One of the things I always liked at Disney World is the charaters. I don't make a big effort to see characters, but I enjoy a sit down meal with them and if I see a short line for one I'll jump on and get my picture. That might make me a Disney geek. Aside from that I always like to see how kids react, and was curious how Alex as a 4 year old would react to them. I was disappointed...
On our Hollywood Studios day we had lunch at Hollywood and Vine with charcters for Little Einsteins, a good meal and experience for those in the 2-5 year old range. However, Alex didn't seem impressed. If he was younger I would have thought that he didn't get it. Matty at 9 months seemed baffled by these funny looking people with the big heads. Alex didn't want to dance with them or get pictures with them or talk to them. He actually refused to go into some of the pictures. Meanwhile other kids in the restaurant around the same age were running up the characters excited to see them. 
Later on we went to Block Party Bash and had the same experience. He watched the parade, didn't seem to dislike it, but just kinda stared as Mr. Potato Head danced in front of him. And when he got pulled up to dance, he just stood there. I have seen the kid dance at parties, so I know it wasn't that. After that day we didn't bother with any other character meals. I have a couple theories on why he wasn't into them. First, he doesn't like his picture taken and when characters show up, cameras come out. The other thing is that he has a very vivid imagination (don't all kids) and sees a lot of real and fake animals and dinosaurs and the like. I wonder if he knew they weren't real and wasn't sure why they were there or what to do with them.
