My son had quite the (quiet) convo with me while in line for Mickey as he noticed the zipper, then when it was his turn he RAN and hugged MM.
This is a really good way to explain it!!When I'm not sure how much a child knows or is ready for "What do you think?" is what I start with. If your child is definite that it's someone wearing a costume ask him or her if he or she enjoys wearing a costume for Halloween. If they say yes tell them that the cast member loves bringing joy and magic to visitors by wearing a costume and pretending to be _____. After all, it's fun to pretend to be someone else.
Agreed. Just because you're being honest doesn't mean you can't still have fun getting into the fantasy of the story.When mine were little(3) he asked the same,b/c he's an intelligent logical person. I told him that his instincts were correct, but it's really fun to pretend the cartoons are real while there,and he agreed.The stories are a blast,and living in your imagination is what kids do best anyway- We still had fun hugging Mickey when we saw 'him'.... it never stopped all the fun we had over the yearsI don't have children yet, but as someone whose parents would tell them it was the real Mickey and Minnie I would say be honest about it. I appreciate honesty over fantasy. Tell her it's a story, because it is. Doesn't mean it can't still be fun though. Just my two cents
She might be an in in-between stage. Mine pointed out the zipper (or something like that) on a character costume, goes on about which "voice actress" she enjoys most from the movies/shows, and then was awestruck when she met Sofia the first.