Is meet talking mickey "bad" use of a FP?

[Meeko5]

I know the awesome FP thread by Mesaboy has it listed as low priority, but here's my dilemma:

We're planning Adventureland and Frontierland this day. Originally chose Splash, BTMRR, and HM for FP. Planning on rope drop, so my touring plan has me doing splash and BTMRR early without FP and minimal waits. Jungle cruise is the first stop, so no FP needed for that either. Meeting mickey that day is a must for us, and I've got a midday break scheduled back at the resort so we can rest and be back for the nighttime shows/parade and dinner at BOG at 5:05. TP has it as a crowd level 4 for the day, but it's a 3 party week and a friday, so I am anticipating bigger crowds. Josh has it listed as a 5.

Anyone recommendations? I am thinking do an early meet mickey (10am) , along with HM (11am), then something else early even though TP has me not using it. That way I can hopefully snag some additional FP for the evening when we return.

Thanks!

 

[Pills]

If meeting Mickey is a must, he's the best one in the parks. We've seen him twice - first time, he did a card trick. Second time, he spoke Brazilian Portuguese to the people in front of us. When we were just there, we went on a day where we really had nothing planned, but FP+s were gone. We were actually able to get a FP+ for the Tinkerbell line for me and my little one while waiting for Mickey.

So, if you want a short line to meet Mickey (and that one could get to be 45 minutes + even on a slow day), do it.

 

[HopperFan]

Used it there once and wish we had not - because he didn't talk. What a huge waste of a FP. We have gone multiple times and met via standby and 50/50 results on him talking. If you are happy with him either way then its a value to you.

 

[bochnikm]

It is so worth it to at least do it once. That is what we did, do the big rides at rope drop and met Mickey later in the day

 

[tlmadden73]

There is no bad use of Fast Pass in my opinion.

If it saves you time .. it save you time.
Could you save MORE time by choosing another attraction? Potentially, so just pick what you want early so you can be flexible and grab that 4th fast pass for the afternoon/evening when you get back from break.

Personally I would just do Mickey at rope drop since he is right there at the front of the park on your way in. I would gather the line would be short since everyone is probably going for rides.

Even with a Fast Pass .. trying to get all the way back to Town Square by 10:00 AM will be a pain. It will take longer than you think since the crowds are going the opposite direction you want.

I try and choose my fast passes in "logical" order of my flow through the park rather than what is the "best" use of a fast pass.

 

[Meeko5]

Used it there once and wish we had not - because he didn't talk. What a huge waste of a FP. We have gone multiple times and met via standby and 50/50 results on him talking. If you are happy with him either way then its a value to you.

Well that would be a HUGE disappointment...at least my toddler doesn't know he talks yet. I was going to show him a video so he wouldnt be freaked out but maybe not!

 

[Meeko5]

There is no bad use of Fast Pass in my opinion.

Personally I would just do Mickey at rope drop since he is right there at the front of the park on your way in. I would gather the line would be short since everyone is probably going for rides.

Even with a Fast Pass .. trying to get all the way back to Town Square by 10:00 AM will be a pain. It will take longer than you think since the crowds are going the opposite direction you want.

I try and choose my fast passes in "logical" order of my flow through the park rather than what is the "best" use of a fast pass.

I plugged in Mickey at Rope drop and it's a 48 minute wait at 9:04

I can forego any later FP and put him down for after dinner, that would just forfeit the chance for any later FP, but might be the best option for us anyway...

 

[Winky65]

It is hit or miss it seems. We did it twice on our last visit. First time was second only to Jack and Sallie meet at the halloween party. Mickey spent over a minute talking and pretending to fly a plane with our son before picture taking. Second time was less than half the time spent and he hardly talked. It is worth doing once imo.

 

[Meeko5]

And earliest I can FP is 10:10 now, dangit. Should have thought this through when I made my initial FP selections

 

[AzzySpazbourne]

We met Mikey right after rope drop. 10 minute wait. He spoke Portuguese to a little kid about 3-4 families in front of us. I Loved it, but what's better? My DD(2) loved it too. It's a must again for our upcoming trip.. but will probably go later in the day to get another attraction with a smaller wait.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a bad fast pass anymore. If it's a must do for you then do it, if it doesn't work out for you then you'll know not to do it again. What's bad for some is good for others. Once upon a time I would never dreamed of using fast pass on Spaceship Earth, these days I don't think it's such a bad idea. Sometimes the ride just isn't worth the long wait to ride it.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Try to schedule your FP close to the time you plan to leave the park for your mid-day break. You have to be in the Town Square area anyway and you'll use up your 3rd FP prior to leaving.

As Hopper said, there is only a 50/50 chance of meeting Talking Mic.

