Best Disney Resort for meeting characters?

[Julia Anderson]

I am looking for a resort for my family when I book my trip to Disney World that will be a great overall experience, but I also want to be able to have my kids meet the most number of characters as possible at the hotel because they are dying to meet the characters? Is there any resort that offers character meet and greets at the resort, and if so, which one is the best?

 

[MarBee]

There are lots of restaurants inside hotels that are character meals.
Grand Floridian has 1900 Park Fare for Cinderella and her family
Contemporary has Chef Mickey’s for Mickey and the gang
Polynesian has Ohana for Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto
Beach/Yacht Club has Cape May Cafe for Mickey and the Crew; short walk to Boardwalk for breakfast at Tratorra al Forna for Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel and Flynn

I don’t know of any specific meet and greets at the hotels besides restaurants with character meals, but someone else may.

If they’re obsessed with characters, any of the deluxe hotels I mentioned are all great locations and close to parks where there are lots of meet and greets. If those hotels are out of your price range, you can still eat at those restaurants and get easily to the parks while staying at a value or moderate hotel.

Here’s a tip: Check out Kenny The Pirate’s character locator site for lots of info on meet and greets.

Have a great trip! You’re all going to love it!

 

[Nancyg56]

I won't add to @MarBee post because it had just about what I would say, however I will second that it is not necessary to stay at any specific resort to meet characters. My DGD was a character junkie and we used to go to character meals galore, and in the parks we stood in just about every M&G line there was. So much fun! A lot of people say the M&G lines are a waste of park time, but I am not in agreement. Some of my best memories are in those lines before Kady actually met her character and then for the meeting itself. Your never know what a kid will say when he or she is excited and anticipating a special meeting, and those conversations are priceless.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Free opportunities to meet characters at resorts are really limited on a day to day basis.

There are some character opportunities that are open -

Princess Promenade at Grand Floridian.
Chip n Dale Campfire at Fort Wilderness.

They do come out around Christmas and Easter, and there can be some ad hoc stuff. But, if you want to be able to just run into characters, a cruise is more compatible than a Disney resort trip.

 

[jmkjr72]

Disney has pretty much done away with characters at the hotels heck they have even cut back on the number of character dinning experiences outside the park

 

[WEDWDW]

The Character Caravan has come to All-Star Sports each day of our Holiday so far.

We had Goofy one day,Donald Duck one day and the Caravan was coming in yesterday as we were leaving.

(No guarantee that the Caravan will come on any particular day.)

 

[dansdad]

Characters coming to the Main Feature pool at CBR has been a pretty regular thing for a couple years now. No set schedule or anything but our last 5 trips we've seen them every time we've been at the pool in the afternoon.

 

[PurpleJesus]

As mentioned The Contemporary has all of the characters at Chef Mickey's, but I've also seen Mickey/Minnie/ect... randomly walking around the Contemporary's hallways too in the afternoons. #bonus

 

[GADisneyDad14]

There were some characters out at Stormalong Bay last Friday during the day doing the pool activities. We’re not YC/BC regulars so don’t know if that’s common or if it was just random.

We have otherwise not seen random charachters just out at a resort in our WDW travels, aside from holidays/special occasions.

 

[indoshakespeare]

Sometimes Tiana makes an appearance in Port Orleans

 

[Wood Nymph]

Sometimes Tiana makes an appearance in Port Orleans

We have seen both Tiana and Cinderella at Port Orleans, Riverside. But that was in June of 2018. That was fun a fun surprise to meet them in the lobby.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Relevant: I think they just started a new batch of DCP. If the characters out weren't signing autographs, it could very well be like Characterpalooza, where the characters are in training.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Echoing everything above. Basically, there's not one particular resort that will guarantee you a great character interaction. Pick your resort based on what is best for your personal tastes and budget. The characters can be found all over all four parks. Do be prepared to wait in lines to meet them. Not all the lines will be bad (you can even FastPass some meets). I just mention the lines because you can't typically just walk up to a character without a wait, even if they are at the resort.

 

[buzznina]

One of the BIG difference between WDW and Disneyland. When we stayed at DL hotel, we saw a lot of characters around the lobby it was so much more fun. They would take pics, sign autographs and the best part, they were so much more interactive.

 

[AngiTN]

It's been covered but unfortunately, you aren't going to find characters for free at any resorts for certain other than
Chip and Dale at Fort Wilderness at the Camp Fire
Princess Promenade but I'm not certain this one is daily, would need to verify this. Granted, this is at one of the most expensive resorts too. Not that you have to be a guest of any resort to participate in these activities.

Any and all others are random and unscheduled and impossible to plan for or predict. They are commonly called Pixie Dust events. The most likely time to find one is on a Holiday. Or a Hurricane. They come out for entertainment if a Hurricane closes the parks. But don't suggest trying to plan for one of those LOL
For instance, we had Chip and Dale at BWI on 4th of July this year. They were "helping" with the watermelon and cupcake eating contests.

The best advice given above is pick the resort that fits your budget and family preferences the best and the find the activities after that.

 

[caribbeandream]

1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian has three character meals/events - https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/1900-park-fare/

Supercalifragilistic Breakfast - Mary Poppins, Alice & Mad Hatter, Tigger & Pooh
Wonderland Tea Party (ages 4-12) - Alice in Wonderland and Friends
Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner - Cinderella & Prince Charming, Lady Tremain, stepsisters

GF also has the Princess Promenade. It's on the resort schedule and it changes during the year. Sometimes it is daily and sometimes it's not.

 

[ladyandthetramp2]

In June we stayed at BC and everyday at the pool Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald came and danced with the kids-it was awesome!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

If you really want to meet characters you will want to go to the meet and greets in the parks. You an find the scheduled online. Or, you can pay for character meals. As described above, despite what Disney puts in their TV ads, there are not many characters at the resorts. My daughter is 15 and still absolutely loves characters of all kinds so we spend lots of time in character lines and lot of money paying for character dining. There are some character meet and greet lines where you can get a FP I believe. Have fun!!!

 

[brent02139]

My DD had a fantastic time meeting Mickey and Minnie at AKL during Christmas time. They were great and stayed an hour past their schedule to meet all the guests.

 

[WEDWDW]

The Caravan came to Sports again today-we had Goofy-the Caravan has come every day of our Holiday so far.

Maybe it is something special they are doing for The 15s!lol