Character Greetings and Interactions

Disney World’s official website has a great summary of what character greetings are all about: “During Character Greetings, you are invited to say hello, shake hands, share hugs, photograph and receive one-of-a-kind autographs from your favorite Disney Characters.”

Types of Characters:

There are two types of characters at Walt Disney World. The first type are called "Face Characters". These are real people dressed and made-up to look like Disney movie characters. Face Characters include Snow White, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Jasmine, Arial, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and others. Face characters will speak with you, sign autographs, interact with you and your children, and pose for pictures. The second type are often called "Fur Characters", because of their costumes. Fur Characters do not speak, but will "mime" their thoughts and intentions in order to communicate. They will also sign autographs (provided the pen is large enough for them to grasp through the costume), pose for pictures, and interact with you and your children. Examples of Fur Characters include Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Lilo, and Stitch.

There are several different ways to meet characters, including:

Character Meals
Character Greeting Locations
Out and about in the park

Tips for successful character greetings:

Create a character greeting schedule, with pictures of the characters. Let your child check off each character that you meet during your trip.
View videos of character greetings to introduce the process to your child.
Read a social story with your child about greeting characters, so they understand the process and have something to look forward to on the trip.
Never force a child to meet a character. Many children, including neuro-typical children, are afraid of characters.
Let cast members and characters know that your child has autism. Many have received training on autism, and they will often spend more time interacting with your child in order to draw them out.

Social Story:

To help you with character greetings, we have created a character greeting social story. Please feel free to download and modify the story to fit your child’s needs. The social story covers the best ways to greet and interact with the characters, to make the most of your experience. By adapting, printing, and reading the story with your child you can help make their character greeting experience a positive one!

Finding your favorite characters:

Character availability is subject to change. We have provided information pages listing characters we have personally met in the parks, along with suggestions of where to look for many Disney characters. We recommend that you look at the park schedule each day to determine when and where characters will be, and that you ask Cast Members if you are trying to find one particular character - they are happy to help you!

Another great resource is the Walt Disney World Insiders Character Finder Utility page. This webpage gives you an alphabetical list of characters, along with a color coded "Mickey Head" icon to let you know how frequently the character appears in the parks. One of the best features is the "recent sightings" updates from site visitors - this is the best indication of whether a character will be in the park when you go. Check it out a day or so before your trip to see how frequently your child's favorite characters appear!

Character Meals

Character Meals:

At character meals, you can select from a variety of themed restaurants for your dining experience. During your meal, characters come to your table and spend time chatting with you and your children, posing for pictures, and signing autographs. This is a great “double duty” event, where you can feed the family and meet with some of your favorite characters without having to stand in line. Character meals range in price depending on location and meal time, and characters may vary and are not guaranteed to be at your selected meal venue. We recommend the AllEars.Net website for up to date pricing, menus, reviews, and information on character meals.

There are three types of meal service, depending on the location you select:

Buffet: serve yourself, all you can eat
Pre-Plated: select a meal from a set menu of options
Family Style: large platters of food are served at your table, all you can eat

While buffet style meals are a good value, allowing you to select your favorites and really fill up, sometimes the pre-plated and family style meals are easier to manage with young children, since the food is served right to you at your table. Also, with buffets, you have to time your trips with the character rotation to ensure you don't miss someone.

Tips for successful character meals:

Use the Advanced Dining Reservation system to select a location and time the best suits your family’s needs
Review the menus in advance to ensure the location offers something to eat that interests your child
Have cameras, autograph books, and pens readily available – we keep them on or near the table for easy access
Don’t hesitate to let the character helpers know about your child’s special needs. This way, they can take more time if necessary to ensure your child has a magical experience.
Never force a child to meet a character
Select a pre-plated or family style meal to allow you more time with your children and the characters
Don’t forget to eat!

Things to be aware of:

Noise levels in some venues can be extremely high. If noise is a concern, speak to the cast member as you check in about possibly being seated in an out of the way location to minimize the noise.
Children may prefer to eat than to interact with the characters (ours usually do!). We gently encourage our children to at least make eye contact and stop for a picture. Characters are very skilled in relating to children of all abilities, and will try to encourage your child as well.
Alternately, children may be so focused on the characters that they refuse or forget to eat. This happens for many children, not just children with autism. We suggest you “go with the flow” and have a backup plan for snacks if needed.
Buffets can be difficult to manage unless you have helpers or your children are old enough to carry their own plates. You may wish to select a pre-plated or family style meal service instead of a buffet.
Some character meals include photo packages. Be sure to alert the photographer to your child’s special needs – they often will take a few extra shots to ensure you get a good one for your photo package.