If you’re taking little ones to Walt Disney World, you will, of course, want to take them to see their favorite characters. The Fab Five, Princesses, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet too! Character autographs, character meals, character meet and greets – opportunities abound.
Again – I want to point out (I’m not trying to make you sad, I promise) – your kiddos won’t stay little forever. The importance of character interaction will wane a bit as you find yourself with tweens, teens and young adults. This may surprise you, but meeting characters becomes a whole lot more interesting when your children get a little older!
Enter the more “sophisticated” characters. Characters that can be intimidating or downright terrifying to small children are absolutely wonderful for interacting with older kids and adults.
Examples include the likes of Captain Hook, Jafar, and – to me, truly the very best characters for older children, Lady Tremaine and the Step Sisters.
We first ran into Lady Tremaine and the Steps unexpectedly near Cinderella’s Wishing Well in the Magic Kingdom – we laughed hysterically at their antics. Lady Tremaine is dead serious in her unflappable adoration of her beloved offspring. Anastasia and Drizella are pretty amazing in the level of selfishness and conceit they display! At that time, Megan and Joseph could appreciate the humor, but weren’t quite ready to be a part of the “show”.
We next ran into Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella during our magical VIP parade seating. Joseph was old enough to really interact with the Steps and knew just what to do. He showed them some attention and, as expected, that was all it took before one of the girls, Drizella, screamed, 
“MOTHER! I want this ONE!”
Later that night during the Main Street Electrical Parade, Joseph saw Drizella and Anastasia again on a parade float and blew a kiss – Drizella immediately focused all her attention on Joseph as the float went by. As it moved along the route, Joseph stood with one arm longingly (and dramatically!) outstretched towards his now favorite character as she reached towards him with equally passionate dismay. C’mon – that’s hilarious! Priceless Disney magic….character interaction for big kids is every bit as fantastic as it was with little ones.
On our upcoming Walt Disney World vacation, I’ve booked a character meal at 1900 Park Fare (buffet at the Grand Floridian). Oh, seeing Cinderella and The Prince will be nice, but I can’t WAIT to see Lady Tremaine and the Step Sisters again.
Need to tell them apart? Drizella is the oldest and wears blue / green. Anastasia is the younger sister in Pink.
It’s your turn: Who do you think are the best characters for older children? Who are your favorite characters to interact with?
OK, that story with Joseph and Drizella is the BEST thing I’ve heard in weeks. And I’ve heard some good stories. XD But his flirting with her is just so pitch-perfect… I love it!!
My daughter had a brief interaction with Driz on our last family trip… it was towards the end of the afternoon parade, and we had a standing view just outside the candy store on Main Street. My daughter was wearing one of the Princess tiaras and Drizella came up and just started critiquing – in a mostly positive but very snotty “I KNOW fashion” kind of way – her outfit. “OH well I love what she’s done here, very unique” – that kind of thing, I can’t remember it exactly, but evidently D’s mismatched apparel met with Drizella’s approval. LOL! Other than that, I have never really had a chance to meet or interact with them, and I WANT to. We did have a M&G with the Fairy Godmother on that trip and I found it a bit of a letdown. My daughter did not though so all’s well that ends well. 😉
All our best interactions that trip were with Stitch. We saw him 3 or 4 times up close, and on the same day as we had seen Drizella (and D was wearing the tiara), we saw Stitch and D was giving him a bear hug. He noticed her crown and started *eating it*. XD I wish I’d caught a picture but unfortunately I missed it!
If I could be any character at WDW it would be Lady Tremaine, but only because I’m too old to be a Step. They seem to have the most fun out of everyone. The way those girls shriek and stomp their feet!!!! When they scream “Mother!” in a horrible spoiled brat voice and Lady Tremaine answers in a voice dripping with sweetness, “Yes, my angel”…. That kills me!
Having had a magical moment of my own once with Stitch, I can imagine how cute he must have been with your daughter! I hate that you didn’t get a pic, but the memory is pretty special!
I have a few pics of that M&G, but none of that moment. 🙁 but the pics we do have are great! There’s one where they’re facing each other, holding both hands, and he’s looking down at her while she talks (which she does A LOT)… it’s super sweet.
We also had THE BEST meeting with Tiana and Naveen. They were just amazing. Jasmine and Aladdin were pretty great too, but Tiana and Naveen just entranced her. The face characters, I think, are best for little kids who aren’t self-conscious, or older kids/adults who can play along. The fur characters are better for the ones who just want a hug and a picture, which is how my daughter is now… she got a little shy in 2 1/2 years between trips. 😉
I agree- the fur characters don’t talk (Talking Mickey excluded) and knowing they’re not going to ask anything or expect conversational interaction makes meeting them a better experience for shy children – that’s why our Megan loved them so much.
Every time we try to get our pictures with them they are about to head in.
We have high hopes for some great photo ops at 1900 Park Fare….we’ll see.
What a great story! And I know just what you mean. Two quick examples:
1. At our most recent visit to Chef Mickey’s, our boys were 13, 12, and almost 10. The characters were totally goofing around with them – especially Donald, who came up behind the seated boys and placed his beak on one boy’s head, his elbow on another, and his hand on the third. We said to the boys, “do your Sheldon smiles!” (If you’ve seen The Big Bang Theory, you know that Sheldon Cooper’s attempt at smiling can be rather, um, creepy. But funny, too!) They obliged, and this made for a great picture!
2. My 13-year-old met the love of his life at Ariel’s Grotto. It was totally unexpected, but he walked out of that meet-and-greet smitten. He went back over and over during that trip, enough times that I was able to make an entire Ariel’s Grotto Photopass book for him for his birthday. We’re all still giggling over his crush – himself included!
So, yup, I get it!
Hi Heather! I love Chef Mickey’s characters so much. The Ariel crush story is adorable!!!! Every time you mention your boys I always think to myself “man, the groceries!” LOL!
It’s funny you say that, because my husband happens to be an advertising photographer who specializes in food. His main client is a grocery store chain, and he often brings food home from shoots. It helps!