Characters at Disney

[shellface]

When I first went to WDW at the tender age of 12, back in 1994 I had a ball trying to find characters and get their autographs and pictures etc.

If my memory serves me correctly you had to either search them out, or just happily stumble across them around the park. The ques where never that long or non existant!!!!!

Recently I have become less interested in the characters in favour of the rides and think this may be because the rules at disney have changed regarding the characters???

It seems to me that over time character greetings have become more organised and regimented with large amounts of characters in one place for a specific amount of time. i.e the winnie the pooh gang in fantasy land all under a big covered area.

In my opinion this looses some of the magic of just stumbling across a character

What do you guys think? I may be wrong

what do you like about the characters?

what are your tactics for getting to see as many as possible?

Do you like them? are you scared of them?


I would just like to share peoples opinions, stories and tips so please go ahead and reply

 

[Kimberly815]

Being 25 years old now. . and pretending to be an 'adult' ha ha, yeah right.

I don't actively seek out characters. I, personaly, can't bear to think that because I am waiting in line some precious little child may not get to meet a character that they love. (Although I totally understand anyone without children who do wait to meet characters- you paid just like everyone else, so go for it- its just my crazy guilt that prevents me!).

However, I have come across characters several times in odd places in the park with no lines. And I agree. It did add to the magic to turn a corner and see one of your favorites characters there, like they were just waiting for you.

 

[Joanna71985]

I like the idea of meeting characters in a line. It's easier then meeting them willy-nilly. It makes for a more organized time. It's true that some of the magic is gone from spontanous (??) meetings. But now you do know where to find the characters. As for me, I am a BIG character person. I actually prefer to searching for characters to going on rides.

 

[Codie]

I agree! I used to LOVE trying to "find" the characters...now you map it into your day and it makes it almost a drudgery

 

[MainStreetFan]

I agree it would be great to just "find" the characters. I also remember the days when you could search the park over and maybe see one if you were lucky at the same time they ran commercials with little children running up to them. We all knew this would never happen. So from the childs point of view at least they can see a lot of characters now. And some are not as posed as others. At the back of Toontown, they have 3-6 characters our several times during the day and there is only one minder, it is pretty much like the old days. I have also see the Genie hiding between 2 sets of shelves in the store in Adventurland.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

I'm an adult and married and I still love meeting and greeting with the characters. It is a link to my childhood that I plan to never give up. Going to Disney turns me into a child again and I love that feeling. My DH has never been to Disney. We are going this Jan. and the first thing I am going to do is buy him a pair of ears with his name monogramed on them and an autograph book. I want him to experience the magic. I was lucky enough to experience it as a child and I want him to have the same memories. I don't mind the organized lines of characters, but I also do perfer stubbling across a character when I don't expect it.

 

[jaimee1024]

When we went two years ago the ONLY character my 3 year old daughter wanted to meet was Mary Poppins. I wasn't taking any chances on disappointing her, so I went to the customer service desk at the front of MK and asked when and where we would be able to find her. We were able to go to the spot where she would come out about five minutes prior and my daughter was the first one in line to meet her and get pictures taken with her. Mary Poppins was lovely and gracious and so much like the real thing that I almost believed she was truly her!! It was well worth it to see my daughter's face light up like that. I don't recall seeing very many characters just walking around. It seems they all had scheduled spots and times.

 

[luvfigment]

I agree that as I was growing up coming upon a character was great and exciting. As I was growing up I did notice how other guests became a little bit...rude and having their children cut in front of others that were waiting longer than their child. I don't think Disney was trying to take the "magic" out of it but I think it was more for crowd control.

I also think people were expecting to be able to see the characters but not always coming up on them and people may have been getting mad because after all they were paying money to see characters.

I still think it is fun to see the characters even if it is in a line. When I took my boyfriend to WDW for his first time in Aug we were in the lines going to see the characters at AK and there was no line at any of them. We also walked upon Pinocchio so we got a taste of both worlds.

 

[shellface]

nice to read everyones comments...keep them coming be good to hear some funny stories too, and any character tips people might have

 

[hiwaygal]

I've been a Disney-holic for as long as I can remember...

I FINALLY got to go to Disneyland (never thought I'd get there) at the ripe old age of 35...all I wanted to do was get a picture with every character I could find. The first ones I saw? Mickey (my favorite), Minnie, and Pluto. I didn't want to get a pic with Mickey until I had my ears, so I quick took a pic with Pluto and ran into a store to get ears...by the time I got back there was a mob of little kids waiting to get their pic with Mickey and Minnie...I didn't have the heart to get in the fray, you know? The kids were SOOOO excited!! So...from that one day trip, oh so long ago...I have that pic of me and Pluto...

At the ripe old age of 39 (with my brand-spanking new DH), I made it to Disney World for the first time...and I wasn't too worried about the characters, figuring they were more "for the kids"...boy, was I wrong!!! We had a FABULOUS time interacting with Mickey at one point...we were laughing so hard! And Goofy! OH!! Too funny!! I'm glad we stood in line to see them...

At Disneyland it's more of a "chance" thing sort of...there are no lines to ensure that you get a pic (at least there weren't four years ago)...it's luck of the draw or whoever is pushiest...and that "encourages" un-Disneylike behavior...

I like knowing I can see and talk to and have a pic taken with a character at a certain time/place...just my opinion, of course...