Elsa and Anna meet and greet strategy

[stevesgirl]

Hi all,

I need some help deciding on a strategy to meet Anna and Elsa. My 3 year old is OBSESSED with Elsa. During our trip at the end of April I only plan on visiting Epcot one day. I obviously have to meet Elsa and Anna while we are there and if possible, maybe meet them twice in one day.

What is the best strategy? Just go there right at rope drop? If I do that, will there already be a line of early ADR people? Also, I currently have a reservation at Akershus at 8:10 am and 10:35 am and need to pick which one to keep. The 8:10 will get my party in early and someone can wait in line or will we have enough time to go straight to the meet and greet at 9 and then onto breakfast at 10:35?

One more thing, wouldn't it make sense to have Elsa and Anna at the Akershus breakfast? I would love it if that were the case when we got there but I understand it is just wishful thinking.

Any rumors of this meet and greet becoming a fast pass? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[mesaboy2]

Go very first thing or near the end of the day. Going at the end of the day is more risky. You're looking at a 2-hour wait or more unless you are there very first thing.

Until they move, and there are only rumors of that, FP will not happen.

 

[jcarwash]

They way things are now, meeting them twice in one day will take a really, really long time. The lines are exceedingly long, and the setup isn't great either -- the lines are all out in the open in the Norway area and extend (or are divided?) into the main World Showcase walkway area.

If you child is okay with just seeing Anna and Elsa without meeting them, you can enter the Norway store and head to the left. The exit for the meeting area allows you to peek in.

This meet and greet doesn't seem sustainable in the long term. I think they need to expand their area somewhere to allow for FP+ and perhaps some additional "troll magic" to make all the waits more manageable.

My family skipped Anna and Elsa altogether. Way too long.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Keep youre 8:10 ADR for Akershus and arrive to Epcot as early as possible. Have one person just skip breakfast and stand in line. Around 8:55, have your little one join whoever is in line for the meet & greet then go back to breakfast.

 

[I M Fearless]

I agree with the previous comment. However, this Breakfast Reservation is a common strategy that a lot of people are using. From what I have read by 9am when they open the line is sometimes already an hour long.

I would therefore advise entering Epcot as early as possible for your 8:10am reservation and getting someone to hot foot it over to get in the line, as soon as you get through the gates.

It sounds like the queues are crazy from what I have been reading.

 

[stevesgirl]

Thanks for the suggestions! What is the earliest reservation for that breakfast? How early can you get into the park?

 

[TDC Nala]

go as soon as you can get in there.

Yes, the Akershus Breakfast Reservation Strategy appears to have gotten rather common. So if you're there at 9, the Akershus Breakfasters will be there ahead of you. I believe the breakfast reservations start at 8 AM. Apparently these parties are having one person sit out the breakfast to get in line for Anna and Elsa, the rest of them choke down breakfast and get out there before 9. Or send the kid out to do the meet, then return to the breakfast. Or they just all skip the breakfast and pay the $10 per person penalty.

If it's extra magic hour and you are eligible for that, get there as soon as they open...you'll still have to wait at least an hour. I think that maybe you should mark off meeting them twice in a day unless it is doable for your group to have someone dedicated to sitting in that line for more than half the day.

The current meet and greet setup at Norway cannot accommodate fast passes, so as long as they stay where they are, that will not happen.

 

[ALDSMD]

I thought the world showcase didn't open until 11? How are you able to get in line at 9:00 without a reservation? Thanks.

 

[TDC Nala]

Akershus opens at 8 for breakfast. If you have a reservation there, you can get in before 11. The pavilion is not roped off in order to allow access to Akershus, and they are not stopping persons who arrive there before 9 from getting in line for Anna and Elsa instead of going into Akershus. Also, if you finish at Akershus before 9 you can get in line then.

If you do not have a reservation for Akershus the only way to get to Norway before the park opens at 9 is to go during extra magic hours, assuming you're eligible for the early entry (resort guest).

 

[LSUfan4444]

8:05 might be the first reservation, but the reservation time doesn't matter that much. Whether your reservation is for 8:05 or 8:10, you can enter at the same time.

They will usually start letting people in around 7:45 a.m., so depending on how important it is you you that will dictate how early you will want to be in line at either the IG or the main turnstiles.

Now, keep in mind, if you get the in the morning ADR line at 7 am the earliest you will get to meet Anna & Elsa is 9 am, so you're still waiting two hours.

If you're taking a Disney bus and entering from the front, getting in line at 7:30 would still probably yield a two hour wait because you may not get to meet Anna & Elsa until 9:30 or later (depending on day).

