DCL vs. Parks

[Mike Bartenhagen]

We haven't been to WDW but plan on a trip there next year. We have been on the 7 day cruise and will be going on the 4 day in Oct. One of the kids favorite activities was autograph sesions. What is the availability of the characters in the park? Although once in a while the lines got a little long on the ship I thought the chances for the kids to see the characters were quite good.

 

[prymsu]

yes, your kids will be able to get autographs at the park. What I did was at Magic Kingdom, was to hop on the train and go to the back of the park as soon as it opened up, and Dakota was able to get autographs of many of the characters without more than a minute or two wait. This avoids having to wait in long lines, and worked well for us.

 

[PiperG]

Over by the teacups there is a walled off area where sets of characters are located. These are not the "major" characters. We saw Queen of Hearts, Jafar and some other Disney villans.

We had a mild wait (not to bad because it was off-season), which was worth it because you were able to see five or six at a time.

BTW, you will have a phenominal time As a native San Diegan, I have been to Disneyland many many times. DH and I were blown away by how expansive WDW is in comparison. Plus, its in Florida rather than arid Southern Ca. So much more green and colorful IMHO.

Have fun (and don't ask me how I ended up here in Minnesota, LOL).

 

[BeanoC]

I agree with Piper. Hey - we LIVE in California - if we didn't love WDW, would we fly all the way across the country every year??

We have been to Disneyland more times than can be counted, and we love it. But WDW can't even be compared to it. It is a totally new and different experience that we LOVE. As for characters, there is no shortage, but you have to know when and where to go.

Our favorite character experience at WDW was the character breakfast at Donald's restaurant in Animal Kingdom. We were seated at the very first table in the corner, and every newly arriving character started with our table!
The kids were smiling ear to ear all morning, and we got some great photo ops. All the 'big hitters' were there: Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, and yes... Mickey!!!!

What a great memory. (Good pancakes, too!)

Watch your maps and other park hand-outs for scheduled appearances of characters. Make sure your kids have their autograph books with the big fat pens that the characters can hold. They may wait in some lines, but if it's character interaction they want, that's what you do to get it!

ENJOY



'Beano'