Meeting the characters

[purpliequeen]

I'll just add that my husband and I waited for Stitch at his permanent location in Tommorrowland yesterday and he was absolutely amazing. His handler, Bob, is an older gentleman who has had years in the parks and lots of experience with characters and he told us Stitch, by far, is the most interactive & fun. Standing in like for 20-30 min went by sooo quickly b/c he was perfect with everyone. He stayed true to character. For instance, he is so sweet with older women - especially those with a cane. Just like the section in the movie when he sits next to the old lady in the lobby of the hotel. He loves shiny Mickey ears - especially the rose gold or millennial pink ones. He also is great with kids - all of the antics, such as trying to eat the autograph book gets really cute responses from the young guests. For me and my husband - we are in our late twenties - and Stitch was HILARIOUS. It took some time, but he convinced my husband to close his eyes and then he got down on one knee and proposed to me. He then proceeded to escort me towards the exit until the handler called him back.

I agree with one of the other posters that if you have a prop (such as the shiny ears), it helps the character stay true to the story. I will also add that they love it when you can quote lines from their movie(s). We started off by asking Stitch how high his "badness level' is and he realized right away that we were fans despite not wearing or holding any Lilo & Stitch items.

 

[purpliequeen]

Also, in the My Disney Experience app, the map can be changed to not show the default wait times, but the character locations & their times. You can change the filter so that it's also in list format - we've found that to be most helpful. A heads up that this week, folks started lining up for the popular characters (such as Aurora and Belle) 30 min to 45 min in advance of the character arriving. Belle was in her Christmas dress today and the line was extra long.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

This is an awesome picture!!!!

THANK YOU!

 

[LibbyG]

My daughter bought a pair of white cheap canvas shoes and had characters sign them. Woody insisted she put her name on the bottom. The stepsisters were the best, each trying the shoes on insisting they fit. It was really a fun way to interact.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I heard Kevin from UP will be in AK. Any idea where we should look for him or which dates he starts?

 

[TI double-GUH ER]

I second the Stitch recommendation. We had a lot of fun with him, on multiple trips. Also - the character interaction at the Shipwreck breakfast was one of our favorites. Really if you enjoy the character it goes a long way, so you should start with which characters are favorites.
In the park - Gaston is a lot of fun. Princess lines seem to be longer in Epcot than elsewhere, so if you have a Princess you'd like to see, you might wait less at MK.
Peter Pan is another great one, as is Tink. They were both funny and spent a lot of time with people.
My kids also very much enjoyed Mary Poppins in EP - she was practically perfect in every way.