Character Meet & Greets- Are they rushed?

[Shelbizzles]

We did very few meet & greets on our trip last year but from what I remember my mentality was get in take the picture and be quick so I'm not holding up the line for others. I don't remember them rushing us. It was mainly my own attitude about it. But do the cast members rush you? Or do they allow you to do a few different combinations of people and some solo shots? It's myself, my husband and my sister in law. So I would like some group shots and then maybe a couple individual ones, nothing major. Just wondering what your experiences have been with it.

 

[Missyrose]

Character meets generally aren't rushed and you can have some really fun interactions with the characters. The exceptions tend to be the big M&Gs at the parties (Jack/Sally, 7 Dwarfs), there are some limits on how many photos each group can take for those.

Talk to the characters, have some fun meeting them instead of just taking pictures with them!

 

[fly girl]

Yes, the non speaking characters always feel somewhat rushed to me too. Especially if you are not getting an autograph. I think those tend to be, get the picture and keep going. Just my take on it.

However, I never felt the pressure to hurry up and move along by a CM. They have the routine down and know how to progress it along without being rude.

Talking characters seem to be a more natural flow because you interact with them more. The characters are always good at allowing time, but wrapping it up succinctly.

 

[DisneyFive]

We've never felt rushed regardless of who the character is. We don't expect to carry on a conversation with a character either though. The kids will get their autograph book signed, we'll get our Photopass photo's taken, say hi and maybe how much we love the character, etc..., get some hugs and move on.

For any given character, each kid gets a photo then we do a family shot. Never felt rushed with that.

Dan

 

[aretha30]

We've never felt rushed at all! We meet many characters again on our trip (we just got home on August 14th) and none of them (including Anna and Elsa) felt rushed. We spent several minutes with Woody and Buzz; Woody is our 7yr old's favorite and he has Woody ears and Woody went crazy for them. The interaction was fantastic and we took pictures with just the boys, then with all 6 of us. They gave autographs and had non verbal conversations, every interaction was great. I feel like they do a wonderful job of making sure everyone gets their time with the characters.

 

[ArmyVet80]

Never felt rushed by the CM's but we don't want to hold up the line for the others. Our interaction time is pretty quick (roughly 3-5 minutes). I'm sure we could interact more but we are pretty much there for the pictures and then on our way. My wife was a little more talkative to A&E though, something about a "Fixer upper" with Anna. lol

 

[karly05]

I can't recall feeling rushed, but sometimes I'm more chatty with the characters and sometimes I'm more just, Hi, happy to meet you, hug, may we take a picture? Some of my best interactions have been with non-talking characters; Russell & Dug were awesome when I told them they were my heroes and how much I love their story; Russell was all excited to come home with me but Dug backed out when he heard he'd have to fly on a plane (he was scared). I wore my "Phineas outfit" to visit Phineas and Ferb this year and man did they make a fuss over me! Lots of hugs and kisses. (I think the characters generally love it when they know you're a real fan.) It can certainly vary by characters, and I totally believe the PP above about limits with the rarely seen characters at the parties (I've never made it to MNSSHP.) But if I've ever felt rushed at a regular everyday m&g, I've forgotten it. (Even Anna & Elsa, when they were in Norway and the lines were insane, happily engaged me in a conversation about sisters and chocolate.) I think my biggest advice is, if you're really a fan of them and their stories, have something in mind to tell or ask them and don't be afraid to interact.

 

[tinkfan160]

I've never felt rushed and we usually do at least 2 different photos (me alone and then a family shot), I also asked to take selfies with some of the characters this time. As an adult, I like to wear clothes with the characters on them and interactions are usually pretty fun!

 

[lauraleh]

I really thought character meals were more rushed than the typical Meet and Greets. We had some amazing interactions with quite a few characters. I feel like these meet and greats are a part of what makes our trip special! Probably why I have about 50 planned for next week's trip...

 

[Jennasis]

I've never felt rushed. In fact, a few times I thought they did an especially good job of making me feel like they had been waiting all day just for ME to show up LOL! Great interactions, especially with face characters.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I honestly think it depends on who is friends with that character at the time. My meet and greet with Minnie at Character Spot was very rushed, yet when I met Duffy just an hour later, it was an absolutely wonderful meet.

Buzz Lightyear also spent a lot of time with us too, and was very fun to meet, and we don't do autographs. I think it just depends on the line that day and again, who is friends with that character. I would just see how busy it is and base what shots you do after that.

