One of the most magical experiences at Disney World is getting to meet the characters. This one of a kind experience creates wonderful memories for kids, adults and families.
Disney does a wonderful job of bringing you face to face with your favorite princess, hero or sidekick. While some of the character meet and greets are very prominent and easy to find, others are tucked away, with visitors passing by without knowing they just missed something magical.
Two years ago, my family moved about 10 miles away from Disney World. This made short trips to the parks very accessible and we often visit for a few hours in the morning or in the evening after work. What surprised me was even after visiting the parks 1-2 times per week, I was still finding new ways to meet characters that I had never encountered before. These included restaurants, new encounters, parades or special events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
What’s more is that not all character encounters are created equal. On one occasion, Ariel and Prince Eric took the time to stop and talk with our 3-year-old daughter for a few minutes, asking her about her day and what she thinks about Scuttles the Seagull and Flounder. In the Encanto experience at Magic Kingdom, Mirabel taught our daughter how to make the Butterfly move on her shoulder. These experiences have been amazing for our daughter, as she is essentially talking with the princesses she admires in the movies and they are excited to meet her. There is no better way to build core memories at Disney that your family will never forget than meeting with a character.
Because there are so many characters to meet, we wanted to make it easier for you. We put together a complete guide to characters at Walt Disney World so that you’ll know exactly where you can find your favorite character on your next visit.
Types of Character Encounters at Walt Disney World
Meet and Greets
Meet-and-greet opportunities are the most popular way to meet your favorite characters. They are organized and scheduled throughout the day at various locations. Check the park map or My Disney Experience App for the updated character meet-and-greet locations and times.
Magic Kingdom
- Mickey Mouse: Town Square Theater, Main Street, U.S.A.
- Snow White: Town Square Theater, Main Street, U.S.A.
- Cinderella: Princess Fairytale Hall, Fantasyland
- Elena of Avalor: Princess Fairytale Hall, Fantasyland
- Princess Tiana: Princess Fairytale Hall, Fantasyland
- Rapunzel: Princess Fairytale Hall, Fantasyland
- Belle: Enchanted Tales with Belle, Fantasyland
- Ariel (From the Animated Story): Ariel’s Grotto, Fantasyland
- Daisy Duck: Pete’s Silly Sideshow, Fantasyland
- Donald Duck: Pete’s Silly Sideshow, Fantasyland
- Goofy: Pete’s Silly Sideshow, Fantasyland
- Minnie Mouse: Pete’s Silly Sideshow, Fantasyland
- Chip n’ Dale: Storybook Circus, Fantasyland
- Peter Pan- Near Peter Pan’s Flight, Fantasyland
- Anastasia and Drizella: Cinderella Fountain, Fantasyland
- Mirabel: Fairytale Garden, Fantasyland
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger: The Thotful Spot, Fantasyland
- Aladdin and Jasmine: Agrabah Bazaar, Adventureland
- Captain Jack Sparrow: Adventureland Stage, Adventureland
- Buzz Lightyear: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Exit, Tomorrowland
EPCOT
- Minnie Mouse: Park Entrance, World Celebration
- Goofy: Park Entrance, World Celebration
- Joy: ImageWorks, World Celebration
- Figment: ImageWorks, World Celebration
- Mickey Mouse: Disney Pixar Short Film Festival, World Celebration
- Mickey Mouse: Disney Visa Card Member Spot, World Celebration
- Minnie Mouse: Disney Visa Card Member Spot, World Celebration
- Goofy: Disney Visa Card Member Spot, World Celebration
- Pluto: Disney Visa Card Member Spot, World Celebration
- Pluto: World Showcase Friendship Ambassador Gazebo, World Showcase
- Donald Duck: Mexico Promenade in Mexico, World Showcase
- Anna: Royal Sommerhus in Norway, World Showcase
- Elsa: Royal Sommerhus in Norway, World Showcase
- Mulan: Great Hall of China in China, World Showcase
- Snow White: Wishing Well in Germany, World Showcase
- Jasmine: Lamps of Wonder in Morocco, World Showcase
- Belle: Water’s Edge in France, World Showcase
- Aurora: France Gazebo in France, World Showcase
- Daisy Duck: International Gateway, World Showcase
- Alice in Wonderland: Tea Garden in the UK, World Showcase
- Mary Poppins: Garden Archway in the UK, World Showcase
Hollywood Studios
- Donald Duck: Near Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Echo Lake
- Olaf: Celebrity Spotlight, Echo Lake
- Mickey Mouse: Red Carpet Dreams, Commissary Lane
- Minnie Mouse: Red Carpet Dreams, Commissary Lane
- Goofy: Grand Avenue
- Jessie: Toy Story Land Entrance, Toy Story Land
- Woody: Toy Story Land Entrance, Toy Story Land
- Buzz Lightyear: Toy Story Land Entrance, Toy Story Land
- Mr. Incredible: Pixar Plaza Gate West, Pixar Plaza
- Mrs. Incredible: Pixar Plaza Gate West, Pixar Plaza
- Edna Mode: Edna Mode Experience, Pixar Plaza
- Frozone: Pixar Plaza Palette, Pixar Plaza
- Sulley: Pixar Plaza
- Ariel (From the Live-Action Story: Inside Walt Disney Presents, Animation Courtyard
- Doc McStuffins: Animation Courtyard
- Fancy Nancy: Animation Courtyard
- Pluto: Animation Courtyard
- Vampirina: Animation Courtyard
- BB-8: Star Wars Launch Bay, Animation Courtyard
- Chewbacca: Star Wars Launch Bay, Animation Courtyard
- Darth Vader: Star Wars Launch Bay, Animation Courtyard
Animal Kingdom
- Mickey Mouse: Adventurers Outpost, Discovery Island
- Minnie Mouse: Adventurers Outpost, Discovery Island
- Daisy Duck: Daisy’s Design Studio, DinoLand U.S.A.
