Can someone talk to me about meeting characters at DL?

[PHamrick]

This will be our first trip out West and we will have 1 1/2 days at Disneyland (don't get me started on how little time that is! But, must also see family and baseball so...). Anyway, my daughter especially, but my son too, enjoy meeting the characters. I understand it's not as organized as WDW? What can you tell me about meeting characters, princesses, etc?

THANKS!

 

[coaches24]

Princesses is more organized as they have a set meeting place and line. I haven't done it in 3 years but it used to be you line up (and it gets long quick, or it did then) and there are 3 random princesses at any time and they rotate with different princesses when their break time comes.

Anna and Elsa have their own meet n greet in the animation academy building in DCA.

Mickey and Minnie have regular meeting spots in Toon town (their homes) but again the lines can be well over an hour throughout the day! But they (and many other characters) will be seen throughout the parks (very common on Main street) and will have lines form quickly when they are there. If you wait in line and see them it's just long enough to take a pic and give a hug. Sometimes character are out wandering and dont set up anywhere. Sometimes you can get a quick pic with them (Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were out near TOT today and their handler said they were just out wandering wherever duty called them and that there wasn't going to be a line to see them. So they mingled with the crowds for a bit till "duty called".

Also saw Cruella wandering today near the fire house on main street and through the front area by the ticket booths but she wasn't stopping for anyone that I saw. She was mean to Daisy though lol.

There are also character meals you can do at some of the DL restaurants. One in the park and then two more at PP hotel and DLH.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The Big 5 characters can be found in Town Square in DL. The lines are usually quite manageable there. We've found it much easier to meet Mickey in Town Square or on BVS in DCA. If there are specific characters you want to meet, a character meal (breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe, Surf's Up at PPH, GK at the DLH, Minnie & Friends at the Plaza Inn in DL; Ariel's does a princess lunch; GK does dinner) will help you cover a lot of ground in one location, plus you get to eat! Note that Mickey is only at the Surf's Up meal. Minnie's has the most characters. One way to meet characters and save some time is to do GK for dinner the night before you start your visit in the parks. It can be a nice way to kick off your visit with some Disney magic and opens up your park time.
DLR is pretty casual about character M&Gs. If you download the free DLR app, you can see where certain characters are located throughout the day. Are there specific characters you're looking for? Some characters do have reliable locations, e.g. Winnie the Pooh and friends in Critter Country, Alice and the Mad Hatter playing musical chairs at Refreshment Corner, Star Wars characters in TL, etc.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Do you have the Disneyland app? It lists the character meetings that as re happening, and what times they are at their location. Occasionally there are some mishaps with it (they had times for Capt. America wrong during the Avengers 1/2 marathon weekend this year), but overall we found it to be pretty accurate.

Also, you can ask character handlers when/where a character will appear next. When we met Tink, she told us we had to go meet Peter Pan later (but she didn't give a specific time..characters themselves won't do that, I don't think). But we asked the character handler as we were leaving pixie hollow, and he told us when and where Peter Pan would appear.

 

[lcp9]

The Disneyland app is your best help. On one trip, my daughter had seen 3 princesses in the royal hall but wanted to see the rest. I looked at the schedule for the day before and sketched out plans based on those times (which really don't change a whole lot.) The next morning I was able to confirm. We spent probably 2 hours and managed to knock out all the rest. It went something like - Pixie Hollow at 9, see Ariel at the wishing well at 10, go to the back of the line at the wishing well so we would be close to first in line to see Aurora when it switched at 10:30, go see Jasmine at 11, Tiana at 11:30, Merida at 12. Etc etc. So, if characters are your focus (which, with a 3.5 year old girl it was for us), it can totally be done. My advice would be when you plan out when/where to see princesses, try to plan to be at the waiting spot 10 minutes ahead of time. People will start lining up, and if Ariel is scheduled to be there at 10 and you're there at 10:05, you might already have a 10-15 minute wait ahead of you. Also, a good time to go to the royal hall is during/right after the afternoon parade. Another way to guarantee no wait is shelling out for the $$$ package at BBB and after the makeover they escort you to the front of the line.

Anna/Elsa is a different beast, and that is generally a 30 min wait no matter what (on relatively slow days.) Pixie Hollow can also be a super long wait so I would track wait times on that and/or go there first if that's a priority. My understanding is it's only Tinkerbell these days and no other fairies.

Lastly, you can always do breakfast at Ariel's Grotto and see Ariel +3 or 4 more princesses. It's not really great food, which is why my husband swears he won't do it again, but sometimes it's worth the $20 crap breakfast to not have to chase down characters

 

[VandVsmama]

Characters are definitely organized at DL but just in a different way. You can't book a FP to meet them like you can at WDW. But with the DL app, you can find out exactly where they will be at any time of day all over the parks.

Also, to meet Mickey with a 5 min or less wait, go to the Toon Town gate just before it opens. And Toon Town opens an hour after regular park opening. Goofy or another character will open the gates. Walk straight to Mickey's house and meet him without having to wait an hour.

