Wait Times for Characters?

[Emily & Sarah's Mom]

My DH, DDs (9,4) , and I will be at WDW 6/10-6/17. I know autographs and characters are going to be a priority for my girls. We do have some character meals planned during our trip.

What type of wait times can we expect to encounter for characters in the parks?

Thank you!

 

[PolyAddict]

My DH, DDs (9,4) , and I will be at WDW 6/10-6/17. I know autographs and characters are going to be a priority for my girls. We do have some character meals planned during our trip.

What type of wait times can we expect to encounter for characters in the parks?

Thank you!

I would say around 10 to 15 minutes a character.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I think it will depend on the the character you are waiting for and the location. For example, if you are in the judges tent waiting for Minnie and Mickey you will have a longer wait that say for Belle over by the train station. I think we waited about 35 minutes last July for Mickey. For sure that was the longest we waited for any character. There were lots of characters that we walked right up to and got pictures and autographs as well as having a visit. When you arrive in the parks get the daily schedule of events---it will list character sightings.

 

[rlovew]

It depends on the time of day and the character you want. When I was at MK one Saturday morning at 10am, the main street hub had many lesser known character with very short waits. In about 10 minutes I had gotten photos with 4 of them. The lines for characters in Toontown are really long everytime I have been except when you are at the front of the group waiting for it to open and head right over to the lines.

The shortest waits i have had were at the countries in EPCOT. Also I have heard the character connection in EPCOT does not have as long a wait and you get to see many characters. Also in EPCOT the Diosney Visa holders private character time normally doesn't have that long a wait.

MGM usually has a long wait but I found during Star Wars weekends there was almost no wait when I was over near Millionaire first thing in the morning (I had no interest in actor autographs.)

Make a list of the charcacters you will be seeing for sure at your meals and then when you see the characters decide if the wait is worth it, if you have seen the characters before or know you will see them (For example Crystal Place will include Pooh, Piglet, Eyore, and Tiger; Chef Mickey's will include certain characters).

Expect to wait about 3 minutes per person or 5 minutes per family in line ahead of you.

 

[goofy and max]

I would say about 10-15 minutes it depends on the line and time of day. They sometimes have different times that they tell you in the brochures for the different theme parks, to meet the charasters. If so sometimes it is good to get there early to be one of the first ones in line.

 

[Hobbes]

Don't waste time queueing for Mickey in Toontown, catch him in his Sorceror Mickey outfit at MGM near Who wants to be a Millionaire. I was there last year, there were 3 people ahead of me in the line.

 

[jswalker1981]

I went last year with a friend, and her daughter wanted a picture with Minnie, Donald, and Goofie. And that line wasn't that long in toontown. But the line in toontown for the princesses was almost out the door. Luckily for me, the daughter didn't care about the princesses.

 

[Hobbes]

I've also heard if you wait until just before park closing at MK and then go to Toontown, there may be no lines at all and you get loads of time with the characters-I remember reading a post that said Goofy came out and took a ride on barnstormer with her child-thats got to be better than any autogrpah!

 

[Amphigorey]

My DH, DDs (9,4) , and I will be at WDW 6/10-6/17. I know autographs and characters are going to be a priority for my girls. We do have some character meals planned during our trip.

What type of wait times can we expect to encounter for characters in the parks?

Thank you!

It really does depend on who you're seeing. The more popular characters have longer waits.

One thing to note: If you're waiting in line and the greeter tells you that the character will be back out in just a few minutes, they really mean it! Don't leave the line just because the character takes a break; trust me, the breaks are very short!

 

[meeko_33785]

It depends on the location. Most locations I've experienced waits of 10-15 minutes or less. I'm really into the characters, but I typically won't wait more than that. The major exceptions I've found are some of the bigger locations. At MK Toontown Hall of Fame (especially the Princess room!) and Ariel's Grotto have particularly long lines. If you want short waits here, go as soon as they open (10am Toontown, 9:30am Ariel's usually). You will probably get a 10 minute or less wait here if you do that.

At MGM, Al's Toy Barn usually also seems to have long lines, though I've never braved those lines. The same characters, minus the Green Army Men who usually have shorter lines anyway, are at MK with shorter lines.

At AK, Camp Minnie-Mickey can have long lines, but if you go early or while the Lion King show is in progress, you will probably get little to no wait.

Lines at EPCOT are extremly managable. Can't remember ever waiting more than 10 minutes for a character- even the most popular ones.