It’s time to finally go visit the Mom-in-Law in Sunny Florida. Cool, because even though the winter has been really mild here, I could use some warm sunshine.
GrandMa hasn’t seen the Little Toaster since she (Little Toaster) was about 6 months old, (She will be 2 in April) and she plans to send our little family to Disney World for a day and a half. (Overnight stay, so we can see some parade and fireworks deal.)
Sounds great to me, but I worry that the Giant Mickey, et al, might be scary for the my Little Toaster. I would hate to scar her for life, you know? Does anyone here have any experience with or input on this?
Thank you Kindly for your wisdom.
When I was three years old, my family went to Disneyland (I’m dating myself when I say Disneyland was pretty much brand-new at the time). I had a GREAT time. My parents reportedly introduced me to the big mascots cautiously, but the big characters didn’t frighten me. (In succeeding years I did see plenty of young kids in abject terror when Goofy approached. It usually happened when the parents thrust the kid at a mascot despite the child’s apprehension.) My parents also stuck to the wimpy rides.
[slight hijack]
As a momento of that first trip, my parents bought me a big picture-book of Disneyland. I pored through the book every single day after that, and after about two years the book was worn to pieces; the glue-binding failed, pages fell out, etc. My mom wrote a letter to the Disney Corp, explaining the situation and asking if they’d kindly send another copy of the book. She included payment plus a few bucks in case the price had gone up in the mean time.
They sent another book with a sweet little handwritten note and my mom’s payment tucked inside.
Can you imagine Eisner’s present DisneyCorp doing that?
[/slight hijack]
My wife and I took our three-year-old, one-year old and eight-month-old to Disney World last year with no adverse reaction. In addition, that three-year-old met a giant Snoopy at the Mall of America when he was two and a giant turtle mascot (don’t know if it had a name) at the Black Hills Reptile Gardens when he was one, also with no fear.
You know your kid best, of course, but I wouldn’t worry going in.
Best thing to do, probably, is:
- Get the kid pumped for meeting the character.
- When you see the character from a distance, before you approach, point the character out first, ask the kid if she’d like to meet the character.
Disney World is plenty of for a little kid. And the giant characters are the least of it.