Meeting Characters at Disneyland and California Adventure

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Meeting characters at Disneyland and California Adventure is arguably the best activity at the Disneyland Parks after the rides, especially for little kids.

Babies and toddlers can enjoy the magic of meeting characters at Disneyland. Toddlers will soak in the magic of meeting their heroes from their Disney books and shows. If you want more tips on Disneyland with little ones, head over to this post.

The Disneyland characters are also great with the littlest Disney parkgoers, creating a fun new experience for wide-eyed baby guests who are just soaking in every new sight and sound in their surroundings.

Even adults can get in on the magic as the characters at Disneyland create memorable moments with fun dialogue or welcoming hugs.

Meeting the Disneyland Characters

The character meetings at Disneyland and California Adventure were my toddler’s favorite part of our Disneyland vacation on her first visit to the Disneyland Resort.

She may say the “fair,” or Ferris wheel, at Pixar Pier was her favorite, but seeing her eyes light up and her arms flap as she jumped up and down when meeting her heroes was something I will never forget.

Where are the Disneyland and California Adventure Characters Located?

Our game plan from our 3-night, 4-day visit was to stop whenever we saw a character (check out these Disneyland discounts for great deals).

I researched the common places to find characters around both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure so I would have a general idea of where to look. The Disneyland app was a great resource for planning Disneyland Character meetings and for finding specific characters while in the parks.

To use the app, you open it up and click the map at the top. Go to the drop-down menu by “attractions” and click on “characters.”

Pro Tip: You can use this same method on the Disneyland App to easily look up entertainment (parades and shows), food, bathrooms, etc. The Disneyland app is amazing and it’s free!

For full disclosure, my husband did not check the app or know where to expect the characters, and he is the one who spotted most of them first. 

Essentially, if you want to get specific characters, you need to know where to find them.

If you just want to meet whoever for the overall experience, there is no need to plan ahead.

Either approach will require a lot of walking, so make sure you have the perfect shoes for your day at Disneyland.

Pixie Hallow to Meet Tinkerbell

Pixie Hallow is to the left of the entrance to Tomorrowland in Disneyland Park. Here you can meet Tinkerbelle or one of her fairy friends.

They also have other Disneyland character meet and greets here, such as Aurora.

In fact, just after we lined up they were switching from Aurora to Tinkerbell. Whenever there is a character switch, it does take a few minutes longer to get to the front of the line, so keep that in mind if you’re in a hurry.

The hallow itself is designed to be the entrance to Tinkerbell’s home. It’s super cute and has a little round door with enlarged items like a spool of thread and a mushroom to make you feel more like Tinkerbell’s size.

Pooh’s Thotful Spot Character Meetings

Pooh’s Thotful Spot is also a designed space specifically made for meeting characters at Disneyland.

It has 3 different spots around a tree right outside Pooh’s candy store and the Winnie the Pooh ride.

These spots will have either Pooh and/or his friends. You can meet Eeyore, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh.

The line can look long, but with multiple characters there it helps encourage people to not linger too long. They are too excited to get their hug and autograph and then go to the next character.

Your Loungefly backpack is a great place to have your autograph book for easy access anytime you come across a Disneyland character.

Royal Hall to Meet Disneyland Princesses

Royal Hall is where you can meet up to 3 princesses in one location, so we headed straight there after an appointment at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.

They were able to have our group of 17 go through at once (not all 22 of us did everything together every day, but we still had a large group most of the time).

It was quite a comical entourage for the 2 toddlers meeting the princesses on their first Disneyland trip. We got 2 of the babies in some of the pictures as well, but we will have to make another trip when they are old enough to know what is going on around them.

This was on a Thursday which was not very crowded.

How to Meet Characters without Long Lines?

If you see a character walking around with a cast member, they may be moving their location. Follow them and you will be one of the first in line! If the character is going on a break and not just relocating, the cast member will let you know.

We ran into quite a few characters as they were just entering their designated meeting spots. This is how we were first in line for Cinderella and Lightning McQueen.

It was pretty cool watching Lightning McQueen drive onto the road in Radiator Springs and park right outside the Cozy Cone Motel.

Actual structures where characters reside usually have lines that get backed up since it’s so obvious someone should be there.

Examples would be Mickey & Minnie’s houses, Pixie Hallow, and Royal Hall.

The longest lines we waited in were at Pooh’s Thotful Spot (Eyore, Tigger, and Pooh), Pixie Hallow (Tinker Bell), and Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome (Anna & Elsa).

Even these wait times were not too bad: 15-30 minutes. 

