Fast passes for Character Meets?

[ClapYourHands]

I'm heading down in May with my 4-year-old. She loves Disney movies and is very interested in meeting characters, especially princesses and Mickey/Minnie. But she can also be very shy in real life and take a while to warm up, so my fear is that the idea of meeting them might be better than the reality. I really don't want to waste pre-booked FP on meets if she's going to bail and I know she'll enjoy the rides. But I don't want to be in standby purgatory the whole trip either.

Can anyone give me an idea of how available (generally) same-day fast passes are for the MK meets? Since our tickets are date-based, I can't fool around with MDE to see how mush refreshing it would take to score one. My last trip was with my older kids who don't care about characters, so I've only refreshed for rides.

 

[SusannaBanana]

Following! Planning our first trip for 2021 but I will also have a 4 year old and I’m not sure she wants rides. (Sorry to thread high jack, but I have two older kids who will want rides not meets. Can I book both for the same time slot, and divide and conquer with DH?)

 

[DrunkJam]

Fairly sure most M&G are fairly easy to get day of, BUT, have you considered character meals? They save a TON of time on character meets, and can get some less common characters covered as well as the big names.
Both my kids loved meeting characters at meals, and it gave us down time WITH the benefit of characters meaning all our park time could be used for rides or other attractions.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Following! Planning our first trip for 2021 but I will also have a 4 year old and I’m not sure she wants rides. (Sorry to thread high jack, but I have two older kids who will want rides not meets. Can I book both for the same time slot, and divide and conquer with DH?)

You can absolutely book FP for different groups at the same time. When you make your FP, MDE will ask who is going to be in the group, so you customize. Not only that, but if the younger kids are too short for some of the rides your older kids would enjoy, you can use Rider Switch to go on the rides yourself (with two guests) after using your own FP for the character meets with the younger ones.

Fairly sure most M&G are fairly easy to get day of, BUT, have you considered character meals? They save a TON of time on character meets, and can get some less common characters covered as well as the big names.

It's a great suggestion, but character meals are not really part of the budget at this time.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Not an exact answer to your question but my niece (5yo on our first visit) was terrified of characters at the time. I took it VERY slowly with her at first and let her set the pace. Even looking at a character 30' away caused her to bury her head in my shoulder. The next day she could wave from that distance. The following day she would meet them but I requested they not touch her and all characters were amazing!

By the final day of our vacation she bounced up to the Queen of Hearts, grabbed her hand and posed for a picture.

If your daughter is shy, and you're able to get day-of FPs for them, I recommend letting her set the pace and it's amazing how her shyness may disappear over the course of your vacation.

 

[SusannaBanana]

You can absolutely book FP for different groups at the same time. When you make your FP, MDE will ask who is going to be in the group, so you customize. Not only that, but if the younger kids are too short for some of the rides your older kids would enjoy, you can use Rider Switch to go on the rides yourself (with two guests) after using your own FP for the character meets with the younger ones.

Thanks! I'm not sure I'm ready for the mind-numbing task of multiple FPs and Rider Switch. But I have a whole 11 months or so to wrap my head around it!

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thanks! I'm not sure I'm ready for the mind-numbing task of multiple FPs and Rider Switch. But I have a whole 11 months or so to wrap my head around it!

I find it fun (like putting a puzzle together), but take it one step at a time. Hang out on Disboards long enough, and you'll be a pro by the time you have to book anything!

 

[StarSeven7]

I find Mickey meets harder to pick up as a same day FP but the others are easier.

 

[BarlowFamily]

Not exactly a shy kid, DS4 has "meet and greet" remorse...he is really excited to meet while in line and then freezes when it's his turn and finally thinks of everything he wanted to say after his turn. We've been working on it and he's getting much better.

Not exactly FP+, but helpful for our family:
Meet and Greets with outside/open lines will allow one adult to wait and hold the spot for the family or littles. Off the top of my head, Buzz, Woody and Bo Peep in HS were open lines that DH waited in while I took DS4 around (toilet, snacks etc.)

Chip and Dale have a very laid back meet and greet campfire every evening at Fort Wilderness. They of course sign books and take pictures,but they also do a sing along and just "hang out." DS4 still talks about how he got to play corn hole with Chip and Dale! The campfire is totally free, smores supplies can be purchased, or bring your own. Can boat over from MK or drive if you have a car.

