The Thinking Behind The Wardrobe Selections For Walt Disney World

Packing for a Walt Disney World vacation is no easy task.  There are books/sites with packing lists, reminders, even Disney sends emails to future guests about what to remember.

For us, I make a new packing list every time.  Writing it all down, helps me think about and picture items.  We also have some things perpetually packed, such as the park bag.  But then there are the wardrobe selections.

Let me begin with it is evident that our family tradition is to dress in matching shirts each day of our vacation.  This does make packing somewhat easier after shirts are chosen.  But how to chose which shirt sets AND what day during our vacation will we wear them?

A consideration for wardrobe selection, after weather of course, is what shirts go with certain parks.  We have worn our Zootopia shirts to Animal Kingdom before, something we also try to avoid--repeating shirts at the same park--but the them of the shirts just fits with this park.  Cast Members make many comments and we get asked where we got them.  Answer:  DisneyStore.com right when the movie came out and the shirts were a limited edition.  We haven't seen them since.  If Zooptopia characters were added to Animal Kingdom, wearing these shirts to meet them would be an added bonus!

Speaking of having wardrobe selections to match characters, we had great fun wearing our Star Wars Christmas sweaters on Christmas Day to Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet Star Wars characters.  Chewbacca wanted one in his size!

Since we would be at Walt Disney World on Christmas Eve and the day before that, we decided that some holiday shirts were needed.  Santa and Mrs. Claus got a kick out of our "I Tried" shirts.

Santa was not Grumpy but he did ask about our shirts.

Often, characters recognize our wardrobe selections and make comments--even those characters that cannot talk.  These Olaf sweaters were worn on Christmas Eve Day with our "I Tried" t-shirts underneath.  It was nice to have a warm layer during the cold morning and then be able to take off our sweaters and then put them back on in the cooler evening.  Where do the sweaters go when we aren't wearing them in the park?  In the park backpack.

Guests can find Olaf at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Character Spotlight.  Give him a warm hug--he likes those!

While Olaf is at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Anna and Elsa from FROZEN can be found in EPCOT at their Somerhaus in the Norway Pavilion in World Showcase, not far from their new ride.  Both Anna and Elsa appreciated our Olaf sweaters.

Note:  It's easy for guests to travel back and forth from Disney's Hollywood Studios and EPCOT using the boat launch from the front of Disney's Hollywood Studios and EPCOT's International Gateway.  The trip takes about 25 minutes as the launch makes three stops at resorts.  The ride is a great way to rest, re-charge, and take a break from the parks.

At EPCOT's Character Spot, we met the mouse himself, Mickey Mouse and took the pose of him from our shirts.

On another day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, we wore our Carsland shirts from Disneyland.  Reason?  I knew we would be meeting Cruz Ramirez a character from Cars 3.  As a note, other guests and Cast Members inquired about our Carsland shirts.

Since the boy's favorite character is Stitch, we have at least one set of Stitch shirts.  We wore them to meet Stitch at 'Ohana's on another trip, but this trip, we wore the shirts to Disney Springs.

While at Disney Springs, we enjoyed the Christmas Tree Trail, where each tree has a different Disney theme.  We found the Stitch tree AND a Disney Photopass Photographer who was taking photos along the trail.  Voila!  Pictures of all us in front of Stitch's tree wearing Stitch shirts.

Yes, I do have these types of experiences and photo opportunities in mind while planning and packing.  Although the Stitch tree with the Stitch shirts was a bonus!

We see various versions of our strategy while on vacation such as girls changing into Princess dresses to eat or before a character meet and greet or boys wearing Buzz and Woody attire prior to meeting the Toy Story friends.

For anyone thinking that making wardrobe selections specific to parks or characters might be uncomfortable/embarassing for adults or older children, let me ease your worry right now.  The boy continues to be excited about our family's tradition, even making wardrobe suggestions.  And, DisneyBournding, where folks wear clothing in colors or designs that are a tribute to their favorite Disney character is all a rage.  This is Disney folks.  We come to play and have fun!

I have written about this before with another post:  How Do We Decide What Matching Shirt Sets to Wear?
It's a fun post and contains photos and shirt sets from a few years ago.  My, how the boy has grown!

And, here's another post:  Do You Wear Shirts to Match the Characters You Meet?
Again, more fun pics of the boy and the family!

EPCOT Character Spot--Baymax, Joy and Sadness

EPCOT is now rivaling the other parks for variety of Disney Characters available for meet and greet.  The EPCOT Character Spot, located in Innoventions West originally hosted Mickey and friends.  Then, Baymax, from Big Hero 6, was added just across the breezeway and recently, Joy and Sadness from Inside Out have joined the fun.

