Are we the only ones not into characters?

[fairy8i8]

I'm not into characters. I like short waits in lines... doesn't tend to happen with characters. I have booked character meals for both mornings in MK and at Akershus. Yes, people will probably covet my 8:00am Akershus reservation because they want to swap standing in the Anna and Elsa line with their spouse. I am eating there because I would rather sit and eat while waiting for rope drop rather than jostling with the crowds at the turnstiles. Much more relaxing (and we are morning people, so it gives us something to do). I am even bringing DS4 and DH with me to CRT. I want to experience eating inside the castle more than I want to meet the princesses, and I seriously doubt DS4 will care, unless Buzz and Woody show up.

 

[agavegirl1]

I have never done a M&G since they have been implemented. Once upon a time when characters roamed the parks, I got a picture of my DD, then 3 with Mickey. That was in 1984. As I posted on another thread, my idea of a M&G is to spot a character and say "Oh look it's _______while continuing on to my destination. I believe I waved and said Hi to Mary Poppins last trip as she was just coming out for her M&G. This next trip I plan to do a couple of them if there is no line because I need a picture or people don't believe I went to Disney. I have a tendency to take pics of nothing but scenery and have no photos with me actually in them.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

My kids have never really been interested in characters, and neither have I. We haven't done any character meals and have only waited in a few short lines for some especially beloved characters over the years -- when DD was obsessed with Ariel, when we happened to see Pooh at DHS. Our favorite interaction was accidental -- little DD got tired and sat by the well in Germany, and Snow White appeared and sat down next to her. I wish they still roamed the parks, because those kinds of interactions are so much better.

 

[minnie mum]

We've never been a family to wait in character lines. When our girls were little the characters were still free range. If they saw a character that they wanted to meet, they just went up and met them. But it was no big deal, and they never wanted to spend time seeking them out.

We would occasionally do a character meal, but it was only a novelty for them and not something they insisted they wanted to do.

By the time the M&Gs were formalized, they were way past being interested in them. However I see a change on the horizon. We'll be taking the extended family to WDW on our next visit, including our DGS, and I can forsee a tantrum if we can't line up to see Lightning McQueen and Mater.

 

[scrappinam]

My boys were never that interested in characters except for the power ranger meet and greet at Hollywood Studios. My 5 year old daughter is obsessed with almost every character. She is willing to wait in line just for that signature and picture. She looks through her autograph book from our last trip on an almost daily basis. So needless to say we will be doing lots of character meals and character meet n greets on our spring trip. My husband and the boys head off for thrill rides and I stand in line with the girls.

 

[TNDisneyNut]

We've literally been going to WDW since it opened. Went all through the 70s 80s and 90s with our parents. Now we bring our own kids. We love WDW but I guess we are all about the attractions and rides. We also enjoy the shows and parades. We like the characters but in all these years we have never once stood in line to meet a character or gone to a character meal. It's never really appealed to us.

We've met a few characters just walking through the park and we have always enjoyed that. I remember we met Sleeping Beauty last time in Epcot and there was no one else around. It was very cute. But, we've never even thought about standing in line to meet someone. As soon as the kids see that a line is for a character they bounce right past it looking for the next ride.

I think we will do a character meal on our next trip just to see what it's like. Anyone else not into character meets or character meals?

They dont hold a huge appeal for us either. If there is no crowd or line, we will sometimes get a pic but otherwise no. I love to watch children come up to them and hug the characters, however. The looks on the kids' faces are priceless to me! My children are grown but when my daughter was young characters terrified her, so it just wasn't going to happen anyway. In the words of Robin Williams, "To a 2-year-old, Mickey Mouse is just a 6-foot rat!" Now I know a lot of little children don't feel that way, but it was a perfect analogy for my daughter! We are taking my 2-year-old grandson in September and he loves them, so I guess characters may become a part of our Disney experience now! I'm not standing in line for them though. We probably will do a character breakfast!

 

[Flamingeaux]

After 15+ trips I decided it was time to get some pics with the characters. We hadn't done that in several years. It was fun.

 

[Ofinn]

Not into characters or animated Disney movies. My family loves WDW, and DCL, but I can't say any of us have ever been big "Disney fans" so to speak.

 

[catne]

We never got into the autograph books at all...seriously, a real person in a costume signing a cartoon character's name, lol?