If you really want to beat the lines, prioritize characters over the rides and go on a weekday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are by far the busiest days at Disneyland.

Before this trip, many people we know were telling us how empty the parks have been lately. Thursday was empty. You know there is no one there when a simple 20-minute wait seems like forever!

By Saturday, the crowds had come pouring in, although they did start to slow down a bit on Sunday.

Early Admission to the Parks for Meeting Disney Characters

Getting into the parks an hour early for Magic Morning and Magic Hour definitely helped us get a lot done before the general public entered. Here is a quick summary of these early-hour admission times.

It used to be if you have a 3+ day park hopper pass, you get into Disneyland an hour before the park opens on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday (you choose just one day). Take a look at these discounted multi-day Disneyland tickets from our affiliates at Get Away Today.

UPDATE: As of 2022, there is no early admission to the parks with multi-day tickets. The only way to get early entry is to stay in a Disneyland Resort Hotel.

If you are staying in one of the 3 resort hotels (Paradise Pier, Disneyland Hotel, or Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel) you get into Disneyland or California Adventure half an hour early for every day of your stay at the hotel.

When we went it was a whole hour for early entrance, but 30 minutes can give you a good head start as well.

Don’t worry, if you aren’t able to splurge on a Disneyland Resort Hotel, there are quite a few Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels within walking distance. We also have some great tips on saving money on a Disneyland vacation.

PhotoPass at Disneyland and California Adventure

We mostly used that extra hour for getting on rides before lines started to form, but there were a few photo spot opportunities we took advantage of since no one (or almost no one) would be in the background as well as a few character meetings with no one in line ahead of us.

Perhaps the most iconic locations for a Disney Park photo would be in front of the castle at Disneyland, and in front of Pixar Pier at California Adventure.

Just look for Disney cast member photographers and ask for your picture.

There are not always Disneyland photographers at each character meet and greet, but they are usually at the Cozy Cone Motel (a great place to get a Disneyland snack by the way!).

This is where you can meet Lightning McQueen, Mater, or another Cars character.

Can you Use your Own Camera for Disneyland Character Photos?

Yes, you can use your own camera.

In fact, many of the characters we met did not have a photographer.

There was always a cast member there to help organize the line and they were more than happy to take a picture with our camera for us.

How to Use Photo Pass at Disneyland

If there is a photographer, you can download the photos with the photo card they give you.

Keep the first photo card you receive and just scan that one again and again.

You can also sync the card to the Disneyland app on your phone and have the photographer scan the barcode on your app to add additional photos.

You do have to purchase the digital photo to view it without the watermarks, but there are a few ways to do this.

You can buy the printed photos and/or digital downloads per day within the park, or buy a photo pass at $78 for one week’s worth of pictures (7 consecutive days).

If you are already purchasing Genie Plus for $25-$30 per person, all photographer and ride digital photos are included at no additional charge.

If it’s not a crowded day and you don’t need a quick mobile fast pass, then just have one person in your party pay the $25 to get Genie Plus and use it just for the digital downloads.

Pro Tip: Use Photo Pass or Genie Plus as a great Disney Gift for mom.

Splitting the cost of that one purchase is up to you and your party. If you are there for 6 or 7 days and do not want Genie Plus for Lightning Lane fast passes, the 7-day photo pass will be cheaper.

That’s right, start thinking about what you will be doing for that Splash Mountain (soon to be Tiana’s Bayou Adventure) photo op!

I need to mention: keep it clean and within the park rules or the picture will not be available.

Some guy in the back of our splash mountain log took off his shoe to dump water out and was holding his shoe in the picture, so it got deleted.

We never got to see our “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” photo…

Download the pictures by linking your Photo Pass account to the Disneyland app. This account can be created ahead of your trip.

You can also wait to download them online on a computer when you get home if you prefer not to use your phone.

Just be careful about waiting too long- the photos expire 45 days after they were taken. You can always pay an additional fee to have it extended to 60 days before they expire.

What Disneyland Characters can Talk to You?

Any character without their head covered by their costume can converse with you: the princesses, princes, some of the villains, etc. 

“What books do you like to read?”

-Belle

“I have Star Wars books!”

-Munchkin

Mickey & Friends, Winnie the Pooh & Company, the Incredibles- they all wear head-to-toe costumes and will not speak. They still do a great job at communicating with gestures, though!

What Age Should my Child be for a Disneyland Character Meeting?

Any age!

Our 4-month-old loved meeting the characters, especially Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, & Pluto at Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Character Brunch at Storyteller Café.

