Meal or park meet and greets- best way to meet princesses??

[herdadditions]

I have 3 girls and a boy. My oldest dd is 13 and the youngest is 6. My 6 yo dd has cerebral palsy , uses a wheelchair and has limited verbal skills. I need the best plan for her to interact with the princesses. We have ADRs at Askerhaus, but we have done that before and didn't seem to be as good as the meet and greet with Tianna in the park. If we don't do the meal, can we catch all the princesses in one place or will we have to do a million different lines etc? Thanks!

 

[Reddog1134]

I have 3 girls and a boy. My oldest dd is 13 and the youngest is 6. My 6 yo dd has cerebral palsy , uses a wheelchair and has limited verbal skills. I need the best plan for her to interact with the princesses. We have ADRs at Askerhaus, but we have done that before and didn't seem to be as good as the meet and greet with Tianna in the park. If we don't do the meal, can we catch all the princesses in one place or will we have to do a million different lines etc? Thanks!

You'll have to wait in several different lines to see all of them but they DO meet 2-3 at a time in Town Square Theater. Eventually, they will move to a new location in Fantasyland but Ariel and Belle (any others?) will have their own dedicated locations.

 

[gator girl]

The meals are the only place to knock 4 - 5 Princesses off your list in one location.

Like the PP said, you can see 2 or 3 in Town Square with one trip through the line. All the other ones are individual queues.

 

[tink22]

Unfortunately you just never know what you're gonna get. If you are seeing princesses in a full restaurant and then tianna with only 10 people in line your interaction will probably be better/longer with tianna. Characters in dining try not to rush but if they have a full restaurant to see they can't spend as much time as a character with minimal lines out in the park.

 

[motogp]

Akershus is probably your best bet to knock out 5 at one time (Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel). The lines around the world at EPCOT are usually not that long, especially if you know what times the princesses will be out; however, it is one at a time. They tend to interact a bit more there than in the restaurant, in my opinion. You could see Snow White, Mulan, Jasmine, Belle, and Aurora...with Alice and Mary Poppins, too. Tiana is only available at MK, unfortunately, as are Rapunzel and Merida. Hope this helps......good luck!

 

[Berlioz70]

PRINCESS
Names are links to images at said locations.

Snow White: MK, EC; DINING: CRT, Akershus
Cinderella: MK; DINING: CRT, 1900 Park Fare, Akershus
Aurora: MK, EC; DINING: CRT, Akershus
Ariel: MK; DINING: CRT, Akershus
Belle: MK, EC; DINING: CRT, Akershus
Jasmine: MK, EC
Pocahontas: DAK
Mulan: EC
Tiana: MK
Rapunzel: MK
Merida: MK

 

[FlyingElephantFan]

Our most memorable interactions have been at Epcot. My daughter met Snow White, Mulan, and Jasmine. She also met Marie from Aristocrats in France which was one of the highlights of her day. They really responded and took time with each child. When she met Jasmine and Alladin, they talked to her for a few minutes and then Alladin swept her off her feet and swung her in a circle. My daughter was on cloud nine and really felt special.


When I look back on our other interactions at Akershus and CRT, I can't really remember any moments that stand out. Looking back, I think it all depends on how much you child engages them. Our first trip, when we did the dinners she was younger. Our Epcot experience she was 7 and really talked to them.

Sorry if I started rambling Good luck!

 

[heather13]

That's such an interesting question, because my gut reaction was the meals. But my DD also had a really long conversation with Tiana that outshone our CRT interaction with Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Ariel (Belle and Jasmine on the other hand were exceptional). I agree that it probably depends on the princess, how many people are there and general timing. I know when Ariel came to our table, we were one of the last ones she visited and they were being called away for some group thing. So she got one quick picture and that's it. So even though it might take up more time during your day, I would agree that M&G is the way to go.

 

[nemajovc]

I only have DS so we did safari meal but the meal felt somewhat rushed-run back from food to table to get picture with each character- using your camera vs usually having a photo person (except for a few times when they were recharging their cameras) doing the pix at the character places (i did photo pass + ordered ahead for discount)
the interactions at character spots were better usually -loved merida near castle.
if you skip meal then plan some character times and explain what the plan is so you get some rides in too. when DS decided "i want to see character such and such" i reminded him he wanted to ride x ride twice and we could run get fast passes and visit the character while waiting. we have loads of character pix and got to ride what we wanted too.

smartphone apps can help with line time for characters and rides-best if you have 2 adults 1 to deal with kids and 1 to look @ apps. check on forum re best apps for particular carrier.

good luck with pixie dust-we don't have your situation but most people were very helpful about special needs. you probably already have but just in case don't forget to check dis forum on disabilities about Guest Assistance Cards and other issues that will give you some extra pixie dust that will make this vacay great.

 

[shannonstar]

My family prefers Character meals. We do as many as we can to get the characters we want, and then do lines for the others. It's just easier for us that way.

 

[auprincess]

We've done several character meals with the princesses over our past few trips, and we will continue to do them as long as our 3 girls enjoy it, but we have always had much better interactions when we see them in the park. At the meals they always seemed so rushed ~ except the last time we ate at CRT, they spent a lot of time with us and I really think it was because we were in that top section and one of the last tables they came to.

 

[gator girl]

Obviously, one-on-one character interactions are going to seem more intense. In the meals, there's always another kid pulling on the back of their skirt, or screaming their name, or waving frantically at them over your kid's shoulder, so they're understandably distracted by trying to not seem "rude" or "cold" by completely ignoring the other kid. I know every time I see Princesses in a meal, they're walking around making eye contact & waving & blowing kisses & patting heads all over the place, even as they walk up to your table.

It seems logical that when each kid has waited his or her turn in line & goes up to the character, then she can focus for that one or two minutes exclusively on that kid right in front of her, without regard to all kinds of other things going on in the background.

With that said, it's going to take more park time to stand in all the individual lines, versus seeing several Princesses at once during a meal that you were going to have to sit down somewhere to eat, anyway.

It's all down to personal preference.

 

[mom2rtk]

While we do the character meals and love them, I much prefer the park meet & greets. The photos are so much better without plates of food and other diners in the background.

 

[lovemy3girls]

We do the character meals when we are on the Dining plan. If not, we'd rather spend our money on non character meals that are a little less expensive and just meet them in the park.