are the characters/people on tv real?

[C.M.O]

my 4 year old daughter has recently asked me if the characters on the tv are real and sometimes she asks if the characters are people dressed up. What do you tell your kids? I don't want to ruin the magic for her but then again I don't want to lie to her? I turned the question back to her and asked her what she thought. What do you/would you do?
Thanks :lookaroun

 

[DisneyJoe]

What was her answer when you asked her what she thought?

 

[mousefan1972]

After a visit with Mr & Mrs. Incredible last May at the Studios, my, DD (not yet 4 at the time) was babbling on and on about meeting them. Then she blurts out "but they aren't real because they can't talk!" DH and I were shocked. We didn't want to lie, either, but a 3 year old should still believe in Disney magic! So I told her that they were as real as her imagination made them. :shrug:

Seemed to work. We'll see how she reacts when we go back in December.

 

[DisneyGigi]

This kinda reminds me of a similar situation with my DD when she was younger, about 6 at the time. She point blank asked me how Santa could travel around the world in one night that she thought only Jesus could do that... I just stood there shocked with no intelligent answer and she said hmm..that's what I thought. :shrug: Kids ... they say the darndest things!

 

[C.M.O]

What was her answer when you asked her what she thought?

she said yes, she thought they were real

 

[Since1976]

I've already got my answer planned for when my daughter finally asks: "They're as real as you want them to be!"

I think that kids figure things out on their own pretty quickly, but they learn to suspend their disbelief for their own enjoyment (although they do not realize that is what they are doing).

 

[Eyorefan]

she said yes, she thought they were real

I would just leave it at that.

I remember when I told my mom I didn't think the characters were real. She said, "They are real to people who believe in them, and only believers get to go to Disney World." She said the same thing about Santa Clause.

So I still believe in Santa and I still believe the characters are real.

 

[Shere_Khan]

This kinda reminds me of a similar situation with my DD when she was younger, about 6 at the time. She point blank asked me how Santa could travel around the world in one night that she thought only Jesus could do that... I just stood there shocked with no intelligent answer and she said hmm..that's what I thought. :shrug: Kids ... they say the darndest things!

Omg that is cutest thing I have ever heard!

 

[phenom1307]

i remember one while i was working crowd control for mickeys jammin jungle parade...a mom came up to me and said that she wanted to go to camp minnie mickey to see the characters and asked wheter they would be there or not since the parade was about to start. i of course said "sorry mam, but all the characters will be in the parade and will head back to camp minnie mickey afterwards." my manager had heard me and was like good job keeping the magic alive....


that doesnt really have to do with what you all are talking about, i just thought it was cool

 

[DisneyGigi]

i remember one while i was working crowd control for mickeys jammin jungle parade...a mom came up to me and said that she wanted to go to camp minnie mickey to see the characters and asked wheter they would be there or not since the parade was about to start. i of course said "sorry mam, but all the characters will be in the parade and will head back to camp minnie mickey afterwards." my manager had heard me and was like good job keeping the magic alive....


that doesnt really have to do with what you all are talking about, i just thought it was cool

I love that!! Isn't that why Mickey is always late for the Castle Party??

 

[sbkline]

I'd probably just tell my kids the truth. I don't think we need to lie to them and tell them falsehoods in order to keep the magic alive. The Disney Magic is alive with us and we know that the characters are just people in costumes.

And we'll probably tell our kids that Santa Clause is not real, also. We can keep Santa alive as part of the overall Christmas mythology, but I think you can do that while letting your kids know at the same time that he is not real.

 

[maggiegrace1]

I'd probably just tell my kids the truth. I don't think we need to lie to them and tell them falsehoods in order to keep the magic alive. The Disney Magic is alive with us and we know that the characters are just people in costumes.

And we'll probably tell our kids that Santa Clause is not real, also. We can keep Santa alive as part of the overall Christmas mythology, but I think you can do that while letting your kids know at the same time that he is not real.

...................................................

That is all...

 

[bradg84]

Of course they're real. I feel, even at 23 years of age, that there is nothing more real than the character you are looking at in the park. Sure, there is a person inside that costume working, but for that moment, the character is real to you.

It isn't a lie.

 

[happymom52003]

I'm such a sentimental sap that I will never, ever tell my kids that the characters or Santa are not real. Childhood is so short, and I want the magic to last as long as possible. And when they are old enough to debate me about it, my answer will still be "I believe they are real". Afterall, in my heart the Disney characters and Santa ARE real:animwink:.

 

[sbkline]

...................................................

That is all...

No angry faces? No yelling? All I get is a bunch of dots and a grinning face? What's the world coming to?

 

[lilclerk]

I'd probably just tell my kids the truth. I don't think we need to lie to them and tell them falsehoods in order to keep the magic alive. The Disney Magic is alive with us and we know that the characters are just people in costumes.

And we'll probably tell our kids that Santa Clause is not real, also. We can keep Santa alive as part of the overall Christmas mythology, but I think you can do that while letting your kids know at the same time that he is not real.

This is how I was raised. My mom always hated that my grandmother lied to her for years about Santa, the tooth fairy, etc. so she always made sure that we knew these are just nice stories to tell children, but they are absolutely not true.
I remember being SO excited to meet Minnie and Donald even though I knew they weren't real, and I still love the Disney magic at 23 =)

 

[mpoppins76]

I would just leave it at that.

I remember when I told my mom I didn't think the characters were real. She said, "They are real to people who believe in them, and only believers get to go to Disney World." She said the same thing about Santa Clause.

So I still believe in Santa and I still believe the characters are real.

I was a "friend" of Chip & Dale, and others @ WDW years ago, and I still believe that they're real when I go there now and see them! :lol:

 

[happymom52003]

This is how I was raised. My mom always hated that my grandmother lied to her for years about Santa, the tooth fairy, etc. so she always made sure that we knew these are just nice stories to tell children, but they are absolutely not true.
I remember being SO excited to meet Minnie and Donald even though I knew they weren't real, and I still love the Disney magic at 23 =)

I am just the opposite from your mom! I absolutly love the fact that my Mom made such a huge deal about Santa and other characters....I would not trade those magical memories from my childhood for anything. I can still picture the magical feeling I would get on Christmas eve when I still believed in Santa.....now I am reliving it through my own kids. I hope they dont get mad at me some day! But I have a feeling they won't.

 

[happymom52003]

I was a "friend" of Chip & Dale, and others @ WDW years ago, and I still believe that they're real when I go there now and see them! :lol:

Isn't that amazing? I do not get that feeling with non-disney characters....I view them as people in costumes the entire time I am interacting with them. But at Disney, I turn into a little girl again everytime I am with a character! I have never once thought about the fact there is a person in there. Disney magic is so real!

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I'd probably just tell my kids the truth. I don't think we need to lie to them and tell them falsehoods in order to keep the magic alive. The Disney Magic is alive with us and we know that the characters are just people in costumes.

And we'll probably tell our kids that Santa Clause is not real, also. We can keep Santa alive as part of the overall Christmas mythology, but I think you can do that while letting your kids know at the same time that he is not real.

That's essentially how my parents handled it. I don't remember them ever explicitly saying Santa and the rest weren't real, but they didn't go to any effort to maintain an illusion, either. I think the most my mom would ever cop to is "Santa's spirit is real." I turned out OK. :lol:

By contrast, my mom's sister went out of her way to keep my cousins believing in Santa as a literal person well into their pre-teen years. Maybe we were too "grown" for our own good, but my sister and I always just found that a little weird.