characters?? I am worried

[kaleighmariesmom]

So we have been to DL 2 times beofre but it was just us (no kids) and we only went to see Mickey, now we are thinking of going back. I got a DL book that said there are not too many characters out and about at DL like DW. This worries me because my DD3 only goes for that one reason.. Can someone set me straight??

 

[DMP]

really? Well I saw them out and about all over the place! There are certainly areas where they congregate - but, you won't lack for characters. I can't compare w/the Magic Kingdom right now (it's been 10+ years) but, there were far fewer character encounters for me there than we have had at Disneyland.

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

we went in 2004 and it was pouring raining so my DH could have cared less about characters - but I bought this book isneyLand with Kids" and it says they are scarce. That you are lucky to find Mickey and Minnie and that is it!

 

[Disney Dreams]

There are characters. You will want to get the schedule of who is where and when on the day you are there. City Hall can give you that information when you arrive.

Also, do you need to meet and greet or just see? Fantasmic! has loads of characters.

- Dreams

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

meet and greets. I knew the book sounded wrong. I was thinking things cant be that different in DL!

 

[SurfinStitch]

now I beg to differ with that!! Disneyland is crawling with characters you just have to know where to look, my suggestion is to first off go to City Hall to find out who is going to be out and where but there are usually some key spots where characters can be found!

Main street in the center plaza there are always characters, I always have seen goofy by the firehouse there and across the way mickey and minnie. also right inside the front gate i've seen all the princesses as well as Rafiki and the Queen of Hearts.


Toon Town offers quite a few characters roaming around, same with fantasyland... I'd say do a character breakfast if you are in it for seeing just mainly characters


Over on DCA in the sunshine plaza right where you enter is usually where you can find Lilo & Stitch, and travel back to the hollywood backlot to find all sorts of characters, that is where they come out of (behind tower of terror) and I have seen the following within a matter of 10mins: Stitch, Lilo, The Incredibles, Wilbur Robinson, Bert (From Mary Poppins), Stanley, Cruella DeVille, and the whole group of the fantastic 5. I think it just depends on what time you are there...

There are also shows with Flick & Atta, Woodys roundup, the Brother Bear totem story, Aladdin & Jasmine in adventureland, and i believe there is princess story time that characters are at and will stay to take pictures and sign books. That is how i see alot of my characters... right behind haunted mansion and the pirate store is where i have found Jack Sparrow along with some other pirates, altho I believe they now reside on tom sawyers island. There is the new pixie hollow where the faeries will hang out and the Jedi Knight training show too. Pooh Corner (in critter country) offers Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore to visit


hopefully that helps! shows are always your best bet to seeing the characters because they are there for the purpose of telling stories and interaction with the crowd

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

oh that was so helpful!!! thanks so much!!!

now where can I find out about character meals?

 

[SurfinStitch]

I believe there is a thread on here that lists that info, altho I think when you book your vacation you can opt for it? I am new here to the forum so i dont know exactly where the link is...

I'm not sure if they still offer the character breakfast in the park but thats what i did on my first trip when i was 7 and i LOVED it I think in the PPH hotel there is one I was told about with lilo and stitch and the fab5 and others....

there used to be a winnie the pooh breakfast where i believe you saw rabbit also but i'm not sure if that is still going since the last time i had heard anything about that was years ago

 

[cheshiregirl]

Many people use http://allears.net/dlr/din/dining.htm for menus. There are five different character dining locations at DLR.

The only one in the parks are breakfast at the Plaza Inn hosted by Minnie Mouse at DL and a Ariel's Grotto which hosts breakfast, lunch and dinner with the princesses at DCA. Minnie's is a buffet whereas Ariel's is served family style. It is also important to note that Ariel's underwent a complete menu revamp in recent months and while it used to be considered the worst restaurant at DLR, many people are now reporting that it was one of their best meals on property.

GCH is home to a breakfast with Chip 'n Dale and PPH is home to a breakfast with Lilo & Stitch. Both of these are nice because they have both an ala carte menu option or a buffet to choose from.

Finally, the biggie is Goofy's Kitchen which is sort of reminiscent of Chef Mickey's but not nearly as chaotic, although it is almost as popular! It is at the DLH and has a breakfast/brunch option and an dinner buffet.

In addition to the host character(s) each other character meal has a cast of friends who visit regularly and a few surprise ones that may pop up depending on the day.

 

[cheshiregirl]

I also wanted to make sure that you know about the Disney Visa meet and greet at DCA. Every morning from 10:30-12:00 they have a special character greeeting area set up over by Monster's Inc. For the first half of the time it is usually Chip 'n Dale and for the second half it is usually Pluto. In order to enter you must have a Disney Visa card. But, you will get amazing one on one (or two on one with the chipmunks ) time with the characters, and this is something that my DS--who is also a character junkie--really looks forward to each day of our trip.

As a cardholder you also get a coupon for a free 5X7 photo each day of your trip. These need to be redeemed onsite and they say that they are only valid the day you get them and they are supposed to be for the Visa pictures. However, we have been able to pick up several days worth of photos all at once AND some CMs will let you choose any photopass picture that you want for free!

