Yes, there were a few rare characters! King Louis, Baloo, Pirate Goofy, plus the fab 5 and all the princess, Capt. Jack, and perhaps a few I didn't see.
My older kids said they saw Capt Jack Sparrow and had pix taken with him. We also saw Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, Mickey (Minnie came out as we were leaving to replace Mickey so we missed her), Donald (Pluto came out as we were leaving to replace Donald so we missed him), and there were some princesses out. That was who we encountered. My son, Levi, really wanted to meet Chip N Dale and Pluto, but the lines were too long for him to make it through again to meet Pluto. Never did see Chip N Dale and we could not afford the character breakfast like I was hoping. But that just gives us something to hope for NEXT time.
It was much the same as when the park was open during the daytime, only not the long lines for all the rides. They had most of the shops and rides open. It was very nice to walk on the rides for the most part. However, it was so late that my little ones were already tired and then when there was no cake or party like they were expecting from the build up...we took them on a few rides and then had to carry them back to the hotel. It kind of reminded me of Grad Night at
Disneyland.
I did not expect us to win anything else, for us just the trip was so special. But I honestly wanted to hear who won and what their special story was. I feel confident there were people there who had MUCH greater needs of dreams to be fulfilled.
To be honest, it seemed like my little kids were more excited about the "magic" the hotel made for them with the autographed pix and balloons than anything else about the trip! They also LOVED the waterfalls.
The CMs were all very friendly and helpful nonetheless. Yes, we met a couple on the trip who were not cheerful, but most of them were incredibly helpful and delightful. I was shocked to read differently. My three year old keeps trying to do all the dance moves she saw in the parade. LOL!
For me, it was fun to see my kids react to meeting Mickey. And watching my seven year old on Star Tours, since being a Jedi has been his thing for many years.