Our experiences with meeting the princesses.

[Minnie Sue Oz]

We've met her during our first visit at AG in 2007. Never seen her again since, but there's reported sightings once in a blue moon in trip reports.

Thanks so much for that!

And, check out our tickers!!! Looks like we will be at Disneyland at the same time!

YAY for Halloween in Disneyland!!!

 

[pixiewings71]

Oh my................a princess Minnie!!!

I didn't know there was a princess Minnie! Is she there often or is this just a sometimes thing? I would love to know as when we were there last in 2010, we didn't see one!

I would be happy to wait to see her, but I am an adult! To make the kids wait so long is very frustrating so the characters should at least give them some real attention when they finally get to see them!

Going now to add "Princess Minnie" to my things to do in October list!!!!

We've eaten at AG 5 or 6 times over the past 6 years, we've never seen Princess Minnie. We have seen Mulan, Pocahontas, Snow, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel.

 

[ktlm]

UGH-- I hate to hear that the Rapunzel line is just as bad as it was a year ago...and not even Flynn anymore for the trouble of it. We braved that line last year. I think we got in line around 10:15 and saw her around noon. That is what I remember as the absolute worst part of our DL trip. The sun is beating down on you and there is no shade whatsoever. All the parents were either sending their kids off with someone to come back when the meet and greet started or sending them to this one little shady spot where we could all still see the kids from the line. Did the CM at least tell you that when they post the 45 minute wait sign, that means that it is estimated to be 45 minutes from when the meet and greet starts, not from when you get in line? They at least were very clear with us on that...although I think our posted wait was 30 minutes, and we were there double that after the meet and greet started. DD (then 5) was adamant that she absolutely had to see Rapunzel. We had tried the day before, but the wait time was never less than an hour and usually more like an hour and a half to 2 hours.

I would have been devastated about Princess Minnie walking off right when we got there. We have always wanted to see her, and have never been lucky enough to do so. We HATE DL's Princess Fantasy Faire and the way they rotate out the Princesses there. The area is pretty, but the meet and greet format stinks!!! DD really wanted to meet Tiana last year, but the line was around 45 minutes to an hour; the other 2 Princesses meeting that day were the ones we had seen the day before at PFF, and there was no guarantee we would get Tiana. We skipped it because even DD agreed that she didn't want to stand in line that long only to get up there and Tiana not be there and DD was not happy that she never got to see Tiana that trip. I will say, that the times we have done PFF, we have not felt rushed like we did with Rapunzel.

WDW is SO much better on Princess meet and greets in that regard. When you get in line, you know who you are going to see. You can plan it out to see who your child really wants. There has been some worry because they are currently gutting their Snow White Ride to make a new Princess meet and greet area in its place, and everyone is scared that means that they are going to run it like that miserable PFF.

Are they still doing the Princess Coronation in the PFF area? That is a good way to meet Princesses because people don't realize that they will come back out and do a little meet and greet after the show ends. A lot of people leave right after the show. You can usually only pick up one of the Princesses because by the time you get to see the first, the lines for the others will be cut off, but at least it is a Princess with a short wait and you know who you are going to get.

Around the castle in the afternoon is great too, if you are lucky enough to catch the Princesses over there. We saw Aurora and Snow White over there one afternoon.

 

[Elmck]

I have not been to Disney World in over 15 years and this will DD's first trip. I have an ADR for CRT our first night there and AB for breakfast one morning. I am hoping she will get to see most of the princesses at these. Otherwise, I am making notes from the discussions here to find the best way to see them. I have book quite a few character meals and DD is very excited

 

[pixiewings71]

I have not been to Disney World in over 15 years and this will DD's first trip. I have an ADR for CRT our first night there and AB for breakfast one morning. I am hoping she will get to see most of the princesses at these. Otherwise, I am making notes from the discussions here to find the best way to see them. I have book quite a few character meals and DD is very excited

Please note, this is on the Disneyland forum, not WDW, so things are likely to be different.

 

[ktlm]

I have not been to Disney World in over 15 years and this will DD's first trip. I have an ADR for CRT our first night there and AB for breakfast one morning. I am hoping she will get to see most of the princesses at these. Otherwise, I am making notes from the discussions here to find the best way to see them. I have book quite a few character meals and DD is very excited

FYI- About WDW- I'm assuming AB is Akershus. You will most likely see Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty at both. These days it is rare for someone different to be there, but it does happen occasionally. Belle will be in her gold dress in the front for formal pictures at Akershus, and in her blue dress making the tables rounds at CRT. Mulan you can find in China at Epcot- her lines are usually short. Jasmine you can find at Morocco at Epcot or in Adventureland at MK- often with Aladdin, but not always. You want to get there about 15 minutes before the meet and greet session starts, as their line can get long. Tiana meets in Liberty Square at MK- again you want to get there about 15-20 minutes before the meet and greet session starts if you can. Her line can also get long, but it isn't always- it is kind of hit and miss. Rapunzel is currently meeting at the front of MK by guest services- I've heard her line is not as bad as it used to be, but I don't know- that was not her spot when we saw her last. Merida recently started meeting in the fairytale garden by the castle which is where Rapunzel used to meet- I don't know much about how crowded her meet and greet gets, but if she is like Rapunzel, Rapunzel wasn't that crowded before the movie came out, but within 2 days after the lines were enourmous. The times guides at MK and Epcot will have all of the meet and greet sessions listed and that helps alot. The only place you can find Pochahontas is at AK- she appears at Camp Minnie Minnie- but she can be hit and miss.

Hope this helps!!! Now get yourself over to the WDW board!