Also, in Fantasyland for the first hour or two after park opening, characters roam around and there is literally no wait to meet them. Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Alice, the Mad Hatter are some examples. I mean...you just walk up to them. There is no need for a FP. Peter Pan loves to play games, btw.

 

[PHamrick]

Thanks for all the advice! With only a day and a half at the parks, I didn't want to spend tons of time in lines waiting for characters only. I think I might let her pick a few to meet and then hope for the best with the rest. Definitely will download the Disneyland app before we go! Thanks!!

 

[prestoncaldwell]

Thanks for all the advice! With only a day and a half at the parks, I didn't want to spend tons of time in lines waiting for characters only. I think I might let her pick a few to meet and then hope for the best with the rest. Definitely will download the Disneyland app before we go! Thanks!!

Lines aren't bad for the street meets, especially compared to the meet attractions at MK.

Another idea is to book Minnie's Character Breakfast at Plaza In. $32 for adults, $18 for children, you get a decent buffet style breakfast including omelets to order (and chicken fried steak!!!!) and there were 7 characters interacting with guests when we were there. They really take time and interact instead of a quick "hi" and pose for pictures.

 

[Winnowill]

Another idea is to book Minnie's Character Breakfast at Plaza In. $32 for adults, $18 for children, you get a decent buffet style breakfast including omelets to order (and chicken fried steak!!!!) and there were 7 characters interacting with guests when we were there. They really take time and interact instead of a quick "hi" and pose for pictures.

Seven is a MINIMUM for this breakfast - we typically see anywhere from nine to twelve. No "face" characters, though.

 

[prestoncaldwell]

Seven is a MINIMUM for this breakfast - we typically see anywhere from nine to twelve. No "face" characters, though.

We saw one face--Peter Pan.

 

[22Tink]

Seven is a MINIMUM for this breakfast - we typically see anywhere from nine to twelve. No "face" characters, though.

We saw the Fairy Godmother in August. She was fantastic! I guess they must switch up the characters?

 

[Winnowill]

We saw one face--Peter Pan.

Ah - I've never seen Peter Pan at the Plaza. Out and about in the park, yes, but never at the Plaza. And I suppose we HAVE seen (though she had to leave before we met her) FG. Okay - I was mistaken about "NO face characters," but I'm right in that the vast majority of those you meet there are not.

Yes, they do change up the characters for the Plaza Inn breakfast. We always see Minnie, of course, and the characters from Winnie the Pooh (usually Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore). Captain Hook, Rafiki, Chip, and Dale are also often present (at least they have been for us). After them, it could be anyone. Last time, we saw Perla and Suzy (Cinderella's mice), as well as Geppetto and "Honest John" Fox from Pinocchio. We've also seen Max Goof, and a few others.

 

[prestoncaldwell]

Ah - I've never seen Peter Pan at the Plaza. Out and about in the park, yes, but never at the Plaza. And I suppose we HAVE seen (though she had to leave before we met her) FG. Okay - I was mistaken about "NO face characters," but I'm right in that the vast majority of those you meet there are not.

Yes, they do change up the characters for the Plaza Inn breakfast. We always see Minnie, of course, and the characters from Winnie the Pooh (usually Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore). Captain Hook, Rafiki, Chip, and Dale are also often present (at least they have been for us). After them, it could be anyone. Last time, we saw Perla and Suzy (Cinderella's mice), as well as Geppetto and "Honest John" Fox from Pinocchio. We've also seen Max Goof, and a few others.

Wasn't being argumentative, just pointing out that the rare minor face is there....

See if I can recall... Minnie, of course, Capt Hook, PP, Dale, Winnie, Eeyore, Rafiki, Tigger, Max in one breakfast. I'll bet I'm forgetting one.

 

[Vala]

Fairy Godmother is very much a regular at Plaza Inn, in all my years going she has only been missing three times. And that place has been on our list since 2006.

We caught a Mary Poppins Penguin there in October, Max Goof and Suzy and Perla too.

 

[Acedink]

I'm assuming there isn't anything like Kenny the Pirate for DL? He does an amazing job for the WDW characters.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm assuming there isn't anything like Kenny the Pirate for DL? He does an amazing job for the WDW characters.

For the most part the DL app really is pretty accurate. Aside from our Capt. America hiccup (which, I think, was in part b/c it was the Avengers race weekend and Cap was probably a little overbooked), pretty much everything else was entirely accurate.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Does Aurora still do meet and greets at Disneyland or in DCA? I know she used to meet over by the wishing well on the other side of the castle, but the app and website have nothing listed for her at all. Thanks.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Does Aurora still do meet and greets at Disneyland or in DCA? I know she used to meet over by the wishing well on the other side of the castle, but the app and website have nothing listed for her at all. Thanks.

We saw her by the wishing well in 2015, but I don't remember her coming up on the app there this year (or anywhere, for that matter ).

 

[Vala]

Does Aurora still do meet and greets at Disneyland or in DCA? I know she used to meet over by the wishing well on the other side of the castle, but the app and website have nothing listed for her at all. Thanks.

I met her in October at the Wishing Well. She was on the app that day.

 

[Winnowill]

She's on the app right now, but you have to scroll down to the "Princess" section. She's at the wishing well, typically.