Welcome to those of you joining me from Heidi’s Head and those of you just hopping aboard!
I am the 3rd stop on Magical Blogorail Teal. Enjoy the ride as this month we share our favorite Disney Character Experience.
THE DISNEY CHARACTERS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
The Disney characters are everywhere at Walt Disney World, but what most people mean when they talk about a Disney World “character experience” is a personal interaction with a character–a hug, photo, autograph, exchange of phone numbers. (Ariel? I’m still waiting…)
As far as I am concerned, there are two different ways to experience the characters. My division is not the traditional one–but it’s the one that matters:
- Air-conditioned character experiences, and
- Ambient outdoor temperature experiences
Air-conditioned experiences include most character meals (not Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue) and many more permanent and continuous opportunities in the parks, such as Ariel’s Grotto in New Fantasyland.
Character meals ought to be reserved months in advance; some of the air-conditioned character greeting experiences that aren’t meals have Fastpasses available–and more will after Fastpass+ becomes operational.
Ambient temperature experiences are completely outdoors–though sometimes roofed–and happen all over the parks. These typically happen in a specific set of locations, according to a specific schedule, which you can see in your “Times Guide” to the park.
There’s also a number of places on the web where you can track characters down–e.g. Kennythepirate–slow loading, but handy.
Because this site focuses on older kids (and is not so keen on Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue compared to alternatives), all of its recommended character experiences are air-conditioned character meals. This lets you combine two things (dining and meeting) at once–and do so out of the weather!
My own personal favorite character interaction is always the last one I had–so that would be, at the time of this writing, the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the Polynesian!
MORE THINGS FAVORITE DISNEY CHARACTER EXPERIENCES FROM MAGICAL BLOGORAIL TEAL
Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Teal Loop is Disney Lovin’ Spectrum Mom.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Teal loop should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
- 1st Stop ~ The Disney Kids
- 2nd Stop ~ Heidi’s Head
- 3rd Stop ~ yourfirstvisit.net
- 3rd Stop ~ Disney Lovin’ Spectrum Mom
- Final Stop ~ Disney with Babies, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
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Hi, we will be visiting Dec7-11th, 2014. it’s our first ever! Have 2 girls ages 6 & 7, who are totally into anything Frozen. Can u pls suggest a character dining with any of the Frozen characters ? We will be staying at the Swan resort( kids eat free at Garden Grove). Thanks!
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Hi PS! There is, as I write this, no Frozen character dining.
There’s a meet and greet in the Magic Kingdom that I’ll be publishing on soon.
However, lines are very long without FastPass+, and since you aren’t staying in a Disney-owned resort, you can’t book FP+ til 30 days out, and the Frozen FP+ may all be gone by then…
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I like the split between air conditioned visits and non-air conditioned character experiences. Air conditioning= good, not air conditioned= not so good.
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I agree, the AC character meet n greets are the best! I wish they ALL had Fastpasses 🙂 Great pic of you and Lilo! The character breakfast at O’hana is on my wish list for our next visit.
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People often assume that face character interactions are the most fun. But non -face characters that have mastered the art of pantomime give wonderfully interactive experiences as well!
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That pic of you and Ariel could not possibly be any more adorable!!! And as a new veteran of Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, I share your lack of enthusiasm. Although parts of the show were pretty amazing (thinking specifically of the gent who did the rope tricks), and the free booze was appreciated, the character interactions were limited and definitely geared towards the little ones in the crowd.
And Disney Babies Jenn, you are right to be wary of Stitch. He totally swiped my son’s bottle of water at Typhoon Lagoon, the scamp… 😉
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Had to laugh. I would say that is the way I guage them too. Which means I am very unlikely to meet any ambient temperature characters in August!
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Air conditioned meet and greets are always my favorite. 🙂 We’re visiting ‘Ohana for breakfast on our next trip. I can’t wait!
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I’d love to try O’hana for breakfast, but I’m not sure I can handle stitch… always a wealth of information 🙂
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Awww . . . you and Lilo are really cute together, Dave. I know you’re holding out for Ariel though. 😉
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