 

[LadyLaLa]

I made a FP to see him with my son on his first Disney trip and it was one of the highlights of the week. My son is a huge Mickey fan and it was the only character we waited to see outside of character meals. And the FP was so necessary to avoid a 40 minute wait with a toddler.

Just a extra piece of advice... I made a FP at the 30 day mark and was able to get an early time. Like a dummy, I cancelled it and wasn't able to get another one until late evening. I won't do that again.

 

[Gracie09]

my girls were 5 on our last trip and they LOVED talking Mickey! My one was telling me earlier in the trip that the characters were just people in costume until she met him. Then she turned to me a said He's real! Mickey did a magic trick with them and they still talk about the meet. Do it.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

If it's a must-do for you, I would get a fastpass. I personally HATE talking mickey (he freaks me out & it's awkward with a group of 20 somethings) but I have never encountered him not talking, so I think the odds are higher than 50/50.

 

[foohpah]

Used it there once and wish we had not - because he didn't talk. What a huge waste of a FP. We have gone multiple times and met via standby and 50/50 results on him talking. If you are happy with him either way then its a value to you.

OK this has me concerned. We no longer do character meet and greets (the kids have pretty much outgrown them) but we have never seen the talking Mickey so I thought it would be a fun one to do during our Thanksgiving trip. I thought the TS Mickey was always the talking one. I will not be real happy if I used a FP and it was just regular Mickey we can see anywhere (and who we would never get in a line for).

 

[HopperFan]

OK this has me concerned. We no longer do character meet and greets (the kids have pretty much outgrown them) but we have never seen the talking Mickey so I thought it would be a fun one to do during our Thanksgiving trip. I thought the TS Mickey was always the talking one. I will not be real happy if I used a FP and it was just regular Mickey we can see anywhere (and who we would never get in a line for).

He will still look like Magician Mickey but lots of times he doesn't talk. I can only assume his technology is very glitchy. The CMs will give you some "on stage" comment that he has a sore throat, he has to save his voice for a show .......

If you look at the experience online it does not promise that Mickey talks, doesn't even mention it. Only real promise is a hug from Mickey. No where on the actual theater signage does it say anything about talking.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...gdom/character-meet-mickey-mouse-town-square/

I now will even ask at the front of the line if he is talking today, if they say no or won't answer then I leave. The time we used the FP+ with all my kids who are grown and only wanted to meet him if he talked. Afterwards I found a supervisor and complained. Not that he was broken, it happens, but that I lost a FP+ on something that did not fulfill my experience. If a ride breaks down and I have to get off, I expect them to hand me a FP+ to make up for my loss. I wanted a replacement. Can say it was one of the few times that a CM was condescending/rude and I opted to take the high road and walk away. It was our last day and we were leaving shortly after that anyway.

 

[wareagle57]

I would never question the FP rankings Mess put together. But if you want to meet him, it seems like a pretty decent use of a FP to me. Other than right at rope drop or at closing you are unlikely to encounter a wait less than 20 minutes. You also have to walk well out of your way to do it, so scheduling a FP when you are either arriving or leaving would make it convenient knowing you will have a short wait. But if you plan to do all the mountains, 7dmt, pirates, jungle cruise, and haunted mansion, and some of them more than once, I would think you'd want to use it on those instead.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We used a FP for Talking Mickey. It was our last day in the park and we had already did all the FPs we wanted to do and more. So for our last day we decided it was going to focus on Meet and Greets and shopping lol. We had a FP for Mickey, Tinkerbelle, and Cinderella/Rapunzel. We did Mickey right before lunch and then headed to Tony's for lunch. Not our ideal spot for lunch but my kids liked it and it was very close to Mickey so there you have it. I liked using a FP for it bc we maybe only waited 5 minutes or less and my kids loved it.

 

[hiroMYhero]

OK this has me concerned. We no longer do character meet and greets (the kids have pretty much outgrown them) but we have never seen the talking Mickey so I thought it would be a fun one to do during our Thanksgiving trip. I thought the TS Mickey was always the talking one. I will not be real happy if I used a FP and it was just regular Mickey we can see anywhere (and who we would never get in a line for).

50/50 probability is in the best case scenario. That's the best odds if the CM is escorting you to a room where Talking Mickey has actually been appearing: he may talk or he doesn't at the moment you enter.

When waiting in line, your odds can actually be much lower - it all depends on the tech in the dressing rooms and the odds of you being escorted to a dressing room where everything is working. Say, if only one of four dressing rooms is up and running correctly, you have a 1 in 4 (25%) chance of meeting Talking Mic and a 75% chance of regular Mic. And then, the 25% chance that you are led to a working dressing room where Talking Mic appears again becomes a 50/50 chance that he still talks when he enters.

There are too many variables to ensure a good use of a FP for Mickey at Town Square.