My family recently took my toddler nephew, Gavin, for his first trip to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. We bypassed the full on Disney vacation in favor of a slower paced trip so as not to overwhelm the little guy…and ourselves. In fact, a Disney Park visit was not even on the itinerary until we looked to see if kids two and under still get in free, which they do. We thought it would be worth it to take him to one park, so we decided on the Magic Kingdom and we knew right away we wanted to do some character meet and greets with him.
Gavin is a big Mickey Mouse fan. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and dances along with the music. Mickey is his jam. He’s also recently become obsessed, to our delight, with Toy Story, in particular Woody. This info is important to consider when prepping for a park visit. In my time as a Cast Member at MGM Studios (now The Disney Studios) and Animal Kingdom, I saw a lot of different interactions between kids and characters. Some kids are crazy for them, some are shy or even disinterested, and some are terrified. Some of it has to do with the kid’s personality, but a lot of it has to do with what the parents are doing.
With the summer travel season in full swing, I thought my #DNIfamilies planning Disney vacations might appreciate some insight on how to make the most of character meet and greets with their toddlers. So today I’m sharing how we helped Gavin have awesome interactions with some of his favorite characters!
1. BUILD THEM UP
A few weeks before our trip, my brother and sister-in-law started prepping the little man. They bought him a Mickey Mouse suitcase and told him daily they were going to Disney World to meet Mickey soon. Setting the expectation and getting him excited and laughing about it made a huge difference once we actually arrived at the park. After a few days of hearing about going to meet Mickey, he was packing and re-packing his suitcase!
2. EASE THEM IN
When we arrived at Magic Kingdom and emerged from under the train station, Pluto and Minnie were greeting guests at the front of Main Street USA and my sister-in-law made a decision that most parents fail to make. After pointing the characters out, she asked Gavin if he would like to go say hi. He shook his head no, so rather than drag him over to the line against his will, she simply smiled and waved in their direction, to which he laughed and followed suit. We spent the next several hours doing rides, watching a stage show featuring the characters, and passing by various character meet and greets with the same results.
3. CHOOSE THE RIGHT CHARACTER(S)
Finally evening was approaching and we left Gavin with Grandma to go ride Splash Mountain before the sun and the temperature sank. On our way off the ride we passed by Woody and Jessie who were tucked in a little corner of Fronteirland. My brother and sister-in-law decided this was the right time and situation, and these were the perfect characters. The crowd was small and he loves Woody, so they went to fetch him from Grandma’s lap. Luck of all luck we were the last to make the line!
We stood in line and he watched the characters as we inched closer. I played with him to try to distract any nerves and make the waiting fun. When it was finally our turn, his parents didn’t just drag him over for a picture. They let him be shy and go at his own pace, which brings me to my next point.
4. GIVE UP SOME CONTROL
This is the moment when most parents fail because they are either in a hurry or they aren’t reading their kid or both. They put pressure on their kids who are just trying to figure this really weird, new situation out. The characters meet hundreds of families a day and have encountered ever kind of child, so as hard as it might be, in this situation it’s best to let the kids and characters work it out. If you step back and let them do their thing, the experience will be so much better for your child. No character wants to send a kid away terrified.
While Gavin was being shy, my brother and sister-in-law excitedly greeted Woody and Jessie to show him it was not only safe, but super fun. They mentioned to Gavin that he could get their autographs and acted as the go between as he smiled shyly with an outstretched arm to give his book to his mom to pass to them. Woody and Jessie got down on the ground so they could be closer to his level. This is a classic Disney etiquette move. Consider that a toddler sees legs all day…and the characters are often large! As a Cast Member at Animal Kingdom I spent a lot of time with small children and was constantly crouching down to look them in the eye. Doing this changes the demeanor of the child, because it makes them feel safe and important. Not all characters can physically do this in their costumes, but a good majority of them can.
5. SCRATCH ALL THE CRAZY EXPECTATIONS
Watching Woody and Jessie get down on the ground with Gavin gave me all the feels as we watched him laugh and cling to his mom. Did he hug on them and never want to leave? No. I get that that’s always the hope because what a cute photo op right? In reality, this isn’t likely to happen with a toddler, at least with the first few character greetings. He did, however, have a fun, positive experience (which spilled over into our character breakfast the next morning) AND we still got some cute pictures! Bonus: we walked away with a grinning, happy child rather than a freaked out screaming child!
TIP:
Consider purchasing an autograph book so your child has something to interact with the characters over. If they know the character is going to give them something, it might make for a much less nervous interaction.
Because his first experience meeting characters was so positive, our character breakfast at Ohana’s the following morning was epic! When we arrived, Lilo had just started a parade around the restaurant. As soon as Gavin saw her, he grabbed my hand and ran over to get right behind her in the parade! As we ate our breakfast and each character arrived at our table he got more and more excited.
I know Disney Parks can get really busy, but don’t let meeting characters with your toddler become a rushed, to do list item. Make a positive experience the goal from the very start so you’ll be more likely to get those great photos as your trip progresses!
I hope you all have a magical vacation!
Toodles!
If you’re looking for more helpful Disney travel posts, you might enjoy:
I still have my autograph book from my trip to Disney. Even though I was 9 when we went, I still had the feeling of it being a lot all at once. I think these tips are wonderful for easing any child into the park.
Great tips! I love how thoroughly you have thought this through! I was an older kid when I first went to Disney, but I still remember how much I loved that autograph book! What fun memories! 🙂
Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing. We’ve had lots of experiences of different reactions from our little ones and are planning to take our youngest this year to Disney and this is a great reminder.