 

[stevesgirl]

These are all very good tips. If 2 of the people in my reservation are under the age of 3 would we get charged for them if we missed the reservation?

 

[ALDSMD]

So I guess my question is if you don't have a dining reservation when can you try to see Elsa & Anna?

 

[jcarwash]

I thought the world showcase didn't open until 11? How are you able to get in line at 9:00 without a reservation? Thanks.

Anna and Elsa now meet starting at 9am.

Along the same lines, Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie also opens at 9am.

So these are two examples of World Showcase offerings starting earlier than the official 11am opening.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I believe it is $10 per person (regardless of age).

 

[ghtx]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but no one yet has suggested the strategy of SKIPPING the Anna and Elsa M&G.

No, OP, you do not "obviously have to" meet them. You can decide that the wait is just too long.

In fact it might be a good way to teach your daughter about opportunity costs. "Yes, we could see Anna and Elsa, but it would take about three hours of park time, and we'd be missing out on seeing X, Y, and Z."

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

 

[LSUfan4444]

So I guess my question is if you don't have a dining reservation when can you try to see Elsa & Anna?

When the park opens up at 9 am, you can get in line and (depending on the day) expect to meet them by 11 am - 12 pm.


All in all, whether you get in line in Norway at 9:10 am or get in line to enter Epcot at 7:30 a.m., your wait will probably be about two hours before you actually get to meet the Princesses. The big difference is, by getting in line earlier, you can still hit other attractions while they have small standby wait times.

 

[Sephora]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but no one yet has suggested the strategy of SKIPPING the Anna and Elsa M&G.

No, OP, you do not "obviously have to" meet them. You can decide that the wait is just too long.

In fact it might be a good way to teach your daughter about opportunity costs. "Yes, we could see Anna and Elsa, but it would take about three hours of park time, and we'd be missing out on seeing X, Y, and Z."

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

Really? I am sorry but if my daughter LOVED Anna and Elsa then I (and I presume most other parents who are on vacation) would at least give a good try at making this happen for their little ones.

But I am glad you realize you are being a stick in mud.

 

[LCoulter]

If you are staying on-site, we arrived before rope drop and headed straight back to Norway so were there a few minutes after 8am and were the 10th family in line. This was last week when we thought the meet time had changed to 9am and were disappointed to find out that Disney had changed the time back to 11am so we had a very long wait but once they started meeting, we were in quick since we were 10th in line.

 

[stevesgirl]

Not to be a stick in the mud, but no one yet has suggested the strategy of SKIPPING the Anna and Elsa M&G.

No, OP, you do not "obviously have to" meet them. You can decide that the wait is just too long.

In fact it might be a good way to teach your daughter about opportunity costs. "Yes, we could see Anna and Elsa, but it would take about three hours of park time, and we'd be missing out on seeing X, Y, and Z."

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

My daughter will turn 3 on this trip. We are going there for her birthday so if she wants to meet Elsa and Anna for her birthday I will make that happen. Her birthday is not my opportunity to teach her about opportunity costs. Besides, that lesson would be totally lost on a 3 year old. The only other Epcot attractions that she can do and/or is interested in are turtle talk and nemo so the fact that we are waiting 2 hours to see Elsa and Anna is not cutting into our park time.

Maybe its just me, but Disney to me is seeing my children's dreams come alive right before their eyes. My daughter loves to pretend that she is Elsa and her little sister is Anna. I would love nothing more that to see her face when she gets to meet Elsa. Being a mother of two little girls, I think that the message that frozen teaches (sisterly love) is a message I am more concerned with at this point than "opportunity costs." So, in response, she "obviously has to" meet them.

 

[hammie59]

my daughter will turn 3 on this trip. We are going there for her birthday so if she wants to meet elsa and anna for her birthday i will make that happen. Her birthday is not my opportunity to teach her about opportunity costs. Besides, that lesson would be totally lost on a 3 year old. The only other epcot attractions that she can do and/or is interested in are turtle talk and nemo so the fact that we are waiting 2 hours to see elsa and anna is not cutting into our park time. Maybe its just me, but disney to me is seeing my children's dreams come alive right before their eyes. My daughter loves to pretend that she is elsa and her little sister is anna. I would love nothing more that to see her face when she gets to meet elsa. Being a mother of two little girls, i think that the message that frozen teaches (sisterly love) is a message i am more concerned with at this point than "opportunity costs." so, in response, she "obviously has to" meet them.

amen