Finding EPCOT Character Spot is easy.  Just head for the breezeway connecting Future World to the Land Pavilion.  As you are walking towards the Land Pavilion, Mickey and friends will be on the left, while Baymax, Joy and Sadness, will be on the right. 

Important things to know:

• Guests can Fastpass the EPCOT Character Spot featuring Mickey and Friends, but not Baymax, Joy, and Sadness.
• Baymax has is own queue and Joy and Sadness have another queue across the corridor.  
• The character meet and greet times are listed in the Times Guide, so be sure to check and plan accordingly.
• Photopass photographers are available at the meet and greets.
• Joy and Sadness do sign autographs, Baymax does not.
• No sharp objects are allowed near Baymax--Disney trading pins, purses, bags, etc.  All must be taken off prior to meeting Baymax.
• We did not see wait times posted for Baymax or Joy and Sadness.

Our strategy was to secure a Fastpass for Mickey and Friends.  Prior to the Fastpass, we queued up for the other characters, but based on the length of the lines, we split up.  The boy and husband got in line for Baymax, as that line was shorter, while I joined the Joy and Sadness queue. 

They made it to the front of the line, met Baymax, got photos taken, and joined me in plenty of time.   Had they not, I would have allowed people behind me to go around while I waited.  The position of the queues allowed us to keep an eye on each other, estimating the timing. 

We had met Baymax on a previous trip, but it was neat to see him again.  The theming of his area is of Hiro's workshop. 

Joy and Sadness' meet and greet is themed to the headquarters, complete with the table.  The digital display behind the table changes, so each photo taken has a different background.  I'm one of those people taking photos of things other than the characters!

Again, EPCOT, in our opinion, is rivaling other parks for the quantity and variety of characters guests can meet during a visit to this park.  Especially with the addition of Anna and Elsa to Norway.  There are two character meals available in this park, too--Akershus and Garden Grill.

Be sure to have your camera and autograph books ready!

Three New Character Meet and Greets At Disney's Hollywood Studios

During our Summer 2016 visit to the Walt Disney World Resort we took advantage of three new character meet and greets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Located back to back of each other in the area circled on the map below.

We thought the meet and greets were easy to find although we saw guests walking right past “Red Carpet Dreams” entrance for a couple of reasons:  One-they had no idea what it was--some thought it was a show and two, Chip and Dale were greeting guests just steps away across from Sci-Fi Diner entrance.  Since guests could physically see Chip and Dale, that’s where they went to queue up, outside, in the heat, and the sun.  While, the other character meet and greets had covered queues with fans and eventually led inside, to the air conditioning!

Celebrity Spotlight features Olaf.  Guests can find the entrance in the Echo Lake area, just past the Jedi Training Academy sign-up area but before the bathrooms.  Wait time is posted prior to the queue and we found it accurate. 

We met Olaf twice and enjoyed the interactions both times.

Spoiler Alert:  There are two Olafs!  There was a family of 10 ahead of us in the queue, they were taken in and we were told to stand behind the line to wait our turn, still outside, but far enough to block our view of the door.  When it was our turn to go in, there was another family in front of us. . . not the family of 10.  I made mention to the Cast Member handling the line inside and she just smiled.  I’m on to you Disney, but way to go to make the best use of space and guests’ time!  If you’re going to build one set why not build two?  

Red Carpet Dreams entrance is on Commissary Lane, with the queue being side by side to Celebrity Spotlight.  This meet and greet features both Minnie and Mickey.

Guests meet Minnie first in her plush digs and beautiful dress.

Then, travel down a corridor to find Sorcerer Mickey.  His “workshop” is very well appointed and he gave us a personal tour!  There’s magic there, so be sure to ask to see some!

Here are our Top Tips:

• Check the Times Guide for character availability and plan accordingly.
• Have your camera and autograph books ( for us it is a pillow case) ready.  Use that time in the queue to ready your materials rather than waiting until you’re with the character.
• Have something to say to the characters.  I complimented Minnie’s dress, asked for a tour of Mickey’s workshop, and asked Olaf for a warm hug.  While the characters can’t speak, they can sure communicate!
• Photopass Photographers are on hand so relax and let them do the work!  Then, scan your MagicBand or Photopass card to add the photos to your account.

Ready. Set. Smile!

Perks of Traveling With A Disney Rewards Visa--Two Character Meet and Greets at the Walt Disney World Resort!

With Disney Rewards Visa in hand, we took advantage of two character meet and greet locations at the Walt Disney World Resort.  One of the benefits of having a Disney Rewards Visa is access to character meet and greet locations exclusive to guests with a Disney Rewards Visa card.

