Chasing Down Characters

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hello all. We will be going to the world this May and my daughter will be 3 years old and this will probably be the last time we go when she doesn't know a lot about the meet and greets throughout the park. I was wondering, how bad is it chasing down character meet and greets. I know about the Character spot in EPCOT where you can meet some of the fab 5, but other meet and greets, like Jasmin and Aladdin in Morocco and Alice in England are more what I'm thinking about.

I don't really want to spend our whole trip tracking them down and waiting in line to meet them, but I also know my daughter will love to meet them.
Any tips and tricks or past experiences welcome! Thanks!
 

LuvtheGoof

Grill Master
Premium Member
Well, if your daughter wants to meet the characters, you don't really have a choice but to stand in lines all day. There are published schedules for them at each park, and FP+ for a few of them.

Have her pick a few this trip, and tell her that others will meet in future trips.
 

Thecorsi4

Active Member
Hello all. We will be going to the world this May and my daughter will be 3 years old and this will probably be the last time we go when she doesn't know a lot about the meet and greets throughout the park. I was wondering, how bad is it chasing down character meet and greets. I know about the Character spot in EPCOT where you can meet some of the fab 5, but other meet and greets, like Jasmin and Aladdin in Morocco and Alice in England are more what I'm thinking about.

I don't really want to spend our whole trip tracking them down and waiting in line to meet them, but I also know my daughter will love to meet them.
Any tips and tricks or past experiences welcome! Thanks!
There will be lines for the characters: we were able to meet and get autographs from every princess Disney had to offer but it took us two different trips down to Disney World to make it happen.
 

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
There will be lines for the characters: we were able to meet and get autographs from every princess Disney had to offer but it took us two different trips down to Disney World to make it happen.

Good to know. That definitely sounds realistic. I know we won't meet them all - not in one trip for sure. I think I need to ask her who is most important for her to meet this time. Thanks!
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We typically let each of our kids choose 3 characters they'd most like to meet during a Disney vacation, and then check the hours and locations for those characters and build the meals/M&Gs for those characters into our touring plan. We'll sometimes do additional M&Gs if we have extra time or see a short line, but this way the kids know they'll get to meet their favs, and we know we won't spend all day in lines for them. :)

Keep in mind that character schedules can and do change, sometimes unannounced, so keep checking up to and including the day of your visit in case you need to adjust your plans. (Case in point: when we visited in November, Disney abruptly pulled Dug from the Dug & Russell M&G in Animal Kingdom. We wasted precious time rushing there at rope drop to get in line, only to have both kids in tears when a cast member ambled in and announced that Dug was no longer part of this M&G -- even though the Disney website was still advertising it as including him. Ditto with Stitch, who was supposedly meeting on-and-off all day in front of the MK flagpole, but we never seemed to hit it at the right times and the CMs we asked had no clue as to what his schedule was. It wasn't like these things ruined our day or anything, but make sure to warn your little one ahead of time that nothing is guaranteed -- better yet, don't tell her ahead of time that she'll actually be meeting her favorite characters -- let it be a surprise!)
 

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We typically let each of our kids choose 3 characters they'd most like to meet during a Disney vacation, and then check the hours and locations for those characters and build the meals/M&Gs for those characters into our touring plan. We'll sometimes do additional M&Gs if we have extra time or see a short line, but this way the kids know they'll get to meet their favs, and we know we won't spend all day in lines for them. :)

Keep in mind that character schedules can and do change, sometimes unannounced, so keep checking up to and including the day of your visit in case you need to adjust your plans. (Case in point: when we visited in November, Disney abruptly pulled Dug from the Dug & Russell M&G in Animal Kingdom. We wasted precious time rushing there at rope drop to get in line, only to have both kids in tears when a cast member ambled in and announced that Dug was no longer part of this M&G -- even though the Disney website was still advertising it as including him. Ditto with Stitch, who was supposedly meeting on-and-off all day in front of the MK flagpole, but we never seemed to hit it at the right times and the CMs we asked had no clue as to what his schedule was. It wasn't like these things ruined our day or anything, but make sure to warn your little one ahead of time that nothing is guaranteed -- better yet, don't tell her ahead of time that she'll actually be meeting her favorite characters -- let it be a surprise!)

Awww that's awful. I know how it can be when your expectations are not met, especially when it's on the app/website. I guess we should definitely be prepared for changes and make sure to remind her several times leading up to the trip that plans could change. I'm pretty good about setting my kids up to understand that they might not get exactly what they want or planned for... luckily there will be many things to do in case that were to happen, you know like to get her mind off of it! Gotta love Disney- distractions at its best! Lol
 

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Character Meals! The easiest way to meet (most of them) without waiting in line. Gotta eat anyway :)

I love love love this idea, but we're a family of 6 and it would be sooo expensive to do that. That's definitely an option tho (maybe we can do at least 1 :happy: )
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I love love love this idea, but we're a family of 6 and it would be sooo expensive to do that. That's definitely an option tho (maybe we can do at least 1 :happy: )
Oh yes, that could get crazy. I would definitely pick one. If the 3 year old is a Disney Jr fan Hollywood and Vine is great for breakfast or lunch! They sing and dance, and the kids can join in. If she wants Minnie and Mickey then I would think Minnie's Holiday Dine (dinner) would be great too. I can't speak from experience on this one, tried to get a reservation but was never able to. H&V is a relatively decent price compared to some others. Same with 1900 PF.
With a large party like that definitely check out breakfast options at restaurants, they cost less, and I personally enjoy getting a meal like that out of the way early in the day.
and the only way to meet several characters outside of a special event.
Yep. And even when we were at a "special event" the lines were too long to meet most of the characters.lol
 

DiSnEyF@n

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh yes, that could get crazy. I would definitely pick one. If the 3 year old is a Disney Jr fan Hollywood and Vine is great for breakfast or lunch! They sing and dance, and the kids can join in. If she wants Minnie and Mickey then I would think Minnie's Holiday Dine (dinner) would be great too. I can't speak from experience on this one, tried to get a reservation but was never able to. H&V is a relatively decent price compared to some others. Same with 1900 PF.
With a large party like that definitely check out breakfast options at restaurants, they cost less, and I personally enjoy getting a meal like that out of the way early in the day.

Yep. And even when we were at a "special event" the lines were too long to meet most of the characters.lol

I did not know that breakfast was cheaper than dinner!!!!! I really appreciate that info!
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
I did not know that breakfast was cheaper than dinner!!!!! I really appreciate that info!
You will see the same thing at most if not all of the character meals. If you have a must do character that is only at one of the character meals and you are on a budget, breakfast and sometimes lunch is the best time to go.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I did not know that breakfast was cheaper than dinner!!!!! I really appreciate that info!
Yes! In a lot of cases lunch is less than dinner as well. Plus, like I said, it's so much easier to get them out of the way instead of interrupting your day. In 2015 we did a minimum of 1 per day, and quite a few days had 2 character meals- breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner. It felt like dining completely dictated our days. It was great to meet all of the characters, but we were constantly running. I don't recommend that to anyone with children, and I'll never do it again.
ETA- we did the dining plan on that trip. It made sense bc of all of the character meals.
 
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