Now we love the Disney cartoon movies, all of 'em. And the characters are cute entertainment, sure. But we don't see the point of spending vacation time standing in lines to visit with fictional characters. In our 30+ trips to Disney World we have never planned to wait in a line to meet a character. On one trip, we happened to be walking past the Meet & Greet area for Lilo & Stitch in the Animal Kingdom exactly when they were walking out of the building nearby, and no one else was even in the immediate area...so my daughter & her friend (teens) hopped up to the rope where the line was going to be formed. They waited about 15 seconds in that line for the rope to be taken down. That was the only meet & greet line anyone in our party ever got into.

Now over the years we have had many character meals...that's our way to see some characters, get some character pictures etc. without waiting in any lines. Sure, it costs but we like the buffets and we'd be eating somewhere anyway. We don't wait to see all the characters, though...if we're done eating & ready to go before all the characters get to our table, we just leave. The character meeting is not the main reason we're there.

 

[Jennasis]

We NEVER wait in a line to meet a character unless there are just a handful of people in the line. We'll do character meals instead, or we have just wandered into characters before. We were in WS just after 11 at the China pavilion and Mulan was there...all by herself with not another soul around. I almost felt bad for her so I grabbed my autograph book and walked right up!

 

[pktbMouse]

Our kids for some reason do not like the characters...both of them wont go near them! They say they are "creepy" looking!!! My husband and I cant for the life of me understand this as we love them...Im usually the one to excitedly say.."ohh theres Pluto!!" the kids walk away! I marvel at all the kids running into Mickeys arms while mine run in the other direction..

 

[trishwal]

It's sad that the spontaneity is gone.

When our daughter was 2 her grandparents stood in line for Tigger, her favorite character. Other than that (because SHE believed!) we've never waited for a signature. Character breakfasts are fun, and the Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate Training was totally worth waiting for (DD got picked at age 6), but those REAL moments, like when Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee start miming each other with you in the middle, or Captain Hook hides behind you because he thinks he heard a Tick Tocking from somewhere in your child's vicinity, well, those are the magic Disney moments.

 

[prudence64]

I can't fathom standing in line for hours to meet the frozen princesses. Even if my daughter loved the movie (she's apparently the one Girl in the country who was meh about it), I wouldn't even give her the option.

 

[GovieMom]

We're a family of four grown adults, and like to try different WDW restaurants. When we had dinner at the Crystal Palace I asked our server if there was a way to let the characters know not to stop at our table, and he looked at us like we were nuts! So when the characters showed up, we just waved them by with a smile. At Akershus we asked our server the same thing, and she obviously put the word in for us because none of the princesses came by.

 

[flicx]

We've literally been going to WDW since it opened. Went all through the 70s 80s and 90s with our parents. Now we bring our own kids. We love WDW but I guess we are all about the attractions and rides. We also enjoy the shows and parades. We like the characters but in all these years we have never once stood in line to meet a character or gone to a character meal. It's never really appealed to us.

We've met a few characters just walking through the park and we have always enjoyed that. I remember we met Sleeping Beauty last time in Epcot and there was no one else around. It was very cute. But, we've never even thought about standing in line to meet someone. As soon as the kids see that a line is for a character they bounce right past it looking for the next ride.

I think we will do a character meal on our next trip just to see what it's like. Anyone else not into character meets or character meals?

You took the words right out of my mouth. Its nice to interact with them if they are wandering around. By a will not wait in a substantial line to see them. I am at Disney for rides and shows primarily too. So you aren't alone!

 

[trishwal]

More people in lines for characters means less people in lines for other attractions.

At least in theory. (!)

 

[catne]

More people in lines for characters means less people in lines for other attractions.

At least in theory. (!)

I like your thought process here.

 

[RogueKnits]

I'm not into waiting in line to see characters. I used to like meeting them back in the days when they appeared randomly throughout the park. Something about putting them in one location all day takes some of the magic out of it for me.

 

[Rosebud123]

I thought we were the only ones! We have pics from a few character breakfasts from when my kids were little, but we've never even met Mickey in all our trips. Much rather do the attractions.

 

[Planogirl]

We enjoy seeing them in parades and shows but have no interest in meeting them. DS did like them pretty well when he was about 3 to 5 but he never wanted to wait in a long line. We enjoyed a few character meals in the day but haven't been to one in years now.