Character Meeting Tips

(Short Excerpts From the Book)

     Characters are everywhere inside the parks. When the parks first open there are normally several characters there to great you. While you are there it is important to allow the kids to meet and get their picture taken with the many characters, but be careful you do not waste too much time doing that. There are over 100 different characters that walk around and that can be approached for signatures. If your goal is to get every single signature during your trip, you will (for one) not be able to accomplish that and (two) would probably be wasting a lot of time. If you waited in line for just 15 minutes (some waits can be 45 minutes to an hour) to get 40 signatures it would take 10 hours out of your trip. You would spend the better part of a day and a half looking for and getting signatures and pictures. We believe that this is important, but doesn’t have to take a lot of your time.

Here are some tips to consider when meeting characters:

- Don’t stop to get signatures your first day if there is a line. It is very tempting on your first day to start standing in line. If you are not careful you could stand in line for an hour getting a handful of pictures. The chances are high that you will see these characters later and there might not be a line at all.

- The World Showcase is a great place to meet characters one-on-one. Within their designated countries you can meet many special characters. You can find Mulan in China, Quasimodo in France, Snow White in Germany, Winnie-the-Pooh in the UK and Aladdin in Morocco. When you meet characters here there normally aren’t a lot of kids around, so you get to talk, get signatures and take pictures without waiting in line.

- Check the park maps and schedules that you receive upon entering the parks. They should have times and places where characters will be for meeting. If you are there early, you can have a leg up in getting to the front of the line.

- If you just have to get that certain character’s signature, go to Guest Relations and they should be able to tell you where and when Goofy (or whoever is your favorite character) will be making an appearance that day.

- Character Meals are a great way to meet with your favorite characters over and over and over. Your kids will have very close interaction with the characters as they help serve the food and mingle throughout the meal.

- In ToonTown you can go to the ToonTown Fair in which is located the ToonTown Hall of Fame. There they have different characters that are stationed in rooms. If you go at the right time, there isn’t a line. If you can see a line from the gift shop, come back later. You could stand in this line for thirty minutes or more.

- Also in ToonTown is the Judge’s Tent. This is where you can always find Mickey Mouse. To get to the tent, just go through Mickey’s House. The wait might be long here, but after all this is The Mouse.

- Camp Minnie Mickey in Animal Kingdom is also a great place to meet characters. This area seems to be less crowded.

Want More Family Tips and Secrets?  Get our free booklet of Tips for Families when you order our book!

Look in the Booklet  for more Family and Group tips on: How to Make Itineraries How to Cope with Weather Relaxing and Taking it in Magical Gatherings Advice "Take a Break" Rides Preparing Your Children Stroller Advice and Tips Finding the "Magic What Can the Kids Ride? Group Planning More "Child Swap" Tips Tips for Infants

Other Topics That Can Help with Groups and Families:

What is a FastPass?

General Tips for Groups and Families