We had great interactions with Goofy and Pluto at Garden Grill at Swan (near Boardwalk). It's a little less than a Disney Character Breakfast, ut was less crowded and so the characters stopped by multiple times. It's just on the weekends, and only Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto.

The Town Hall and Fairytale Hall Meet and Greets I haven't been able to get day of FP+ as #4 or onwards. Ariel and the pals that meet in the big top by Dumbo, I have. Gaston also meets outdoors by his Tavern, no FP+ needed. I think we stumbled upon Mary Poppins near Liberty Square, with a short outdoor line we waited to say hi.

Enjoy your trip! And avoid standby purgatory at all costs!

 

[Jobelle]

We managed to pull a 4th+ FP for Rapunzel/Tiana on a very crowded MK Saturday a few weeks ago. Also briefly had a Tinkerbell one that same day but dropped it for something else.

Enchanted Tales with Belle would be nice for a child who is a little character shy as they don't have to participate and can just sit in the audience and watch. But they are still able to see Belle 'in action'. This was great for our DD2 who asked all day to see Belle but was very shy with all the other meet and greets. She was perfectly satisfied sitting with us during the show and watching her older sister have the whole experience.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Not exactly a shy kid, DS4 has "meet and greet" remorse...he is really excited to meet while in line and then freezes when it's his turn and finally thinks of everything he wanted to say after his turn. We've been working on it and he's getting much better.

Not exactly FP+, but helpful for our family:
Meet and Greets with outside/open lines will allow one adult to wait and hold the spot for the family or littles. Off the top of my head, Buzz, Woody and Bo Peep in HS were open lines that DH waited in while I took DS4 around (toilet, snacks etc.)

Chip and Dale have a very laid back meet and greet campfire every evening at Fort Wilderness. They of course sign books and take pictures,but they also do a sing along and just "hang out." DS4 still talks about how he got to play corn hole with Chip and Dale! The campfire is totally free, smores supplies can be purchased, or bring your own. Can boat over from MK or drive if you have a car.

We had great interactions with Goofy and Pluto at Garden Grill at Swan (near Boardwalk). It's a little less than a Disney Character Breakfast, ut was less crowded and so the characters stopped by multiple times. It's just on the weekends, and only Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto.

The Town Hall and Fairytale Hall Meet and Greets I haven't been able to get day of FP+ as #4 or onwards. Ariel and the pals that meet in the big top by Dumbo, I have. Gaston also meets outdoors by his Tavern, no FP+ needed. I think we stumbled upon Mary Poppins near Liberty Square, with a short outdoor line we waited to say hi.

Enjoy your trip! And avoid standby purgatory at all costs!

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately, I'm solo with DD this trip, so no line-holding, but good to know for next time. I hear the same is true in WS over in Epcot, but haven't been there personally.

Last trip, we tried to all go to the Chip and Dale sing along (brought marshmallows and hotdogs and roasting sticks), but we drove over and were turned away at the gate. I'd never heard of FW being a resort to limit day guest parking, so we were pretty bummed, as parking elsewhere and taking Disney transport would have put us too late.

Last trip (without DD) we saw Minnie and Goofy at the Garden Grove. It was great. It was also free because we were staying on points and DH has mad loyalty status, so we got breakfast free every day, which included the Garden Grove. Alas, this trip we're staying onsite so nothing is free - lol!

Good to know about Gaston! I think DD might do better with more informal M&G because she’ll be able to get a good look at the characters before getting up to interact. I’m thinking I might pay for a KTP subscription to get an idea where those interactions will be.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We signed up for the chase debit card, take the card with you to epcot to get into the chase visa line. It was waaaay shorter. So worth the sign up.
Also have one at HS for star wars

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I wouldn’t waste precooked Fastpasses on it. Most people don’t, so they are usually available day of. To be honest, or best character interactions have always been spontaneous instead of planned. Characters walking through the park that stop and give hugs along the way and accidental sightings. I’ve always felt the more structured meets seem to revolve around getting pictures taken or autographs and you don’t really get the same fun vibe from the characters.