EPCOT is the home of one of the Disney Rewards Visa private card member character meet and greets.  Located in Innoventions West, we easily found the location and enjoyed the short wait—1-2 families ahead of us.  We took advantage of this meet and greet twice during our vacation.  Card members are allowed one visit per day.  The hours are 1:00-7:00 pm daily.  Photos are taken and guests are given a card for free downloads of those photos.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the park with the Star Wars meet and greet location offered 11:00 am to 4:00 pm daily in the Star Wars Launch Bay.  Ask a Cast Member at the entrance for the best way to find this meet and greet location. 

We found the waits a bit longer at this location, but nothing extraordinary.  Again, photos were taken which could be downloaded for free.

Since we had Memory Maker, the photos taken at these locations were automatically linked to our Memory Maker so we did not need the card with the free download information.

Disney Rewards Visa does not guarantee certain characters and the characters can change at any time. 

Card Members just need to show their Disney Rewards Visa to the Cast Member handling the queue.  The name is written down, but no other information is gathered.

We felt the advantage of shorter wait times and plan to utilize this Card Member vacation perk again!

Click here to read about Disney Reward Visa meet and greet at Disneyland.

New And/Or Unusual Characters We "Found" On Our Most Recent Trip to Walt Disney World

Like most people, we're happy to "hunt" for things while at the most magical place on earth.  Whether it is hidden Mickey's or short attraction lines or coveted desserts or great viewing spots for parades and fireworks or Disney trading pins or unusual Disney characters we hunt for it.  It's all part of the adventure.  And, our most recent trip to Walt Disney World was no exception when it came to meeting either new to us or not typically found characters.

Meeting Baymax from Big Hero 6 was new for all of us.  His meet and greet location in EPCOT in Innoventions West across the breezeway from the EPCOT Character Spot was easy to find and had minimal wait.  All objects must be removed--bags, lanyards, etc.--prior to greeting Baymax.  The background of the workshop is cool too!  We asked about meeting characters from "Inside Out" and a cast member pretended not to know what we were talking about but I made reference to the wall that was painted and he then gave it up--said that construction was delayed.  Recent updates do indicate that Joy and Sadness will be coming to EPCOT soon!

 The addition of the Star Wars Launch Bay at Disney's Hollywood Studios has added some definitely new to us characters.  We met Chewbacca and Kylo Ren.  Disney Reward Visa has a meet and greet in the same area--Imperial Meet and Greet--and we were hopeful to meet Darth Vader.  We met Kylo Ren again.  When I asked the cast member about it, I was told that it was only Kylo Ren.

We also bumped into Storm Troopers--the would not pose for a photo!  And Jawas characters milling around inside the Launch Bay.  If you have something shiny, the Jawas may give you extra attention.

 Also at Disney's Hollywood Studios we found Robin Hood and the White Rabbit greeting guests just outside The Great Movie Ride.  Of course, the White Rabbit thought he was late for something. . . what could it be?

At Disney's Animal Kingdom, we bumped into Tarzan who we also had never met before.  He was soon joined by is sidekick Terk.  Interestingly, we had met Terk during another visit to the park a few years ago.

Also at Disney's Animal Kingdom, we were able to say hello to Flik from "A Bug's Life."  He was a character we had met on a trip several years ago.  I don't think he remembered us, but we did ask him to say hello to Atta for us.

At Magic Kingdom the fellows found Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.  I'm not sure which is which, but the boy decided to play rock, paper, scissors with one of them.  We had met these characters before but it had been a while!

Also at Magic Kingdom were Gaston, Lady Tremaine's daughters and Cincerella's step-sisters Anastasia and Drizella, and Alice and the Mad Hatter.  We had met all of these characters previously, but they can sometimes be difficult to find.  Based on the lines for Gaston, near his tavern in the New Fantasyland, he is becoming more and more popular.  Anastasia and Drizella were wandering around behind the Castle without their mother.  Alice and the Mad Hatter, who heartily wished me a Happy Birthday, were near the Teacups of course.

How do we find these characters?  One way is to pick-up a Times Guide along with a park map when you enter a park.  Various character meet and greets will be listed in the Times Guide.  Another way is to be on the look-out and know whether or not you have time in your day to stop and possibly wait a few minutes to say hello to a character.  The boy is excellent at scoping out characters.  I lookout for Photopass photographers.  Often they arrive at a meet and greet before a character.  The photographers can often tell you who is coming, when, and where to wait.  We've been in the front of lines when characters arrive because of this tip.

We already know which characters we will be hunting for on our next trip!