- Chip: Upper Cretaceous Trail, DinoLand U.S.A.
- Dale: Upper Cretaceous Trail, DinoLand U.S.A.
- Donald Duck: Welcome Center, DinoLand U.S.A.
- Donald Duck: Donalds Dino Bash, DinoLand U.S.A.
Parades, Shows & Cavalcade Characters
Parades are another fun way to see characters in action at Walt Disney World! You won’t get super up close to them or be able to talk to them but it is a great way to see a lot of characters at one time.
Magic Kingdom
- Parades/Stage Shows
- Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire: You’re invited to the kingdom, the Magic Kingdom, that is with all of your favorite characters. You can find characters such as Tiana, Rapunzel and Flynn, Mickey Mouse, Olaf, Elsa and Anna. (Times: 10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., and 12:50 p.m.)
- Festival of Fantasy Parade: Find your favorite characters from movies such as Tangled, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and more. (Times: 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.)
- Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade: Dare to take an adventure as you watch characters embark on a journey down Main Street, U.S.A., such as Mirabel and Miguel. (Times 5:10 p.m. and 6:25 p.m.)
Hollywood Studios
- Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage- Spot Belle, Beast, Gaston, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and the whole gang at the Stage Show of Beauty and the Beast. (Times: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5 p.m..)
- Disney Junior Play and Dance!: See Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, Timon, and Mickey for a musical celebration party that the whole family will love. (Times: 9:55 a.m., 10:35 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 11:55 a.m., 12:35 p.m., 2:10 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m., and 4:55 p.m..)
- Fantasmic!: Watch Mickey’s dream take flight as good battles evil. This nighttime spectacular allows you to see your favorite characters from Moana, Frozen 2, Mulan, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. Plus, you’ll be able to see all of your favorite Disney Villains, including Maleficent. (Times: 8:30 p.m.)
- For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-along: The Royal Historians of Arendelle will recount the tale of Frozen, with Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff on hand to sing along with some fan-favorite songs from the film. (Times: 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.)
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: Learn the secrets behind Indiana Jones and his stunts during this live action stage show. Here, you’ll get to see Indy and Marion perform their stunts. (Times: 10:45 a.m., 12 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m.)
- Lightning McQueens Riding Academy: Want to learn how to ride like Lightning McQueen? Visit the Riding Academy, where you’ll get to see Tow Mater, Cruz Ramirez, and Lightning himself. (Runs between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.)
Animal Kingdom
- Festival of the Lion King: Join in on the fun while singing along and watching the ornate puppetry at the Festival of the Lion King Show. You’ll get to see depictions of your favorite characters at the show. (Times: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m.)
- Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!- See puppets of your favorite characters from Finding Nemo during this stage show. (Times: 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.)
Character Dining
Character dining is fun, hassle-free, and one of the best ways to meet and interact with your favorite characters. You can eat a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner while also getting up close to some of your favorite Disney Characters. They do have an additional cost, but they are of great value for Disney dining and an interactive character experience.
Dining experiences are not just inside the parks either, they are around at the hotels too! Cape May Cafe at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contempoaory Resort are some of the more popular options to see characters that don’t require a park ticket!
Magic Kingdom
- Cinderella’s Royal Table: A visit to Cinderella’s Royal Table gives guests the chance to meet Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, and Jasmine, all for the prix-fixe price of $65 per adult and $39 per child for breakfast and $79 per adult and $47 per child for lunch and dinner.
- The Crystal Palace: Meet your favorite characters from the Hundred Acre Woods with breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the Crystal Palace. This buffet meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner allows guests to meet Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Breakfast costs $45 per adult and $29 for children and $59 per adult, and $38 per child for lunch and dinner.
