Tag Archives: Disney Travel Tips

Tips for Meeting Disney Characters

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Almost five-year-old Megan gets autographs from her favorite characters

When you have a Disney vacation planned, one of the things you immediately imagine is how your children (or you) will be when you see those famous Disney characters for the first time! If you have very small children, you may worry about whether or not your little sweeties will be scared or how to properly make that initial introduction.  I have a little experience with this and here’s my best advice:

Babies and Toddlers:  They won’t remember it, so it’s YOU who will be most disappointed if the character meeting doesn’t go well.  

  • Everyone wants pictures, so my best advice is easy does it.  Small doses work best.  Let your toddler look at the characters from far away first before getting them up close and personal.  It helps if there’s an older sibling to lead the way, but if that’s not the case – let them see other children having fun with the characters so they know it’s a good thing. 

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    Not crying (yet) a cautious Joseph meets Genie for the first time.

  • Worse case – take pictures of your little one with the character in the background if face-to-face is a no-go. 
  • Unless there are older siblings to consider, don’t waste your money on a character meal just yet.  It’s worth every penny, though, when the time is right. 

Which brings me to…. Children between four and ten: 

  • Now’s the time to dish out some dough.  Character meals, character meet-and-greets, autograph books, and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  I promise – you’ll spend less money when they’re tweens and teens at Disney World than you will during this stage.  Why spend the money (and the time waiting in line)?  They’re only this age for a very little while – the age where they still believe in magic, still get a kick out of playing dress-up, and still think those characters are royal-celebrity-rock-stars!
  • Character Dining – you have several choices at all four theme parks and many different resorts.  Our favorite has always been Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort because of the classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy).  There is character dining available with a wide variety of characters in every park and many resorts.  For more details and information on selecting the right dining experience for you (or your child), check out this article at The Disney Food Blog.

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    Mickey autographs a tee shirt

  • Character Meet and Greets + Autograph Collecting:  ALL character interaction opportunities are covered here by a great source of Disney World info, Intercot.com.  Sudden opportunities do present themselves and should be taken advantage of whenever possible (saves time).  Bring along an autograph book, a tee shirt, a wide picture mat, or pillowcase for the characters to sign – these make great souvenirs!  Bring large markers in different colors that are easy for the characters to grip and hand them open and ready to write to each character when the time comes.
  • Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique – Warning:  You may experience sticker shock!  This magical salon turns your little princess into her favorite Disney princess (or character).  Why you should do it:  After their transformation is complete, just take them to see an afternoon parade in the Magic Kingdom.  The parade characters salute, bow, blow kisses, bestow royal waves – you name it- especially for the Disney princesses among the parades’ spectators.  I must confess – I purposely find a place near one of these princesses in the crowd so I can watch her reaction (and her parents’) as the parade goes by and all those very priceless interactions take place – makes me misty-eyed every time.

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    Donald!

  • If your child is shy:  Our own Megan was very timid as a little girl and didn’t want to speak to strangers – even Disney characters.  We found that the silent, happy (no villains), non-speaking characters were her favorites since there was no chance they would ask her a question or require her to speak to them at any time.

Tweens, Teens, and Adults:

 

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Jason and Joseph returning from Castaway Cay

  • Best to look for those sudden moments that pop up when the characters are available and the line is short or non-existent.  These are some of my most favorite vacation pictures EVER!  Mostly because running into the characters was a surprise (in an out-of-the way place) and the characters are more inclined to be playful or tease in unexpected ways.  Villains are perfect for older children and adults.  
  • Character meals can still be fun.  Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s is still one of our favorite things to do.  Also, 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian offers a character dinner that features Cinderella and Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the Stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia…they are perfect for character interaction with teens and adults as they are extremely funny (and the sisters may be a bit much for little ones).
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    Minnie at Chef Mickey’s

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    Surprise meeting with Lelo and Stitch

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    Goofy has some smooth moves at sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Disney Cruise Line – Characters abound on the high seas!  With older children especially, watch for those unexpected opportunities.  In port, there are usually characters waiting on the pier to welcome you back to the ship – depending on the time of day, the line for pictures is usually very short (or nonexistent).

