adult feeling awkward during meet n greets?

[disney world dreamer]

for the last few trips i've felt a bit awkward during character meet n greets cuz i feel like there's no conversation between me and the characters.
we just sorta look at each other and then they say lets take a pic and then off i go having only seen them for 5 seconds.
then i see other adults interact with the characters for much longer than i do and i feel like its cuz they've done something special to make it last longer like wear some weird outfit to make the character comment on it or ask some weird question that the character has to come up with an answer to. (or challenge gaston to do something which seems to be very popular at the moment)

thats not me...

so i wonder if bringing an autograph book would give the character more time to come up with something to say?

or how else could i make the interaction seem less awkward?

 

[captaindavidhook]

Just be yourself around them. Have fun with the characters. Come up with something funny or witty to say to them. You never know what might happen. I with Daisy Duck for example, I like to get her hand and ask if she is ready to run away with me and leave Donald Duck behind lol Do whatever comes natural. This should be a fun thing not a stressful one. Good luck.

 

[disneydude365]

i was worried about this myself even started a thread "do the characters mind" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3348179 and it has a lot of great interaction stories from all ages was really fun hearing all the stories and proves that they will interact with you if you make it known you want to

 

[heatherrrrz]

The last trip I went on was the only one where I met characters. I found Cinderella to be extremely easy to talk to, we had such a good interaction with her. Aurora was quiet and didn't know what to do besides take a picture. I was wearing a Tangled shirt and Rapunzel didn't even notice until the PP pointed it out which I was extremely disappointed by because Tangled is my favorite. Mary Poppins was fabulous! The Mad Hatter was as well, he made a hilarious comment about my grouchy DSis which made me laugh so hard. Pooh and Tigger were great. Pooh kept making kiss noises and Tigger was trying to eat my food. Alice was pretty good as well. I think character dining at 1900 park faire has the best interactions because of the diversity of characters.

 

[LegoMom3]

Say something related to their "story line." For instance, last year I was on an adults-only trip and we all got in line to meet Dug and Russel from "Up" in AK. When it was my turn, I hugged Dug and told him that even though I had just met him, I loved him. He made such a fuss!! It was a riot! Then I congratulated Russel on earning his Wilderness Explorer badge and he got a kick out of that, too (it's really amazing how much they can communicate without words!). Just go with it and have fun!

.

 

[karly05]

Yes, go read disneydude's thread, lots of good stories there.

If there are characters I'm specifically seeking out, I like to think out ahead of time what I'm going to say/how to open the conversation. I LOVE Up, and Dug and Russell were awesome. When it was my turn, I just opened my arms and said "You guys are my heroes!" and we had a great group hug; I told them that their story was one of my favorite stories ever, and I was so excited to finally meet them. They were so sweet and awesome, Russell was ready to come home with me (so was Dug until he heard he would have to get on an airplane).

Sometimes you can take advantage of something going on when you're there. I had the great good fortune to meet Tiana and Naveen (who were wonderful and chatty) on Mardi Gras, and started the conversation by noting that she was going to see a lot of folks from her hometown that day. They had come in on the train at the MK welcome that morning, and she said she was so excited to see "the sea of purple and gold" in the crowd.

I also was lucky to meet Phineas and Ferb for the first time on a super-cold morning in February; I said, "You guys made winter in summer - well, you need to work on making summer in winter, because it is WAY too cold out here!" They agreed and reacted like "wow, that's a great idea!" P&F are so cute, I love them.

In "regular life," I am not a super-outgoing person, but at WDW I am seriously a big kid and I love meeting the characters.

 

[Sir William]

Just be yourself around them. Have fun with the characters. Come up with something funny or witty to say to them. You never know what might happen. I with Daisy Duck for example, I like to get her hand and ask if she is ready to run away with me and leave Donald Duck behind lol Do whatever comes natural. This should be a fun thing not a stressful one. Good luck.

Completely agree. I don't seek out the characters (did enough of that when my kids were young), but I don't avoid them either. Some of my best Disney moments have been chance encounters with the characters. Just let the inner child out and have some fun when you meet them.

My favorite was at the old MGM Studios, now HS. I was wearing a t-shirt with Jafar on it. We went to a character breakfast and, as luck would have it, the characters that day were from Aladdin. A CM brought Jafar over to show him my shirt and we were instantly best buddies. He escorted me around the room, showing everyone that he had at least ONE fan. Gave me his staff to hold while my kids took photos. On a cruise on the Magic, I met Daisy as I was leaving the sail away party. I was semi-dancing to the music and she joined in, along with her handler. The encounter lasted all of 30 seconds but it was great. Later on I met her again and when she saw me she began dancing and I joined in. I'm sure no one watching knew why. At Aulani I ran into Chip and Dale and we began clowning around as I had my picture taken with them.

 

[ludari]

Say something related to their "story line." For instance, last year I was on an adults-only trip and we all got in line to meet Dug and Russel from "Up" in AK. When it was my turn, I hugged Dug and told him that even though I had just met him, I loved him. He made such a fuss!! It was a riot! Then I congratulated Russel on earning his Wilderness Explorer badge and he got a kick out of that, too (it's really amazing how much they can communicate without words!). Just go with it and have fun!

