Why do people like meet and greets?

longsaber

Active Member
Original Poster
Do you guys frequent meet and greets? What is the appeal to wait in such long lines to get a photo with a character?

Just noticed they have gotten much more popular over the years and I don't understand why.
 

Scrump520

Member
I definitely understand it, I like it, and it's really fun. But we won't wait for more than 20 min. I love Anna and Elsa but can't justify waiting on line for three hours to meet them. Think of all the things you can do in three hours. Though, we do get to meet a lot of characters that don't have extreme wait times. It's all about timing.
 

Soarin2u

Well-Known Member
Little girls enjoy it, and is one major reason to go to Disney. To give your child to the opportunity to meet their favorite princess. I get it, but does it interest me? No. I loved Mary Poppins when I was really young, it is still one of my fondest memories meeting her. I would give my own time to do the same for my own child.
Now, do we need a meet and greet every corner? NO. Do I care for them being older? Double NO. Do I understand their popularity and enjoy the people they take away from ride lines? YES!
 
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Tinkerbell 8

Well-Known Member
I'm 25 and I still enjoy the M&G's and character meals. I don't wait longer than 15-20 minutes and I will be (hopefully) getting a gas pass for the Elsa and Anna M&G when I go in November. I love getting my pictures taken with them and just the whole experience, it's part of the magic.
 

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
One of the only two that my kids have ever been interested in was the Character Spot and my daughter wanted to see Mulan in EPCOT. The Mulan one was the first and last single person M&G we ever did. We waited forever in line and when we were the next up the CM told us that Mulan had to go for now and we could come back later. ?!?!?! No. Never again. Now we only do the Character Spot with FP's.
 

Susan Savia

Well-Known Member
The only character I'm interested to meet is Mickey, but we've met him so many times over the years that we don't even do that any more. Much rather be riding something or or seeing a show then wait in a long line to meet a character.
 

bq69

New Member
Do you guys frequent meet and greets? What is the appeal to wait in such long lines to get a photo with a character?

Just noticed they have gotten much more popular over the years and I don't understand why.

I don't understand the attraction of waiting in line for a character, maybe a real person that I admire but not a character.

It is obvious that you don't have children. To see the smile on my daughter's face when she meets her favorite princess is priceless. The same with my son meeting his favorite Cars character. To adults it may seem dumb, but to children it means the world to them. I would do anything to put a smile on my children's face. Even my wife loves Tiger and Pooh Bear. Does that mean we have to get our picture taken with every known Disney character. No. It is all part of the Disney experience. I will agree with you that my wife and I will not wait more than 20 minutes. Hence that is why we do the character meals.

Stop being a scrooge and let those who enjoy the meet and greets enjoy them without questioning their motives.

PS . We got FP+ for Elsa and Anna. My daughter loves the the movie Frozen.
 

NeedMoreMickey

Well-Known Member
It is obvious that you don't have children. To see the smile on my daughter's face when she meets her favorite princess is priceless. The same with my son meeting his favorite Cars character. To adults it may seem dumb, but to children it means the world to them. I would do anything to put a smile on my children's face. Even my wife loves Tiger and Pooh Bear. Does that mean we have to get our picture taken with every known Disney character. No. It is all part of the Disney experience. I will agree with you that my wife and I will not wait more than 20 minutes. Hence that is why we do the character meals.

Stop being a scrooge and let those who enjoy the meet and greets enjoy them without questioning their motives.

PS . We got FP+ for Elsa and Anna. My daughter loves the the movie Frozen.

I’m not judging people who like the meet & greets. I enjoy character meals so I’m not anti-character just anti-waiting to meet them. I also don’t understand people getting a spot on the curb 2-3 hours before a parade or around the lake for fireworks. I won’t wait 120-180 minutes for a ride.

On the other hand I’m sure I enjoy things in WDW that some other people think is a waste of time and I’m ok with that. Love spending time with my nieces and nephews in the parks but none of them seemed to be interested in the characters, they rather be pin trading or talking to cast members in WS about their home countries. See told you we are different. I only answered the question.
 