 

[Nancyg56]

I'm just back and found most M&G with the characters were not rushed at all. Chef Mickey seemed a little rushed in comparison to any other meal, but I am not sure if that was my perception because it was arrival day and I was all fired up! I thought most of the speaking characters made sure to chat with all of us, not just the ittle ones. ANd the non speaking ones did the best they could to make the interaction fun. I think that TInkerbell was amazing, as was RApunzel and Gaston. Mulan was very nice and chatty as well.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I remember one year at Tusker House there was a huge group that had about 10 kids and each of them had an autograph book. Goofy just gathered up all of the books and sat down on the floor and started signing them, it was comical. It was especially cute with the younger kids would sit by him. Then of course they each had pictures. I was impressed at the time that was spent with these kids, while I don't envision ever taking that many kids at a time, I'm glad to know that they would be taken care of if I did.

 

[BarbieGal457]

This past trip I would say it was 70/30 on not rushed and rushed. We were never rudely told to move along but I think we sort of felt internal pressure because we could see most of the lines were long. We weren't getting any autographs so we actually got our method down to a science. I would go first and my boyfriend would shoot a photo on his phone while their photog did as well (we had Memory Maker - VERY worth it to us!), then he would jump in with me and have the Disney person take it on their camera. I would then jump out to the side and I would snap on my phone and the Disney person do their thing as well. It worked out great!

It was my birthday so I may have gotten a bit more interaction time with them than usual. At Akershus we were all but ignored by every princess except Snow White. They wished me a happy birthday, took a photo and immediately walked away. I wasn't too upset as I understand there were a LOT of little kids there, but for the $100+ we spent for two people on fruit and potatoes, I was a bit more than disappointed and we probably won't return for breakfast again. However I don't want to derail the thread!

We had FP for Anna and Elsa and I must say, they took a ton of time with us! Very, very sweet, both of them. I had a giant walking cast on and Anna spent at least 5 or so minutes with me chatting about how Elsa turns her shoes to skates on impulse, and did she do that to me too?! Very awesome. Peter Pan, Merida, Russell & Dug and Mary Poppins were also standouts in the interaction category. Also, a Storm Trooper spent at least 10 or so minutes with us! He kept following me around and trying to maybe duel with me. I had on black Ray-Ban aviators and another guest said they looked just like his eyes so maybe he thought I was an impostor! I've never seen Star Wars (I know) but it was really, really fun.

Sorry for the novel, I didn't realize I would say so much!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We did a TON of character M&Gs this year and I didn't feel rushed at all. Our favorites were Aladdin & Jasmine in Epcot, Merida, and Petes Silly Side show. Aladdin and Jasmine spent like 5 minutes sitting and talking with my son he was so excited. LOL he was telling them all about his baby brother (who wasn't there at the time) and they were comparing him to a monkey, lol, it was really funny. We were first in line to see Merida and she was super sweet and my son and her were talking horses (my son loves and rides horses) and my son wanted to know how long it took her to be able to shoot an arrow galloping on her horse, lol. Then they let my son shoot 1 of the bow and arrows there. He was so excited. That was probably his favorite M&G. Then I loved Petes Silly side show. Every year I always make my own autograph books and the characters there got really excited about the books. We first saw Donald and Goofy and Goofy was showing everyone his page, lol. And bragging to Donald and then when we got to Donald and saw Donald, Donald started bragging and showing off to Goofy. It was super funny! Then my son wanted to meet Daisy and Minnie. Hes on the spectrum and also has ADHD and it was a 30 minute wait so I didn't think it was a good idea. But he really wanted to so I gave him my phone to play with and he was fine until like the last lap around he started getting antsy. Anyways it was totally worth the wait. Daisy kept trying to see my sons future and banging on her Crystal Ball pretending it was broken. It was really really funny. Then when we went to Minnie (I was also on an ECV do to an ankle injury, and it was PINK, lol) Anyways Minnie came running over to me and gave me a BIG hug and I actually got in the picture with Minnie and my son with my ECV it was a good memory to have! So yeah those were our top 3 M&Gs!

 

[tlmadden73]

Never felt rushed. Quite the opposite really.

On our last trip my son did NOT want to get his picture taken with Jake, so my wife and I did. Jake tried to encourage my son over .. even to the point of getting out of his spot and going over TO my son (who still didn't want to have anything to do with them). They go out of their way to try and get a good photo with you or your children.