Tips for meeting the Disney characters
Featured, Kristin Ford, Park Tips — By Matthew Simantov on October 1, 2009 at 8:45 amFrom Staff Writer Kristin Ford
Looking at a photo of a child, any child, with Mickey Mouse always makes me smile. I’m reminded of my son’s experiences with his Disney friends when he was 2 and 3 years old, when he gazed at them with such wonder it was easy to see he knew they were real. His first photo with Mickey is still one of the things I would grab if my house were on fire. And for months after that first visit, we heard the request: “More Mickey?”
So, I’m a firm believer that making time to greet Mickey’s pals, the Disney princesses and Tinker Bell and the fairies is worthwhile. Visitors basically have two options for seeing most of the characters — make a reservation for a meal at which the characters are scheduled to appear or stand in line at a designated area in one of the four Disney World parks. (Characters won’t be able to stop during parades and shows to interact with visitors.)
As a family, our two favorite restaurants for character dining are The Royal Table at Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom and Chef Mickey’s at The Contemporary Resort. Both are special because of their unique atmospheres, not necessarily because of the food.
The Royal Table at Cinderella Castle
We have eaten lunch at the castle with the princesses three times in the past four years. Our kids were thrilled to be so close to royalty and actually being inside the castle made it a very memorable time. (My 4-year-old had an endless list of questions: Where do the princesses sleep? Who reads Tinker Bell’s bedtime story? Can they see the fireworks every night?)
When you arrive, you will be ushered into the great hall where you can have your photo taken with Cinderella, which is included in the price of your meal package. (The prints will be ready to go home with you after your meal.) Next, you head upstairs to the dining room, where the waitress presents each child with a Wishing Star to be used in a ceremony after lunch. Little boys also receive a pir ate sword and girls, a fairy wand.
During the meal, we were visited by the Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Jasmine and Belle. (The previous year we met Sleeping Beauty and, for some strange reason, Mary Poppins instead of Jasmine and the Fairy Godmother.) We were able to take photos and sign autographs with everyone, but on both visits we felt rushed because more people were waiting for tables. There is a huge demand for castle dining, so if you are interested, you should book as soon as possible. Disney will accept reservations up to 90 days in advance at 407-WDW-DINE. Be forewarned: You will have to pay in full in advance, but the charge is refundable for cancellations up to 24 hours in advance.
Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary
Chef Mickey’s is a fun place for a meal, not only because of the characters, but also because of the monorail trains that whoosh above your head into the Contemporary Resort every few minutes. The format is similar to the castle dining, with professional photos taken of your group before you are seated, and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Chip ‘n Dale circulating among the tables while you dine. Unlike The Royal Table, Chef Mickey’s is a buffet. Another difference is that the animal characters like to sing and dance and encourage the kids to get up out of their seats and get involved.
We have been to Chef Mickey’s five times in the past four years, including hosting my son’s 6th birthday party there in the fall. He had been begging for years to have a celebration with Mickey Mouse, but not many of our friends have annual passes, so we needed to find a place that included the characters outside the actual theme parks. Brunch at Chef Mickey’s fit the bill and turned out to be a great place for a child’s party.
For a list of where the characters appear at meals, click here .
In the parks
Each park has a regular place f or the main characters to appear: Toon Town in the Magic Kingdom, Character Connection at Epcot, Camp Minnie-Mickey at Animal Kingdom and near the Sorceror’s Hat at Hollywood Studios. In addition, other characters may be located throughout the parks. For example, at the Magic Kingdom, Ariel, the LIttle Mermaid, greets fans in her grotto. At Hollywood Studios, stars of the latest movies, such as Bolt and Up, can be found in Animation Courtyard. At Epcot, Donald Duck is stationed outside the Mexico pavilion (because he and Huey, Dewey and Louie are featured in the “Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros” ride inside). You should definitely check the weekly schedules available in the parks for details or ask at Guest Relations if you are searching for a specific character.
An unusual autograph event
When my son was about 5, his school friends turned him on to the Power Rangers. I knew what was coming next. “Mommy, I want to meet the Power Rangers and get their autographs. I saw them at Hollywood Studios,” my theme-park-veteran son said.
So, off we went, heading back to the Streets of America, by the Extreme Stunt Show, to wait for the next appearance.
Thirty minutes in the hot sun milling around with other impatient children and parents did little to calm the nerves of anyone. A few minutes before the Rangers were to appear, Disney cast members directed the crowd into five individual lines for each of the Rangers.
