Character and Show Discussion Thread

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I’m sorry to hear about your health issues. When I had an injury that made it hard to stand, I showed up for a few meet and greets 30m ahead of schedule and just sat down wherever I was in the line on the floor. Usually I was less than 5-10m back when the line actually started moving and so I wasn’t on my feet too much. I don’t care about character greetings enough to do that many times on a cruise, just a few my kids really loved—but I thought I’d throw it out in case that strategy helps I’m sorry to hear about your health issues. When I had an injury that made it hard to stand, I showed up for a few meet and greets 30m ahead of schedule and just sat down wherever I was in the line on the floor. Usually I was less than 5-10m back when the line actually started moving and so I wasn’t on my feet too much. I don’t care about character greetings enough to do that many times on a cruise, just a few my kids really loved—but I thought I’d throw it out in case that strategy helps anyone else.

A 40 min wait all together works for me a couple of times a day but def not at the pace Im used to doing meets. And I do know certain sets are more hectic than others but it looks like I would need to bring a walker to the ship as well and thats what I really want to avoid. I hate waiting for the elevators and for example the character strolls you gotta be able to move atound quickly to check different areas on different decks cause they move around too…

I am also wondering a lot why lines have been crazy over the past year or so.. dcl does more offers to fill up the ship but even on cruises at 75 percent of capacity lines have been way longer than what they used to be pre covid and at the same time I feel that there is more pressure to cut interactions shorter so its not like they spend longer per person. I guess more people care about seeing characters nowadays? Back in the days there were less opportunities on the ships cause they even did character breakfast and autograph duties with the same amount of people and I can only recall one cruise in 2011 where I found lines ridiculously long

 

[angel's momma]

Any recent (Halloween/Christmas) cruisers that do a lot of the character lines that want to share their experience?

Just back from the EBPC. There were a few people that would line up extremely early, which would make others think they had to also. We did not - we kept an eye on the lines, and got in line when it reached a certain point. We heard many complaints that the lines/wait times were way too long, but the way we did it we were able to go from one line to the next with minimal wait times.

We had a group meet & greet in the new holiday outfits. The line started 2 hours early. We 1st checked on that line 45 minutes later - at that time we could have been 4th in line. We chose to wait and got in line 30 minutes later & were 10th. We should have waited even longer to get in line. I spoke to the lady who lined up so early. She lined up early for everything - even Cabanas. She told me that when you've been on as many cruises as she has, you'll learn that you need to line up early so you don't miss out. I pointed out that we got in line 75 minutes after she did & was only 10 behind her. She told me that after I cruise more I'll realize that her way is best. She lined up 2 hours early for Battle of the Chefs. We got in line 20 minutes early. She did get the front row middle seat, but we could have sat right next to her if we chose.

We had really wonderful meet & greet opportunities. After reading recent reports of reduced character opportunities due to guest behaviors, we were so surprised & excited to have Trio meet & greets, with wonderful combinations like Chip & Dale with Pluto. They were the highlight of our trip.

The worst line of course was Capt. Jack Sparrow. We didn't even attempt it, but others told us that it was beyond insane. The holiday group & cruise group were long, as expected, as well as Woody & Jessie (we were glad we were towards the front of that one). The one that surprised me was Stitch in Beachwear at the Gazebo. We skipped the singles Gazebo Beachwear set because it was very hot & we had gotten them as pairs on the 2022 WBPC. Others told us that guests decided to start the line for Stitch on their own even though there were 2 characters coming out before Stitch & CM's asked them not to start a line yet. It made it very crowded on deck, and confusing for those that wanted to get in line for the character that was actually out.

We only missed out on 1 meet & greet that we wanted to do, and it wasn't because of the line being cut off. My daughter is the one that does the meet & greets and I take pictures with her camera, we don't purchase the photo package. The one time we split up so I could get a place in line for a trio so we wouldn't be late for dinner, she got in line for holiday Daisy & Minnie and was going to have the CM take the photos with her camera. The family in front of her changed their child's diaper in line. No way was she going to have the CM touch her camera after touching their phone, so she got out of line. They did repeat most of the character opportunities, but that was one of the few that they didn't offer more than once. I did tell Guest Services right away so they could warn the CMs.