 

[DLtorgo]

I can't believe they haven't come up with a better solution to the Rapunzel meet and greet by now. I also don't get why the line moves so molasses slow. They should have the kids wait in the line with the family, then the little queue would fill up faster and they would cap the line with the real amount of people going to meet her, not a bunch of place holding parents. I think they can't get a sense of how long the line will take when they don't truly know how many kids are in the line or not.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

The PFF is Disney Princess Russian Roulette. It may be fine if you just want to meet princesses, but if you want to meet a specific princess you need good luck and good timing.

I once overheard a family that had spent something like 6 hours in that line over the course of that trip and a meal at Ariel's Grotto all in an attempt to meet Cinderella.

Hopefully the new Fantasy Faire will tell you who you're going to see. I can't imagine that Disney Princess Russian Roulette has been popular with guests.

 

[revwog1974]

Are the princesses out at the Halloween parties? I think we'd we're coming in October & I'm wondering if the Halloween party is any better.

We were at AG a year ago and Princess Minnie was there. She came and kissed my disabled mother on the top of her head. It was my mother's last trip to Disneyland and I burst into tears. Other than that, AG is the way to go. You get to sit, eat, the food is good and the princesses come to you. Even my curmudgeon of a father liked it!

 

[Poohs100AcreWood]

Assuming you get there when PFF opens, you will know exactly who will appear, as they come out when it opens and you see them. If not, then here's a breakdown:

On days with coronation ceremonies: Tiana, Belle, Ariel, with mixed in Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, or Princess Minnie later in the day

Without coronation ceremony: Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora for first round; Belle, Tiana, Ariel, for second round, and then mixed up for further sets

Each set is about 40 min, except Minnie, who will only do 30 min sets. On slow days, they will sometimes add more than 3 princesses. I caught Jasmine, Tiana, Ariel, Pocahontas, and Minnie all together on a slow day in March.

 

[Vala]

Are the princesses out at the Halloween parties? I think we'd we're coming in October & I'm wondering if the Halloween party is any better.

They're using the Princess Fantasy Faire set up for the Halloween parties too I'm afraid.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

We saw Jasmine during the Halloween Party we went to in mid-October. She and the Genie were in the Aladdin's Oasis area in Adventureland. My DD was thrilled, as we hadn't seen here anywhere else in the park. The line was SHORT, too, I think becuase that area is kind of out-of-the-way.

 

[lwilkison]

My DD and I got in line around 8:55am last Friday (May 11) at Princess Fantasy Fair to meet the princesses. The PFF opens at 9am. Princess Minnie, Ariel and Tiana were the Princess that were there. DD and I stood in line for about 20 minutes until we were at the very front of the line. At that point, the CM working the line told us Minnie would need to leave but we would still get to see the other 2 princesses. In other words, one princess would be leaving but she would not be replaced. So for us, we stood in line for 20 minutes and got to meet 2 princesses - not bad.

Next on our list was meeting Rapunzel. Her meet n' greet didn't start until 11am (in Fantasyland). We got in line at 10:40am with the sign saying we had a 45 minute wait. Note that there is virtually no shade for the folks in line. There were many smart parents taking turns with one holding the spot in line and the other riding rides with the kids. The Rapunzel lined moved extremely slow....by Noon we were second in line and Rapunzel needed to take a 15 minute break. By that time, I actually said something to the CM's that there wait time sign was waaay off. They apologized. We finally got our 30 seconds with Rapunzel (Flynn was not there) and that was it. Rapunzel is my DD's favorite and she really wanted to meet her but I felt an hour and a half to meet just one character was too much.

We had horrible experience with Rapunzel as well, 2 years ago! I am surprised they haven't worked the "kinks" out of this meet and greet yet! We tried on 5 seperate days to see her and failed because of their wait time display.

We finally asked what was best to do to actually meet her and the CM said to let my DD and my DH go ride other rides in Fantasyland and I wait in line with our walkie-talkie and when we got close to bring them over so that our 2 1/2 yr old didn't have to wait in broiling sun! It worked, I was a little sun burnt but our DD was great and she go her 30 seconds with both Rapunzel and Flyn and our DD was so shy SHE COULDN'T LOOK AT THEM

 

[lizabu]

Why wouldn't Disney just put 2 or 3 Rapunzels out but in different areas? Theres no way I would wait more than 1 hour just for a 15 second meet & greet.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We had a similar experience meeting Rapunzel last summer. We got there when it first opened, but the line was already 60 minutes long (I guess people had been lining up early). It was boiling hot and there was no shade at all.

In actuality it took over 2 hours for us to meet Rapunzel. Flynn left RIGHT before we got in there, crushing my daughter (she was 14 last year, and let me tell you this was an epic disaster!). But the worst of all was the heat. There was a Grandma standing with her granddaughter near us and she almost fainted. They had to call the emergency workers to come help her. Standing in the hot sun for 2 hours isn't good for anyone, let alone some poor 80 year old woman!

By the time we got to the front of the line, only Rapunzel was there--and she spent less than 10 seconds greeting my daughter and taking a picture. I am not the type to complain--I usually just figure things can't be perfect and that is the way it goes--but I felt it was necessary to complain about this set up they have for meeting her. First I went to the CM that was working the line, and he actually made a joke about it. He kept saying things like "well, Rapunzel is very busy brushing her hair, so the line does move slowly!". I felt like he was making a joke of the whole thing, but believe me, if he was the one standing in the hot sun for 2 hours he wouldn't have been laughing! He had a nice patch of shade that he was coveting. When I mentioned that maybe they could have more than one Rapunzel to make the line move faster he looked at his co-worker and said "what is she talking about, how could there be more than one Rapunzel?". I just walked away, but later I did go to City Hall to complain about the line formally. Obviously nothing has changed!