- Be Our Guest: While Be Our Guest isn’t an official character meal, guests can often catch a glimpse at the Beast during dinner. This prix-fixe meal costs $67 per adult and $39 per child for lunch and dinner.
Epcot
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall: Here ye, here ye, it’s time for a royal feast with some of your favorite Disney Princesses. At Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, you’ll be able to meet Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine. The Akershus prixe-fixe breakfast costs $53 per adult and $34 per child. Lunch and dinner will cost $63 per adult and $41 per child.
- Garden Grill: Become one with “The Land” while visiting Garden Grill. Meet Mickey, Chip, Dale, and their friends for a family-style delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Garden Grill is $42 per adult, $27 per child for breakfast, $55 per adult, and $36 per child for lunch and dinner.
Hollywood Studios
- Hollywood and Vine: Whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner is your preference, you’ll be met with a plethora of characters at Hollywood and Vine. At breakfast, guests can meet their Disney Junior favorites. Meanwhile, at lunch and dinner, you’ll get to see Minnie and her friends in seasonal decor and outfits. Breakfast for adults is $42 and $27 for children. Lunch and dinner come in at $59 per adult and $38 per child.
Animal Kingdom
- Tusker House: Embark on a culinary safari with flavors inspired by Africa. Meet your host Donald Duck and his friends, Mickey and Goofy. Either enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner at this location with all of these characters. Breakfast costs $45 per adult and $29 per child, while lunch and dinner costs $59 per adult and $38 per child.
Special Events
Walt Disney World is known for their array of special events throughout the year from runDisney, DVC events and holiday events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, these events add so much more opportunities to see characters, including some characters that are not always seen year round such as Jack Skellington and Powerline Max. They also are usually in costume according to the theme of the event!
Roaming Characters
Roaming characters are not scheduled so they are easy to miss. As their name suggests, they simply wander the park, where you might have the chance to run into them. They can be found most frequently in Frontierland in Magic Kingdom, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios. Some of the characters that are classified as roaming characters may include; The Evil Stepsisters, Gaston, Stormtroopers, Green Army Men and Fairy Godmother.
Character Sightings
In the “My Disney Experience App,” you’ll see some characters noted as “sightings.” When a character is listed as “sightings,” it simply means that such characters will be roaming around in areas where they are not going to be accessible for one-on-one greetings. You can see them from a distance, but the good thing is that they can wave at you or even pose in the background in case you want to take a selfie. For instance, there is Winnie the Pooh at EPCOT; he does not meet to greet; rather, he roams around the Imagination Pavilion, and when you position well, you can get him in the background of your selfies. Sometimes he is there with a net catching imaginary bugs which adds to the magic.
Hotels
Hotels also offer some great opportunities to meet Disney Characters around the resort. You can find Chip n’ Dale at Wilderness Lodge and more!
Water Parks: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach
You can also find characters at Disney’s water parks. Angel, Lilo and Stitch can be found at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon with even more characters out and about at their special events such as H2O Glow. Goofy can be found in his swim gear at Blizzard Beach too!
How to Find Characters
My Disney Experience App
The official app for Disney World is called “My Disney Experience,” and in order to have a memorable time at Disney World and find the locations of the characters of your choice, you need to have “My Disney Experience” and also be familiar with how to use it because most of the character information is listed on this app. Although you may not want to be constantly going through your phone every minute of the day, if that is the case, then you can also seek information about the characters from the Times Guide or even ask someone working with guest relations.
Park Maps
Park maps display a map of the particular Park you are presently in. All you need to do is click the top arrow, then choose “Characters” from the list to see the Characters that are currently available where you are. Following that, tiny Mickeys will appear and show you all the chances to meet and greet with your favorite characters. Pretty simple, right? We hope you give it a try and make your Disney experience and meeting your favorite characters fun!
Do characters sign autographs?
For most of the character experiences, the answer is yes! If you are at a meet and greet or dining experience you can grab all the autographs! The parade and shows, they will not be signing autographs given the nature of the experience.
Do you need a reservation to meet characters?
It depends on the experience, for characters at restaurants a dining reservation is required. Some meet and greets are available on Genie+ if you decide to upgrade but reservations are not generally required for meet and greet, roaming or character sightings.
What are the best tips to meet the characters?
Plan in advance, have your cameras and autograph books ready. This will help make most of your time with the characters. Also, understand that not every child will be excited to see the character. Remember many of them are 4-5 times larger than kids, so if they are hesitant to meet a character, I would just watch them safely from a distance while your children get used to how they engage with others.
Brian is the father of Victoria, star of the Victoria Kids Show on YouTube, which follows an energetic 3 year old as she explores Disney World along with numerous adventures involving animals, cooking, toy reviews, experiences, books and more. If you have children who love watching Disney related YouTube videos, please subscribe to the Victoria Kids Show and help us reach our goal of 10,000 subscribers.
