Alongside experiencing the wonderful attractions, a lot of people’s aim when they visit Disneyland Paris is to meet the Disney characters. This can be wonderful – but it can also be stressful if you’re not prepared! In this blog we’re giving an overview to meeting the characters at Disneyland Paris – the good, the bad and the cuddly.

The Good

So lets start off with some positives – and that is that there are an awful lot of characters at Disneyland Paris! From classic characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, to princesses, Star Wars characters and Avengers, and Pixar favourites, many popular characters are happy and willing to meet with guests.

And it’s not just meet and greets either – Disney characters appear in shows and parades, as well as featuring in seasonal entertainment. There’s a lot of chance to wave at your favourite Disney pals, even if you don’t meet them in person.

And if you do meet them, the character interactions can be wonderful. Characters are used to meeting with shy guests, overexcited little ones and more, and they will do their best to put you at ease and give you a wonderful memory to walk away with. For many people interacting with the characters can be the highlight of their trip!

If you want to discover what characters are meeting during your visit you can find out on the Disneyland Paris app, simply open the app and at the bottom of the screen change the drop down to characters. Character greetings will then indicated by a little Mickey silhouette, and clicking on them will let you know what character is meeting there and their times.

You will also find characters meeting and greeting in the Disney hotels – who you get is generally in keeping with the hotel’s theme. So at the Disneyland Hotel you can meet Princess friends, at Hotel New York catch up with an Avenger or two, Newport Bay features the fab five in their nautical best (notably Donald Duck), Sequoia Lodge tends to feature Chip ‘n’ Dale and other woodland friends, at the Hotel Cheyenne you can find Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, and at Hotel Santa Fe the characters seem to change up a lot but are generally characters from the Fab Five in either seasonal wear or racing attire! It used to be that anyone could go to the hotel meet and greets (except those in the Disneyland and New York hotels) but we have heard Disney are now cracking down on this and only allowing those staying in that hotel to join the lines. Your mileage may vary! Character meet and greets in the hotels tend to be either in the morning or evening – they know most people are in the parks during the middle of the day, and hey even Mickey Mouse needs lunch!

The Bad

And now for the not so good news. There are a lot of characters at Disneyland Paris, it’s true, but don’t expect them to be wandering around and just stopping for photos. We’ve seen a lot of people expecting this online, and Disney doesn’t help it with their marketing which often depicts Mickey strolling hand in hand with a guest down Main Street! But the reality is that most characters have set meet and greet times in set locations, and apart from walking to and from that spot (and if they appear in parades and shows) you won’t see them otherwise.

Sadly the main reason for this is guest behaviour. Characters just around the park tend to get mobbed by crowds, and the general lack of queuing behaviour means that the characters couldn’t roam freely and disagreements often occurred between guests. There were also odd stories of characters being pushed and their attendants abused. This is why we can’t have nice things folks…

The other real negative is that the characters are extremely popular – so lines to meet them can be long. REALLY long. On our last trip the longest wait in both parks every single day was the Princess Pavilion, and the second longest wait in Disneyland Park was typically meeting Mickey Mouse! I’ve also heard stories about people waiting literally hours to meet Stitch (he’s a popular alien), and for meet and greets to mark special events like Princess week several hours is not uncommon either. And don’t get my husband started on that time we jumped in the ’30 minute’ line for Anna and Elsa and it turned into 3 hours… (There’s a reason why you can’t meet them at Disneyland Paris at the moment – at least not until they get their new meet and greet in World of Frozen!)

As such if you, or someone in your group, is dead set on meeting a lot of characters, it could involve a lot of strategic planning on your part to avoid spending all your time standing in lines for them!

The cuddly

So how can you get than all important face time with the characters without investing all your park days to it? Here’s some top tips that can help!

