Helpful hints for character greetings

[beckyj3266]

We are taking our DD2 & DD4 to WDW in the middle of January. We have booked character dinings at Crystal Palace, Askerhaus, Hollywood & Vine, and Chef Mickey's. This way I don't feel like we are wasting valuable time waiting in line to see characters because we would have to take time to eat anyway (I am such a multi-tasker). Are there any other tips or things I should keep in mind regarding character greetings? For example, what time of day and/or which location is best? The parks have shorter hours in January so we want to be sure we use our time wisely. Thanks for your help!

 

[NikiMouse]

If you are able to squeeze one more meal in, I would highly recommend the dinner at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. It is a buffet that features Cinderella, Prince Charming as well as the step mother and step sisters.

We have 2 boys and they enjoyed it. I am sure your girls would.

Niki

 

[NikiMouse]

Oh and the only meal with Daisy is the breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. Only other place I have seen her recently is out in front of Spaceship Earth at Epcot so if you dont do the breakfast, be sure to get a times guide and catch her at the entrance to Epcot.

Niki

 

[SerenityinPA]

Wow Im a multi tasker too, and I never thought to do that!! Good idea!!

*The only place we saw Daisy was by chance, first thing in the morning as soon as you walk into MK. In that center hub right before Main Street. She's a rare one!!

 

[NikiMouse]

And... I believe you can still see Mary poppins, Alice and the mad hatter at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at the GF.

We always do the character meals instead of the somewhat impossible searches for certain characters.

I hope yall have a great trip!!

 

[BigRedDad]

Characters are out and about every where. You can always ask a CM and they can give you the info. In many cases, the wait for characters is never too long.

Tips:
1. With a 2yo, be careful not to frighten her. She may not want anything to do with them or just love them. If you frighten her, characters will be done for the entire trip.

2. Belle and the Beast in France can be done quickly. If you ask a CM when they will be out, you can take a 10 minute rest. When they come out, you will be first.

3. There are a lot of "hidden" places in AK to see other characters like Terk, Flik, Baloo, King Louis, etc. Those lines are short many times.

4. Akershus is great for Princesses. They are so welcoming and inviting. Just a word of playful caution, if Mary Poppins is there, she will teach proper form: no standing on the chair, no elbows on the table, stand straight, sit up. She was so good when we were there. My DD thought she got in trouble. Mary Poppins explained how a Lady should behave.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We also agree that character meals greatly help with time. So, the first focus is to make sure the character meals you have booked cover their top characters at least once. Then try and figure out the characters they want to meet that you can only see at meet and greets in the parks. There's a link floating around on here somewhere with a list of the characters you can meet at each park as well as the locations and times you can meet them.

My kids were content to skip Tigger and Pooh m&g b/c they saw them at Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Fare; however, there were quite a few they asked for - and we agreed if the lines weren't awful. I think that's the key with in park meetings- not waiting excessive amount of time. The other key, if you're on the way to a ride and see some good characters that the kids want to meet, ask the kids if you can to wait until when you're done riding whatever attraction to see if they're still there. In most cases, our kids were good with this. The girls asked for characters like Rapunzel, Peter Pan, Lady Tremaine and the step sisters, Tiana, and the Fairy Godmother - and the lines were just nuts or the timing was bad. On the other hand, timing worked well for seeing characters like Stitch, Pinocchio, the White Rabbit, etc.

 

[mjmyers10]

When the park first opens, everybody is so set on getting to the attractions, they just run past the characters. This especially happens at DHS. Have Dad go to straight to Toy Story Mania for Fastpasses while Mom and the kids hang out by the Hat and meet all the characters.

 

[SerenityinPA]

We did this as my DD3 was too short for most of the rides. Myself & DD3 stood in line to meet Jesse & Woody while DH went on Splash Mt. When he was done & we meet the crew we switched. I then went on Splash Mt. and he took her to see Arial, who was at the Adventureland Pav.
Another time was in Fantasyland. Myself & DD3 stood in line for Peter Pan while DH stood in line for Lady Tremaine & Step sisters. We finished with Peter, then didnt have to wait as long for LT & Step sisters. Although this worked to see them, we missed out on Fairy Godmother. Oh well...

 

[rob0519]

The Character Meals are a great way to meet and get photographs and autographs.

Chef Mickey's has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. It is our son's favorite place.

The breakfast at Park Faire (Grand Floridian) has Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Winnie and Tigger.

The dinner at Crystal Palace has Winnie, Tigger, Piglette, and Eyore.

The waitstaff will tell you the route characters take through the dining rooms, so you can plan your trips to the buffet line to not miss the characters. On average it can take up to 90 minutes for all the characters to make their way around.

Have fun.

 

[CaptainShortty]

Here's some tips that might help you.

1. Don't be alarmed if your child (especially the 2 yr. old) is scared to death of the characters. A lot of children are. Before your trip explain to them that the characters are much bigger than on TV. (Mickey is around 5ft tall, Goofy is close to or over 7ft.)

2. The best place to meet the Fab 5 is the Character Spot in Epcot. You can meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy with the smallest wait time IMO.

3. The best spot to meet other characters is in the Animation Building in Hollywood Studios. Check a Times Guide to see who's going to be there and when as it rotates daily.

4. If you're looking for a specific character and want to know what times he/she will be out, ask a CM. They'll be able to help you or can direct you to a CM that will tell you if/when they're going to be out.

5. If your child seems to be getting overlooked by a character it's probably because they can't see them. The visibility is very low in the costumes so try lifting your child up to where their mouth is.

6. If a character attendant says a character is going to be back in 5 min., they mean it so just hang out and wait. Respect that the characters need a break. (Not that I'm saying you wouldn't by any means...just throwing that in there as a CM who has some friends that are "Friends" who often get unnecessarily harassed by guests.)

7. The parades are great to see a lot of the characters if either child winds up being afraid of them. When I took my cousin (1.5) he was terrified of the meet and greets but alternated between being fascinated and frightened of them during the parades. He still seemed to enjoy it either way.

Hope that helps!!

 

[fbp]

I agree that the Character Spot at EPCOT is a good 'time-saving' way to meet the fab five. The background isn't the best, but who is really looking at the background when perusing character pictures anyway.

On our last trip, my partner and I were wandering around Future World plaza deciding where to go next. It was fairly soon after park opening. We noticed Mickey walking towards us (who wouldn't!). He waved at us and motioned us to the Character Spot entrance. It was great. A personal Mickey invitation! I didn't even really know about the Character Spot before this. I'm sure it happens whenever their isn't a lineup for the attraction, but it was still pretty sweet. I was happy