Talk to Me About Character Locator

[PrincessWithABlaster]

So for those of you who use Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator, what does it buy you? I have 1 of 3 kids who really likes to meet characters but the other two are meh about it so we are not going to be doing an all character all the time trip. We are also not looking for rare or unique characters nd probably aren't interested in characterpolooza. But DD does want to meet Mary Poppins and Gaston this trip since she missed them last trip. I know everyone in the party would like to meet Moana if she's still there. So my question is, will having CL make finding a few characters a day easier? Is it any easier than just checking the schedule (and yes, I've heard Moana isn't on it, but I assume she's the exception)?

EDIT: Edited to add that we will have two days at Epcot this year for the first time so meeting characters in WS will probably be on our agenda.

 

[CarrieR]

I'm a frequent park visitor, but not normally a character person. However, I got tapped to play "tour guide" for a friend's family reunion later this summer, and there are some kids in the party.

I went ahead and purchased a subscription. Learned a few things I didn't already know - and my viewpoint is that the price is so minimal compared to the cost of the trip, even if I only pick up a few tidbits, IMO it's well worth it. (I love being able to find out all of the options for meeting any given princess, for example.)

 

[GlassAct]

We used it to order our character visits. It has helpful tips like "X character's waits are typically 30-60 min", so we moved that one to the am, or " Y rarely longer waits than 10 min", so we saved that one for the afternoon.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, it's worth it. As PP said, the cost is very low. If anything, it confirms to you where they are and it even gives fun tidbits to use during the M&G.

 

[mrsR123]

If you're a big character person, it's probably worth what is basically a fast food lunch or two Starbucks. It's the only place anymore that you can get info on Character Palooza. That alone allowed DD and me to meet Evil Queen, whom we had never met, plus Tiana, Mulan , Pocahontas, Bert, and Aladdin and Jasmine with no wait. All were great meets as well.

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Yes it makes it a lot easier to meet characters each day. Disney times guides are vague (intermittently 8-12 for instance). Kenny lists each specific set. That way, you can plan to be at the set before it starts. Helps to cut down on the wait.

FWIW- we were able to meet 30 characters between MK and Epcot (and bCk to MK) in under 9 hours the Saturday before Thanksgiving using Kenny's app. Granted we didn't do rides that day, but the info used from the app made that character hunt possible.

His app also has great info about crowd calendars, show times, hard ticket parties, etc. worth it. Hands down.

 

[ArielSRL]

We aren't huge character people but the cost is so minimal that it's worth it for the few characters we do want to meet.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

(I love being able to find out all of the options for meeting any given princess, for example.)

We used it to order our character visits. It has helpful tips like "X character's waits are typically 30-60 min", so we moved that one to the am, .

Disney times guides are vague (intermittently 8-12 for instance). Kenny lists each specific set. .

Yes, I know it's very inexpensive but as I wouldn't buy two cups of Starbucks unless I actually wanted to drink them, I wouldn't pay for this if there was nothing my family was going to use. The above items are probably things we would get some value from. Thank you, everyone!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

FWIW- we were able to meet 30 characters between MK and Epcot (and bCk to MK) in under 9 hours the Saturday before Thanksgiving using Kenny's app. Granted we didn't do rides that day, but the info used from the app made that character hunt possible.

My DS4 and DD6 would have my head on a platter if I tried to do something like this. Maybe someday DD8 and I could have a mom/daughter day - she would love to hunt down that many characters.

 

[madchatter]

I'll add that I refer to the "rant and rave" section throughout a trip and will get even more info about a specific day's character activity. Kenny and other subscribers will typically give information that is sensitive to that day and even that hour or minute. The specific character times are pretty much particular to ONLY his site. I am a subscriber and renew annually.

 

[DisneyLove2015]

My DS4 and DD6 would have my head on a platter if I tried to do something like this. Maybe someday DD8 and I could have a mom/daughter day - she would love to hunt down that many characters.

We had plenty of other park days for rides. Our son asked about doing something like that and we said ok, knowing it was our arrival day and we had to be back at the condo at a certain time (meeting the rest of the extended family for the start of our annual family reunion). During the week when we go with my family, meeting a lot of characters is harder simply because there are so many people with us (10-25) and most don't want to wait for characters.

It was honestly an amazing experience. Given that- I've also been going one to two times a year since 1988 so it wasn't a once in a lifetime trip or even every few years kind of trip. . That makes a huge difference I think.

 

[CarrieR]

Oh - I definitely agree about not purchasing it with zero reasons (which is why I hadn't previously subscribed.). Based on your goals, I think you'll get some use out of it. A better way to make me point re cost is that the price point is such that it doesn't bother me if it's limited use. I'm willing to take more of a gamble than if it were more expensive.

 

[JETSDAD]

We really enjoy trying to meet as many different characters as possible and especially the more rare ones. Once we've seen a character we don't bother meeting them again so trying to find characters that don't meet frequently is worth it for us. As someone else mentioned, the message board we found to be valuable as people would post having seen characters out that aren't listed anywhere. The Character Palooza time was worth it as well.

 

[mamamelody2]

I've been wondering if I wanted to get a subscription, and based on this thread, I'm now getting one. Thanks!

 

[5kidsmommy]

We used it for our mother/daughter trip. My teenage daughter loves characters. She has some health issues so she can do rides but not continually. Meeting the characters provides a nice break for her. With Kenny's tips we were able to meet 36 unique characters on our 5 day trip. The thing she loved was the little tips to interact with the characters. She always worries because she is a little older but wants to still have fun. The tips allowed for that and helped her break the ice a bit. Totally worth the small cost. I renewed for our next trip even though I'm just going with a couple of my teenage boys, I know though they'll want to meet a few characters like Baymax.

 

[Chm635]

DisneyLove- would really like to hear more details, did you do something special for autographs? Was it fun? Who did you meet? My DD and I are going down a day early to do a meet/greet day before DH joins for rides, so any tips/ideas are appreciated. Already planning on buying Character Locator. Thanks!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I am going to look into this. This will be my three year old's first trip and she is so excited to meet all the characters. She is definitely in the all Disney stage right now!

 

[SaintsManiac]

It's so worth it. If you think you won't use it, trust me you will once you have it.

 

[Meldev]

Great thread OP - I didn't know this tool existed. We've met many characters in the past but we have a quick 4 day park stopover during President's Day weekend I think I'll sign up to maximize our character meeting options!