One final point that I will make is that even though you can only get one free photo coupon per day, we have made multiple trips on some days so that we can see both CnD and Pluto. The CMs are very accomodating and there is usually never a line of more than 1-2 families so they don't mind repeat guests!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I wouldn't worry at all. The Fab 5 (sometimes not so much Donald) can be found very easily in Town Square.

 

[gr8leg8]

You are cordially invited to visit the princesses in the
Princess Fantasy Faire
(near Small World & Toontown)

You will have to wait in line
(not always fun with a 3 year old)
but she will get to meet three princesses.

In our visits we met:
Pocahontas
Mulan
Jasmine
Belle
Snow White
&
dd's fav: Cinderella!!!!!

We seem to always miss Aurora/Sleeping Beauty.
She was at Ariel's Restaurant in Cal. Adv.

quick tip:
take a photo of the back of the photopass card you are given. Make sure you can read the numbers. If you lose the card you will still be able to see your pictures online.

and
look into a photopass share for your visit.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Yep, lots of characters. Town Square has the main ones in the a.m. We were there Wed. and saw all the biggies. Also I got a PP pix taken with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible in front of Hyperion theatre.

And of course you can always find Mickey in his movie barn behind his house in Toon Town. Minnie hangs around her house as well.

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

I have the same concerns of the OP. We were at EPCOT in Aug, and in a matter of less than 2 hrs walking around world Showcase, we saw Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Jasmine, Aladdin, Dopey, Belle, Tigger Eeyore and Pooh. It was almost unbelievable to me - so great for my 4 year old who is a princess nut. Of course I asked a couple CM along the way if there were characters out and where - they were very specific with the information.

The characters are the primary focus of my 4 year olds trip. My older kids enjoy all the other stuff, so everyone wins. We are trying to decide if we should take a Disneyland/Hollywood/beach trip or return to WDW for EPCOT and MK and some of the other smaller things we did not do at WDW this past summer.

I want to go to Disneyland for the new experience, but I just really want all those characters and the magic to be there as well.

Thanks for the info - looks like they are abundant if you know where to look.

 

[bennyb98]

I agree. WDW beats DL HANDS DOWN in the character department. At WDW you can actually see and meet characters at specific spots and there are a LOT more out to meet. At DL I was there for an entire week and the only non-Fab 5/Princess/Pooh character I saw wandering around at all were Bear Bear and Fox. People seem to actually wait in a line at WDW rather than the madness of who can shove someone to the front of the line the fastest I witnessed at DL. I took City Hall about that, they really should hire some more Character Attendants to curb the craziness.

Also I know I went in the slow season to DL but even during the down times at WDW you will still see lots of characters all.

 

[Lostgirlz]

Update you will NO longer able to see Capt Jack at DL. I'm not sure about WDW, but confirmed by 2 different cast members he is no longer in the parks.

 

[Disney Dreams]

On various visits I have seen:
Mickey
Minnie
Chip
Dale
Donald
Daisy
Goofy
Pluto
Buzz
Belle
Cinderella
Snow White
Mulan
Winnie the Pooh
Eeyore
Piglet
Tigger
Alice
The Mad Hatter
Roger Rabbit
Brer Fox
arg, the other main character that's over by Splash Mtn.
Mary Poppins
Lightning McQueen
Stitch

Now, you won't see all of these in 1 day, but they DO exist at DL, along with others I have not seen or included. Many of them have specific places where they appear every time. (Ex: Pooh Corner, Splash Mountain) Again, if it is a very impt part of your visit, when you get to Disneyland, stop in at City Hall and ask when, where, and which characters are scheduled for appearances on that day.

As a previous poster mentioned and has been discussed on this board a little while ago, Jack Sparrow is no longer out and about for character meet and greets. If he is on your little one's "list," you might want to start explaining now, so there's no expectation there.

- Dreams

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

you are all so helpful. I am looking for the fab 5 and the princesses. DD doesnt know Capt Jack yet.. I am thankful for everyones help!! DH said lets take a trip to CA (we used to live there) and see DL and San Diego again. I was weary because we went to WDW a few months ago and DD LOVED it. I wanted to make sure she loved DL too.

 

[jasy]

Don't worry! You'll get your character fix! When DH and I were there last I got pictures with around 15 different characters, they are out there!!!

You DD will love it! And if you don't mind spending the $$ I would definetly go to Goofy's Kitchen, lots of characters coming to visit your table.

Enjoy and have a great DL vacation!!!

 

[JasonShannon76]

I go to Disneyland all the time, and there are always tons of characters. There are specific spots where they hang out and you can go and see them. In one day we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald & Daisy, Princesses, Captain Jack, Pooh/Piglet/Tigger/Eyore, Woody/Buzz, Chip/Dale, and Queen of Hearts. Those were all at Disneyland. The next day at California Adventure we saw Pluto, The Incredibles, Flik and Dot from Bugs Life, Sully from Monsters Inc., and a couple others.

Have FUN!