Abundance of characters out

[awilliams4]

How is it stale? Some of these characters have been around for ages and are what people look for in their Disney experiences. Is it stale because you get to go to the parks often and aren't happy that something isn't charged for you every week. Some things are going to remain consistent...a guest today and a guest in 10 years are going to want to see daisy, Pluto, buzz, etc. Not everyone out there is as lucky and you or I and get to the parks often enough where something like this is perceived as stale. There is a difference between being critical (which is great and should happen) and just being negative and pessimistic.

Agreed. But there is always at least one hater per thread on these forums.

 

[WDWYankee15]

While the characters listed above should alll be there daily in their specified places, I'm a firm believer that there should be one area in each park where the characters are random from day to day. Bring back Robin Hood, Chicken Little, Russell, etc., etc. from time to time. Make it a little bit more exciting for season passholders, etc. with very limited expense.

Really the only expense would be a couple of costumed castmembers and their handlers, but would add a lot to the experience. The costumes are in mothballs, so they're available to bring out at any time. The crazy crowds at Pixar Weekend last year should ell them that there's a huge demand to see characters thatbaren't in circulation any more.

My kid's love meet and greets. I totally agree with the above. I think the best thing Disney has going in this regard is at DHS Animation Building late in the day where "Surprise Characters" show up. Last year we meet the penguins from Mary Poppins, Jafar, and Geppetto. These are characters you don't see everyday. I would love to see Disney do something (maybe in Pete's Silly Side Show or when that opens and makes room for some characters to move there use their vacated space) to have a place for random character appearances.

I would love my kids to meet more (different) characters. I think it is a no brainers for Disney to do this:shrug:

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Agrred...There should be a standard location/schedule to see youre favorite Classic characters..but it would also be nice to have one location set up for "mystery guests" whether it bee Robin Hood....or Cruella..or hold your brath..the cast of the Black Cauldren..or any other Disney Movie..

As cool as it might be, I'm not sure you could get 1 person in 1,000 to even recognize the cast of the Black Cauldron...

 

[Vader2112]

This change is all due to Mickey's Birthdayland/Starland/Toontown Fair being replaced with the Fantasyland expansion. That is where they used to meet & greet.

The Daisey and Pluto meet and greet started long before FLE.
As someone who is fortunate to go to WDW frequently I stop myself and remember for several of the people visting it is the first time emerging through the tunnel and seeing Main Street, the Castle and may be there once in a lifetime visit. I get so tired of APs or locals who feel a sense of entitlement when they go to the parks.

 

[dan74]

I haven't been to WDW in 8 years and taking my 5 year old daughter in June, and I hope this is the characters in attendance! I understand the stale aspect but these are Disney staples, as such this is how it should be.

As cool as it might be, I'm not sure you could get 1 person in 1,000 to even recognize the cast of the Black Cauldron...

I would love to see Black Cauldron repped, but doubtful. The Disney moves I came up with rarely see much love in the parks, BC, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, Fox and Hound, etc. Kind of like 1972-1989 never really happened for Disney. We made The Aristocats then our next movie was Little Mermaid.

Pretty stoked for the new Black Hole, if made.

 

[WDWYankee15]

The Daisey and Pluto meet and greet started long before FLE.
As someone who is fortunate to go to WDW frequently I stop myself and remember for several of the people visting it is the first time emerging through the tunnel and seeing Main Street, the Castle and may be there once in a lifetime visit. I get so tired of APs or locals who feel a sense of entitlement when they go to the parks.

AMEN!

Also, in that vain that is why I agree that you need the "Classic" characters, princesses, etc to be available in planned scheduled meet and greets. Even if you are lucky enough to go often I think you realize this is "Disney" to most people. Mickey Mouse is "Disney." However, I think adding "random character appearances in a set location at times would add intrigue and fun. It would also expose fans to other characters. They don't have to be characters from movies most won't remember, but everyone knows lots of characters that they never get to meet. There are lots of characters that are popular at special events. All the villians (as someone said, those meeting often make for great photo ops), PIXAR characters, some of the secondary characters from major movies (like the 7 dwarfs, Louis from Princess and the Frog, Beauty and the Beast Castle friends, Genie, Abu). Characters that have been brought back in popularity thanks to appearances in Disney Junior's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Pete, Claribel Cow, Ludwig VonDrake).

Often a lot of these characters are seen in the parades, so they are around and you can at least see them, but why not allow the opporunity to meet them?

