FAQ 1st time visitors - How to meet Characters in DLP

[Karin1984]

Following in BadPinkTink's footsteps, making a separate post about how to meet characters in Disneyland Paris. There are differences between the US parks, but also the Asian parks when it comes to meeting characters.

General

• The entertainment schedule with the scheduled character meets can be found here:
  https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/entertainment/shows-and-parades-in-disneyland-parks/
  Pay attention to where the meets are scheduled, as sometimes these can differ (I will point out some below).
  
  
• The app is usually better than the entertainment schedule when it comes to meeting characters, as it specifies sets.
  
  
• Take a look at the times, it has happened in the past that a character only had 1 thirty minute set a day.
  
  
• ‘Or Friends’
  On the schedule you will see often ‘or friends’. This means when it says Alice or friends: It could be Alice you meet, but also The Red Queen, The Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum etc.
  
  
• ‘Disney Characters’
  When it just says 'Disney Characters' is on the schedule it can basically be any kind of character.
  However, this is usually a character tied to the meeting place.
  Fab Five can meet anywhere, but it would be strange to meet Woody opposite Phantom Manor etc.
  This is not a character palooza with a bunch of characters, or an extremely rare character. Although, some characters are not rare in DLP, but are to US visitors.
  
  
• You do not have fastpasses for characters.
  
  
• Anna & Elsa do not meet in Disneyland Paris. They are in the parade and in the projections of the fireworks show "Illuminations"
  
  
• All face characters should speak French and English. A lot of princesses are recruited from outside of France.
  
  
• Some characters, like Goofy and Captain Hook have a different name in French, Dingo and Capitaine Crochet. Speak in French, it is more likely they will sign in French as well. (Or if you are after an unusual signature, just ask to sign in French )
  
  
• When a character is going on a break soon, the CM will announce it to the queue (sometimes only to the first family waiting)
  
  
• Waiting can take longer than the line looks due to the reservations people with a DAS card can make. If a DAS-card family arrives, the CM will inform the next person in the regular line that he has to wait for one more family, and it's his turn after the DAS-card family.

Disneyland Park
Scheduled meets
At least each day in each season you should be able to meet the following characters in Disneyland Park:

• Mickey Mouse in Fantasyland
  Inside meet & greet. Photopass is always present.
  
• Disney Princesses at the Princess Pavillion
  - Inside meet & greet.
  - You meet one princess, usually there is a different princess in the morning than in the afternoon. No meets in the evening.
  - Which princess is meeting is only announced on the sign outside the pavillion. It's not communicated in the program or app.
  - In the mix are usually the classic princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle and Rapunzel. The first three are very common here, the last three are less common, all the other princesses are rare.
  - The Princess Pavilion has been subject to a lot of testing, with different kind of reservation systems, but nothing implemented yet. Currently it's just getting in line. The Princess Pavilion is nowadays open during EMH. If you want to meet a princess use EMH.
  
  
• FAB FIVE during EMH
  - During EMH you can normally find Minnie, Donald, Chip & Dale, Pluto & Goofy at the beginning or end of Main Street USA.
  - These meets are outside and most of the time a Photopass is present.
  
  
• All other scheduled meets are all outside, sometimes have a Pnotopass, but not always. There is always a CM present to take a picture.
  For this you have to check the entertainment schedule
  
  Some examples of last year (can vary throughout the year)
• Merida in Frontierland
  
  
• Tiana at Riverboat Landing
  This was the case during a large refurbishment of the riverboat
  
  
• Alice or friends near the Tea Cups or the Labyrinth
  - In 2018 DLP had the costumes of The Cheshire Cat and The March Hare for during the Run Weekend in September, therefore the Cheshire Cat was meeting during Halloween as well. Still, this is extremely rare.
  - Sometimes two characters from Alice can meet at the same time.
  - Occasionally there is a meeting place near the Tea Cups, and the other on the other side next to Sir Mickey’s Boutique. Check the entertainment schedule to see where it is.
  
  
• Winnie the Pooh or Friends
  Also here, pay attention to where the meeting place is. It can be at the end of Main Street opposite Casey’s, opposite Plaza Gardens or Pays des Contes Fees.
  
  
• Darth Vader in Discoveryland
  
  
• Baloo or Friends
  Right behind the Hakuna Matata restaurant. ‘Or Friends’ is usually King Louie, occassionally Rafiki.
  