• Do a character meal – If you can afford it (or are doing a dining plan that includes them) a character meal can be a great way to meet a lot of characters without the long lines. Lumiere’s in the Disneyland hotel and Auberge de Cendrillon in Disneyland Park both offer princess dining. Royal Banquet in the Disneyland Hotel features typically Mickey, Minnie and other members of the Fab Five in suitably regal attire! And Plaza Gardens offers… well a bit of an all sorts mix to be honest. In none of the meals will they guarantee who exactly you’ll meet, just the type of characters – this is to stop anyone being disappointed if a particular character can’t be there. If you do decide to go down the character meal route though book as soon as possible – they’re very popular and can book up months in advance!
• Use the hotel meet and greets – Take advantage of those Disney hotel meet and greets. While lines can still get a bit longer, it’ll be shorter than those in the park! Just bear in mind that if you’re not staying in the hotel you may not be allowed to join the line. If that’s the case please accept graciously – it’s not the cast member’s fault!
• Plan in advance – Check in advance what characters are likely to be out and about during your visit, and if possible look at times too (although when Disney confirms times, and even who’s meeting, can vary anything from a few days in advance to the day of!). It’ll allow you to plan who are your top character priorities. If you’re wondering where a character might be, try looking in the land nearest to their story’s theme – so characters from Aladdin and the Jungle Book tend to be in Adventureland.
• Use Extra Magic Hour – If you are staying at a Disney hotel, take advantage of the Extra Magic Hour that gets you into the park an hour early. Some characters may start meeting during this time (we saw Winnie the Pooh already out and about by 8.45 on our last trip!), but otherwise it may be a good time to get in line for those must see characters so you’re at the front of the line. Do check when they start meeting though – some may not start until 10 or even 11am so you’ll need to weigh up if you want to lose that much park time at the beginning of the day. But at least you’ll be able to see them!

• Arrive before the start of meeting slots – Apart from Mickey Mouse and the princesses, most characters have meeting slots in the app – set times of day when they’ll be at their spot and meeting people. Aim to arrive before the beginning of one of these slots if you can, it’s not unusual for Disney to have to cut the line off for being too long even before the character comes out!
• Use Priority Pass booking if you are able – For those with Priority Pass, the card for the differently-abled, you may find you need to book a time slot to return to see a character. This is to ensure the line isn’t swamped by people using the passes all day! When you have your time slot you’ll be able to see the character with minimal wait. But head to the meeting spot and get your time as early in the day as possible – the time slots will run out! (On busy days they can all go by 10am!)
• Get character sightings in parades and shows – Many of the shows in the Disney parks feature characters, and a whole slew of them come out for the parades too. As such if you just want to see characters without necessarily getting a hug and autograph, it’s a great way to to see them and maybe even get a wave! Some characters also only appear in parades and shows at the moment and not in meet and greets – Anna and Elsa from Frozen are a good example.
• Prioritise seasonal characters – Some characters only come out for special events, such as Jack Skellington for Halloween and Christmas, and Santa at Christmas. (It’d be weird if he came for Halloween, right?) These more limited characters are more likely to attract massive queues, so make these your first priority!
• Don’t leave it until last thing – a lot of character meet and greets, especially those outdoors, wrap up by about 5pm so don’t leave it too late!
• Get those photos – Many of the characters will have a PhotoPass photographer, who will take a professional photo you can then purchase. But cast members are normally happy to take pictures with your own devices too so have them ready to capture those memories!

• Think of what to say – Character meet and greets can be awkward as heck at times. As such I’d always try to think of something to say in advance, even if it’s a question about their story or a comment on their outfit! And don’t try to ask them anything not in ‘their universe’ – Belle isn’t going to be able to chat about Harry Potter or Pokemon!
• Explain to littles about characters limitations – It may be worth explaining to littles in advance that most the characters won’t speak, although they’ll be very responsive. Their vision isn’t great either so make sure they approach the character from the front. And while hugs are fine, you might want to say that other forms of contact aren’t allowed, sadly characters getting smacked by overexcited kids does happen!
• Don’t set store by meeting a particular character – This might be the most important tip. Apart from Mickey Mouse in his theatre, there’s no dead guarantee that any particular characters will be there on your visit. Yes there’ll be a Princess in the Princess Pavilion, but no guarantees on which one. And while you’re likely to be able to meet Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto and Chip n Dale somewhere, that somewhere may move, and there may be days when it doesn’t happen, either due to weather or something else unexpected. And Disney may suddenly pull characters for a little while, as happened with Stitch for a month or so in 2024. As such it’s probably worth setting your own expectations, and those of your group, in advance to make sure meeting a particular character doesn’t become the sole goal, and then doesn’t happen!

So meeting characters in Disneyland Paris can be equal parts agony and ecstasy! But with a bit of planning you can hopefully meet your favourite Disney pals with minimum stress.