Does opportunity for character interaction vary by ship/itinerary?

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Are informal character interactions more or less common depending on the ship and/or itinerary?

We took our first cruise on the Wonder in Feb 2016. It was a 5-night sailing with 2 sea days. Our second cruise was a 3-night on the Dream. We had so many more opportunities to meet with characters outside of the scheduled meet and greets on the Dream. Goofy was frequently dancing with the kids in the atrium, we ran into Rapunzel and Peter Pan a few times on deck 5, we saw Daisy shortly after sail away, and there were other moments as well. We didn't have the same experience at all on the Wonder. Aside from the scheduled meet and greets, we didn't see the characters out and about. Was one experience more typical of most folks than the other? Does the ship or length of cruise have anything to do with it? I don't know if the characters are out more on a shorter cruise because time is more limited . It could also be that we had no clue during our first cruise and we were never "in the right place at the right time." On the Dream, we spent a lot of time exploring the ship, so that could be it as well.

I'm curious to hear your experiences. TIA

 

[CurtisB]

I've always found the classic ships better for character interactions, partially because there are less people.

 

[Geomom]

We've done 1 cruise so far, a 7 nt Alaskan on the Wonder last August. Had lots of unexpected encounters. Ariel was just wandering around--encountered her 2 different days--once outside the table service restaurant at embarkation lunch, once up on deck 4 Atrium area. Saw Hook around the gallery area. Saw a 'bear', and Pluto outside on deck 4 on Tracy Arm day. Rode the elevator with a character on a couple of occasions. Danced with Alaskan Daisy and Donald on deck 10 during the Frozen party. Danced with lots of Pixar characters during the Pixar party in the atrium. Saw Goofy in his PJ's by the shops after a show one night. DD12 had Alaskan Minnie drop by Edge one day (and she wasn't at the club that often, so I'm surprised that she saw her!) Then we did have plenty of planned meets that we went to, some with very short lines. I was VERY pleased with the character interaction. I'm so used to Disney World where you really only meet characters if you stand in line.

 

[dcassetta]

Unexpected encounters can really vary based on your activities on the ship. Catching characters out and about is really luck of the draw.

 

[mandylovesdisney]

I have been on both Classics and the Fantasy. I found the Fantasy had more characters just walking around and doing fun things (I saw Goofy, on the Fantasy, chilling in a porthole..stuff like that). On the classics I've only really seen them in their picture spots or headed that way. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen on the Classics though, just my experience.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I have been on both Classics and the Fantasy. I found the Fantasy had more characters just walking around and doing fun things (I saw Goofy, on the Fantasy, chilling in a porthole..stuff like that). On the classics I've only really seen them in their picture spots or headed that way. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen on the Classics though, just my experience.

Though to this point I've been on just one cruise on the classics and one on the Dream class, this is my experience as well.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I've always found the classic ships better for character interactions, partially because there are less people.

I would have thought this to be the case as well. Our next cruise is on the Magic and, hopefully, our experience is similar to yours.

 

[Budzooka]

Only done one so far, but had a ton of informal interactions on the Fantasy last summer. The best was my DD5 and a small group playing Duck Duck Goose with Peter Pan.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

The best was my DD5 and a small group playing Duck Duck Goode with Peter Pan.

Love this!! Such a great memory.

 

[bbel]

I think it has a lot more to do with the team behind the characters. Whose on board and in what role, who says go, who makes the schedules, who's available (they'll work the same hours, so while on one ship you might find more spontaneous, it might mean that there are less scheduled meet and greets and vice versa). But remember too, that the dream class ships will naturally have more people in that treat which could be a reason beind people's experiences.
Fun fact - if you hang around shutters on the classic ships, it's not unusual to have a few surprises, although they won't hang around and probably won't be able to stop for photos. But it's always fun to watch when people are looking at their photos and Stitch crawls under them, or Pluto taps someone on their back and their momentarily annoyed, of Mickey gives out hi-5s!