  
• Aladdin or Friends
  Around the corner of Cafe Agrabah, Aladdin (sometimes with Jasmine), Jafar or Genie.
  
  
• Peter Pan or Friends
  Facing Pirates Beach. Peter Pan, Wendy, Mr. Smee and/or Captain Hook. Sometimes two meets at the same time, one near the beach, the other just around the corner of Au Chalet de Marionette)
  
  
• Woody or Friends
  ‘Or Friends’ usually means Jessie. Usually in Frontierland near the Cowboy Cook Out.

Roaming characters
Roaming characters, can both have a line, or just utter chaos. The concept of a line is getting more and more familiar in DLP, but once in a while you have a weird CM who prefers no lines.

• Roaming characters is about being lucky, but my experiences where you MIGHT run into characters. Especially in the weekend usually extra characters are out:
  
  
• Opposite Bella Notte
  - Rapunzel sometimes meets near the towers.
  - Pinocchio or Friends meet right in front of the restaurant.
  
  
• Opposite Au Chalet de la Marionette
  - Rapunzel sometimes meets near the covered walkway.
  
  
• Next to Le Passage Enchanté d’Aladdin
  - This is a training spot, sometimes used for Aladdin or Friends.
  
  
• Near the bathrooms between Colonel Hathi’s restaurant and Indiana Jones is a wooden gate.
  Probably also a training spot for Rafiki etc.
  
  
• Next tot he bathrooms in Frontierland (opposite the FP entrance of Big Thunder Mountain) is a walk way to Adventureland, ending at Colonel Hathi’s restaurant. There is a little nook in this walkway where you sometimes find Pluto, Chip & Dale, but also Genie has been spotted here.

Roaming characters never have a Photopass, ask the CM if you are on your own, or take a selfie.

Tip! When you see a roaming character, but the line is closed, ask the CM if the character will return. The roaming characters also have more than one set on a day.

Seasonal
If there are different characters during a specific season, they are scheduled.

Examples:

• Easter:
  Thumper & Miss Bunny, usually end of Main Street USA near Casey’s Corner
  
  
• Halloween:
  - Usually the Fab Five on Main Street USA are in Halloween outfits.
  - Usually a large collection of villains is spread throughout Disneyland Park. In the mix are most of the time:
  Maleficent, Evil Queen, Red Queen, Gaston, Dr. Facilier, Captain Hook & Mr. Smee, Lady Tremaine / Anastasia & Drizella.
  - Stay around after the villain show.
  The last years during Halloween there was a stage show on the Castle Stage, where afterwards different characters met for a speed Meet & Greet. These meets are short, usually only a few minutes, they don’t always sign.
  - The character (sometimes with help of CM) picks who he wants to meet. Make sure you stand at the front, have something that relates to the character definitely helps, whether it’s a shirt/vest/bag/plushie, you are more noticeable.
  - In 2018 the characters alternate, not all characters in the show meet after each show, therefore it can be worthwile to see the show more than once.
  - Jack Skellington usually is out during the Halloween season, sometimes with Sally.
  
  
• Christmas
  - Sometimes the outfits of the Fab Five on Main Street USA can be more ‘festive’ than specifically Christmas
  - Father Christmas usually meets in Frontierland, where there is a special section rebuild to a little Christmas Town.
  - Jack Skellington usually meets during Christmas as well, can be with Sally, sometimes in Sandy Claws outfit.
  
  
• Other seasonal items
  - Mickey & Minnie in St Patrick’s Day / Welsh Day Outfits in Frontierland.

Studios
In the Studios there is currently only one character with a normal scheduled line:

- Goofy or Friends in the Courtyard
Usually it’s Goofy in 20s movie outfit, sometimes Donald


Lineberty:
- In the Studios they are using an app called 'Lineberty' to regulate the lines for characters.

- From 9:45 you can select a ticket for how many people you want. The app tells you how long it takes till you can meet your character. It's not a completely fixed time, keep an eye on it, it can change. If people don't show up, your time can come quicker. When it's about your time, the app will tell you, you can go. Usually about 10 minutes before the actual time. You go to the place, report to the CM, he clicks on your ticket number in his/her I-pad and you get in line.
For more information and instructions, click here: https://www.dlptownsquare.com/guides/how-to-use-lineberty-for-meet-and-greets/

- While you have reserved one ticket, you can't reserve another. Do it immediately at 9:45 as tickets run out and they go quickly.