Hopefully, some of these tips will come in handy on your next (or first) Disney vacation.  If you have character pictures you’d like to share, I’d love to see them.

Favorite Ride at Disney World? Rock’n’ Roller Coaster

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I Recently polled The Fam and asked them about their favorite ride at Disney World.

Raymond didn’t actually have to respond to the poll.  You can’t be married to the same person for 24 years and not know their favorite Disney World ride – Rock’n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith has been Raymond’s favorite ride since he first rode it in 2004 (the ride originally opened in 1999).

I did ask him what specifically about the ride made it his favorite…is it the introduction?  The dark?  The speed?  The loops?  The music?

Raymond’s answer?  “Yes.”  (Know what?  You just can’t get him to quit rambling on about stuff!)

What’s not to love about this ride?  If you are a thrill ride junky – this is as thrilling, as extreme a ride, as you will find at Disney World.  Here are the deets (Spoiler Alert):

Rock’n’ Roller Coaster is located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the end of Sunset Blvd.  Since it is right next to Tower of Terror, best to hit them both first thing in the morning and/OR score some fast passes for at least one of these if you love them.  Just FYI:  Toy Story Midway Mania (which I’ll talk about in detail at another time) is located very far away from these two rides (Pixar Place) and is also a headline attraction.  To tour successfully at the Studios, have a good plan for how you will accomplish all three with a minimum of wait time.  Use fast passes and early arrival (extra magic hour if available) to your best advantage.

Now back to R’n’R…

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The Studio at G-Force Records

Pre-Ride:  Enter the recording studio for G-Force Records where Aerosmith is busily working when their manager informs them they’re going to be late for their own concert.  Luckily you score back-stage passes and a ride to the concert in a super-stretch limo – head out into the alley to wait for your ride and get ready to blast off onto the LA freeways.

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Cheesy Ride Photo!

Brace yourself – this is no ordinary limo!  This ride hurls you from 0-60 miles-per-hour in 2.8 seconds!  Then you’re flying through banks, turns, dips, and corkscrews (yes, upside down!) before reaching your final destination.

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In the Alley Waiting for a Ride

 

 

 

 

Look for:  The limo’s licence plates!  There are five different limos, each sporting it’s own vanity plate.  (1QKLIMO for example) – while you’re looking at the plates, see if you can spot any Hidden Mickeys!  There are MANY both in the queue and on/around the ride.  For the most part, each limo plays different Aerosmith songs.  Listen carefully if you hear “Love in an Elevator” – the words are a bit different, recorded just for this ride!

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Safe and Sound Post-Limo Ride

You must be 48″ tall to ride.  There are health warnings for this ride and if you’re prone to motion sickness or have claustrophobia, I’d sit this one out.  Due to the nature of the ride, the harnesses that hold you in the limo are big and restrictive.  If you’re brave enough and get a kick out of a major adrenaline rush, you’ll love it just as much as Raymond does.

What’s your favorite ride at Disney World?

 

First Time Disney Cruise? This One’s for You – Fish Extenders!

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Fish Extenders!  Ever heard of ‘em?  No?  Well, if you’re cruising on Disney, you’re bound to see them.  Next to the outside of every stateroom door is a metal fish.  The fish’s main/original purpose in life is that it serves as a place where Disney Castmembers can leave mail for you – excursion information, spa treatment reminders, invitations to kids/teen club events, etc.  What turns this unassuming, ordinary looking, mail gathering fish into something MORE is the addition of a hanging pocketed receptacle called a Fish Extender (aka FE)!

