or myself.
Sometime you might do everything right but the character is a moron.