Character meets

[gilby]

I am planning a trip to DL w/my girls and I am wondering what the lines are like for character meets. We are planning middle of May. Are the lines long like at DW? Just trying to plan out our time and are there fast passes for the princesses.

 

[figment_jii]

At this point, the only character meet and greet using a FP, are Anna & Elsa. The lines can be long or short, it just depends on who is out there and when you get there. My family waited anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes this last weekend, but we didn't go to any of the "formal" M&G area.

 

[meggles]

We haven't ever really waited longer than 15 minutes because my kids aren't super into characters and don't want to wait when they could be doing something else. Lots of times we'd just happen upon a character walking around, especially towards the park entrance. If you want to see the princesses just go to Fantasy faire earlier in the morning and it shouldn't be too long a wait. Same goes for Pixie Hollow. You could also book a meal at Ariel's in DCA to guarantee princess time without a wait.

 

[agamble]

The waits are not too bad. Go to Pixie Hollow just after opening one morning. The line never looks long, but Tink is chatty and spends a good deal of time with the kids. I'd recommend checking out Princess Fantasy Faire in the morning too, but not on a Magic Morning day. Summer 2014 we saw the princesses first thing one morning, followed by Tink and had no wait for princesses and little for Tink. This summer we went first thing at regular opening on a MM day and the crowd for the princesses was large. We were told 30 minutes, but waited at least 40. The CM did tell us there is a lull in the mid-afternoon.

Pooh Bear and friends begin meeting around 10AM right outside Splash Mountain. The line can get a little long, but moves pretty quickly as the characters don't talk. We generally wait 20 minutes to meet them. They take breaks, but immediately send out another Pooh Bear. Sometimes you can meet Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. Sometimes Tigger or Eeyore are on break (or go on break) and you'll only get to meet one of them with Pooh Bear.

Mickey and the Gang are easy to find. You'll see them at Town Square and on Buena Vista street. You can also find them in Toon Town. Mickey and Minnie meet outside their front doors when Toon Town first opens. Then they have photo meet and greets starting about an hour after Toon Town opens. Mickey meets in his house in various costumes and Minnie often meets in her garden. You go through their houses first, and then you get in line to meet them. The wait is also rarely more than 20 minutes. They show cartoons while waiting for Mickey. Goofy and Pluto are as easy to find as Mickey and Minnie, but Donald can be more elusive. If you don't see him in Toon Town, look for him in the Gazeebo on the Pier in DCA. Daisy does not meet around the parks, but you can find her sometimes at character meals or at the Disney Visa Meet and Greet.

Anna and Elsa have the FP as mentioned previously. In our experience the new setup at DCA was MUCH faster and more efficient than when they were meeting in Fantasyland. We got our FP, came back at our assigned time, and waited no more than 5 minutes to meet them. Others have said they still have to wait 20-30 minutes after arriving at their return time. This probably depends on how busy the parks are and how many people have FP around your window.

Mater, Lightning McQueen, and Red can be found in Carsland. The lines for them are shorter than 10 minutes. Toy Story Characters can be met on the Boardwalk. They generally have Woody, Jessie, OR Buzz. Each stays about 20 minutes and then the next character comes. What we've done is gotten in line to see one character and then gotten back in line knowing that by the time we get to the front the next should be there. Works pretty well. So you could see all 3 in roughly 40 minutes if your timing is good. Disney Junior characters can be found outside their theater. Monster Inc. and Incredible characters are often seen at the back of Hollywood too.

Other characters can also be seen, but these are the general scheduled characters. I know the new App allows you to look up character locations. But it wasn't available during our trip. Also, they're introducing Star Wars characters and more Marvel characters if your kids are interested. These will be open by your trip, and it was announced yesterday that Spiderman will be joining in the fun.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

The waits are not too bad. Go to Pixie Hollow just after opening one morning. The line never looks long, but Tink is chatty and spends a good deal of time with the kids. I'd recommend checking out Princess Fantasy Faire in the morning too, but not on a Magic Morning day. Summer 2014 we saw the princesses first thing one morning, followed by Tink and had no wait for princesses and little for Tink. This summer we went first thing at regular opening on a MM day and the crowd for the princesses was large. We were told 30 minutes, but waited at least 40. The CM did tell us there is a lull in the mid-afternoon.

Pooh Bear and friends begin meeting around 10AM right outside Splash Mountain. The line can get a little long, but moves pretty quickly as the characters don't talk. We generally wait 20 minutes to meet them. They take breaks, but immediately send out another Pooh Bear. Sometimes you can meet Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. Sometimes Tigger or Eeyore are on break (or go on break) and you'll only get to meet one of them with Pooh Bear.

