Where are the best photo ops in the theme parks?

[The Sorrentino's]

Where are the best photo ops in each theme park. Also, where can we find Mickey, specifically, to get a picture with him?

Cadence

 

[saffymom]

In the Magic Kingdom you can find him at the Judge's tent in Toontown. In Animal Kingdom, he is at Camp Minnie and Mickey and we found him at MGM near the big hat (but I'm not sure if that's always where he is). I think at Epcot he comes around World Showcase on the character caravan, but I'm not sure if you get many photo ops there.

Another great way is a character breakfast. We really enjoyed Chef Mickey's, and it seems like you get a little more time with the characters there than in the parks, especially if you book an early PS.

Hope that was helpful!

ETA: There is a great website that shows where they found the characters. It's www.wdwautographs.com

 

[jennz]

Character meals are our favorite ways to get autographs. The meet 'n greet areas have better backgrounds though. Toontown has shorter lines in the evening and AKL - well, we've never had to wait longer than 15 minutes there and I love the safari theme!

Good photo ops are all of the Kodak spots that are marked, a good one in WDW is on the bridge into Liberty Square where you can get a shot of the castle - especially beautiful at night with the colors! And no heads in the way. We also like the pic at Epcot on the way out, stop on the bridge and get one with the ball and sign in the background.

 

[The Sorrentino's]

I was thinking there was a few places where we could see Mickey in MK. I was mistaken once again. When I made my Liberty Tree Tavern reservations for the Halloween Party the representative told me that the characters are subject to change. I had to ask him what that meant and he said that usually Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc. show up but those characters can be changed with others. I sure hope Mickey will be there because he's our family favorite.

Cadence

 

[forgetyourtroubles!]

Hi, Cadence,
I would book a character meal if I were you, that features Mickey. There are several- Chef Mickey's, Breakfast at Ohana, seems like there are more... That way you will be sure to get some "play time" with Mickey. We've also seen him in the parks every time, but there is often a line that is VERY long. Some kids are patient waiting in lines and some are not. When the lines are quite long, its hard to make photo as fun and playful. At the character meals, you usually get some time to let the kids talk to Mickey more than the park meetings.

 

[forgetyourtroubles!]

By the way, your tag mentions Manhattan to Dallas- are you moving to Dallas? If so, HOWDY and welcome. If not, well...have fun on your trip anyway!

 

[MECH8T7]

In the Magic Kingdom you can find him at the Judge's tent in Toontown.

When we were there in March, the Judge's Tent in Toontown was a spot where a WDW photographer was set up taking photos for Photopass.

 

[welovedis]

Here's a great link to some character FAQs from AllEarsNet:
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/fur.htm

We've taken some great pictures with Mickey (in his Sorcerer's get-up) at MGM in the back section (forget the official name). The Judge's Tent in MK will have him in his traditional black tux, red pants.

I agree that the "kodak" picture spots are really nice and make good backdrops for some great pics. Just remember to get yourself in some pictures too, ask someone with a pretty nice camera to take one of you-that way they probably know how to works yours, lol!

 

[The Sorrentino's]

I put a $150 budget for pictures in the parks. Is that enough? It will be nice to have nice themed frames (do they have them for sale?) to go with the pictures around the parks as well.

Cadence

 

[off to neverland]

Cadence, I did a search for another topic and it keeps spitting out your posts, so I might as well answer while I'm here!

Often when we have our picture taken by the photographers in the park, we nicely ask them to take a pic with our camera as well. They are more than happy to do this. Might save you some $$.

As for the ride pictures, I'm not sure if they come with specialty frames or not. The ones we got wwere in paper frames, but perhaps we could have upgraded them to nicer ones.

 

[twinscandc]

It will be nice to have nice themed frames (do they have them for sale?) to go with the pictures around the parks as well.

Cadence

Of course they have everything for sale at WDW!!!! I also love photographs and I have found the cutest frame at WDW. I would suggest going to the big Disney store in DTD. Last year we bought this wonderful from that is a collage and on the matte, it had cute sayings from the characters. I'm thinking we bought it at that big Disney store.

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Mickey isn't usually at LTT. If you are counting on a meal with Mickey, you might want to pick another (Chef Mickey's Donald's Breakfastasaurus in AK....) SOmetimes the characters so change, etc, so they don't always say for sure who will be there, but I have never heard of Mickey at LTT (It's usually Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale). It's one of our favorite character meals -- just not one with Mickey.

The Judge's Tent in TOon Town is a great spot for Mickey, though!

$150 sounds reasonable. If you use Photo Pass, you can wait until you get home to pick and choose which ones you really want. I think 5 x 7's are 12.95 each and 8 x 10's 16.95.

There's also some cool photo opps in the WAY back of Exposition Hall. You walk in and it looks like a store but if you keep walking way back, you come to a bunch of cute cut outs where the kids put their faces in the holes. etc. There's a Buzz Lightyear thing, Steamboat Willie/Mickey, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White and the dwarfs. It's cute and usually very uncrowded.

 

[Wendy*Darling]

Our favorite Mickey Meet and Greet is the one at MGM. He's in a building next to Who Wants to be a Millionaire. You have to actually go inside, he's not outside where you can see just walking by. There is almost never a line there (at least in our experience) so we get great pics with him in his Sorcerer outfit with no one else in the background.

 

[PhotobearSam]

Also at ALL these photo spots, you hand your own camera to the person there and they take another with your camera...

It's really nice of them. I have really good ones like this.

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

The last time we were in the MK (2003) we got pictures with several characters including Mickey & Minnie in front of the castle. The lines were really not that bad, but we were there right when they showed up. We got a tip from a nice Grandpa. I am not sure if they still do this though. Does anyone else know?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Take a look at first link in my signature for ideas, have fun.

 

[carolinagirl]

I agree with a couple of the other posters above.....one of the best places to get a photo with Mickey is at MGM Studios just down from Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. My favorite Mickey photos have been taken at this spot. Mickey's Sorcerer outfit looks great in the photos and the background looks great too. There has never been a line there anytime that we've been, so we've felt comfortable taking several photos with him without feeling like we have to hurry because of a long line. I would highly recommend this spot if you're going to MGM Studios.

 

[Leigha]

Each park dresses Mickey different so you HAVE to have your picture made with each style! Correct me if I'm wrong but I think his classic look we're used to is at Toon Town Fair in the building designed for meet & greets and is set up just for photos with your family alone, including a nice background. It is worth the wait! Safari Mickey is at Animal Kingdom near the Lion King Show. Sorcerer Mickey is at MGM and has the same line up and take your turn as MK. Very nice! I know Epcot has had the colonial Mickey in the past but I'm not sure he's always that way. Again, that is with the character caravan (which I love!!!) but has characters spread out in a small area for 15 minutes or so and you'll most likely have other people in the background of your picture. We were really lucky once and lined up early for the opening of Toon Town Fair and he chose my youngest daughter to hold hands with and walk to his house with! My oldest daughter wasn't to be outdone and quickly grabbed his other hand as they walked away. Priceless!! Good Luck and take PLENTY of digital cards/film - you'll need it!!!

 

[JennInTN]

Steve Soares' site lists the times for character greeting and entertainment schedules. I believe it's updated weekly, so you'll want to check back just before your trip. It gives a nice overview of when and where to see all of your favorites.

I used it recently as a guideline for my parent's trip. They found it useful.

Here's the link.
http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/