First time DL visitor looking for character info!

[Rjmdds]

We will be visiting DL for the first time in late August. We are seasoned WDW visitors and avid character hunters. We love Kenny the Pirate and all of the info that he provides for WDW. I am trying to learn as much as possible about DL characters and how to find them. I have read the post here on Character Meals, but besides that I am trying to find out who I can meet and where. It seems like a much "looser" schedule in DL. We are excited to meet Oswald and are hopeful to meet some other characters that we wouldn't normally find in WDW. Any advice/tips/sugeestions/input?

 

[figment_jii]

There are far fewer structured character meet and greets at Disneyland, but it also means you have a better chance of just running into a character around the parks. There isn't a comparable site for Kenny the Pirate for DLR because there is to much uncertainty about who will be where and when. Kenny the Pirate does have a few pages for Disneyland and DCA, which can be a starting point. It'll at least give you a sense of which characters you might see. I disagree with some of likelihood ratings, but overall it seems like a fairly good starting place.
DL: http://www.kennythepirate.com/disney-world-character-schedules/disneyland-characters/
DCA: http://www.kennythepirate.com/disney-world-character-schedules/california-adventure-characters/

Both Town Square (in DL, but not during parades) and Buena Vista Street are good locations to see Mickey and friends. Which characters will be out is somewhat random (I'm sure it's not random, but I haven't figured out the pattern), but it's a good place to start. Princesses are often either in front of the train station as you enter DL and they're always at Fantasy Faire.

Please tell us which character(s) you are looking for and we can try to help identify where they might be...

 

[nikkislaght]

If you want the fun of walking through their houses , then go to Toon town for your interactions with Mickey , Minnie.. and they also have Goofy and Pluto there too... we do this first thing.. although Toontown opens at 10 am I Believe.. we get all these down in approx 30 to 40 minutes.. if we do this first thing... we then head down to F/L and get those rides done.. then we do the princess faire and then do A/L... then work our way across to T/L. on the way out we do the city square for the other characters that are hanging around there.. there is a map with info on it as you come through the gates and you can always ask a handler if they know when or if a specific character is coming out .. you will get characters hanging out near the Jamboree areas too. Pooh Tigger and Eore will be near Splash Mountain..
Alice will be near her ride.


over at C/A we start with RSR and get out Lightening and Mater greets done while waiting for the rides.. Lightening and Mater wont be out at the same time. but they will cross over .. Sully will be near Monsters Inc..
Jessie and Woody on the Pier..
Donald normally at the top of the path that veers down to Screaming.. and Duffy used to be opposite Ariels .
Goofy and Pluto hang around the square at Bona Vista ..
brain fog here and cant remember the rest...

 

[figment_jii]

McQueen and Mater meet in front of the Cozy Cones in Carsland. As nikkislaght said, they alternate, so you cannot meet them together. Red the Firetruck also meets in Carsland (I've seen him by Flo's V-8 cafe, across from Luigi's Flying Tire exit, and by the Cozy Cones on different occasions). They are full-sized cars/trucks, so they can be intimidating to small children. They make noise and rev their engines, so it's something to keep in mind. I took a 3 year old, who was so excited to see McQueen, but when he rev'd his engine, the little one panicked and hide behind the first adult he saw (the photopass photographer!). I didn't expect that, but it is something to keep in mind.

Oswald meets on Buena Vista Street, across from Oswald's Garage. Further down and along Buena Vista Street are other places where you'll probably run across characters. As nikkislaght said, Goofy and Pluto are commonly out there, as are Mickey and Chip and/or Dale. They'll be dressed in their period specific attire (which is pretty cute), so it's a great chance to get photos with the characters in non-standard clothes.

 

[Rjmdds]

Thanks. This is great info. I appreciate it. I was intrigued by Goofy's Kitchen and the number and randomness of the characters there, but I've read that they have discontinued that and are now just sticking with the same 5 or so. We love villains too so we will be on the hunt for some of them. I hear Cruella, the Queen of Hearts and the Evil Queen can often be found in DL. Does anyone ever catch Rabbit from Pooh anymore? I also read that he is a little more present in DL than WDW but not sure if that was old info.

 

[figment_jii]

You best chance to see Rabbit is probably during Easter/Spring Break period when they often bring out more of the bunny characters. Outside of those times, you're best bet is at the Winnie the Pooh and friends (usually Eeyore and Tigger) meet and greet in Critter Country, by Splash Mountain. However, I don't recall seeing Rabbit there recently.

I have seen all three of them out and about in the parks, but I don't know if they're common or not year around. I've seen Cruella and the Queen of Hearts in Town Square and the Evil Queen (and Captain Hook) in Fantasyland. I've also seen Stormtroopers in Tomorrowland (they're villains, kind of).