They may not be able to talk, but they can make some noises such as the “bop” when you smack your lips together.

That with the repetitive motion of their costume hand on the baby’s arm is actually quite soothing for the child. At such a young age, they really just soak in sights, sounds, and textures.

My 2-year-old (almost 3-year-old) nephew was nervous about meeting Lightning McQueen, but he had just gotten off a ride he was scared to go on, so that wasn’t really a fair assessment of his reaction to the character.

All of the other meetings were full of big eyes, hugs, and excitement at getting autographs.

My 2-year-old (almost 3-year-old) daughter was just so excited and star-struck at everyone she met. Some of the rides took her a little more to get used to, but the characters were an instant hit!

Even my sister and I got into the action by kicking out the kids for a sister picture with Elsa and Anna!

My Little One is Afraid of the Disneyland Characters…What do I do?

We planned for Disneyland by having our toddler girl meet characters at other parks beforehand.

She had met Shamu, Elmo, Santa Clause, and Rudolph at Sea World multiple times before our Disneyland trip.

She was very nervous at first, but she figured it out on her own with each meeting.

It helps to know the characters, so the kids get excited about meeting a hero/role model.

The younger they are, the more they just don’t understand.

If you are worried about screen time, there are so many other ways to expose them to these beloved characters instead of TV: reading Disney books, playing with toys/dolls/figurines, singing along to music, and playing make-believe.

Little ones are sponges.

If you take the time to play with them, they will soak it all in, repeat what you taught them, and have a special place in their heart for these characters since it will remind them of the special times they got to play with you.

Don’t force the interaction if your kid freaks out: it’s not worth the battle.

You may not have the picture-perfect prince/princess shot you were going for, but you will still have a memory to look back on when the kid is older.

How often do we tease our children about their crying baby Santa photos once they are old enough to look back and laugh?

Should I do a Disneyland Character Meal?

The short answer: yes!!!

The long answer with details of why I thought it was worth every penny is in my review of Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Character Brunch at Storyteller Café.

We have also done the Princess Breakfast and Goofy’s Kitchen since this post was first written.

All of them have been amazing experiences where we got additional time with lots of characters.

Are there Character Photo Ops and Autographs in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge?

For better or worse (really personal opinion here), you cannot get autographs from the characters in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. It is meant to be an immersive experience.

To get pictures with characters in Batuu, you need to just kind of walk up to them.

If it looks like you are part of the resistance the Storm Troopers might “arrest you,” leading you around Batuu and questioning you before letting you go.

Personally, I think this is amazing fun, and I wish we could have spent more time just wandering around Battu to experience these interactions.

We did get to watch as others were led away by Storm Troopers. They really have witty responses to park guests.

Another positive about this set up is that lines don’t form for pictures because it is not an organized, posed photo op. It’s more of a candid moment.

I have read posts reaching out to the Star Wars Galaxy Edge Facebook Group asking for any pictures or videos people may have gotten of them or their family/friends.

My toddler saw Storm Troopers and asked where Darth Vader was, so I had to explain he isn’t around and that it’s his grandson, Kylo Ren, who runs the storm toppers now.

She was afraid of Kylo Ren but loved the Storm Troopers.

The only exposure to Star Wars she has had is some level 2 children’s books she got as a gift.

She has had me read them to her multiple times and was very excited about going to “Star Wars” at Disneyland.

Talk about your proud parent moment (if you’re a Star Wars fan, which I am). My husband just laughed- he’s not a nerd like me, but he still found it entertaining.

Check out more on Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in this post including the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run with Rider Swap, Oga’s Cantina Large Party Reservations, Blue Milk, shopping, and the Droid Depot!

Villains at Disneyland and California Adventure

If you are looking for a Disneyland villain character, you can find them the same way you would any of the other Disneyland characters. Use the app to see where they pop up throughout the day.

We have seen Captain Hook outside It’s a Small World, and the Evil Queen has been known to be around Snow White’s wishing well.

However, the best way to see a lot of Disney villains is to go to Oogie Boogie Bash, the after-hours Halloween Event at California Adventure Park.

You can even start getting into the holiday spirit with Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit in Downtown Disney before Oogie Boogie Bash begins.

Summary of Disneyland Characters

We did a lot with many people over the 4 days we were there, but as a Southern California resident, I have also gone to Disneyland many, many times throughout my life. 

Also, check out our Instagram and Facebook Page for more photos, and send us a message or leave a comment on Instagram if you have any Disneyland Character or general Disneyland Vacation questions.

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