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
As an adult, I enjoy the novelty of a photo with a character, and I appreciate the work done by these performers (I was a Theatre major for part of my college career). However, I feel like sometimes the lines could be managed better. Some M&G lines we've been through, I felt the CM's "wasted" a bit to much time on DH and I. There could be a better management of CM's taking the time with children and having those unique experiences, but having photo ops with adults be a bit more truncated, since most adults don't really believe they are talking to Peter Pan or Cinderella. We've even done some character dinners, and while I wouldn't want to do them for every meal, they can be a novel part of a WDW trip.

That said, we've had some magical experiences with character CM's as adults. DH is a sign language interpreter, and when we did the Tiana M&G, he got to teach Tiana & Naveen the sign for frog, which they seemed excited to use in the future. Another time we did the Peter Pan M&G and Peter asked us if we were pirates. I joked that I only pirated music, and he started singing. When we walked by the M&G a few hours later he shouted "There are the pirates again" which we thought was hilarious. I also have some great pictures of Rafiki trying to arm wrestle DH.

Finally, I echo the sentiment of not waiting in line to do it. If we are near a M&G with a short line, we'll hop in for the photo op, but I'm not interested in hauling tail across the park to stand in line for an hour to take a picture.
 

Jason21783

Well-Known Member
My wife and I always considered it "collecting" characters, getting photos with new characters or classic characters in different outfits. When you've been to WDW so many times, it adds a certain "hunting or collecting" aspect to the trip. Spotting a a rare character out of the corner of your eye is like finding a valuable treasure at a flea market.

We don't really talk or interact with the characters, as we just get the photo and add it to the collection. And we don't do face characters either, as I feel creepy getting a photos with college interns in elaborate dresses. But if I don't see your face, you're B'rer Bear to me. Though, chatting with the talking Mickey is a cool experience, as the technology is so amazing.
 

Launchpad McQuack

Well-Known Member
Like others have said, I enjoy it, but wouldn't wait in line forever for it. During our trip next month, we have two character meals (Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace). It will be my wife, her parents, and me, no kids. I think meeting the characters at meals is great because you get to sit, eat and hang out while waiting for them to come to your table, so it's not like waiting in a line for an hour. We are also planning on doing the Disney Visa M&G they have in Epcot, which shouldn't take too long, I would think. Outside of that, it will all depend on wait time, which character it is, and what else we want to do at that time.
 

thomas998

Well-Known Member
Do you guys frequent meet and greets? What is the appeal to wait in such long lines to get a photo with a character?

Just noticed they have gotten much more popular over the years and I don't understand why.

I think there are only two people that enjoy them. Kids that don't yet realize that they aren't real and delusional adults that have convinced themselves that they are real. I've actually watched in disbelief as some woman in her 40's carried on a conversation with a character as if the character was real, and not for the benefit of a young kid in tow... she was completely alone (probably a blessing as someone that crazy should never have kids).

The rest of us that are in lines for the evil things are only there for our kids.
 

The Incredible Schmulk

Well-Known Member
Stop being a scrooge and let those who enjoy the meet and greets enjoy them without questioning their motives.

Why are you trying to discourage conversation on a discussion forum? It was an honest question, and it was delivered without malice. I too have often wondered about the motivations for people (with and without children) who like the meet and greet experiences enough to wait in line for long periods of time for the privilege of interacting with their favorite characters. This thread can provide informational discourse. If it goes awry, the mods will handle it.

I'm glad you get to live through your children's joy at seeing their favorite Disney characters live and in person. That's a fantastic thing, and one of the very unique pleasures that makes Disney such a great vacation destination for families. How about letting the rest of us read the anecdotes and opinions of others, as well?
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
I miss the "old" days where the characters would randomly wander about Fantasyland and Main Street. It was one of my favorite parts of WDW as a kid. I would get so exited to see a character that I hadn't seen before.

I have a childhood picture from the early '80s with me grabbing the arm of one of the three little pigs for a picture as he/she was trying to exit the public area. I "needed" that third little pig picture to complete my collection.
 

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