Disneyland Characters Meets

[AllIWantIsACuppa]

When I was about 11, around mid 90s, I was lucky enough to go to Disney in Florida. I remember that we met loads of characters who were just walking around the park. I have a distinctive memory of Snow White being very concerned about my little brother who was having a temper tantrum about something and she tried to cheer him up. We met Goofy, Mickey, all the classics etc.

I've just been to Disneyland Paris and I was struck with how different the experience is. You have to queue to interact with any character, or you can see them do displays on elevated platforms, far from the public. They are escorted with security who keep people away if they have to walk through the park etc.

I'm curious and wondering if anyone knows. When did it change? Was it always this way in Paris and it's different in Florida? Did the terrorist worries of the 2000s have an impact? Or COVID? Or is it that society has changed and people are more likely to grab at the actors etc so measures are needed?

We've had a lovely time. But it was very different to my experience as a child.

It is mostly like that in Florida too - you find the odd one walking about. Disneyland in California and Disneyland in Tokyo are different and have lots of roaming characters.

Disneyland Paris I have found the odd one roaming but mostly queues.

It has been like that for as long as I can remember.

I think since they realised you can charge extra for character meet ups it's not as easy to interact. I went first about 20 years ago in my 20s and have an embarrassing picture with pocahontas.

There are a few that walk around in Florida still - over Easter we saw Stitch and Chip n Dale in Magic Kingdom; Kevin (the bird from Up) in Animal Kingdom; and lots of Star Wars characters in Galaxy's Edge - Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, lots of Stormtroopers and Rey. However most of them were "queue up and meet" affairs.

I've never paid for a character meet and greet in any park.

Paid fast passes (genie plus) never came into play until a few years ago and the characters had queues long before then.

I think it is more about safety tbh.

First time i was in DL Paris, it was chaos for mickey with no queue. Disneyland is not too bad as it is more of a locals park but even then people still form a semi-queue for the roaming ones.

I don’t think they charge though? Do they?
you just have to queue.
Florida has roaming ones but they do have security, mostly you have to queue

I assumed it was a mix of security from
people grabbing them or kids getting trampled by overzealous adults, as well as health and safety (they’re normally in a shaded or air con spot).

Mostly not - although you can chose some character greetings as part of the paid Genie Plus offering in Florida.

I think it's a security thing - honestly people seem to forget how to behave in Disneyland, they all go a bit feral. This is why there is no Elsa anywhere - apparently people just mobbed her.

I was thinking of character dining. That's how we met mickey etc on recent trip. Didn't see any characters to queue and meet but maybe that was indoors? I know yoh can pay for a princess met in the castle on DMK.

In 3 weeks apart from character dining at Disney, I saw a queue to get a photo with bumblebee in universal. That's it!

Ah, happy memories, I remember meeting loads of characters wandering about. They sold autograph books they would all sign, must still have mine somewhere.

It seems so regimented now, I'd love to take DCs but it seems so much like hard work!

I saw some shocking behaviour whilst there. Not from the kids, it was all from the adults doing obvious Instagram style photography. Instagrammers are a toxic subsection of our modern society.