Tips? Introducing the characters to a toddler

[KayDox]

Maybe this has been talked about a lot in the past... if there is already a thread, please let me know!

We will be arriving at Disneyland Hotel on 12/4 (Sun) evening, and then probably walk in and around the hotel.
I see Goofy's Kitchen serves dinner too - do we get to see some characters greeting guests outside the restaurant?
We have a reservation for breakfast at Goofy's on the last day of the trip, because I don't know how my 2.5yr old daughter is going to react to life-size characters.
I thought I would let her take a peek at some of the characters from distance first, and then head to Disneyland next day to meet them a bit closer.

Any tips on introducing a young child to the characters?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Kay

 

[iceskatejen]

Usually there is a character outside taking photos with diners before or after their meals.

 

[caimakale]

Right when we walked in we seen Peter and Wendy. I think that was the ice breaker for my 2 year old. Seeing real people in costume before seeing the other characters helped.

By the time we seen Mickey we had seen Mad Hadder and mary poppins and all was good!

 

[KayDox]

Thanks iceskatejen and caimakale!

I think 'Seeing real people in costume before seeing the other characters' is a great tip!

Keep them coming please!

Kay

 

[abby]

when we were there in April my dd almost 5 was shy with the characters. So I bought an autograph book and pen which gave her a reason to approach the characters. At first she told me to tell them not to hug her (as they were doing with the kid before her) so when we approached I would explain she was a little shy and they were great. The pic's are funny because the first few days she was standing three feet in front of the characters, and the last two days they would hold her hand or put their arm around her and she was fine. Just take it as your kids pace and all will be well.

 

[Barbday62]

We took our just shy 3 year old Grand daughter to WDW and in the months ahead of our trip we watched a few Disneymovies to get to know characters by name. Also we watched the Disney channel alot. Then I told her the character is as bug as Mommy and daddy. They are small on the TV but when we see them at Disneyland (Thats what she calls all of Disney) they will be real big. She was ready to meet them. Also at that age she loved getting autographs too.

 

[Pokemom]

When my DD was 2, she was terrified of any costumed characters. She would start to cry if we got close. We were quite worried about going to WDW - afraid that it would traumatize her for life. We walked through the gates and saw Minnie Mouse. My daughter jumped out of my arms and made a beeline for Minnie. She wanted to hug every character we saw. I can't explain it, but Disney seems to have that effect on everybody.

 

[Shelly D.]

We took DD to WDW when she was 13 months old, and 2 years old. I got a lot of tips off of the WDW Family Forum. You might want to check there.

One thing that really helped was the sing-a-long videos that show characters and children interacting. I bought Disneyland Fun and Beach Party at Walt Disney World a few months before our trip. It's neat because after watching the videos she had a pretty good idea of what to expect and wasn't surprised by the characters being so much bigger than her.

Whenever we saw a character in the parks we'd ask her if she would like to say hello or go give the character a hug, and 90% of the time she said yes and did really well.

 

[KayDox]

Thanks everyone!

I printed out photos of Disney characters our daugter might meet (40+ of them). She memorized almost all of them! Sometimes princesses are hard to tell, so I bought a Disney Princess coloring book ($2.99 at grocery store!).

And thanks Shelly, I bought the Disney sing along DVD (post-thanksgiving shopping)! Not the Beach party one, but the Camping one. My daughter had fun watching it. I think the DVD is a great way to make herself familiar with the life-size characters. Thanks you so much for the advice!

I bought an autograph book and a pen on ebay. They should arrive before we leave

As you can see, I am DETERMINED to make the trip worth spending $$$

I have a question about getting autographs - my daughter is only 2.5yrs old. She does not have a clue what 'getting an autograph' means. Do you think she will still enjoying the interaction? How should I encourage her to get her very first autograph? Should I go get it with her? I would love to read your stories.

Thanks! You guys are great!
Kay

 

[Flagger]

Hi,

I meant to respond earlier but life got in the way. We took our 2.5 year old DD with us to DL three weeks ago.

We decided that we could concentrate on pictures more than anything. She does not get the concept of autographs, but was just thrilled with the interaction. We would look at pictures on the computer of various characters and she would talk about the ones she was going to get to see.

Wouldn't you know she was shy when we met Mickey but ran right into Minnie's arms and held her very very tight. One thing that worked was going to ToonTown when it opened and heading right for Mickey's house. That is where you can get a picture with THE MM in the traditional garb. It is also a one on one experience with just your family on his "Set" while the next family waits outside. The CMs were great about using our camera to take photos. We went to Toontown two days in a row to get just that special photo.

Before we went, our DD was so not about princesses. But now she talks about wanting the Cinderalla DVD with "Perla" since that character spent so much time with us at Goofy's Kitchen.