I have family in florida and went a lot as a kid and have taken my kids 2/3 times (some were babies/not born on trips) and we'll def go again.
I guess I think the trick is...
1) a long stint at disney is too much, its much better to go for a week and do park/pool/park/pool/park then to do park the whole time
2) a lot of people go with sky high hopes having saved a lot to go and you really have to go in with that 'money isn't real' mentality, at least to an extent, or you will be stressed the whole time so its important to not go in thinking all the expense was in getting in
3) you have to take the time to learn how to maximize. disney genie, meal reservations in advance, all that. it sucks but it is in fact the difference in moving quickly from event to event and waiting in awful lines in perpetuity
4) you have to be willing to call it a day earlier than expected if the kids are tapped. i know a lot of people who were like, WE MUST MAXIMIZE OUR TIME and I get it i fall into that too but if everyone's tapped they are tapped and those last few hours won't be fun
5) its far more worthwhile to figure out how to go during a low week/time, even if the kids miss a little school. high weeks are straight up not worth it IMO. we went three days this last september because of a family wedding and we were just walking onto rides. it was amazing! and that is literally impossible to achieve in july
Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.
I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.
Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.
I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.
I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.
You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.
It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.
Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!
DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.
About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.
This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.
It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.
Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.
I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.
This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.
Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.
Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.
I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.
umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.
No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.
Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.
There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.
there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.
Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.
It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?
Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.
Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”
If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.
If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.
I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!
It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.
You are assuming that the people who don’t want to plan or spend their vacations on their phone maximizing genie plus don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done Disney multiple times and know perfectly well how to do it. I don’t WANT to do it any longer because it has gotten so complicated. I remember how Disney used to be (and frankly, not even that long ago) and think they have gone in a bad direction. Don’t assume that people who prefer Paris haven’t done Disney and haven’t done Disney “right.”
serious question - what’s so hard about genie+?
People have hour long youtube videos about how to maximize genie +.
The hard part is that most ride times are sold out so you're basically scrambling all day to make any popular ride happen for your family.
It's also not intuitive or easy to use.
If you can figure out Uber or any other basic app it's pretty easy. Find ride from list, click time and people, done. If you are a Luddite, then it's probably going to be beyond your grasp.
Not analogous. The best rides get taken up quickly, and there’s a delay in releasing all of them, so if you don’t get them right when you log on in the morning, you might need to wait 15 minutes to a new batch to be released etc. Uber is nothing like that.
For me this underscores the point that you are always in your phone. Don’t get it at 7 try again in 15 minutes and so on till you do. So that while trying to get ready for the day and eat breakfast with two kids. No thanks.
That's not how it actually works. This is just for the Individual LL of which there are only 1-2 per park and don't sell out as fast. The vast majority you just book your first at 7 and then you can't book again until 11 (2 hours after the park opens, if at 9am) or until after you use the LL, whichever is first. You can try to modify it but a lot of people are good with what they got and go about their day. So you don't need to check it every 15 minutes after 7.
Shhhhhh…don’t let people know how easy it is. Let them think it’s backbreaking work so they stay away!
You all act like we haven’t used the system. We did. We didnt like it. And some of us are comparing it to easier systems Disney used in the past.
If you are a huge Disney fan, then start your own thread about how great it is. This one is for people that had negative experiences.
If you've been going for decades seems like you're the big Disney fan.
DP but we went once when I was a kid, once for my kids, then I have to go for work. They literally have to pay me to go there.
But you look like everyone else when you're there. You will still be taken for one of "those" people. Nobody really knows or cares why you're there.
Nope. I am not bedecked in Disney apparel. I am not oohing and aahing over grown people in costumes. I am generally wearing a suit.
I would never be mistaken for a Disney Adult because I don’t make a spectacle of myself in public.
Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.
I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.
Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.
I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.
I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.
You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.
It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.
Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!
DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.
About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.
This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.
It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.
Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.
I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.
This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.
Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.
Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.
I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.
umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.
