Character Meet & Greets - without FP+

[Silvermist999]

The last time we visited WDW in May 2012, we lined up for all the character meet & greets, and some were very long lines. But our kids loved it.

We'll be back next week, but I did not use any of our 3 FP+ for any of the character meet & greets. Our children are a bit older now, I'm thinking they will only want to meet some of the characters.

My question is - how long are the standby lines without the FP+. Are we looking at hours and hours waiting in line? What has been your experience waiting in standby, are we insane to do it?

Are there still any character meet & greets that do not offer FP+ at the parks? If so, is there a list somewhere of these ones? Would love to hear of your experiences waiting in standby, any tips? TIA!

 

[juliebug1997]

At MK:
The characters back in Pete's Silly Sideshow

Aladdin and Jasmine

Tiana

Mary Poppins

Pluto and either Daisy or Marie at the flag pole

Woody and Jessie

Chip and Dale

Wherever they have moved Snow White to

All of the meet and greets in Epcot except the Character Spot

I think all of the meet and greets at DHS (although Woody and Buzz might be on FP)

All but Mickey (and maybe Minnie) at AK.

I would definitely double check over at Kenny the Pirate's website. These are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

 

[Itinkso]

It only took us 15 minutes to meet Minnie and Daisy at Pete's Silly Sideshow in February. Their lines are reported to be very short later in the evening.

Without a Fp+, we met Talking Mickey in less than 10 minutes shortly after MK had opened.

 

[katt789]

The waits that I found to be over an hour without a fast pass were:
-Anna & Elsa (and thus Aurora in fairytale hall)
-Rapunzel (though with A&E this wait is significantly lower)
-Tinkerbell
For MK

The rest are usually okay!! They are all set times the character comes out, and the attendant running the line will always tell you if the line is cut off or not, and hopefully when they are coming back.

I advise to go early for Peter/Wendy, Aladdin & Jasmine and Tink, if you can, rope drop Tink and you'll have no problem

Epcot waits are usually the lowest you'll find!

Definitely check out Kenny the pirate for mroe info!

 

[handicap18]

There are only a few characters that have FP+ available...
At Magic Kingdom: Anna & Elsa (standby wait times have been upwards of 6 hours), Cinderella & Rapunzel, Mickey Mouse and Ariel.
At EPCOT: Disney Pals at the EPCOT Character Spot.
At Animal Kingdom: Disney Pals at Adventures Outpost.

All other character Meet & Greets in the parks are standby lines.