 

[angel's momma]

Do they still make you take out your room key to give to the photographers? They made me do it on my last cruise in 2019

They tap it now instead of sliding it through, so you have to hand it to them, but don't need to take it out. You can also use a Magic Band.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Just back from the EBPC. There were a few people that would line up extremely early, which would make others think they had to also. We did not - we kept an eye on the lines, and got in line when it reached a certain point. We heard many complaints that the lines/wait times were way too long, but the way we did it we were able to go from one line to the next with minimal wait times.

We had a group meet & greet in the new holiday outfits. The line started 2 hours early. We 1st checked on that line 45 minutes later - at that time we could have been 4th in line. We chose to wait and got in line 30 minutes later & were 10th. We should have waited even longer to get in line. I spoke to the lady who lined up so early. She lined up early for everything - even Cabanas. She told me that when you've been on as many cruises as she has, you'll learn that you need to line up early so you don't miss out. I pointed out that we got in line 75 minutes after she did & was only 10 behind her. She told me that after I cruise more I'll realize that her way is best. She lined up 2 hours early for Battle of the Chefs. We got in line 20 minutes early. She did get the front row middle seat, but we could have sat right next to her if we chose.

We had really wonderful meet & greet opportunities. After reading recent reports of reduced character opportunities due to guest behaviors, we were so surprised & excited to have Trio meet & greets, with wonderful combinations like Chip & Dale with Pluto. They were the highlight of our trip.

The worst line of course was Capt. Jack Sparrow. We didn't even attempt it, but others told us that it was beyond insane. The holiday group & cruise group were long, as expected, as well as Woody & Jessie (we were glad we were towards the front of that one). The one that surprised me was Stitch in Beachwear at the Gazebo. We skipped the singles Gazebo Beachwear set because it was very hot & we had gotten them as pairs on the 2022 WBPC. Others told us that guests decided to start the line for Stitch on their own even though there were 2 characters coming out before Stitch & CM's asked them not to start a line yet. It made it very crowded on deck, and confusing for those that wanted to get in line for the character that was actually out.

We only missed out on 1 meet & greet that we wanted to do, and it wasn't because of the line being cut off. My daughter is the one that does the meet & greets and I take pictures with her camera, we don't purchase the photo package. The one time we split up so I could get a place in line for a trio so we wouldn't be late for dinner, she got in line for holiday Daisy & Minnie and was going to have the CM take the photos with her camera. The family in front of her changed their child's diaper in line. No way was she going to have the CM touch her camera after touching their phone, so she got out of line. They did repeat most of the character opportunities, but that was one of the few that they didn't offer more than once. I did tell Guest Services right away so they could warn the CMs.

I always go in line right as the characters are about to come out for the grouppics. Every single cruise you ge the handful of overly early people in line haha. Long cruises are always a little a-typical and especially if there are some Japanese cruisers libe dynamics can be very different… nice they did trios! They didbt on the last couple of transatlantics I did… only duos and the big groups. How many of the groupmeets did they do?

 

[DMMarla07860]

I always go in line right as the characters are about to come out for the grouppics. Every single cruise you ge the handful of overly early people in line haha. Long cruises are always a little a-typical and especially if there are some Japanese cruisers libe dynamics can be very different… nice they did trios! They didbt on the last couple of transatlantics I did… only duos and the big groups. How many of the groupmeets did they do?

Being I'm 25% Japanese I love those cruisers when I cruise and see them the cutest meets lol

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Being I'm 25% Japanese I love those cruisers when I cruise and see them the cutest meets lol

Im not saying any bad about them, I just say they chabge the line dynamics cause they always line up very early

 

[DMMarla07860]

Im not saying any bad about them, I just say they chabge the line dynamics cause they always line up very early

I didn't think you were

 

[Mags2002]

Just back from the EBPC. There were a few people that would line up extremely early, which would make others think they had to also. We did not - we kept an eye on the lines, and got in line when it reached a certain point. We heard many complaints that the lines/wait times were way too long, but the way we did it we were able to go from one line to the next with minimal wait times.

