The best ways to meet Disney characters

You’ve arrived at Disneyland Paris…and you children are desperate to meet their favourites Disney characters PRONTO!  With a bit of preparation, forward planning and scheduling, you can guarantee for you and your children to meet them during your break.  Heres how…

• Character meet and greets around the Parks.  You’ll find character meet and greets around both Disneyland Park and Disney Studios at scheduled places and times.  You can check out these times and where the Disney characters will be on your show times guide which you can collect when you walk into each park along with your map.  Access a map online before you go and get to know the parks layout.

• Unscheduled meet and greets around the park.  Now, admittedly this is down to pure luck.  You are casually walking around when all of a sudden, you’ll spot a character that isn’t scheduled on the meet and greets appear.  You cannot always guarantee this but it always feels extra special to see a character that makes a surprise appearance!  If you are on Twitter, then follow ED92.  They provide daily updates on what characters are around the parks!  Alice in Wonderland characters are usually in Fantasy Land near Toad Hall.  And if you love Mary Poppins, they can be seen when you arrive into Disney Studios.  Characters from the Jungle Book we met in Adventure Land and very rarely, Snow White and her dwarfs can appear near Casey Jr.

• Hotel visits. This can be subject to change but as of 2018, every morning, Disney characters  meet and greets occur  in each hotel’s lobby.  They normally begin around 8am for an hour or so.  The queues tend to be quite short as most people are having their breakfast and heading into the park.

• Character breakfast. This is a fantastic way to meet the Disney characters whilst you eat!  Breakfast is held in Plaza gardens across two sittings at 8.15 or 9.45.  I personally would suggest the second sitting which will give you more time before breakfast to access Early Magic Hours.   The restaurant will provide a huge spread of delights, including Mickey waffles, eggs, cold meets, pancakes and more.  It really is a breakfast fit for a king!  During this time, you’ll get approximately 6 characters who visit each table for an interaction, cuddle and sign your autograph book.  It really is a lovely experience.  During our last visit at Halloween 2017 we got to meet Mickey, Scrooge, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Daisy.  The cost of this is dependent on what dining package you have so its best to check when booking or ask at your hotel reception.

• Character dining.  You can now dine at several restaurants at Disneyland Paris to not only enjoy fantastic food but also meet your favourite characters.  This is again, a great way of guaranteeing you’ll meet them as well as saving time queuing to meet them in the parks.  Inventions is a premium character dining restaurant based in the Disneyland Hotel.  This is a luxury buffet restaurant and it really is the bees knees.  We visited here on our first time on 2016 and it really was an amazing experience.  On a Sunday, you can experience Inventions Brunch which is themed and the characters will be in different outfits.  However, this will cost more!  The second restaurant is Cafe Mickey which is in Disney Village.  This is a sit down meal and another premium restaurant.  And finally, you can dine at L’Auberge de Cendrillon.  This is where you can meet the Princesses – and let tell you, if you have a princess loving daughter or son or love the original Disney classics, this is the place to come!

• Disney Parades.  Whilst I wouldn’t say this is an official meet an greet, it is a great way to see the Disney characters.  If your lucky, you can get some interaction from them!  Depending on what time of the year you go will depend on what daytime mini parade they offer.  However, there is a daily parade which is at 5.30pm (please check the times as this is subject to change). This is where you can see so many of the characters.  Some are on floats whilst others are on foot.  If your lucky they may approach you!  Tip:  If your child is wearing a character costume, then that character may see and come and say hello!

Can anyone else offer further advice on where to meet your favourite Disney characters?