Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Red Loop. Today we are sharing the best photo spots at Disney.
One of the best ways to remember your vacation is take lots of photos! While I take plenty of photos of the details at Disney, sometimes it’s more difficult for me to get photos of myself and whoever is with me. That’s one of the many reasons I love character spots! Someone is always there to take a photo for you with the characters, and having a character photo is something that’s so uniquely Disney.
Plus, character meet and greets aren’t just for kids! As you can tell from all the photos below, I do not have kids. And in fact I often go to meet the characters when I’m by myself, because my husband isn’t as big of a character fan. These meets are truly special for everyone!
There are lots of different characters that you can meet at Disney World. Some you’ll find on a pretty regular basis, while others pop up randomly or only for special occasions. Just because a character generally meets at a certain place or certain time doesn’t mean they will always be there. But I’ve put together a list of what I think are the best character photo opportunities! Here are my personal favorites:
Talking Mickey Mouse – Main Street, Magic Kingdom
No trip to Disney World would be complete without meeting Mickey himself. He has a permanent meet and greet spot in the Magic Kingdom – and this Mickey will even talk to you, and he might do a magic trick!
The Beast – Be our Guest, Magic Kingdom
Your one opportunity to meet the guest involves securing a reservation at Be Our Guest – something that can be difficult to do, even at 180 days out. But if you get it you’ll get the chance to do this rare meet and greet!
Princess Tiana – Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom
One of my favorite princesses, I love visiting Tiana because she always has interesting things to say. Plus I always think Tiana might just be the most beautiful of the princesses!
Anna and Elsa – Norway, Epcot
If you’ve got kids obsessed with Frozen this is a must. Anna and Elsa both have great personalities when you meet them and luckily now that they’ve moved to Norway, the lines aren’t too bad anymore! Only downside is they have separate meet areas, so you can’t get a picture with both of them in it.
Buzz Lightyear – Tomorrowland, Magic Kingdom and Pixar Place, Hollywood Studios (with Woody)
We’ve had some of our best interactions with Buzz Lightyear. On our honeymoon he insisted on re-creating our wedding – both walking me down the “aisle” and officiating!
Ariel with fins – Ariel’s Grotto, Magic Kingdom
You can meet Ariel a couple of different places, but this is the only one where you can find her with her fins rather than feet!
Mary Poppins – UK Pavilion, Epcot, and 1900 Park Fare breakfast
Mary is completely charming, but she’ll also be sure to do her job – she made sure to tell me to stand up nice and straight for the photo!
Flik – Discovery Island, Animal Kingdom
When I met Flik he was fun and enthusiastic. He was so excited about seeing himself in the book I had for him to sign that I got a huge bug hug!
Gaston – New Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom
Gaston is hilarious to meet. Note: he loves to talk about himself.
Cinderella’s Stepsisters – Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom, and 1900 Park Fare dinner
Another really funny character interaction. The stepsisters are loud and obnoxious and will tell it to you like it is!
Chewbacca and Kylo Ren – Launch Bay, Hollywood Studios
Chewbacca is fun to meet. Kylo Ren is scary – he will definitely try to intimidate you!
Chip and Dale – various locations
These two trouble makers are often up to no good. Keep an eye on them when you meet them, especially if it’s around food! You can also find them in different outfits depending on where you meet them.
Tarzan – Discovery Island, Animal Kingdom
For some reason the ladies seem to enjoy the Tarzan meet and greet 😉 Not so charming: when he attempts to find bugs in your hair and eat them.
Joy and Sadness – Future World, Epcot
One of my favorite Pixar films, I love having the opportunity to meet Joy and Sadness now.
Olaf – Hollywood Studios
He likes warm hugs!
Honorable Mention: Sulley, Hollywood Studios
This is an honorable mention because they took away the Mike and Sulley meet and greet in Hollywood Studios. But it was one of my absolute favorites. I love Sulley – and I think he loved me too!
Who are your favorite characters to get photos with at Disney?
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Red | Best Disney Photo Spots Loop:
- 1st Stop – Disney Mamas | Favorite Disney Photo Spots ~ Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland
- 2nd Stop – Disney in Your Day | Best Spots for Character Photos at Disney World
- 3rd Stop – The Delightful Life | Top 10 Walt Disney World Photo Spots Outside the Parks
I’m like your husband; I’ve never met a character or taken a picture with one.
It’s actually really fun! The characters are so good at interacting.
I upgraded my pass last month and now have free Photo Pass so I need to start doing more character pics. Of course my kid is terrified of them, but we’re learning to deal. Gaston just started appearing at Disneyland so we are on the hunt for him next!
Yes, my pass just renewed on October 2nd so I’ll have the free photopass now as well! Have fun with Gaston, he is hilarious!
Love this! A lot of these characters I have never even seen in the parks, let alone taken a picture with!
Yeah, Disney is often changing the characters based on what’s popular so I always try to get pics with new ones because you don’t know how long they’ll be around!
Meeting Sorcerer Mickey is a family tradition for us! I’m still sad they took out Sully! He was so cuddly!
I know, I miss Sully! A stop with Sorcerer Mickey is always a great photo too.
LOVE this! We (also) always used to take pictures with characters even before we had kids, but I love those spots even more now that we do. Many of our favorite pictures are the candid shots taken in those places. Thanks for the great list!