Mickey and the Gang are easy to find. You'll see them at Town Square and on Buena Vista street. You can also find them in Toon Town. Mickey and Minnie meet outside their front doors when Toon Town first opens. Then they have photo meet and greets starting about an hour after Toon Town opens. Mickey meets in his house in various costumes and Minnie often meets in her garden. You go through their houses first, and then you get in line to meet them. The wait is also rarely more than 20 minutes. They show cartoons while waiting for Mickey. Goofy and Pluto are as easy to find as Mickey and Minnie, but Donald can be more elusive. If you don't see him in Toon Town, look for him in the Gazeebo on the Pier in DCA. Daisy does not meet around the parks, but you can find her sometimes at character meals or at the Disney Visa Meet and Greet.

Anna and Elsa have the FP as mentioned previously. In our experience the new setup at DCA was MUCH faster and more efficient than when they were meeting in Fantasyland. We got our FP, came back at our assigned time, and waited no more than 5 minutes to meet them. Others have said they still have to wait 20-30 minutes after arriving at their return time. This probably depends on how busy the parks are and how many people have FP around your window.

Mater, Lightning McQueen, and Red can be found in Carsland. The lines for them are shorter than 10 minutes. Toy Story Characters can be met on the Boardwalk. They generally have Woody, Jessie, OR Buzz. Each stays about 20 minutes and then the next character comes. What we've done is gotten in line to see one character and then gotten back in line knowing that by the time we get to the front the next should be there. Works pretty well. So you could see all 3 in roughly 40 minutes if your timing is good. Disney Junior characters can be found outside their theater. Monster Inc. and Incredible characters are often seen at the back of Hollywood too.

Other characters can also be seen, but these are the general scheduled characters. I know the new App allows you to look up character locations. But it wasn't available during our trip. Also, they're introducing Star Wars characters and more Marvel characters if your kids are interested. These will be open by your trip, and it was announced yesterday that Spiderman will be joining in the fun.

I am mostly curious about where everyone is located the one thing I like about DL vs WDW is that the characters just sort of randomly appear all over the place but I would like to know at least one spot to find characters. Especially with the characters being in their D60 outifits.

Any advice to find rare characters and the following list?

Chip n Dale
Jack Skellington
Anna and Elsa
Marvel Characters
Jack Sparrow
Pinocchio characters
Alice in wonderland characters

and anyone else cool/

Thanks
Teresa

 

[agamble]

It's not really "random." I would definitely use the new App when you go.

Chip n Dale-Can be found at most character breakfasts, I've also seen them on Buena Vista Street and Town Square
Jack Skellington-Only available from September-December during the holiday season in New Orleans Square
Anna and Elsa-FP meet and greet in DCA at the animation area
Marvel Characters-At the old Innoventions building along with Star Wars characters; Spiderman is replacing Captain America
Jack Sparrow-Not available
Pinocchio characters-I've seen Gepetto a few times before at Town Square, but it's been a few years. I've also seen Honest John during Halloween Season.
Alice in wonderland characters-Alice and Mad Hatter can be found "wandering" Fantasyland, as can Peter Pan and Hook

Look around for additional princess opportunities. This is where the App could be handy.

 

[texasgingerbread]

Alice in wonderland characters

There's a thread on here called Hidden Gems at DL and it was mentioned that Alice and Mad Hatter do musical chairs! Here's the link http://disboards.com/threads/any-hidden-gems-at-dlr.3447966/

 

[CaptBane]

Kinda of bummer that Cap is being replaced. Also heard that there will be visa Meet and Greet with Darth Vader somewhere in the Launch Bay I believe.

 

[texasgingerbread]

Monster Inc..are often seen at the back of Hollywood too.

What characters have you seen? Will we get to see Sully for sure? My son loves him.

 

[taniahappy]

It's totally random but not bad most of the times...average of 8 min?

 

[agamble]

What characters have you seen? Will we get to see Sully for sure? My son loves him.

They did have a Monster's U backdrop with Sully meeting, but finally took it down. However, we saw him there before the backdrop, so hopefully he still is there. He is in the parade.

 

[Meemoo]

What characters have you seen? Will we get to see Sully for sure? My son loves him.

Yes Sully is there most days - I've been stalking the new Disneyland app which tells you what characters are where everyday and Sully is there quite often. Never seen Mike listed there though.

 

[BigCheese]

What characters have you seen? Will we get to see Sully for sure? My son loves him.

Sully is there and rotates in the backlot with Mr & Mrs Incredible and Frozone.

