Logistics of Meet and Greets

[AJ1983]

Does anyone know what is involved in creating a new meet and greet? I am sure there is more to it than simply hiring someone to play a character, but I have no idea what else goes on behind the scenes to start one. For example, Moana is hugely popular, why wouldnt Disney have a meet and greet? My son watches Disney Jr, and I wonder why they dont have a Miles from Tomorrowland M & G in Tomorrowland.

Just wondering if anyone has any insight? To me it seems like a cheap quick way to add more "attractions" to the park, but like I said, I know nothing about theme park operations

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Moana did meet for awhile at DHS after her movie came out.

 

[AngiTN]

Sometimes it's licensing. I don't know about Miles and how he came to be. Did Disney develop him from scratch? Develop him from elsewhere? Purchase the rights from another children's story? Etc? Appearances can be part of the deal in some cases. Then in others is part of promotional budgets.
Moana appeared in DHS as part of her movie promotional budget dollars. Think of it as promotional ad dollars. Same as a movie poster in the mall. When that budget ran out, she left HS. Other characters have done the same at HS (this park seems to be where to place the Movie Promotional Characters)
Now, in order to fund her appearance she'd be paid for out of a different budget pool. It's name escapes me at the moment, Entertainment something or other. I have no idea how far out they work those budgets so no idea how far out it will take to work her in.
I have a feeling each park gets it's own piece of a bigger appearance budget.
There's been talks of her showing up a few different places
But, the one thing they aren't is cheap. Characters actually cost quite a bit, manpower wise

 

[glassslippergirl]

It's a good question. I can only guess about some of the things that go into a meet-and-greet. Casting is definitely one as you mentioned, as well as training; the characters (especially those who talk to guests) need to understand the character in order to act like him or her. In Central Florida, temperatures are a factor. A person can only stay outside in some of these costumes for a very short time, so coming up with strategies for cooling, scheduling breaks, and even having two people in costume at once so they can be quickly switched out are all considerations. There's also a commitment of cast members to man the meet-and-greet and a commitment of park space which often has to be themed (characters don't just pop up spontaneously on the street as much anymore). Scheduling also has to be completed well in advance, so that the character's hours can appear in the Times guide for the park and on MDE. And all this assumes that there is already a costume designed for the character, but designing, creating, and maintaining costumes are all considerations also. I'd be interested in knowing how much it costs just to bring the costume to fruition.

Characters also wax and wane in popularity through time. There will always be a demand for Mickey and the rest of the fab 5, but how much demand is there for a character like Wreck-It-Ralph right now? My DH would love to meet him, but I don't think he would experience the same lines as Anna and Else, Mickey, or the princesses. I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a cute meet-and-greet location themed to Monsters, Inc. in DHS (I think it was near the backstage tour, so it's probably gone). The space was there, the characters were there, but the crowds weren't. The meet-and-greet was providing another attraction for the park, but to what end if few people bothered?