How to Meet the Characters at Disney World

Disney World is full of characters. In recent years, many new characters have been spotted at character trails and meet and greets throughout the four Disney parks at Disney World. The characters range from a line of royal princesses and well-known Disney movie heroines (think Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine) to the Toy Story cast of Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and those green army guys. Classic characters like Mickey and cast are regulars at the parks, but aside from the parades, may be more difficult to meet.

Cast members regulate the lines and the pace of greetings, allowing a minute or two per family for pictures and autographs. The PhotoPass photographer will take a picture for you to be added to your PhotoPass card if you wish to get a print made. Your PhotoPass card can hold all your Disney pictures taken by cast members and later be printed and viewed online. Picture packages are available as well as individual 5x7 and 8x10 pictures.

There are a number of ways to meet the characters at Disney World. Many character meetings can be found in the Disney World parks with a little luck and a little planning. I have compiled a list of possible character meeting options based on our recent experiences.

1. Disney's MGM Studios
There are many opportunities to meet characters at Disney's MGM Studios. When you enter the park, grab a daily show listing and look for where the scheduled character appearances will be. The area in front of the Sorcerer's Hat (giant MGM icon) offered several unique character greetings. We met Lilo and Stitch and there were many other Disney characters strategically placed around the Hat area (Goofy, Mickey, Donald). Some lines were longer than others, but assume about a 10-15 minute wait when there are about 10 kids in line. Also note that the characters meet in 30 minute time slots before they break.