.

I enjoy meeting characters all the time in the parks and on cruises and although I never feel awkward I always try to say something related to their story line as LegoMom3 mentioned above. They are key phases for each of the characters that most will react to. For example when I met Woody from "Toy Story" and told him to "reach for the sky" and he put up his hands which made for a great photo. I also met Dug and Russell from "Up" and as I stood next to them I said "Squirrel!" and Dug turned his head and froze, which made for another great photo. I also once asked Tiana "Princess and the Frog" where Louis (trumpet playing gator) was? She went on to tell me all about him and if I ever heard him play, etc. Anyway, it's all about having fun and never growing up.

 

[Lady Marie]

OP, I am the same way, but fortunately have had a few good interactions that didn't seem forced. The best was with Marie (obviously <-- LOL!) when I was wearing a tshirt with her on it from Disneyland Paris. She noticed and got so excited. I told her how popular she was in Paris, etc.

For me, the princesses have been awkward--- I never have anything good to say. I am going to try to be better-- and go read those threads that have suggestions!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I'll occasionally step into a short character line, even when DD and I aren't together. I am better at interacting with the non-face characters myself. The best were with Chip and Dale - they were hilarious - and with Mickey when we were wearing matching sorcerer's hats.

I think you should bring a selfie stick and try to get them all to take selfies with you.

 

[helenwheels]

My last trip was the first time that I ever felt concerned or self-conscious about my age (I'm 28) - I had a sort of weird interaction with Peter Pan, and I felt like it was literally forcing me to grow up, haha. It very well may have been the Pan that I ended up with that day - the rest of my interactions have been wonderful. I'm curious to try Peter Pan again next month when I go.

 

[helenwheels]

I'll occasionally step into a short character line, even when DD and I aren't together. I am better at interacting with the non-face characters myself. The best were with Chip and Dale - they were hilarious - and with Mickey when we were wearing matching sorcerer's hats.

I think you should bring a selfie stick and try to get them all to take selfies with you.

I am totally planning to do this next time! And I agree, I have an easier time with the non-face characters. Less shy, I suppose.

 

[disney world dreamer]

I am totally planning to do this next time! And I agree, I have an easier time with the non-face characters. Less shy, I suppose.

i find it more awkward with non face characters due to my visual impairment. i have low vision and sometimes cannot quite get their gestures.
at least with face characters they can communicate by talking so if they want me to twirl or something i can tell what they want me to do but if a non face character gestures for me to twirl i may not get it. my sister had had to tell me some of the non face character's gestures before.

i plan on meeting mostly face characters though other than whoever is at the disney visa meet n greet inside innoventions (its usually mickey/pluto, mickey/goofy, minnie/pluto, or minnie/goofy).

but other than than that i plan on meeting aladdin/jasmine, gaston, belle, tiana, alice, mary poppins...

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

With Daisy or Minnie just mention shopping and you'll be there awhile. LOL I had a great conversation with Mary Poppins about the best way to get kids to clean rooms.
I've had some awkward character meet and greets too but I only do a few on each trip so those are pretty limited. I'm doing 2 character meals solo for the first time ever in April so I'm hoping those won't be awkward!

 

[genpelletier]

I know personally I used to feel really weird about talking to them. Like they would think I'm a weirdo. The interactions were short.

Now that I have embraced the character meetings, the interactions are much more natural and fluid.

 

[BudgieMama]

I understand the feeling! I found the face characters a bit easier, but even then sometimes felt I didn't get much interaction with some of them... Rapunzel was probably the best- I had my Rapunzel/Doctor Who t-shirt on, and although she didn't comment on it, I think it gave her a hint that I would want to talk to her, because we had a great chat about Flynn and my husband and boys making breakfast! Elsa was pretty cool too (I live in Arundel, which is pronounced very similarly to Arendelle, and we had some fun with that).

I found the non-face characters harder to know what to say to, but decided if I just got a hug, autograph and photo, that was OK! Where things went more naturally (like with Donald, who I am now totally smitten with!) then I would make more of it, but I wouldn't stress otherwise!

 

[1girln3boys]

I always act like I'm meeting the real person and ask questions about how someone from the movie is doing. I tell Alice I saw the white rabbit. Or Aladin how Abu is. I ask the princesses how their price is doing. I just have fun with them.

 

[Pooh2]

As a middle age couple, we've had mixed experiences with character interactions. Some seem only interested in playing with little ones but oblige us for a photo, others are really fun to interact with. We are fine no matter which way it goes. The photos are a fun addition to our vacation photobooks.

 

[CQuinn]

Thanks for asking this question because I thought I was the only one haha. Last trip I just kept awkwardly blurting out "hi!!" And then posed for a picture.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

We are two grown men if I ever felt uncomfortable I would complaign - characters are a HIGHLIGHT for us.