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In order to even want or NEED a fish extender, you first must join a fish extender GROUP.  See…the fish extender is like a Christmas stocking.  Its sole purpose in life is to gather little surprises from other members of your FE group while YOU are distributing little gifts to them as well.  Think Secret Santa on the high seas!  (Which is, I believe, how this whole thing actually started.)  Where, pray tell, does one join a FE group?  There’s one teeny tiny extra step you must take to join.  First you have to find and join an online group where other members of your cruise are meeting up…there are benefits to doing this other than participating in a FE exchange, but I’ll save that for another day.  Anyway back to the group-finding part – the easiest place to find a group is on Facebook.  Enter your cruise in the search box and if a group’s been started, it’ll pop right up.

Once your request to join the group has been approved, you can start interacting with your fellow cruisers.  If a FE group is being put together, you’ll see usually in the group files or a pinned post.  Don’t wait too long to decide about joining.  Usually, the ability to join expires two-to-three weeks prior to sailing to give all the participants time to assemble and pack their FE gifts.

You’ll need a Fish Extender.  I made mine a long time ago and, while humble, it served its purpose well on more than one occasion.  My sewing skills tend to lean toward a combination of hand stitching and hot glue.  But that was before the days of Etsy and Pinterest.  Now you can find FE’s to purchase or get ideas for making your own.  I hear they even sell them on ebay.

About the gifts – small, portable, and inexpensive are the main criteria.  We’ve given bubbles, glow-sticks, candy, Disney party favors, puzzles, Disney magnets (suitable for use as DSCN3596stateroom Door Décor!), pirate-themed items, etc.  We’ve received some awesome stuff:  Disney Pez dispensers/candy, Disney washcloths, pool toys, small items representative of the other participants’ home towns, buttons, pins, and more!  You do not have to give a gift everyday and you don’t have to even give more than one gift – especially if dealing with a large FE group with many staterooms.  Just make sure you at least bring something for everyone participating in each cabin – you’ll know how many adults and children are involved in each cabin (by cabin #) as the FE group is formed.

Then once you sail away from port – let the fun begin!  Kids enjoy not only finding FE gifts waiting for them, they also have a great time “sneaking” around delivering surprises to everyone else.

Have you done an exchange on Disney Cruise Line?  What were your favorite gift items to give and receive?

 

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Kilimanjaro Safari

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I must really love the Kilimanjaro Safari!  Every time I take the tour I act like I’ve never seen any of those animals before in my life (and may never see them again).  I take a million pictures.  As if my life depends on it.  Every.  Single.  Time.

I can’t just get in the vehicle and happily listenIMG_3185 to the guide as we go along on our exotic animal-spotting expedition.  I hear, “Jambo, Everyone!” and I immediately start swiveling and craning, camera ever at the ready – snapping pictures like crazy!  WHY!?!!  What causes this irresistible urge to photograph every single animal over and over again?  How many pictures of giraffes eating does one family need?

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If you haven’t yet enjoyed this grand adventure in the Africa section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – hit it as early in the day as possible while everybody out there on the savannah is feeling perky and moving around.  Once in the park, head for the Tree of Life.  Once you’ve crossed the bridge onto Discovery Island, keep the Tree on your right as you go back along its left side.  You’ll cross one more bridge and then you’ll be in Africa!  The line for the Safari moves quickly and the tour takes about 18 minutes to wind you all around the 100 acres of African habitat.

There are some extremely cool animals to see and, if you’re lucky, many of them get pretty close to you (while you bump along safely in your open-air tour vehicle).  I prefer sitting close to the front (if I can manage it) and at either end of the bench seat (to minimize the number of times I accidentally take a picture of the back of someone’s head).

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Among the many animals you can see (and photograph!) are rhinos, lions, wildebeest, IMG_5319crocodiles, antelope, giraffe hippos, elephants, okapi, mandrills, and many others.  Go ahead, take some pictures.  I’ve decided that for some of us, that’s just how we answer the call of the wild.