- Woody / Buzz / Other Toy Story, usually opens later.

- In the Animation Building the characters differ per season, usually if there is a new movie coming out there is a related character, Moana was there when her movie came out, then Jack Sparrow, Belle. During Christmas it was Minnie in a Parisian outfit.

Roaming characters
- There used to be roaming characters around lunchtime in the Toon Studio area. Not sure if this still happen, but last year I found Aladdin (street rat outfit) and Ariel and Eric here. Also Belle and Gaston have met in the past in the Ratatouille area.


Disneyland Hotels
All Disneyland Hotels have a Disney character meeting in the morning in the hotel lobby. Check with the receptions to get the time schedule. This is usually a character from the Fab Five. This character can have a themed costume, like a cowboy outfit in hotel Cheyenne.


Character Dining:
The restaurants which need reservations asap are Inventions (Sunday Brunch can go very quickly) and the Auberge de Cendrillon.

At the hotels:
Inventions in the Disneyland hotel has characters during lunch and Sunday brunch.

In the park:
Auberge de Cendrillon
Usually a meet with the classic princesses, in the mix besides Cinderella are Aurora, Snow White, Belle, Ariel and Rapunzel. Suzy and Perla are also common in the mix. Other princesses are rare.
They are experimenting with breakfast, but lunch and dinner is common.

Plaza Gardens
During breakfast this is a character breakfast.

Disney Village
Cafe Mickey has characters for dinner.

 

[BadPinkTink]

bump up to the top so that people see it

 

[dolewhipdreams]

There is always a CM present to take a picture.

Ah I was wondering about this!

Merida in Frontierland

Random question- does she speak French? For some reason I'm picturing Merida speaking French with a very Scottish accent.

 

[Karin1984]

Ah I was wondering about this!

Yes, it never happens that a character is out alone. There is always at least one handler with them, sometimes two. The CM is always willing to take your picture.

Random question- does she speak French? For some reason I'm picturing Merida speaking French with a very Scottish accent.

Yes, but most likely it will be a girl from the UK, who has learned some phrases to be able to converse with French guests.
All the girls I have seen for Merida at DLP spoke proper English, with a great accent.

For the other princesses it depends a bit, whenever I meet Snow White, Aurora or Rapunzel it's from outside France. Tiana can go both ways. Cinderella and Belle (haven't met Belle for a long time), are French more often, I think.
Peter Pan, Wendy, Jack Sparrow, usually are from the UK as well.

DLP auditions quite frequently in London and in other European cities for all face characters. I did audition once for fun, a few years ago, and I remember them telling us that you would get French lessons.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Yes, but most likely it will be a girl from the UK, who has learned some phrases to be able to converse with French guests.
All the girls I have seen for Merida at DLP spoke proper English, with a great accent.

Okay that makes much more sense

 

[NJlauren]

@Karin1984 I’m loving all the FAQ threads!

This is great info!

My daughter loves characters! Do they sign?

 

[Karin1984]

@Karin1984 I’m loving all the FAQ threads!

This is great info!

My daughter loves characters! Do they sign?

Yes, they do, and some can sign in 2 languages if you speak French you will get 'Dingo' but when you speak English it is 'Goofy'!
Most have the same name.

 

[NJlauren]

Yes, they do, and some can sign in 2 languages if you speak French you will get 'Dingo' but when you speak English it is 'Goofy'!
Most have the same name.

Oh fun! We don’t speak French but are trying to learn a little before we go.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[NJlauren]

Yes, so make up your mind if you think it'll be funny to get French signatures, or if you only want English, if you start with Bonjour and then let them sign, you'll get French.
BTW once, I even saw a character sign in Dutch! Not for me though, so I don't have proof But you'd have to be lucky to meet a character that knows the particular language

This will be amazing, especially if we meet a character twice! She will love it!

Love all your tips! Thank you so much! You’ve both been so helpful!

 

[Leilanie94]

Thanks for sharing! Hoping to go DLP in October.

 

[TheStarscream759]

If a character speaks to you in French first, don't be alarmed you can speak to them in English and then they'll switch to English.