My family loves the classics and we try to meet all the characters everytime we visit (usually once every 1-2 years), but we really look forward to meeting someone we have never met before. It is a real thrill for the family. Disney always talks about "magical moments." What is more magical than some mystery and intrigue in who will show up today? Who will be there when we go for the "Mystery Meet and Greet" this hour?

Who is it going to be :shrug:

 

[WDWYankee15]

My kid's love meet and greets. I totally agree with the above. I think the best thing Disney has going in this regard is at DHS Animation Building late in the day where "Surprise Characters" show up. Last year we meet the penguins from Mary Poppins, Jafar, and Geppetto. These are characters you don't see everyday. I would love to see Disney do something (maybe in Pete's Silly Side Show or when that opens and makes room for some characters to move there use their vacated space) to have a place for random character appearances.

I would love my kids to meet more (different) characters. I think it is a no brainers for Disney to do this:shrug:

Anybody on here with inside knowledge know if an idea like this has ever been considered?

 

[disneyeater]

All I know is that when I win the lotto and throw a party at WDW, I want all the characters from Duck Tales to be there. I will get a picture with Launchpad one of these days.

 

[Vader2112]

All I know is that when I win the lotto and throw a party at WDW, I want all the characters from Duck Tales to be there. I will get a picture with Launchpad one of these days.

Sweet.. Please invite me when you do! LOL:wave:

 

[luvmydisneyrt]

I was just at DisneyWorld for 6 days and I couldn't help but notice the abundance of characters around for meet-n-greet in the parks. For example, on Tue., 5/15, I remember right as we entered Main Street, there was Pluto and Daisy Duck in Town Hall, not to mention Mickey and Minnie in the Exposition Hall next to Tony's, as well as the princesses there. We then walked over to get a fast pass for Splash Mountain and Woody and Jessie were right next to that attraction. We then diverted over to Tomorrowland before riding Splash Mountain, and we saw Buzz Lightyear and Chip and Dale there for autographs. While walking back to Splash Mountain we walked past the old Adventureland Veranda where Tinkerbell and the Fairies were available for meet-n-greet. Has there been a new policy implemented to meet a demand for meeting characters because I can never remember there being so many around the parks ..

Yes, all pretty standard.. When I was there this past September they had Cinderellas fairly godmother outside the castle by herself. I never saw that before. So that was pretty cool. But I love seeing any characters. When I was a kid (in the 70s) finding any characters was like a treasure hunt. They were never out like they are now. I used to think only the rich kids got to meet them. :lol: Or the families that had E tickets (that we couldnt afford)

 

[TubaGeek]

You can expect a few changes in lineup on June 3rd.
Also, random meet and greets can still happen, depending on the "resources" of the day and if there's a training class.

 

[WDWYankee15]

You can expect a few changes in lineup on June 3rd.
Also, random meet and greets can still happen, depending on the "resources" of the day and if there's a training class.

What kind of changes on June 3rd?

 

[TubaGeek]

What kind of changes on June 3rd?

The plan is for Goofy to leave Minnie-Mickey at DAK and Baloo and Louie will take his kiosk. I think someone else is going to their old location, but I don't recall who...
I haven't heard about anything else specifically, but there'll be a few other things throughout the parks.

 

[jpittore1]

characters in front of the Castle performance

About 8 years ago, I can remember all of the cast members would come down in the circle in front of the castle AFTER the Castle performances during the day. We would meet several characters and they were my favorite pictures since the castle was in the background. I think they stopped the practice because it made too much traffic in front of the castle.

 

[MichWolv]

Or, if you have to translate this for an MBA, call it "synergy"... but I just call it smart and fun for everyone...

Paul

Be nice to us MBA's. One day I might be the Guy destroying WDW:lookaroun

I'm just happy to see somebody taking a shot at MBAs rather than accountants.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

My kid's love meet and greets. I totally agree with the above. I think the best thing Disney has going in this regard is at DHS Animation Building late in the day where "Surprise Characters" show up. Last year we meet the penguins from Mary Poppins, Jafar, and Geppetto. These are characters you don't see everyday. I would love to see Disney do something (maybe in Pete's Silly Side Show or when that opens and makes room for some characters to move there use their vacated space) to have a place for random character appearances.

I would love my kids to meet more (different) characters. I think it is a no brainers for Disney to do this:shrug:

Unfortunately they are no longer doing the surprise characters at the animation building. They are all stadard there now. Sorcerer Mickey, Pooh and The Incredibles. When we went in November we checked back numerous times on multiple days and there was not a single "different" character in sight so I asked a CM (yes, I know CM's aren't always the best source of info but...) and he said they weren't doing that anymore. Checked again a couple weeks ago and still nothing new.

