Seeing all the characters...without character meals?

[princesspiglet]

I am not sure where to post this, so I will start here.

We (myself, DH and DD4) are not big eaters and I can't see wasting so much money on a meal just to see the character. Is it possible to see the characters without having to go to the character meals? We are going over Thanksgiving and the week after and are hoping to plan as few ADR's as possible and go on the fly! TIA!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Each park has a "meet and greet" area with characters. Check your park map and head for those places. There are always characters hanging out at the entrance of the MK. Plus, you'll find some characters at World Showcase in Epcot. For example, Belle might be hanging around in France. The "hat" area at MGM always has charcters around it, too.

 

[TinkGirl]

Each park has a "meet and greet" area with characters. Check your park map and head for those places. There are always characters hanging out at the entrance of the MK. Plus, you'll find some characters at World Showcase in Epcot. For example, Belle might be hanging around in France. The "hat" area at MGM always has charcters around it, too.

That was just what I was going to say. This trip we noticed a new meet and greet area in Future World of EPCOT. It's inside a building near one of the Innovations. We saw Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Minnie, and Chip & Dale there. Also, Camp Minnie and Mickey at AK has lots of characters--there's the Pooh area there, too. We haven't done character meals for our last two visits, and we've seen lots of characters. Keep your autograph book and camera accessible, so you can whip them out when you spy a character.

 

[Goofy Rulz]

Magic Kingdom: There is Mickey's Toontown Fair that has a meet & greet. That area usually opens an hour after the park opens so get there are close to the start time as possible. Mickey & Minnie also make an appearance at the entrance but good luck getting in that line. You're better off getting too Toontown when it opens.
MGM: The characters come out at various time around Mickey's hat in the center of the park (check at park for times). We have also seen the Toy Story characters at Al's Toy Barn by Muppets 3d.
Animal Kingdom: There is Camp Minnie & Mickey where the characters come out. Again you'll have to check the park on times for their arrival.
Epcot: I haven't been to this park in years so I can't help you much here. I know they have "Characters on Holiday" where they ride around on a trolley. Whether or not they get off so you can get autographs I don't know.
Hope this helps.

 

[meeko_33785]

It's definatly possible to see characters without going to the character meals. In fact, there are many characters that make appearences in the parks than there are at the character meet-and-greets. If you're looking for anyone in particular, here are some of my favorite sites that let you know where you're likely to find them:

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/greet.html

http://home.att.net/~disneysue/characters/wdw/disneycharacters.html

 

[princesspiglet]

Thanks everyone! I am so happy to know we will be able to see the characters without having to waste money on crappy buffet or pre-plated food!!! Here we come Le Cellier!

 

[lpbm4]

Thanks for this thread, Princesspiglet! I keep reading how going to a character meal is a "must" but I know we won't eat the food and I'm not spending that much money on one single meal!!! I wondered the same thing!

 

[princesspiglet]

Laura,

I also kept reading about character meals were a must, and I was actually thinking of giving in to my SEVERE adversion to buffet food, but I stuck to my guns and am declaring this trip a 1 character meal only trip! We still haven't decided on which meal to do, but my DH is telling me we need to do one for our daughter. I will be much more comfortable spending money on good table service if I can order what I want and know that there won't be 50 other people touching my food and I would rather sit down and enjoy the meal without worrying when the characters will be coming to my table, how much time they are spending with us, etc!

 

[lpbm4]

Amen to that! I know my husband would be fine *NOT* going to one, so I think we'll be saving our money this time around and forgoeing the character meal.

 

[Buttercup Roberts]

A great place to see characters is Toontown in the MK, but I'd do the opposite of what everyone usually says: instead of going first thing in the morning, I'd go last thing before they close.

We did that once, and ended up with about half an hour practically alone with the characters, and the cm's were asking us if we wanted to go back into the non-existant line and see the other ones we'd missed. It was great!

Another good place to see characters without lines is in the World Showcase pavilions in Epcot.

 

[Jotash]

Don't forget the Toontown Train Station. We saw so many characters there all at once. There were probably about ten of them out and then they switched for ten more. We got lots of pictures. There were also what I thought were some unusual ones like Rabbit and Meeko (my favorite). The only thing I didn't like was it was a free for all with no organization of lines or anything, but my DS was going out of his mind running from one to the other that I wasn't able to keep up and get pictures of everyone.

 

[liamandcaili]

You can also find some characters near the International entrance to Epcot. We met Chip and Dale there with a very short wait. I also thought the Toon Town Barn in MK was a good deal because even though you wait in line, you get to see multiple characters once you get in...you don't know who is there until you enter, but we saw Minnie, Pluto and Goofy and since DD was the last child in the group admitted (they bring in groups of 4-5 at a time) she got lots of extra attention. There was no wait for the Pooh characters that day and in the princess line we heard it was Snow White, Aurora and Belle. In Epcot, we liked the character meet and greet near Innoventions. It was similar in that you waited in one line and then got to meet multiple characters...it was Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Pluto...but also outside there were many characters. There we saw Donald, Captain Hook and Smee, Baloo, and Mary Poppins. We also found all the Pooh characters in the English Toy Shop in Epcot..no wait...and Aurora and Belle were in the back part of France...also with no wait. I've heard that you can often find Jasmine and the other Aladdin characters in Morocco.

Anyway, it is definitely possible to see the characters without going to the character meals. Sometimes it just depends on how long you are willing to spend searching them out and waiting in line. DD loves seeing the characters and doesn't mind waiting a reasonable amount of time. DS(almost 7) doesn't mind taking the picture, but he would rather eat glue than wait, and he would much rather spend his time on the rides.