 

[AppleBlossom]

Are Anna and Elsa ANYWHERE in DLP? Or not at all? Thanks!

 

[TheStarscream759]

Well...if you want to be technical yes they have done meet and greets before via the Princess Pavillon but as far as I know they don't do meet and greets anymore. Mainly because they were from a popular film that would mean a lot of people want to see the Arendelle sisters but that also meant that they were getting wait times of 8 hours just to see them. Parents complained there were a lot of unhappy children who didn't get see them, you get the idea.

They do show up for the main parade in the Disneyland Park called Disney Stars on Parade as they do have a float in said parade. Elsa is also featured in the show Mickey and the Magician and did do meet and greets when Walt Disney Studios had a special event called Fandaze. Otherwise they aren't characters you can meet anymore.

 

[Karin1984]

Are Anna and Elsa ANYWHERE in DLP? Or not at all? Thanks!

Not to meet, but you can see both of them + Kristoff & Olaf in the parade, and Elsa in Mickey & the Magician. And video footage is used in the fireworks show Illuminations.
But's it.

As StarScream mentions, there have been special events in the past where they met. Last winter there was a Frozen sing a long show (similar to the US one), but that was a seasonal event.
DLP is very low key, when it comes to Frozen. There will be merchandise.

 

[Karin1984]

Okay, the summer season has started and there have been quite a lot of characters out, in addition to the schedule, the last few days.
Try your luck! Who has been spotted where? (note: Not every character has been spotted on the same / every day)

Fantasyland:
Next to the pavillion / the old mill: Snow White, Cinderella, Adam & Belle (yellow dress), Naveen & Tiana, Gaston, also Gaston & Belle (blue dress)
In front of Chalet de Marionette: Rapunzel & Flynn
At the courtyard of the Auberge: Suzy & Perla
In front of Bella Notte: Pinnochio and Gepetto
Near the towers at the right entrance to Fantasyland: Rapunzel, Aurora

Discoveryland:
At the exit of Videopolis: Stitch


Adventureland:
In front of Colonel Hathi's Pizza Place: Moana / Vaiana (As she is known in most of Europe), she has been out for a few days in a row!
The pathway between Adventure & Frontierland: Chip & Dale

Frontierland:
In front of the Cowboy Cookout: Merida

Main Street USA gazebo: Mary Poppins

Also spotted, but probably only for a special occassion due to the almost re-opening of Phantom Manor: Mickey in his Phantom Manor costume! (from Halloween 2018)

In the Studios Sully (and Mike ;-) ) has been out as well. When you enter the park, when you get out of the main Studio to your right, next to the Mickey & the Magician theater.

 

[petals]

Does Jack Sparrow ever do meets in DLP or is that rare?

 

[Karin1984]

Does Jack Sparrow ever do meets in DLP or is that rare?

A few years ago he was a regular character, but now unfortunately not anymore.

He was part of the Pirates and princess festival, but if I remember correctly just for the show he did not for M&G. There have been unannounced visits to the Captain Jack restaurant, even those are rare.

He was a great character to meet. I have a video somewhere from 10 years ago. He decided to climb on Captain Hook's ship, only then he couldn't climb down anymore I think that marked the day when characters weren't allowed anymore to roam the park without a handler

 

[TheStarscream759]

I actually managed to meet Jack Sparrow in Walt Disney Studios when the fifth movie was out in 2017 and I still remember the interaction I had with him well at least some of it anyway:
Me: Well as I live in breath, Jack Sparrow!
(Jack walks over to me and bows his head)
Jack Sparrow: Captaine Jack Sparrow.
Me: Oh but of course.
Jack Sparrow: Where do you come from?
Me: I've come a long way.
Jack Sparrow: (In an eager tone) For me?
Me: (Laughs in response) Yeah something like that.

The meet and greet spot in question was in the queue area of Cinemagique just before Cinemagique itself was turned into the Marvel show they've got now. He was meeting in front of a backdrop of the map from the films. It was a good meet and greet.

 

[Karin1984]

I actually managed to meet Jack Sparrow in Walt Disney Studios when the fifth movie was out in 2017

True, as most characters do when a (new) movie is released. I believe also last year Jack Sparrow was a M&G for a short period in the Studios in the art of animation building. He was also out during the half marathon last year.