 

[Berlioz70]

Thank you so much for the character line information!! We will be visiting the Resort for 4 days in early February and want to meet the following, do these times sound accurate?

Iridessa: hoping to catch her first thing at park opening, but understand it may take us a couple tries, how long does Pixie Hollow get later in the day?
Olaf: heard about 5-15 minutes?
Oswald: heard about 5-15 minutes?
Thor: ??? I haven't heard about him, do we need to get in line at park opening for his 10am set?
Steamboat Willie: I understand Mickey changes throughout the day, any advice on what time to visit to see him as SW?

Thanks!

 

[BigCheese]

Thank you so much for the character line information!! We will be visiting the Resort for 4 days in early February and want to meet the following, do these times sound accurate?

Iridessa: hoping to catch her first thing at park opening, but understand it may take us a couple tries, how long does Pixie Hollow get later in the day?
Olaf: heard about 5-15 minutes?
Oswald: heard about 5-15 minutes?
Thor: ??? I haven't heard about him, do we need to get in line at park opening for his 10am set?
Steamboat Willie: I understand Mickey changes throughout the day, any advice on what time to visit to see him as SW?

Thanks!

I have no advice for Iridessa (we've never done Pixie Hollow)

Olaf should be about 5-15 like you indicated. Haven't heard concrete plans for DCA and the Frozen M&Gs for the time frame you'll be there, but there's no reason to believe Olaf won't still be there, especially with the change over from Aladdin to Frozen at the Hyperion. He has a nice backdrop at his M&G location too.

Oswald should be easy as he appears all the time near the entrance to DCA and takes intermittent breaks throughout the day.

In Feb, Innoventions will already be open with Star Wars Launch Bay (rumor is that it will be on the first floor) with Marvel on the second floor (like before). They're keeping Thor as a regular M&G but replacing Cap with Spider Man. Before Innoventions closed for the renovation, it didn't open until 10:00 (regardless of park opening time). I haven't heard what its opening time will be when it reopens with SWLB, but Thor has been around for awhile and there's no need to go to his line at park opening. SWLB character lines may be a different story though (and entry into the Innoventions building in general for that matter.) Before Innoventions closed for renovation, we would get in line for the building opening (to meet Cap and Thor) about 5-10 min before opening. When they closed Innoventions and moved Thor and Cap outside, we would stand in their line about 10 min prior to the start of their first set (it seemed less crowded inside, maybe because they were hidden from plain sight whereas the outside M&G had signs and an Avengers A backdrop in plain sight, and the line can get long due to the interaction, which is great BTW. Thor always lets our boys hold Mjolnir and the interaction with him is amongst the best we've experienced anywhere.) SWLB will change the crowds in that building for sure, and I'm anticipating it may be the attraction to head to first when it opens next month (and for the near future). I can picture the same type of crowds that we saw for A&E. That said, the crowds will be for the SW characters (and maybe to some extent Spidey since he will be new), and not Thor. But since there's no details regarding the internal setup of everything inside, it's all still an unknown. But by Feb there will be ample reports.

As for Steamboat Willie Mickey, it's a crapshoot. When you go to the end of the Mickey house 'walk', you could either meet Steamboat Willie Mickey, Fantasia Mickey, Bandleader Mickey, or normal tux Mickey. We've met all of them over the years, but if you really want to see one over the other, you can ask the CM there. At the end of the Mickey house walk, you gather in a theater (there's a line) and they have cartoons playing on the screen. A CM lets about 10 or so people in the door at a time. The door then leads to a hallway with three or four other doors. There's a different Mickey inside each of them, but all four usually aren't there all the time so there's some luck to it too. We really wanted to see Steamboat Willie Mickey one time and asked the CM if he was there. He told us to wait one more group, so he let about 8-10 people in the door, then in the next group they led us to another door, and that one had Steamboat Willie Mickey.

BTW, love your character website and compilation of all of your M&Gs. It's an excellent guide for WDW characters!

 

[Mousequake]

FYI-- when I was there two weeks ago, they were no longer doing FP for Anna & Elsa. When we stopped by mid-day on a weekday, it was literally a walk-in; no line at all.

 

[brianerickson]

I was walking through California Adventure on the way to try and make an Indiana Jones Fastpass window, and I just so happened to pass by Mickey Mouse of all people on my way there.

I was running low on time, but knowing this would probably be my one chance to take a picture with Mickey that trip, I decided to chance it and was only in line for like 5 minutes, for the most popular character in the park, in the middle of August, and made it to Indy with plenty of time to spare.

You should be just fine.

