Why no character meals with the Pixar characters ?

[Ron from Michigan]

We just returned from our stay with our Daughter and 4 year old Grandson. We had the time of our lives with him especially when he got to meet Woody, Jessie and Buzz. So it got me to thinking why they have not added a character meal with these characters. It would fit in great in Hollywood Studios maybe where Hollywood & Vine is.

 

[Bradsdadg]

I'm not sure why not. I've been hoping for this for a while now though. Maybe because the costumes are big, like the Buzz one is a little bulky. I can't think of a reason why they haven't done this, or don't have it in the works yet.

 

[klm7926]

Now THAT would be the perfect character meal for my boys!!!!!!

 

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Ive always said the same thing! Its not like Toy Story is going anywhere! I mean come oh HS has had jojos circus and special agent oso!! but no TS...I dont get it.

 

[FireDancer]

Before the Disney purchase of Pixar there might have been limitations to how they use the characters. Since the purchase there has been a character at a meal, Remy in Chefs de France, but no character meal per se. I would be very surprised if plans for a Pixar character meal aren't in the works and we will see one.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I agree but...... I'd rather see more characters in the parks than at meals. It's more fun to meet and greet in the parks where there is more room. I'd like to see character interactions that are FUN... not just the meet and get a posed photo.

The best times with characters for us... have been at the dance parties (halloween and christmas parties) and at Mickey's Backyard BBQ. I'd like to see more of that during regular park activities.

I'd like to see more characters getting on rides too. I've heard of it but never seen it. That would be fun... Imagine going on a ride with Tigger? How cool would that be?

 

[Sinderelly]

There are two character meals I would LOVE to see. The Pixar/ Toy Story character meal and a Tiana character meal held at POFC and named Tiana's Place. I hope Disney is listening!

 

[steamboat_rachel]

it would be awesome if they made pizza planet the way it was in the toy story films and have the toy story characters there, and have a fancier pizza restaurant like via napoli

 

[Scuttle]

I was thinking the same thing as the PP about what the rule of the negotiations are between Pixar and Disney.

It's interesting though, Disney really pushes the Princesses - obviously for the girls.

But a LOT of the Pixar characters would appeal to the boys - Sulley, Mike, Lightening McQueen, TS.

They use the Playhouse Disney characters for the babies - preschoolers.

So why not appeal to the boys?! Kind of a missed opportunity if you ask me?!

 

[Agri]

I really think its like a PP said - the costumes are large and difficult to move around in. At a character meal, they have limited room to move and big costumes just don't work well in that environment. The characters don't just pause for a picture, they act the part - Chip and Dale are very mischievous, for example.

Don't most of the characters have to use stamps to sign, too?

I don't think the Pixar characters would allow for the same level of interaction that other costumes do.

 

[Colleen27]

It has been a while since Disney added a character meal unless you count Remy's show at Chefs de France, and they've cut back on some of the existing ones (no more lunch at Garden Grill, no more characters at Liberty Tree Tavern). It seems to me like there is no Pixar character meal because that's not an area of operations they're interested in expanding at this point.

And really, if you look at it from a business perspective it makes no sense to add a Pixar meal - a new character meal is a significant expense without any significant payback. Most guests aren't going to plan an additional meal to see the Toy Story characters; they're just going to cancel another meal they had planned to fit it in. So a new meal wouldn't bring in many dollars that Disney isn't already getting elsewhere, but it would incur new expenses in staffing, costuming, and training.

I'm not one to blame the DDP for much, but I think this one does have a lot to do with it - in the past, adding characters to a restaurant was a way to improve lackluster volume, like was done at Akershus and to a lesser degree with Remy at Chefs. But now the popularity of the DDP serves the same function; less attractive restaurants stay busy just because the popular restaurants are fully booked and people still have TS credits to use, so there's no incentive for Disney to spend more to attract patrons.