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Roaming characters fade into the past

With people's demand for photos, the "roaming" character method started to become a bit chaotic.  The characters looked as if they are being surrounded by paparazzi, with people crowding them on all sides looking for a photo.  In fact, once they met the character, there is a surprised lack of actual interaction.  While people do, and always will, want a hug or handshake from a character, a large portion of people just want the photo, and after a quick hello they look towards the camera, take a picture, and walk away, barely making eye contact with the character. 

As of now, a majority of characters have designated meeting areas.  And while some may miss the spontaneity of running into their favorite character on the street, Disney has worked hard to ensure that the new queued system of meeting characters is just as exciting.

Today even waiting in line to meet the characters have become an experience.  Take Tinkerbell's new meeting location at Magic Kingdom in the Town Square Theater.  Instead of waiting in a boring line, guests now get to "shrink" down to Tinkerbell's size, complete with glittering, sparkling walls.  Like her previous meet and greet location in Adventureland, the meeting space consists of larger than life objects like teacups and crayons, making the guest feel like they are as small as a fairy.  Both meeting spaces were carefully designed by Imagineers to emulate the theme of the films' setting, much different than the plain walls in previous character meeting locations.

Image: Disney

Speaking of special meet and greet locations, Disney has specifically created locations to meet characters with the same time, effort, and money as they would for new attractions.  In 2012, Disney World closed Snow White's Scary Adventures in Magic Kingdom, replacing the location in 2013 with Princess Fairy Tale Hall, a meet and greet location that hosts four princesses at once.  Also in 2013, Adventures Outpost, a Mickey and Minnie Mouse meeting area, opened in Disney's Animal Kingdom, replacing a gift shop called Beastly Bazaar.  Although this was probably done because their previous meeting locations, located in Camp Minnie Mickey, was soon to be closed to make way for the new Avatar expansion, it is unusual considering a money making gift shop was closed for a character meeting location.  And, of course, a section of the Norway pavilion in Epcot is currently being modified to create a meet and greet area for Anna and Elsa.

While not technically a costumed character, one of Disney's first attempts at creating a new character experience was Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot.  Built in 2004, the attraction allows guests to talk to Crush the sea turtle from Finding Nemo.  Not only does Crush talk, he greets guests by name and answers their questions.  The attraction was instantly a hit and was built in Disney California Adventure, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea.  Another similar attraction is the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in Magic Kingdom.  While guests don't interact with the characters as much as they do in Turtle Talk, they do get to be involved in an interactive comedy show, where various audience members get a part in making the show unique.  Both attractions use innovative technology to make the guests feel as if they are directly communicating with the animated characters, something that was never done before.

Turtle Talk with Crush

Image: Disney

And when discussing new technology, we of course have to mention Magic Words with Mickey, also known as "Talking Mickey," located in the Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom.  The meet and greet started tests in 2011 in both Disneyland and Disney World but it wasn't until 2013 when his Town Square Theater location became home to talking Mickey full-time.  Now Mickey can chat with guests, ask them for a photo, tell jokes, and sing.  Although Mickey's vocabulary is limited (for example, he doesn't say names) it is the first time a traditionally "furry" character has been given a voice.

Another addition to the character meeting experience is FastPass.  As of November 2015 seven Walt Disney World and one Disneyland character meet and greets have FastPass lines, with Disneyland's Anna and Elsa's Royal Welcome meet and greet requiring a FastPass for entry.  Long lines for Anna and Elsa have been the norm since Frozen opened in late 2013, with advanced FastPass+ reservations "selling" out weeks in advance. 

Anna and Elsa Line

Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)

While guests are used to hour long lines for rides like Soarin' and Toy Story Mania, now guests have to choose if they rather spend that time waiting for a meet and greet.  These long lines seem to be most common during special events like Star Wars Weekends or Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party where rare characters make appearances.  In fact, Jack Skellington and Sally's first Florida meet and greet in Downtown Disney back in 2012 had a three hour line while Hollywood Studio's Unleash the Villains: Friday the 13th Fun event in 2013 caused similar lines (and more chaos) when ultra-rare villains like Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Bowler Hat Guy (Meet the Robinsons) also met guests. 

The future

Avatar Ground Breaking

Image: Disney

Today we have less roaming characters, more lines, cool technology, and FastPasses.  What's next?  With the popularity of Magic Words with Mickey, it wouldn't be surprising if the technology moved to other Disney parks with more characters.  But with new technology comes new problems, and lines might be longer as character interactions go "101" and break down. A good example is the Baymax meet and greet, which suffered from technology issues during the two years it was at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and was ultimately retired in 2015. 

It's clear that guests are willing to spend as much of their time waiting for character interactions as they do for rides, so perhaps Imagineers will continue dedicating just as much time to character locations as they do to attractions.  In fact, the newest attraction announcement out of Disney's Hollywood Studios is Club Villain, a upcharge event where guests can dine, drink, and dance with their favorite villains.  Spending extra money to spend extra time with characters is nothing new (look at all the various character dining and special event offerings) so we can probably look forward to even more premium events.

With today's changing technology and Disney's seemingly endless budget, there is a good chance that the characters themselves will change.  Perhaps in the future Tinkerbell will really fly or Cinderella will greet each guest by name before they even tell her.  With the continuing rise of Pixar fans, maybe we could have more interactions like Turtle Talk with Crush or the Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor, with more animated characters coming to life behind a screen.  And with Disney buying more popular franchise brands, perhaps we can see more characters like Darth Vader appear on a daily basis rather than just during special events.  In fact, imagine what it would be like to meet the Na'vi people from Avatar once Pandora - The World of Avatar opens in Disney's Animal Kingdom.  While seeing a nine foot tall, bioluminescent talking alien may seem impossible, Imagineers have made more improbable tasks happen.

With cameras, phones, and tablets rapidly evolving, it looks like there will be little change to the current queue line meet and greet model.  And while roaming characters have done some recent tests in Magic Kingdom, as of now no permanent meet and greets have been confirmed.  But with even the face of vacation planning changing, with people deciding their daily schedules based on advanced FastPass and dining reservations weeks, if not months, in advance, it looks like, as of now, character meet and greets will become more organized and more technologically advanced as time goes on.  And while people can always get a hug from their favorite character, the future of character interactions is almost unlimited.

 
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