News Walt Disney World's Character meet locations to reopen along with more shows and entertainment

[pdude81]

I'm sure it will be a separate ticket to get to meet the characters for this. Or a Genie+ add on.

Nah. Most of the M&G at MK aren't.

It didn't have FP before so it likely won't now. Most of the others are G+ or upcharge though. Town Square, Princess Fairytale Hall, Crystal Palace. Buzz meets regularly in TL without fastpass but the line can be ugly. Country bears wander sometimes, but also they're on the roof sometimes.

 

[mm52200]

It didn't have FP before so it likely won't now. Most of the others are G+ or upcharge though. Town Square, Princess Fairytale Hall, Crystal Palace. Buzz meets regularly in TL without fastpass but the line can be ugly. Country bears wander sometimes, but also they're on the roof sometimes.

Every meet and greet has a standby line. Mickey and Fairttale Hall have lightning lanes like you mentioned. Buzz and the bears are purely sightings still.

 

[pdude81]

Every meet and greet has a standby line. Mickey and Fairttale Hall have lightning lanes like you mentioned. Buzz and the bears are purely sightings still.

Do you know if the grotto is opening back up anytime soon? They have to post someone there full time just to answer questions about why people can't go in.

 

[mattpeto]

It didn't have FP before so it likely won't now. Most of the others are G+ or upcharge though. Town Square, Princess Fairytale Hall, Crystal Palace. Buzz meets regularly in TL without fastpass but the line can be ugly. Country bears wander sometimes, but also they're on the roof sometimes.

There has been one net new M&G LL that was a FP+ since 2020, and it's Olaf at DHS. (From my recollection, Olaf was standby only before Covid).

No reason to think the Circus characters will fall into something different.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

There has been one net new M&G LL that was a FP+ since 2020, and it's Olaf at DHS. (From my recollection, Olaf was standby only before Covid).

No reason to think the Circus characters will fall into something different.

Yes we waited standby in January 2020 for Olaf and that was the only option. It was 45 minutes of torture with my 2 kids

 

[wdrive]

Do you know if the grotto is opening back up anytime soon? They have to post someone there full time just to answer questions about why people can't go in.

No clue as to when/if it’ll reopen but one person there saying it’s closed is significantly fewer people working than if it was open.

 

[Disney Analyst]

 

[dreday3]

Blech.

 

[RememberWhen]

Those take truly terrible photos.

 

[OwlHouseKing97]

Oh my goodness, this is terrible, I thought they were done with these horrid things for budgetary reasons, but nope they decided to cheap in and lose the magic with these boxes that take pictures that aren't as good as the PhotoPass photographers do

 

[wdwmagic]

Oh my goodness, this is terrible, I thought they were done with these horrid things for budgetary reasons, but nope they decided to cheap in and lose the magic with these boxes that take pictures that aren't as good as the PhotoPass photographers do

Besides the loss of photographic quality, the meet and greet also loses another CM that can help create a better character interaction. The guest loses on all counts.

 

[ToTBellHop]

And yet it’s perfectly on theme for Pete to have installed these here…

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Remember when the replacement of live photographers with these machines was one of the biggest controversies of the year? My goodness that seems quaint at this point.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I wonder if the condition of this opening was not needing to staff with Photopass photographers?

 

[drizgirl]

Besides the loss of photographic quality, the meet and greet also loses another CM that can help create a better character interaction. The guest loses on all counts.

Another big loss is that they are now asking you not to use a flash on your own camera in these locations. At least that’s what they told us at Town Square Theater last week.

I carry my DSLR to get the quality pictures I want and was very disappointed to have them tell me no flash, especially given the terrible lighting in these locations.

 

[RememberWhen]

I wonder if the condition of this opening was not needing to staff with Photopass photographers?

It can’t be that. The princesses don’t have photo pass people or boxes. They seemed to be set up for the boxes, but they weren’t doing anything with them back in the summer. Maybe that’s changed. We just used our phones.

 

[mm52200]

I wonder if the condition of this opening was not needing to staff with Photopass photographers?

Nope. Having staffing for the performers was the issue.
All venues similar to this have had the boxes installed, whether operational yet or not has varied.

 

[DCBaker]

"Now in 2023, we’ve heard rumblings that Ariel is coming back to the Magic Kingdom. While not yet confirmed by Disney, we have heard this location is expected to open within a month."

"At the time of this article, Disney still lists Meet Ariel at Her Grotto as temporarily unavailable. There is no listed return date or additional info about the offering, but, we expect to see this change in the coming weeks if the rumors are true."

 

[asianway]

"Now in 2023, we’ve heard rumblings that Ariel is coming back to the Magic Kingdom. While not yet confirmed by Disney, we have heard this location is expected to open within a month."

"At the time of this article, Disney still lists Meet Ariel at Her Grotto as temporarily unavailable. There is no listed return date or additional info about the offering, but, we expect to see this change in the coming weeks if the rumors are true."

Figures, the one location with outside ventilation is the last to open

 

[Comped]

Nope. Having staffing for the performers was the issue.
All venues similar to this have had the boxes installed, whether operational yet or not has varied.

An issue that goes far across just M&Gs, and extends to all forms of entertainment involving characters...