We had a group meet & greet in the new holiday outfits. The line started 2 hours early. We 1st checked on that line 45 minutes later - at that time we could have been 4th in line. We chose to wait and got in line 30 minutes later & were 10th. We should have waited even longer to get in line. I spoke to the lady who lined up so early. She lined up early for everything - even Cabanas. She told me that when you've been on as many cruises as she has, you'll learn that you need to line up early so you don't miss out. I pointed out that we got in line 75 minutes after she did & was only 10 behind her. She told me that after I cruise more I'll realize that her way is best. She lined up 2 hours early for Battle of the Chefs. We got in line 20 minutes early. She did get the front row middle seat, but we could have sat right next to her if we chose.

We had really wonderful meet & greet opportunities. After reading recent reports of reduced character opportunities due to guest behaviors, we were so surprised & excited to have Trio meet & greets, with wonderful combinations like Chip & Dale with Pluto. They were the highlight of our trip.

The worst line of course was Capt. Jack Sparrow. We didn't even attempt it, but others told us that it was beyond insane. The holiday group & cruise group were long, as expected, as well as Woody & Jessie (we were glad we were towards the front of that one). The one that surprised me was Stitch in Beachwear at the Gazebo. We skipped the singles Gazebo Beachwear set because it was very hot & we had gotten them as pairs on the 2022 WBPC. Others told us that guests decided to start the line for Stitch on their own even though there were 2 characters coming out before Stitch & CM's asked them not to start a line yet. It made it very crowded on deck, and confusing for those that wanted to get in line for the character that was actually out.

We only missed out on 1 meet & greet that we wanted to do, and it wasn't because of the line being cut off. My daughter is the one that does the meet & greets and I take pictures with her camera, we don't purchase the photo package. The one time we split up so I could get a place in line for a trio so we wouldn't be late for dinner, she got in line for holiday Daisy & Minnie and was going to have the CM take the photos with her camera. The family in front of her changed their child's diaper in line. No way was she going to have the CM touch her camera after touching their phone, so she got out of line. They did repeat most of the character opportunities, but that was one of the few that they didn't offer more than once. I did tell Guest Services right away so they could warn the CMs.

Oh I’m so sorry you missed out! Btw that is gross! I hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise! We sure enjoyed having you onboard! Did you get the chance to meet Cinderella this cruise?

 

[angel's momma]

I always go in line right as the characters are about to come out for the grouppics. Every single cruise you ge the handful of overly early people in line haha. Long cruises are always a little a-typical and especially if there are some Japanese cruisers libe dynamics can be very different… nice they did trios! They didbt on the last couple of transatlantics I did… only duos and the big groups. How many of the groupmeets did they do?

We were spoiled - we returned to cruising post pandemic & our cruise in 12/2021 & the 2022 WBPC not only didn't have people lining up early, there were very few people in line at all. The characters were frequently alone. That was definitely not the case with our cruise last Dec. We were happy the EBPC was not like last Dec.

We did have a couple of lovely Japanese ladies traveling solo. Like @DMMarla07860 said, they were fun to watch - one had amazing outfits & the other had props. They did tend to line up early, but they were not the ones that started the lines so extremely early.

We had groups for holiday & cruise. They offered them twice on their respective days.

Oh I’m so sorry you missed out! Btw that is gross! I hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise! We sure enjoyed having you onboard! Did you get the chance to meet Cinderella this cruise?

Thank you, we had a wonderful cruise - our best yet.

We did have lovely interactions with Cinderella several times, and also enjoyed seeing her roaming. We will have pictures to post for you, but unfortunately Angel started to not feel well last night. We're glad we managed to stay healthy through out the cruise & trip home.

We very much enjoyed the couple of times that Chip & Dale had shorter lines & were able to be playful - we enjoyed watching their interactions with the guests. We also liked when they were roaming & took the bell from guest services.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Sounds like a great cruise! Wish I were there. Still working on my health issues and hoping to be fit enough to travel late Spring/early Summer (may be the TA again? I was first hoping to do transpacific or Hawaii but its superlong travel both ways since Im European so def not the smartest choice for me right now)