Keeping in mind that these are subject to change from year to year, here are the character stops from when I ran the half in 2013:
- 1-2 characters meeting in the staging area before the race...I forget who it was
- Pirate ship with Jack Sparrow, Barbosa, pirates meeting in between MM2 & MM3
- Chip & Dale with racing hats outside of the WDW Speedway (between MM3 & MM4)
- Jack Skellington and Sally just before MM4
No one in between MM4 and MM5
In the Magic Kingdom...
- Buzz Lightyear in front of the Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland
- Queen of Hearts and Alice in front of the Mad Tea Party ride
- Royal Donald at the backside of the castle --> pretty sure this was the longest line we waited in (5-6 minutes)
- Tiana at the entrance to Liberty Square
- Jessie in Frontierland
**MM6 is in Frontierland**
- Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip backstage at the Magic Kingdom
- Mary & Bert outside of the Grand Floridian in between MM7 & MM8
- Lilo & Stitch outside of the Polynesian in between MM7 & MM8
- The Genie in between MM8 & MM9
- Second chance at the pirates M&G in between MM9 & MM10
- Sarge going up the overpass after MM10
- Phineas & Ferb just before MM12 --> virtually non-existent line with the end so close
- Stitch just inside Epcot...he must've run all the way over from the Polynesian to greet me!
- Mickey in track suit at the finish line...note that the CM will NOT take your picture for you with the finish line characters anymore
These are all subject to change and switch out...but they should give you a good idea of places to look (for example - the MK locations were the same for me during the Princess Half, WDW Half and 2 marathons). If you want a character photo make sure to be aware of your surroundings if you're crossing the course.
The lines moved pretty quickly. There are no autograph books and there are normally 2 CMs at each character - one taking the current runner's picture, the other getting the next camera ready. I think the longest I've waited in a line was 7-8 minutes for Royal Mickey & Minnie during the marathon at the back side of the castle, and that line was HUGE. Lines are shorter in the earlier corrals.
Hope this helps!!