No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.
Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.
There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.
there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.
Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.
It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?
Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.
Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”
If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.
If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.
I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!
It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.
You are assuming that the people who don’t want to plan or spend their vacations on their phone maximizing genie plus don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done Disney multiple times and know perfectly well how to do it. I don’t WANT to do it any longer because it has gotten so complicated. I remember how Disney used to be (and frankly, not even that long ago) and think they have gone in a bad direction. Don’t assume that people who prefer Paris haven’t done Disney and haven’t done Disney “right.”
serious question - what’s so hard about genie+?
People have hour long youtube videos about how to maximize genie +.
The hard part is that most ride times are sold out so you're basically scrambling all day to make any popular ride happen for your family.
It's also not intuitive or easy to use.
If you can figure out Uber or any other basic app it's pretty easy. Find ride from list, click time and people, done. If you are a Luddite, then it's probably going to be beyond your grasp.
Not analogous. The best rides get taken up quickly, and there’s a delay in releasing all of them, so if you don’t get them right when you log on in the morning, you might need to wait 15 minutes to a new batch to be released etc. Uber is nothing like that.
For me this underscores the point that you are always in your phone. Don’t get it at 7 try again in 15 minutes and so on till you do. So that while trying to get ready for the day and eat breakfast with two kids. No thanks.
That's not how it actually works. This is just for the Individual LL of which there are only 1-2 per park and don't sell out as fast. The vast majority you just book your first at 7 and then you can't book again until 11 (2 hours after the park opens, if at 9am) or until after you use the LL, whichever is first. You can try to modify it but a lot of people are good with what they got and go about their day. So you don't need to check it every 15 minutes after 7.
Shhhhhh…don’t let people know how easy it is. Let them think it’s backbreaking work so they stay away!
You all act like we haven’t used the system. We did. We didnt like it. And some of us are comparing it to easier systems Disney used in the past.
If you are a huge Disney fan, then start your own thread about how great it is. This one is for people that had negative experiences.
If you've been going for decades seems like you're the big Disney fan.
DP but we went once when I was a kid, once for my kids, then I have to go for work. They literally have to pay me to go there.
But you look like everyone else when you're there. You will still be taken for one of "those" people. Nobody really knows or cares why you're there.
Nope. I am not bedecked in Disney apparel. I am not oohing and aahing over grown people in costumes. I am generally wearing a suit.
I would never be mistaken for a Disney Adult because I don’t make a spectacle of myself in public.
I mean, it's not my thing, but it seems like a fairly harmless interest for people to have. Also, it's pretty common for Disney to be an autistic hyper-fixation. Why do you hate them? Your level of negativity about this harmless phenomena seems sad and unhealthy.
Anonymous wrote:Most kids don’t like standing in long lines and navigating crowds. The rides are mediocre and most geared towards very young kids. The food is terrible. There’s nothing relaxing about waking up early to rush to rope drop and go go go all day long. Exhausting.
Having said that, my kids enjoyed it. But they much prefer the Disney cruise which is much more fun without dealing with lines.
This. I think DCL is getting to be more what Disneyland/world was in our childhood.
Our only trip was to Disneyland many years ago. After one day of long lines and bad food we spent the second day at Knott’s Berry farm and we had a blast. Short or no lines so it was heaven.
It was just negative for 30 minutes but we couldn't find where we parked our car! but, that can be solve easily by taking a picture of the nearest sign.
Anonymous wrote:I’m just not interested in competing against SAHMs who have time to learn all the hacks and systems. I’m busy, so it sounds like way too much work.
I work full time and know most of the good hacks - it’s really not that hard. It’s just like planning a regular vacation. Most of the actual “work” is time on the phone getting LL’s when you’re actually there.
Not 100% sure why you tried to make this a SAHM vs. working mom issue.
I don't understand PPs point about working/not working but there are some serious Disney fanatics (of all types) a newbie is up against and it can be very overwhelming for a first time visitor to get up to speed which sucks the fun out of a vacation.
