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[bad-pink-tink]

ok, here goes.... so I'm a lifelong Disney fan, have visited 3 Disney Parks and as you can see in my signature have been going to Disneyland California every year for the last 4 years.


In all my times at Disney parks I have been least interested in character meet and greets. I know its a huge part of guest experience in the parks but to me it not.


I love the whole Disney atmosphere, the theming, the rides, the attractions and so much more but I just have no interest in meeting characters or getting photos with them.


Does any one else feel this way??

[gemma2806]

I used to!


I first visited DLP in 2002 as a couple and we just wanted to do everything else. We never saw a point or made an effort to see characters as even at Disney we just saw them as people in suits. The same continued on all my visits even at Florida and although I have loads of amazing photos there are very few back then with characters.


HOWEVER I then had my son and everything changed!! Suddenly I saw the characters in a whole new light ( I guess it was seeing them through his eyes) and they were suddenly very real to me. Last year on holiday we especially made a point of seeing the characters and queuing for meet and greets. We even did 3 character meals and a character tea party! In total we saw 37 different characters.


I definitely think that it was having my son that changed my views ( on so many things in life) but I'm actually grateful for that as it means we had an ever better holiday than we thought we would originally.

[idylles]

I'm kind of "meh" when it comes to meeting characters.  I loved it when I was younger, I had this little book to ask autographs for and such.  But now, I don't know.


But it might be because of the fact that meet and greets are very different from what they used to be.  When I was younger, the park was full of them and they were playing and laughing with little children, always nice to see.  But now you almost see none of the characters, and if you see them they're surrounded by guards.  So you have to stay in line (what they call line, I call it a bunch of impatient kids who have no manners) for a couple of minutes and after those minutes, guards tell them to leave.  When I'm there, 60% of the "waiting line" isn't greeted.  And that makes me meh. 

[Mitchell]

I'm totally opposite, I love meeting characters, I'm excited to see them in my December trip

[Festival Disney]

I don't like them, personally.
It sort of winds me up how people can get so excited over someone in a suit 


Saying that, I love parades! Just not the queueing up/scrumming to meet them 

[orangarnold]

I am neither here nor there with Characters. I have my autograph book from when I was 9 and my first trip to DLP and thats something I won't get rid of. But now I leave it to the children as I remember how awesome it felt.

[bad-pink-tink]

gemma2806
thats exactly me. I dont have kids, my trips to the Disney parks are with friends and in 2011 I did a solo trip to DLP.  I was outside Blue Lagoon at the Jack Sparrow meet and greet time once and I just couldnt go over to him. Maybe its cos I have met Johnny Depp, that it didnt feel right, the costume was amazing and they really tried with makeup and wig but it just wasnt Jack Sparrow to me.

idylles
thats part of it too

Mitchell
thats great that you enjoy them. Sometimes if I'm passing a character meet and greet I will stop to watch. Its such a lovely thing to see little (and big) kids totally lost in the magic of seeing a character in real life.

Festival Disney
  sometimes it winds me up too, especially if the crowds are in my way. And I love the parades, thats something different, its a show, not just a silent character

[Mitchell]

I totally understand your point though, some people go for the rides, some people go for the experience, some people go for the all round, its what makes Disney so good for everyone

[BoristheSpider]

I'm going for my first time next year & aren't too bothered about meeting characters.  I would like to see them about though. Who knows,  I could come back crazy!

[SwipatronSparks]

We are fairly meh about it, we dont actively seek out chracters to meet and greet but we do meet with them if we are passing by and there isnt much wait, last time we where there was the first time in a long time we actively looked for a meet and greet oportunity, i took my Nana (as in the dog) plush with me, and well we simply couldnt leave without trying to get a picture with her with peter pan, our day was made when we saw peter with wendy too, and that meet and greet reminded me why i love disney so much it was a magical 5 minutes from the mad hatter who was there too jumping up and down on a chair telling peter to work his way over to us and wendy shouting peter over herself when she saw nana, to peter and wendy both waving at nana and saying they would see her that night in neverland at the end of our short time with them, it was just amazing.

[SVioletS]

When we went as a family for the 1st time we were amazed with all the people going crazy over characters. It felt strange to us, it was just someone in a suit right? But then our 3y old girl started to get excited and by the second day there we were... Autograph book in hand going to all possible meet and greet! now it's a big part of our time in dlp, but i'm sure it will calm down once the girls are older.
Btw we keep using the same autograph book since 2010, and next to the autographs i put the related picture so i really get that image of the girls growing up in our visits... Of course next time i will have to get a new one!

[mickeyspal]

When we first went in 1993 we were spoilt for choice with lots of characters wandering about the park and visiting our hotel. My son was 7 years old when we first went, so it was a natural thing to want your children to have a photo/autograph with their favourite character; we have some great memories of him with his favourites Chip 'n' Dale & Donald Duck. Obviously we don't bother with the characters now; it's into the park and straight onto the rides.

[grovesie]

This really depends if you have children..I supose. On my own I wouldn't bother with them, but we have always had kids with us. My youngest is now 7 and he's sill wanting to do the meet and greets.. the only thing he dislikes is the rugby scrum or the every winding queue.

[DisneyInMyBlood]

My kids love them. But only in Florida where it is lovely and organised. My kids are taught to wait their turn, but unfortunately others aren't. The scrum involved is beyond ridiculous and the CMs do nothing to assist.
The only in-park meet and greet we do at DLRP is Mickey as it is a queue, and I use that term loosely as people still think they can send one family member in and the rest join them 30 minutes later.
We are doing Café Mickey for my son's birthday so he has the chance of getting some time with some characters.

[littlemermaid83]

What is all this talk about people in suits?


Mickey Mouse is REAL!