Then, in a burst of loud music, the Rangers arrived in a souped-up car, each jumping out and striking a pose for the audience before going to their respective queues. Meanwhile, the music that had made for a festive atmosphere turned on us, ticking off how many minutes the Rangers had left to greet their fans.
This caused a lot of angst among the kids, and even some rude parents, as they realized there was no way to wait in five lines in the allotted 15 to 20 minutes.
In the end, my son was satified with greeting three Rangers and the promise to come back and meet the others. But if the Power Rangers are your child’s favorite and meeting all five is important, make sure you plan to attend two appearance times.
Tips
You might be surprised to find your normally talkative child is tongue-tied — or even scared — when he or she comes face-to-face with the characters. This can happen at any age, but certainly is more likely when they are younger. My daughter would not greet the characters without clinging to me until she was about 3. Waving and yelling, “Hi, Pooh,” from the safety of her stroller was one thing, but hugging a furry yellow bear three times her size was quite another.
We have found that autograph books are a great way for shy children to break the ice with the characters. The kids can approach the characters with a purpose while they get used to the situation. After a little interaction, they might feel comfortable with a high-five, hug or photo. Plus, they have a memorable souvenir to take home.
If all else fails, snap the photo of your child crying while your spouse tries to remedy the situation. In time, the photo will become a family memory, like the traditional pose on Santa’s lap.
Tags: Characters, Disney World, Kids, Park Tips
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5 Comments
Just came across your article, I’m a huge fan of the Disney characters, so I thought I’d pass along some other good tips:
1) First a correction: Gran Fiesta Tour’s Three Caballeros are not Huey, Duey, and Louie, but Donald, Jose Carioca, and Panchito from the films “Three Caballleros” and “Saludos Amigos.”
2) Cinderella’s Royal Table books up fast, very fast, so if you’re unable to to get in there, many similar royal offerings are available at the Norway Restaurant at Epcot, Akersus, also at a better price, I believe. Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Stepsisters also like visiting 1900 Park Fare for dinner now and then. 1900 Park Fare is located outside the parks in the Grand Floridian, so park admission isn’t needed and $14 parking fees can be avoided.
3) I couldn’t agree more about Chef Mickey’s, but the link was missing. disneyworld.com eventually can lead you to the other character dining options. The Garden Grill is a pretty good place for food and since it’s not as large as Chef Mickey’s or Crystal Palace so you tend to get more quality time with the characters there.
4) For a more atypical experience with characters there’s Mickey’s Backyard BBQ at Ft. WIlderness. No park admission is necessary. What makes this experience unusual is that instead of offering posing photographs and autographs you actually get to DANCE with Disney characters. It’s a little insane the first time they come out to dance, but the characters are really good about trying to get a little dancing in with as many as possible. At the same time, you get a live country band, a trick roper, and 2 emcees…plus the unlimited bbq (and unlimited wine/beer for the adults). Like I said, it’s not for standing-still photographs and autographs, but you can leave having a good time, a full belly, and saying you got to do the locomotion with Goofy.
5) The last tip I have with dining with characters is regardless where you go the rule of thumb of who sits where is this: if they like seeing characters sit them towards the outside closer to them and easier for the character to get to. If they are scared or apprehensive keep them towards a parent or inside away from the character’s path.
6) Far as any character goes, if your child is scared, but you’re still dying for that photo to laugh at years down the line (like 17 before their prom), it’s best to either a) have both parents up there with the scared little one in between the two and the character(s) beside the parents or b) put them on the shoulder furthest away from the character. This helps the child have a buffer, plus when some children are scared, they want to push or hit whatever is scaring them, so it keeps Mickey and his friends safe.
7) Pieces of paper do not tend to get the best (or most legible) signatures. So what happens if you’ve just seen your most favorite character on Earth and you want an autograph? Most characters have a person with them, if you have a guidemap, sharpies work best, and if it is a piece of paper, think of using a minimal size around a 3×5 postcard. Sometimes the people with them may have a blank card on them. Characters are not allowed to sign receipts, money, or that random “scrap” of paper out of your checkbook (you name it, it’s probably happened). When in doubt, there’s small autograph books at a walgreens or maybe even a dollar store, doesn’t hurt to carry a small pad of paper and a pen with you in the parks.
