We just returned from Disneyland, where we had gone with our kids and grandkids. We had 3 little princesses with us, ages 7, 5, and 3 ( and a cute 3 year old prince who laves all characters). The older girls were planning to wear their Elsa dresses to meet Elsa and Anna. We despaired of this when hearing about the long lines, but were determined to make it work if at all possible.
The day before our meet and greet attempt, we scoped out the area where the Frozen characters meet guests- between Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant and the Pinocchio ride, so we knew exactly where to go. The next day was our early-entry day on our multi-day tickets, so we had everyone at the gates at 6:45 am (a good night's sleep before is essential). We sent one of the dads, a fast runner (yup, the cast members did tell him not to run!), ahead at early-entry opening at 7 am to get in line for Anna and Elsa. The rest of us would catch up as quickly as possible. We did think that the characters would not be available until regular park opening at 8 am, but we were wrong-they were there already!
Upon reaching the line, our family was the 4th one in line, and we waited only 10 minutes. When we were done, the line was already huge. It was worth the early morning wake-up call to see the looks on the kids faces when they met their favorite characters. Also, not everyone would want to use their early-entry hour this way and skip the rides they could have gone on with no crowds, but it was a great way to do it for us!
The day before our meet and greet attempt, we scoped out the area where the Frozen characters meet guests- between Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant and the Pinocchio ride, so we knew exactly where to go. The next day was our early-entry day on our multi-day tickets, so we had everyone at the gates at 6:45 am (a good night's sleep before is essential). We sent one of the dads, a fast runner (yup, the cast members did tell him not to run!), ahead at early-entry opening at 7 am to get in line for Anna and Elsa. The rest of us would catch up as quickly as possible. We did think that the characters would not be available until regular park opening at 8 am, but we were wrong-they were there already!
Upon reaching the line, our family was the 4th one in line, and we waited only 10 minutes. When we were done, the line was already huge. It was worth the early morning wake-up call to see the looks on the kids faces when they met their favorite characters. Also, not everyone would want to use their early-entry hour this way and skip the rides they could have gone on with no crowds, but it was a great way to do it for us!