Standing Character Encounters

[slpeters]

So I understand that character interaction is a lot more casual at DLR than at WDW. I'm still a little unclear how to strategize the stationary character M&Gs. So how long does it generally take to do something like the princesses at Fairy Tale Hall or Tinkerbell at Pixie Hollow? We are there for several days and at WDW we would usually sort of mix up what we did first thing in the morning--doing characters M&Gs first on one of our MK days. Would it make any sense to do that at DLR? Also at WDW you can check the wait time for something like Ariel or Tinkerbell or Snow White? I assume you can't do that at DLR? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[figment_jii]

I didn't see the standing character M&G location wait times posted in the official Disneyland App. The App is the place to find out when and where various characters will appear.

I haven't done the character M&G's in a while, but when we did, I recall trying to do the Pixie Hollow M&G fairly early in the day because the queue is not covered and it can be quite hot in the afternoon. Fairy Tale Hall queue was covered, so we did that one in the afternoon.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I didn't see the standing character M&G location wait times posted in the official Disneyland App. The App is the place to find out when and where various characters will appear.

I haven't done the character M&G's in a while, but when we did, I recall trying to do the Pixie Hollow M&G fairly early in the day because the queue is not covered and it can be quite hot in the afternoon. Fairy Tale Hall queue was covered, so we did that one in the afternoon.

We really liked PH in the morning but I believe it still opens an hour after park open so keep that in mind.

In general if the metal queue for Princess Hall is full you have about a 30ish minute wait from my experience. Try to hit it before the shows let out and they often create giant lines right after they end.

I believe the wait times for Mickey at his house are posted in the app but I think he's the only one. Minnie always has a sign out front (as does Mickey - the other two I don't recall seeing signs up even)

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So I understand that character interaction is a lot more casual at DLR than at WDW...

Generally, you are correct about this; and since you have several days in the parks, you can adopt a "non-strategy" strategy. We use the app to find character locations and M&G times if there is someone we specifically want to meet, but most of the time we just look for whoever might be out ("Oh, look! There's Moana!") or for wherever there's a short M&G line or no line. We find meeting Mickey and Minnie to be a lot easier in Town Square in DL or on BVS in DCA. Whenever we see them just starting a set or if the line is short, we just jump in. This kind of loose strategy can result in a surprising number of character meets in a day, especially if you start in the morning. Lots of characters roam freely around the castle and FL areas starting in the morning, so you can just keep a sharp eye out for characters and a ready phone/camera (with a full battery!). Then let the magic happen!

 

[Je Suis Renard]

So I understand that character interaction is a lot more casual at DLR than at WDW. I'm still a little unclear how to strategize the stationary character M&Gs. So how long does it generally take to do something like the princesses at Fairy Tale Hall or Tinkerbell at Pixie Hollow? We are there for several days and at WDW we would usually sort of mix up what we did first thing in the morning--doing characters M&Gs first on one of our MK days. Would it make any sense to do that at DLR? Also at WDW you can check the wait time for something like Ariel or Tinkerbell or Snow White? I assume you can't do that at DLR? Any help would be appreciated.

As far as I know, the only characters that have posted wait times (at the meet locations, not on the app) are Mickey and Minnie at their homes in Toon Town, the princesses inside the Royal Hall (almost always Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White), and the characters at the Star Wars Launch Bay.

For most other characters, you'll need to go to their meet locations (check the app for meet times) and actually see the line for yourself and decide if the wait is worth it for you. Wait times are not necessarily static; I've had wait times ranging from 5 minutes to well over 30 minutes for the same character(s) on different occasions.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I've been scoping out where characters pop up in the DL app because my soon to be 5 yr old REALLY wants to meet characters. Her favorite right now is Elena, and it looks like she's been regularly appearing near PFF, but the times listed have my mind a boggling - does Elena really show up for only 5 minutes at a time? That seems a bit crazy to me, but the last couple of days it shows her schedule being 5 minutes twice a day. Anyone have any experience specifically with Elena?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I've been scoping out where characters pop up in the DL app because my soon to be 5 yr old REALLY wants to meet characters. Her favorite right now is Elena, and it looks like she's been regularly appearing near PFF, but the times listed have my mind a boggling - does Elena really show up for only 5 minutes at a time? That seems a bit crazy to me, but the last couple of days it shows her schedule being 5 minutes twice a day. Anyone have any experience specifically with Elena?

They list them like that because the line closes pretty quickly (if gets full), but she’s there longer.