Personally I love seeing random characters that aren't out all the time. At one point wasn't there a villians room in Toon Town? Or maybe it was a random room? Because I have a picture taken with the Wicked Queen from Snow White and I also have a picture with Peter Pan from the same room. This was circa 1997..

 

[WDWYankee15]

The plan is for Goofy to leave Minnie-Mickey at DAK and Baloo and Louie will take his kiosk. I think someone else is going to their old location, but I don't recall who...
I haven't heard about anything else specifically, but there'll be a few other things throughout the parks.

I cannot imagine that happening. Disney has been pretty careful that the characters going into Camp MM are appropriate to the forest (Thumper, Chip, Dale, Miss Bunny, etc) as opposed to the jungle (Baloo, King Louie). I don't see them doing that crossover, especially not in that specific place.

Also, I have not found anything to suggest any character changes in June and that is not the one of the two typical times of year for character changes.

If this was true someone else should be able to confirm and expand on the details.

 

[puntagordabob]

You know who I would like to see someday (heck I dont even know if they ever did it even back in the 70s....my memory is failing me with this one lol) would be

PONGO! Perdita! Lucky! Lady! Tramp! Davy Crocket!

Them types of Meet and Greets would be awesome!

 

[WDsMouse]

Unfortunately they are no longer doing the surprise characters at the animation building. They are all stadard there now. Sorcerer Mickey, Pooh and The Incredibles. When we went in November we checked back numerous times on multiple days and there was not a single "different" character in sight so I asked a CM (yes, I know CM's aren't always the best source of info but...) and he said they weren't doing that anymore. Checked again a couple weeks ago and still nothing new.

Personally I love seeing random characters that aren't out all the time. At one point wasn't there a villians room in Toon Town? Or maybe it was a random room? Because I have a picture taken with the Wicked Queen from Snow White and I also have a picture with Peter Pan from the same room. This was circa 1997..

As far as I know, they were only doing the "random" characters in the animation building back when they weren't doing Fantasmic every night. On non-Fantasmic nights, the performers normally in the show would do the random M&Gs. I saw so many cool ones there - Mary Poppins & penguins, Jafar, Jasmine, Mulan, Pinocchio & Gepetto, the Tweedles, Alice, and a lot of the standard characters too, usually with no waits (b/c no one knew about them!)...

I also remember the "random" room in ToonTown several years ago. I really liked that surprise factor and wish they would bring it back.

 

[Flip83]

I am one of those annual passholders, but I hope I'm not being whiney in my post :animwink:

I would LOVE to see a few random characters every now and then. I have no problem with the line up the way it is because I know it's important for the occasional visitor to see the characters they love, know and expect to be there, but I wouldn't mind a few random characters every once in a while. At this point, you can only see the rare ones during character training (usually in Epcot every 2-3 months, but unannounced) or at parties (and I usually don't pay for those tickets since the annual passes are quite a lot as it is). I missed Pixar weekend last year, but would love more events like those. I would definitely attend.

No, you weren't lol. Trust me, the character thing is something I do believe in. Some people go overboard, but some have very valid points. Even with cutbacks of staff, there is no good reason why they can't swap out characters throughout the day. When hearing people complain about FLE before its even finished just baffles me. Look at the reaction the little area of Circusland got when it opened up. So many said how amazing it looked. Disney is great with paying attention to detail, FLE expansion will be awesome. People need to let it finish first lol. I'm not the biggest Avatar guy, but an Avatarland? I think that sounds awesome. WDI and James Cameron working together? C'mon, that will be a great new land.

Anyway, going back to characters, hell they could even just bring a lot of movie characters out in the morning. In MK, up front, where you typically see Pluto, Daisy, chip and dale n whoever.....why cant you swap out throughout the day? Those characters go rest and then you bring out 4-6 other characters? The areas that are staged MnG areas, that are themed for those characters, i understand. Kids LOVE seeing Baloo and King Louie. Why cant you put them in adventureland a few times a day? Brer rabbit, bear and fox are so barely out. Why arent they out a few times everyday near splash mountain? I saw Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit in AK about 2 years ago, i felt like a child. We ran up to them and got pictures because its so rare lol. It shouldnt be so rare these characters are out. Little things like this could be done and keep everyone happy.