I do. Disney is a perfect for vacation with a SAHM with a lot of time on her hands. A woman who is type A and doesn’t have an outlet for it. I see HS classmates who are SAHMs taking Disney vacations and it’s perfect for them.
You would be shocked at how many childless adults are Disney addicts then. You clearly don't understand the fan base.
It's perfect for anyone who is type A, loves to plan, and has time on their hands to do all that planning - not matter of they have kids or not.
Sounds like a horrible way to vacation!
DP. I don’t think the amount of planning for Disney is really much different from the amount of planning you’d do for any vacation where there are a lot of different activities and you have to choose between them and maybe know in advance which you prioritize. The real issue is that there is so much to do in a limited time period so you have to plan, if you have preferences. It’s not like there’s some place just like Disney, but requires less planning. And the Genie+ app actually is quite easy to use.
About the only “trick” you really need is to understand that you need to get right online at 6:59 for those few super popular rides, or plan to “rope drop” them. You can have a perfectly great time even without that. But just like you wouldn’t expect to waltz into the hottest restaurant on your vacation with no reservation, you do have to plan if you want to ride the most popular rides.
This is a terrible analogy. When I go on vacation there are maybe one or two activities I need reservations for and I can get those reservations (or know I haven't gotten them) weeks in advance, and plan around that. I'm not spending my vacation trying to get reservations for the things I want to do.
It’s an active vacation with lots to do. If you don’t like fast paced, action packed, multiple experiences offered such that you can’t possibly do them all, then it’s not for you. My family would be bored sitting on a beach all day with little to do.
Beach vacations can be active. Kayaking, swimming, walking, wander for food, see local history and sights, charter a boat, fishing, live music, parks, different beaches mean different character, shops, sunset, family
Football/frisby/whatever. None of that I have to wait in line for. I can call the day before and make a reservation without worry nothing being available. I don’t have to get to at 7 to do it.
I just don’t get posts like this. If you don’t like Disney, you don’t go. I don’t jump on Antarctica Travel Forums and tell people that there are better ways to spend their time/money, and how horrible the Drake Passage is and who really wants to go to a continent made of ice? Some people dig it. Some people don’t. The only thing I get out of your post is that you somehow need people to know that your way is better. It’s not - it’s just different.
This isn’t a Disney Travel Forum. It's a post on a Travel Forum asking why people don’t like Disney.
Actually OP asked for experiences where people’s kids didn’t like Disney (she herself was a Disney fan). And then we get this screed about how active beach vacations are better. It was pretty pointless.
Akshually what happened is someone claimed that Disney vacations are just like any other vacation because you can’t expect to walk into a popular restaurant without reservations.
I have friends who like Disney and if you like Disney too that’s great, but it’s weird to me to act like the only difference between Disney and other vacations is that there are more things to do on a Disney vacation.
umm that’s exactly one of the main differences between Disney and any other kind of vacation. there are hundreds of things to choose from.
No, there are hundreds of things to choose from to do on a normal vacation. On a Disney vacation, there are hundreds of things to wait in line for.
Right. Because nobody ever waited in line to see the Sistine Chapel or rushed to save a beach chair at 630am anywhere. You can walk into everything with no reservations, tickets, or waiting.
There are very, very few other vacations where every element of the vacation is oversubscribed. Even if you end up waiting at the Sistine Chapel and are then running late, as per your example, you will still be able to sit down for dinner at a nice restaurant in Rome. Every single sit down restaurant doesn't book up 60 days out. And the next day you can do hundreds of things that aren't oversubscribed at all, so it's just one day of crowds. I also don't have to refresh an app hundreds of times per day to schedule each activity or walk a half mile to talk to customer service when something goes wrong.
there are no other vacations where the entire point is to choose from 100s of options within a defined space that you buy a single-entry ticket to. it’s FINE if that is not your thing - but silly to act like maybe there is something just like Disney that is better than Disney. If you’re here to make detailed comparisons between theme parks, that’s more on point. but do not go to Golden Corral and complain it’s not KFC.
