One of the many many joys to be experienced in the theme parks of Orlando is kiddies seeing their favourite Disney character, or princess, or minion or whatever! Of course when we say kiddies we also include ourselves in this experience, because no kid is more excited than Mr Oh! When he sees a Stormtrooper or Chewbacca, and no kid is more excited than Mrs Oh! when she sees Mickey and Minnie and waves at Ariel on her beautiful mermaid float! Joy like no other – and even when you think you are not that bothered about the characters we think it’s a strong emotional fortress of a person to not find themselves going “aaaaaaahhh “ as a tiny little kid runs into the arms of their favourite princess or bounces around with Tigger.
So – where do you get these character interactions and views, and photos. The answer to that is EVERYWHERE!
Where to start – the parade is probably the easiest way to see a whole bunch of characters all in one go. The Disney parade takes place mid-afternoon – weather pending, apart from special holiday celebration parades, and Universal randomly send their floats with Dora the Explorer and various other characters out and about throughout the day, again there are special holiday parades and celebrations too. So stake your claim at the Magic Kingdom and prepare to wave, clap and sing along and oooooh and aaaaaah as you see the amazing floats, dancers, singers, villains and princesses – all overseen by the main mouses – who usually have their own fancy float.
Ariel
Universal are pretty good at having their characters just wandering around in various streets in their parks. You can see Scooby Doo and the rest of the crew, and Mystery Machine, the Simpsons, the characters from Madagascar, Minions and Gru, Doc Brown from Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward and the Blues Brothers to name but a few. The Blues Brothers do a fantastic impromptu feeling show on the steps of one the streets, as well as riding around in the Blues Mobile. You can also often see Laurel and Hardy riding around in a lovely old car. Betty Boop is sometimes out and about too. In Islands of Adventure you’ll find all of the superhero’s, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America etc. And also the villains, Green Goblin and Dr Doom! Mrs Oh! Will forever be entertained by Mr Oh! And Spider-Man having a discussion about hair gel and how Mr Oh!’s Hair stayed spiky, and a very giddy Mr Oh! Being greeted and having a handshake with Captain America who said “put it there son as he took Mr Oh!s hand. Brilliant.
WDW do have characters randomly out and about at various spots as you’re walking around. If you see a queue somewhere you’ll probably find a couple of characters doing a meet and greet. The meet spots for all parks are shown on the park maps or you can check the MyDisney App. For example, you’ll find Winnie the Pooh and Tigger often around the Winnie the Pooh ride and you’ll find Pirates near the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride and Gaston outside Gaston’s Tavern in Fantasyland. You can general just walk up for a photo and a little interaction and there might only be a few people waiting. There are usually WDW photographers there also to take photos with their cameras or yours if you ask them. As we’ve mentioned previously if you have the Disney Photopass included in your park tickets these photos taken by official photographers just appear automatically on your MyDisney App for you to save to your device or tablet.
There are also specific spots in WDW for certain characters. Mickey can be found at the Town Hall Theatre in Magic Kingdom, as can Tinkerbell. If it’s a Mickey and Minnie duo you’re after then the only place to find them together currently is at Animal Kingdom – and they are in Mrs Oh!s favourite outfits – their safari outfits. Love them and always go for a photo there. Fastpass can be booked for this meet and greet so definitely worth booking to avoid a long wait. At Pete’s Silly Sideshow in Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom you’ll find Donald and Daisy Duck and Goofy. Fabulous fun meet and greet here as the surroundings are super cute and silly. Great photo opportunities and great fun for all the family. The princesses can be found in Princess Fairytale Hall, and again Fastpass would be a good idea as the wait can be long. The princesses are obviously nice and chatty and friendly and so it’s a super-cute little meet and greet for princess mad little girls.
Hollywood Studios is the place to find your Star Wars favourites – stormtroopers aplenty and Vader and Maul etc. The stormtroopers are pretty amusing as they are great at interacting, especially with kids. You’ll also find Buzz, Woody and Jessie and Bo-Peep in Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios too. If you have Frozen fans in your party head over to Norway in Epcot – Elsa and Anna can be found in the Royal Sommerhaus and it’s the only location, apart from shows and parades, where you’ll see them.
You’ll find various characters in spots around the World Showcase in Epcot. You’ll see Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland in England, and Snow White in Germany. There’s also a character spot in Epcot to meet several characters all in one place – but where that is right now we couldn’t say as everything is moving around at the moment due to the reimagining of the entrance to Epcot and the various lands. But they’ll be on your map and on your App.
There’s also various shows and night time spectaculars that feature all of your favourite characters. There are regular shows in front of Cinderella Castle that feature loads of popular characters singing and dancing. Always a joy! There are also sing along shows, and amazing action shows like the Lion King – all with live music and singing like a proper Broadway or West End show. Again checking the MyDisney App or the park maps and guides will point you in the right direction and give you the times of all the shows, parades, locations and wait times. There are loads to choose from and they are all pretty terrific. There are also impromptu shows and performances in Universal Studios with characters and singers and dancers, and there’s quite a lot going on in Hogsmead with the Hogwarts crowd!
If you fancy a longer more one to one interaction with your favourite Disney friends you can book a character dining experience at various restaurants in and around the Disney parks and resorts. There are breakfast ones, lunch ones and dinner ones and some of our favourites are The Crystal Palace restaurant in Magic Kingdom which features the characters from Winnie the Pooh, so prepare to dance around with Pooh, give Eeyore a much needed cuddle and bounce bounce bounce with Tigger! All while having your Dinner. What’s not to love. The character breakfasts at the Contemporary Cafe and The Land in Epcot are some of the most popular and are decent value for money but book early as they get pretty booked up. You can also have dinner with the princesses in Cinderella’s Royal Table restaurant in the Castle which we imagine your princess loving little girls will adore. There are way too many character dining options to mention – but do your research and you’ll almost certainly find somewhere to eat with you or your kids favourite characters. They can be pricey options but we guarantee you’ll enjoy the experience. The food varies from resort to park to location so again do your research, read some reviews and try and find the best available food that you can afford with the characters you want to see. You will really need to pre-book these ahead of time as they get pretty booked up.
So lots of options – and lots of opportunities to meet your favourite characters and take photos or even have your breakfast with them. We’re sure you’re currently thinking you won’t be the least bit bothered about seeing all of these characters – but there’s something pretty magical about seeing Mickey Mouse dancing in front of Cinderella Castle, or seeing the Superhero’s arrive on their quad bikes at Islands of Adventure. So we’re guessing you’ll soon start getting excited and whizzing off because you can see Goofy dancing on the corner of a street in Magic Kingdom, or clapping and singing along to the parade thinking to yourself – this is how life should be, happy, jolly, fun and friendly. Go with it – you’ll love it!
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