 

[MouseEXP]

If you ever need to find a specific character, you can ask the Cast Member at the wait time board and they should be able to look it up and tell you where they would be and at what time.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Breakfast with Minnie has more random/rare characters. We've seen the Fairy Godmother, Hook, Max, Honest John (from Pinocchio), and others that aren't as common, as well as more typical characters like Eeyore, Chip & Dale, and of course Minnie herself.

 

[Ucla56]

I haven't been to DL in many many years. Will be going this weekend and must see Rapunzel (actually my daughter must). Having a hard time figuring out where she will be. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[figment_jii]

I haven't been to DL in many many years. Will be going this weekend and must see Rapunzel (actually my daughter must). Having a hard time figuring out where she will be. Any help is greatly appreciated

I would try Princess Fantasy Faire...that's the most likely place, although with the Tangled show no longer being presented, I don't know if she (and Flynn Rider) are still meeting guests on a regular basis.

 

[Ucla56]

I would try Princess Fantasy Faire...that's the most likely place, although with the Tangled show no longer being presented, I don't know if she (and Flynn Rider) are still meeting guests on a regular basis.

Thanks. Hopefully it works. We'd be pretty bummed if not

 

[figment_jii]

Rapunzel (and Flynn Rider) used to meet guests outside at Princess Fantasy Faire when the Tangled show was alternating with the Beauty and the Beast show (they would often meet after their show for the guests that had watched the show and while the Beauty and the Beast show was being performed). However, they've started performing the Frozen show exclusively, so I don't know if Rapunzel & Flynn or Belle still meet guests at Fantasy Faire. I would suggest that you create a thread specifically asking if anyone who has been to the parks since the Frozen show began saw Rapunzel at Fantasy Faire (or anywhere in the parks).

 

[SMD]

I've seen Rabbit near Critter Country once. He wasn't in the regular greet area, they brought him out and he was between the ride and Hungry Bear. The only other characters I've really ever seen there are Br'er Fox and Bear during the height of summer when the Splash line is really long. This is with probably 30-40 times going back there in the last 2-3 years. I also saw him once at Minnie and Friends. Now, I'm almost never in the park that early, so this would have been 1 of maybe 7-8 times paying attention to which characters were there in the same 2-3 years.

The best tip for characters is that if you see a greet, get in the line. Many of the Main St and FL greets are only for about an hour, and with 2-3 20 minute sessions and that's it. Often the line will reach 20 minutes very quickly and will be cut off. If you stop to use the bathroom or get a churro first you will almost always miss your chance.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

As others have said, the character sightings are not very structured and seem to be random. So much so that, at times, people will be walking right by characters and not even realize it. Usually you will first notice that a character is out because you will see a small line of people forming in what seems an unusual place.

When I was in the parks for 3 days last month I saw Jessie, the Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Hook, Alice, Tiana, Mickey and Minnie in a few different outfits, Sully, Mad Hatter, Goofy, Stormtroopers, Woody, Sally and Jack (Nightmare Before Christmas), and probably a few others that I've forgotten. These were seen at random as I was passing by.

 

[jenjersnap]

Do the characters at these unstructured meets sign autographs?

 

[figment_jii]

In my experience, most/many of the characters will sign autographs, but I haven't tried meeting all that many characters. Some, like Mater, McQueen, and Red, did not (no hands!), but the characters on BVS did (those are the ones I remember for sure). The princesses all did (but those aren't really unstructured meet and greets).

 

[SMD]

Do the characters at these unstructured meets sign autographs?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There are 2 kinds of unstructured meets. There are ones where the character is in a fixed spot and a line forms, like on Main St or near the front tunnels. They may or may not have an attendant. There won't be a PhotoPass photographer. There are also character that will wander in areas, like FL, and they may not stop to form a line or sign autographs. They often don't have an attendant and won't have a photographer. The ones in this category are usually Peter Pan, Madhatter and other "face" characters.

 

[figment_jii]

There are ones where the character is in a fixed spot and a line forms, like on Main St or near the front tunnels. They may or may not have an attendant. There won't be a PhotoPass photographer.

Are you sure about the PhotoPass photographer? We did a couple of the fixed spot type meet and greets for the characters on BVS and there were PP photographers there.

 

[Rjmdds]

The best tip for characters is that if you see a greet, get in the line. Many of the Main St and FL greets are only for about an hour, and with 2-3 20 minute sessions and that's it. Often the line will reach 20 minutes very quickly and will be cut off. If you stop to use the bathroom or get a churro first you will almost always miss your chance.

Good tip. Thanks.

 

[SMD]

Are you sure about the PhotoPass photographer? We did a couple of the fixed spot type meet and greets for the characters on BVS and there were PP photographers there.

On BVS, but those spots are more or less fixed. Especially Pluto/Goofy. How often have you seen one at those random meets by the flag pole in DL or when a princess stops by the backside of the train station? Actually, outside of Halloween and Christmas when they pumpkin and tree are up, how often do you see a photographer After you pass the Mickey floral and before you get to the partner's statue? And those 2 spots use tripods, so they're not going to run over and shoot a character pic.