 

[agamble]

Iridessa: Both times we met Tink, we met Iridessa too. It was first thing in the morning too, but that doesn't guarantee anything. I would ask the CM at the entrance who is meeting. If it isn't Iridessa you could ask when Iridessa will be there.
Olaf: In February they may have the Snowfest again. If that is the case, the wait to meet him could be longer again. But you could play in the snow while waiting.
Oswald: We met Oswald, it was practically a walk-up.
Thor: So hard to say with Innoventions reopening. I would check back on him closer to your trip.
Steamboat Willie: As someone else suggested, ask the CM if he's there and if you can wait for that group.

 

[figment_jii]

Especially with the characters being in their D60 outifits.

The only characters with 60th outfits are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. They meet in Town Square and in Tomorrowland (when there is a parade enroute). Currently, they're in their Halloween outfits in the morning and early afternoon (pre-Soundsational) and then in their 60th outfits in the late-afternoon/evening.

Any advice to find rare characters and the following list?

I highly recommend stalking the official Disneyland app and seeing which characters are listed (and when they'll be out and where). DLR is nice in that you never know who you might see (my group ran across the Fairy Godmother and Jafar (not during MHP) yesterday), but it also makes planning for them difficult.

• Chip n Dale - they meet in Town Square in their 60th outfits. Right now, they meet in their Halloween Costumes in the morning/afternoon and then switch to the 60th outfits in the late-afternoon/evening. They're also on BVS in their 1920s outfits.
• Jack Skellington - He only meets in NOS on the landing between the French Market and the River while Haunted Mansion Holiday is running (early September through early January). He meets with Sally some of the time.
• Anna and Elsa - They have a fixed meet and greet in DCA (they may or may not be using the FP system for htis one when you go)
• Marvel Characters - Thor and Captain America (currently, he's being replaced by Spiderman on November 16) currently meet opposite of the Innoventions Building in Tomorrowland. Starting on November 16th, they'll move into the Super Heroes HQ in Innoventions/Star Wars Launch Bay. No other Marvel characters typically meet guests (they may have other characters - such as Black Widow and Hawkeye - out for the Avenger's Marathon but that's a very limited/exclusive meet and greet)
• Jack Sparrow - He's not in the parks at this point. He used to meet during MHP, but I don't think he was there this year.
• Pinocchio characters - I haven't seen anyone from Pinocchio really recently.
• Alice in wonderland characters - I've usually seen them "roaming" in Fantasyland as well (try near the Mad Tea Party/Alice attraction). I've also seen Peter Pan and Hook and the Evil Queen in Fantasyland.

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

The only characters with 60th outfits are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. They meet in Town Square and in Tomorrowland (when there is a parade enroute). Currently, they're in their Halloween outfits in the morning and early afternoon (pre-Soundsational) and then in their 60th outfits in the late-afternoon/evening.


I highly recommend stalking the official Disneyland app and seeing which characters are listed (and when they'll be out and where). DLR is nice in that you never know who you might see (my group ran across the Fairy Godmother and Jafar (not during MHP) yesterday), but it also makes planning for them difficult.

• Chip n Dale - they meet in Town Square in their 60th outfits. Right now, they meet in their Halloween Costumes in the morning/afternoon and then switch to the 60th outfits in the late-afternoon/evening. They're also on BVS in their 1920s outfits.
• Jack Skellington - He only meets in NOS on the landing between the French Market and the River while Haunted Mansion Holiday is running (early September through early January). He meets with Sally some of the time.
• Anna and Elsa - They have a fixed meet and greet in DCA (they may or may not be using the FP system for htis one when you go)
• Marvel Characters - Thor and Captain America (currently, he's being replaced by Spiderman on November 16) currently meet opposite of the Innoventions Building in Tomorrowland. Starting on November 16th, they'll move into the Super Heroes HQ in Innoventions/Star Wars Launch Bay. No other Marvel characters typically meet guests (they may have other characters - such as Black Widow and Hawkeye - out for the Avenger's Marathon but that's a very limited/exclusive meet and greet)
• Jack Sparrow - He's not in the parks at this point. He used to meet during MHP, but I don't think he was there this year.
• Pinocchio characters - I haven't seen anyone from Pinocchio really recently.
• Alice in wonderland characters - I've usually seen them "roaming" in Fantasyland as well (try near the Mad Tea Party/Alice attraction). I've also seen Peter Pan and Hook and the Evil Queen in Fantasyland.

This is great great help!

My goal is to meet all the characters in 60th outfits. I am big on meeting characters in all their outfits so i think I will be making trips to toon town. Is there a place to get Mary Poppins and Bert? Also who meets in toon town?