Yet you missed the entire point of the thread. OP asked why people don't like Disney. You explaining why we're complete idiots to dislike Disney doesn't address OP's question. It just makes you sound like an ass.
It is you missing the point. The question asked: Can you share any experiences where your kids didn’t like disney and why?
Instead we have people rambling on about what makes Paris so great and how they don't like carnivals or having to use a cellular phone for any reason on vakayshun.
Title is “if YOU had a negative experience.”
If you had a great Disney time, this isn’t the thread for you.
If you have never been to Disney nobody cares about what vacations you prefer. People aren't talking about their neg experiences they are talking about what else they would rather do.
I don’t see any responses here from people who haven’t been to Disney. What are you talking about?!
It’s clear to me some people have no idea what they are talking about.
You are assuming that the people who don’t want to plan or spend their vacations on their phone maximizing genie plus don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done Disney multiple times and know perfectly well how to do it. I don’t WANT to do it any longer because it has gotten so complicated. I remember how Disney used to be (and frankly, not even that long ago) and think they have gone in a bad direction. Don’t assume that people who prefer Paris haven’t done Disney and haven’t done Disney “right.”
serious question - what’s so hard about genie+?
People have hour long youtube videos about how to maximize genie +.
The hard part is that most ride times are sold out so you're basically scrambling all day to make any popular ride happen for your family.
It's also not intuitive or easy to use.
If you can figure out Uber or any other basic app it's pretty easy. Find ride from list, click time and people, done. If you are a Luddite, then it's probably going to be beyond your grasp.
Not analogous. The best rides get taken up quickly, and there’s a delay in releasing all of them, so if you don’t get them right when you log on in the morning, you might need to wait 15 minutes to a new batch to be released etc. Uber is nothing like that.
For me this underscores the point that you are always in your phone. Don’t get it at 7 try again in 15 minutes and so on till you do. So that while trying to get ready for the day and eat breakfast with two kids. No thanks.
That's not how it actually works. This is just for the Individual LL of which there are only 1-2 per park and don't sell out as fast. The vast majority you just book your first at 7 and then you can't book again until 11 (2 hours after the park opens, if at 9am) or until after you use the LL, whichever is first. You can try to modify it but a lot of people are good with what they got and go about their day. So you don't need to check it every 15 minutes after 7.
Shhhhhh…don’t let people know how easy it is. Let them think it’s backbreaking work so they stay away!
You all act like we haven’t used the system. We did. We didnt like it. And some of us are comparing it to easier systems Disney used in the past.
If you are a huge Disney fan, then start your own thread about how great it is. This one is for people that had negative experiences.
If you've been going for decades seems like you're the big Disney fan.
DP but we went once when I was a kid, once for my kids, then I have to go for work. They literally have to pay me to go there.
But you look like everyone else when you're there. You will still be taken for one of "those" people. Nobody really knows or cares why you're there.
Nope. I am not bedecked in Disney apparel. I am not oohing and aahing over grown people in costumes. I am generally wearing a suit.
I would never be mistaken for a Disney Adult because I don’t make a spectacle of myself in public.
You would definitely stand out in 90 degree with 70% humidity in a suit.
Anonymous wrote:I went to Disney as a kid and hated it. And took my kids when they were early elementary school and I hated it.
Huge amount of money to spend waiting in long long lines in gross humidity for underwhelming rides surrounded by weird adults who were excited that there was a Mickey Mouse shape somewhere.
Haha. Good one ("weird adults who were excited that there was a Mickey Mouse shape somewhere). Long lines, expensive as hell; aren't all amusement park rides basically the same if you think about it? In other words, whenever I go to an amusement park, noticing that one ride is the same as another ride from another park, and so forth? If your 3 year old believe the characters are real, that is fine. But if your 6 year old still think they are real, something fishy.