Are more indoor character meet and greet locations being
planned for Walt Disney World? With the
closing of Beastly Bazaar at Animal Kingdom to make way for an indoor character
meeting location and the recently obtained permit for an indoor character
meeting location to be added at the entrance to EPCOT, seems that this may be
the wave of the future. There are
already indoor character meet and greet locations at the Magic Kingdom
with Town Square Theater and Pixie Hollow.
The new Fantasyland Expansion has the previous location of Snow White’s
Adventure attraction being deemed an indoor character meet and greet
location. And, there is EPCOT’s
Character Spot in Innoventions offering guests an opportunity to meet the Fab
5.
Indoor character meeting locations make sense—all around. The Cast Members portraying various characters
get some relief from the elements. I can
just imagine how hot it gets inside the costumes in the afternoon sun! And, because there is protection from the
elements, the characters can be available for longer times and are more accessible
to guests. Being protected from the elements
is an added bonus for guests, too.
The indoor meet and greet locations also means Disney can
control the lighting and other visual effects.
No more worrying about someone being in a shadow or an unwelcome
surprise in the background of your photo when you get home. The indoor queues also mean Photopass
photographers can be available to take photos—which may mean more selling of
and purchasing of Photopass products!
Bringing the character meet and greets indoors also leads to
guest safety. We’ve seen how the sudden
lines for random character greetings in the parks make for lines forming in
walkways, even though Cast Members try to keep waiting guests out of the way of
moving guests. The line that forms for
meeting Woody and Jesse in Frontierland comes to mind, as does the line to meet
characters in the Fairytale Garden at the Magic Kingdom . It takes a lot of work for Cast Members to
keep the line going in an efficient manner in addition to handling the
characters.
And, with the addition of more indoor character greeting
locations, comes the opportunity for that location to include Fastpass for
guests like at Town Square Theater in the Magic Kingdom . Imagine waiting to see a character without
actually waiting!
The indoor greetings also offer opportunities for more than
one character to be in a single location making meet and greets more efficient! And, the exact times and locations for the meet
and greet can be published for guests in Times Guides and on park maps.
While plans are in place for indoor character meet and
greets at the Magic
Kingdom , EPCOT, and Animal
Kingdom, I am wondering about Hollywood Studios. Some indoor meet and greet locations already
exist in the Magic of Disney Animation and Buzz and Woody’s Picture Shootin’
Corral. And, there are covered character
meeting locations for Mike and Sully from Monster’s,
Inc. and characters from Cars. But the recently added meet and play area for
Phineas and Ferb is not under any cover and waiting in that area can be brutal
in the afternoon sun—trust me, we’ve been there!
I’m all for the addition of indoor character meet and greet
locations. I will, however, miss some of
the spontaneity of finding a Disney character when you least expect it and the
joy of the find. We stop for Disney
characters—no matter where we find them!
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