Someone please save Pooh at EPCOT

D

DisneyFanatic12

Well-Known Member
Lilofan said:
Saving money on payroll. No need for character CM assistant that stays with the character on set.
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I know this was likely sarcasm, but they usually have one or two assistants with Pooh. Pooh needs someone to open the gate for him to go use the restroom! Usually just one handler but I have seen him with two during busier times. They also control the guests and answer any questions.
 
Jenny72

Jenny72

Well-Known Member
It is a little funny because it often looks like Pooh doesn't really know what to do out there by himself. He doesn't really interact but sort of wanders around slowly, or....looks up a pole? We enjoyed seeing him but couldn't figure out what he was supposed to be doing.

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AndyS2992

AndyS2992

Well-Known Member
Back in September we got some nice pictures. He was out and there was no one around and he walked up pretty close to the railing and a CM took a picture of us with him.

And yes, he does have a handler, they stand on the path beside the Imagination pavilion and keep watch.
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
This is just getting bizarre now. It had a place during COVID, but why is Pooh just stranded on a hill in 95F full sun and 100ft away from guests. It makes no sense for anyone involved.

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This reminds me of when they started doing this during Covid with the Inside Out characters and someone said it looked like Joy finally had that mental break
 
gerarar

gerarar

Premium Member
Cinderella oftens roams behind the castle in the evenings and at night and interacts with guests, especially the little ones.

There's many clips on Twitter of her watching the fireworks with children, very sweet!

At DHS, they have character sightings in front of the Chinese Theater in the patches of grass there. Often times you'll see Donald and Daisy playing, watering plants, having a picnic, dancing, etc. Stitch is also there sometimes.

There needs to be more of both at all the parks!
 
C

Comped

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
I strongly disagree, due to Disneyland attracting more locals, the characters were able to have extra fun and giving guests more time to interact with them. WDW used to allow this up till the mid to late 1990s.
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I talked to the former exec who was forced to make the choice about this once. Said that travelers, particularly international and lower-income ones, wanted to guarentee they'd be able to see certain characters (the ones you always see, like Mickey and Friends, princesses, and so forth, maybe a movie tie in or two for something recent). Roaming characters, as much as he loved them, prevented that. It was a very unpopular choice with fans, CMs, and others, but greatly popular with the guests where Disney makes most of their money in Orlando (as they do now). People that are not APs, IE the group Disney notes will spend more, albeit far less often that APs or locals, will spend more money if they know they'll be able to see their favorite characters, even if it means a cookie cutter linear experience.

The only character I've lined up to see in the past decade was Baby Groot - because how could I not?
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Comped said:
I talked to the former exec who was forced to make the choice about this once. Said that travelers, particularly international and lower-income ones, wanted to guarentee they'd be able to see certain characters (the ones you always see, like Mickey and Friends, princesses, and so forth, maybe a movie tie in or two for something recent). Roaming characters, as much as he loved them, prevented that.
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Eh… I don’t really buy that. At Disneyland there are places you can “guarantee” to meet certain characters like Mickey & Minnie in Toontown. But there is also a place for free roaming characters. You can have both.

Choosing one vs. the other is $$$ move, not a guest service move.
 
Piebald

Piebald

Well-Known Member
brb1006 said:
Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea follows a similar approach with Disney Characters' interactivity with guests instead of only meeting in a single location.
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Japans culture is so different that whatever they do just wouldn't work here. Over there people form a circle around characters and the character chooses you and interacts then moves on to the next person. Also the performers are so much better there that you actually forget it's a sweaty person and think "wow I'm meeting the 3 little pigs".

Disneyland also works because they get a lot of locals. WDW has too many bloggers and crazy people who would bumrush characters and hurt performers. I still remember the free Halloween event at studios a few years ago lol. At this point they've decided to no longer put our rare or unique characters regularly and instead use it as a selling point for parties or after hours DVC events.
 
SamusAranX

SamusAranX

Well-Known Member
Comped said:
I talked to the former exec who was forced to make the choice about this once. Said that travelers, particularly international and lower-income ones, wanted to guarentee they'd be able to see certain characters (the ones you always see, like Mickey and Friends, princesses, and so forth, maybe a movie tie in or two for something recent). Roaming characters, as much as he loved them, prevented that. It was a very unpopular choice with fans, CMs, and others, but greatly popular with the guests where Disney makes most of their money in Orlando (as they do now). People that are not APs, IE the group Disney notes will spend more, albeit far less often that APs or locals, will spend more money if they know they'll be able to see their favorite characters, even if it means a cookie cutter linear experience.

The only character I've lined up to see in the past decade was Baby Groot - because how could I not?
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I need to know right now where I can find him in the parks
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
TrainsOfDisney said:
I’ve seen more bloggers in a day at Disneyland than I’ve seen my entire life going to WDW.

People need to stop making excuses for Disney being cheap in Florida.
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Exactly. They could easily do what they do in Tokyo and maintain a few structure queue meet and greets like they do in their two parks.

Disney is just too cheap to provide attendants and staffing that way.

They designed the meet and greets now as attractions, such as Fairy Tale Hall where they are able to distribute it and sell it as fastpass and now genie plus.
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Piebald said:
Japans culture is so different that whatever they do just wouldn't work here. Over there people form a circle around characters and the character chooses you and interacts then moves on to the next person. Also the performers are so much better there that you actually forget it's a sweaty person and think "wow I'm meeting the 3 little pigs".
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I used to watch tons of videos from Tokyo Disneyland years back featuring various Disney Characters interacting with guests. While other Disney Parks does an already decent job with the characters, all the characters at Tokyo Disney Resort are extra dedicated where they really feel alive (it's difficult to describe). Especially after seeing various parade videos from previous seasonal and daily daytime and nighttime parades.


Compare this to Shanghai Disney Resort as seen in the "Fantasy Faire" show located in Fantasyland where there's something a bit off with the Disney Characters at that resort.
 

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