Is Character Greeting getting more difficult?

[scubamouse]

I'm wondering if others have had a harder time/longer wait to meet characters vs. a year or several yrs ago?

It seemed like the lines to meet characters were longer this year than last. It didn't seem like Pop Warner was impacting the lines; it seemed like it was fewer characters and/or more people.

Some characters were super easy to meet like Little Einsteins/Jojo and Mike & Sully and the Incredibles. The line for Donald was always super super long and we never met him as a result. Last year we met so many characters effortlesly and this year it seemed harder. Who knows, maybe last year we just got lucky.

Anyone else notice this?

 

[meeko_33785]

Hoping that that isn't the case. When I was there in August, it seemed like there were a good number of characters out and lines weren't too bad (except for some of the really popular ones. Even then, I found Mickey at EPCOT and MGM with little to no wait.) Interested in hearing responces since I'll be looking for characters at WDW in less than a week and hoping that the lines won't be horrendous.

 

[Joanna71985]

I don't know. I haven't really noticed any difference.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I believe the overall number of characters out on any given day is quite a bit less than a couple of years ago. Town Square has far less than it used to (at least that was my experience over my last few trips). The Castle used to have a group of characters, but that is gone. MGM just started again having a rotation of face and somewhat different characters by the Big Hat, but that group was gone for pretty much an entire year. I used to see a lot of characters at Camp Minnie-Mickey but not anymore. I do believe the number of characters "peaked" a couple of years ago, and nowadays it's less, and therefore the longer lines. And it seems the lines "close" more often than before, due to the crowds.

But I still manage to meet the ones I want. Often I have to ask around to see when a character is returning, then wait at that spot before they actually come out. It does take some effort and planning! I agree that meeting characters used to be easier, when there were more out at once to scatter the crowds.

 

[Joanna71985]

The castle forecourt characters stopped after CSC ended Feb. 05. And Main Street also lost some characters (although some different ones have joined). I think certain characters will have a bigger draw then others. I also think certain variables will factor into the line size.

 

[skyhawk]

It actually seemed to us this past week that there were MORE characters than usual - and easy to meet.

One of the coolest was a couple of the Toy Story Green Army Guys in MGM. They were just walking around, and interacted great with the kids. Also, in EPCOT in Great Britain - Mary Poppins, and Winnie the Pooh.

Well, I guess it's just a matter of timing.

 

[PlutosFriend]

We usually go in the less busy time and never have long waits for characters

 

[AStamm]

During our August trip, it seemed like most parks had a smorgasbord of characters. DS7 was to the point of character exhaustion. I'm hoping we see as many during Christmas week, when the heat and sun aren't killing us.