9) If you’re asking a character to sign something with fabric — clothing, hat, tote bag: Clothing cannot be signed that is on a child. Hats can easily be taken off, but shirts should be carried separately versus “oh okay, let me just take it off Jimmy then.” If it’s a shirt, those rings used to tighten something for cross-stitching work amazingly well. The tighter the fabric is held, the better the autograph, and those little rings are awesome! Once home, a little scotch-guard can help with the longevity of the signatures too.
10) My last tip is plan for characters. If it’ll truly ruin your vacation not to see Daisy, then find out where Daisy is (in her case, she usually visits in mornings before her endless shopping sprees). Guest relations can help and even if you’re with Baloo, you can go up to the person watching over Baloo and ask if they know where Daisy typically hangs out and when. Just like you’d plan when to see Indiana Jones or Fantasmic, seeing characters sometimes takes a little work and patience. Don’t expect to see Snow White just because you see her out this very second. You may have seen her 5 minutes before it’s time for her to give the dwarves their blackberry pies. A lot of the more popular characters’ lines tend to close in advance of when they have to leave. If they say Donald Duck will be back in 2 minutes, it’s okay, he’s coming back. Someone has to be that cutoff point, you just have that “luck.”
I hope these tips help. I have a deep love of the park characters. I’ve just found over the years the more love and time you give them, they do try to give it back. When I’m standing in line to see a character, I’m still excited when I see someone holding a unique autograph book or a family that’s really into that character. It’s so much better than seeing a 10 year old shoving a book in Pooh’s face. No words, no smile, just a look of “just sign.”
I can’t add too much to the comment already made, but one suggestion for autograph books: Some of the best I’ve seen use the right side of the book/page (when open flat) for the autograph and hold the left page for a photo of the character. Then if you get an autograph that you can’t easily read later (some characters admitidly have messy signatures!) you can look at the picture.
I do disagree somewhat with the crying child photos too. Do you REALLY want to remember your child being terrified? Wouldn’t you rather remember happier times? You can minimize trauma as was suggested by putting yourself between the child and the character or if it’s safe for the character to greet your child in the stroller, do that. But if your child wants nothing to do with the character? Don’t make it worse by forcing the interaction or the photo. Take a long shot of your child looking at the character from a distance perhaps, or a shot of you and the rest of your party with the character to share after the vacation so next time that character is a trusted friend (and your child typically a year or two older).
I love the photo beside the autograph! And you don’t even have to buy one of the more expensive ones that come with the photo page/autograph page. With a little bit of glue/tape, the blue books work just as well. They also tend to get preserved and cherished longer.
Just a couple of notes
When I went to Chef Mickey’s last, in Mar 2009, they did not take a picture before you set down to the meal. Chef Mickey’s is one of my favorites though, you just can’t beat that breakfast!
Another fun character buffet is at the Cyrstal Palace in MK. I have to go to this place every vacation–family tradition. Pooh and the Gang meet with you there, and the do a little parade around the resturant with the kids.
As far as the character greetings–go to the parks at open. Please, please, please. For one, it is a memory to be one of the first in for the day, not to mention the chance to be picked for some special Magical Moments. (These include waking up Tinkerbell at the Magic Kingdom, being one of the “first families” on each big attraction, opening the day with a magic fairy dust toss, etc) Many of the less seen characters come out during these times, and have almost no lines. Epcot character spot is great, IF you get there at park open. You can meet the fab five with out the craziness you find later in the day, or at any time at MK.
Please be nice to the characters, and do not let the children hit. If you know that your child is at that stage, hold them until they get used to the experience. Please.
One of the best places to meet the princesses and other big names is a Epcot. Mulan is in the China pavillion, Alice is in the U.K., Snow White is now in Germany, Aladdin (sometimes with Jasmin) is in Morocco. I know there are some that I am missing. I work at Yacht and Beach Club (walking distance to Epcot) and I go before and after my shift alot to walk world showcase (much better than the track at the YMCA). I hardly ever see long wait lines for the characters here, due to some being new to the area, or the fact that the world showcase is not a huge attraction for the kids.
We had a frustrating time trying to get autographs of Tink and all the fairies. The CMs will never tell you who is there, so you wait in line for about an hour to end up seeing the same ones you already have.
God Bless the one CM, who did (but probably shouldn’t have) let us know the time frame that the last two we needed would be present. We’d been trying for over a year – so the CM took pity on us I guess.