Great Character Week

[Greenlawler]

Hello fellow "Character Anglers". Well the last time I posted our list for the week we fell 6 short of one hundred so this time that was our goal. We knew it would be difficult becuase we did not have the meal plan that picks up some of the more common characters with no line and we did not have the chance at a special event party. We had a blast and the parks were not crowded at all. It was fantastic and we managed to find 10 characters we had not met in our previous trips. We were fortunate to find some really rare ones and we found some rarities we had seen before, but we were thrilled to see again. Here is the list...I put stars by the characters I consider somewhat rare.
Liver Lips
Big Al
Captain Jack
Ron Stoppable
Kim Possible
Operation Overdrive Yellow Ranger
Ninja Force Green Ranger
SPD Red Ranger
Mytic Force Pink Ranger
Dino Thunder White Ranger
Frozone
Mr Incredible
Mrs. Incredible
June
Leo
Annie
Quincy
Jojo
Goliath
Handy Manny (first time)
Captain Hook
Mr Smee
Queen Of Hearts
White Rabbit
Mad Hatter
Alice
Pinochio
Gaphetto
Jiminy Cricket
Meeko
Chip
Dale
Pluto
Mulan
Pooh
Eeyore
Piglet
Darby (first time)
Tigger
Woody
Buzz
Little Green Army Man
Jesie
John Smith *(first time)
Pocohontus
Mr Penguin
Peter Pan
Wendy
Tarzan
Jane
Mater
Lightning
Cruella DeVille
Jafar
Snow Queen
Hades * (first time)
Sherrif of Nottingham *
Robin Hood *
Daisey
Donald Duck
Lady Tremaine
Anastasia
Drizelle
Miss Piggy *
Baloo
King Louie
Clarrabelle
Horace Horsecollar
Fairy Godmother (first time)
Timon
Perla
Suzy
Rafiki
Goofy
Terk
Flick
Gov. Radcliff *
Koda
Lilo
Stitch
Mickey Mouse
Aurora
Dopey
Smow White
Snow Prince * (first time)
Aladin
Genie
Jasmine
Prince John *
Max *
Friar Tuck
Foulfellow
Gideon
Strombolli *
Marie *(first time)
Belle
Chicken Little
Brer Rabbit * (first time)
Brer Bear
Cinderella
Ariel
Mary Poppins
Bert
Stormtrooper * (first time)
Darkwing Duck * (first time)

We actualy did not get to meet and greet with some very common characters like Mushu, Figment, Minnie Mouse (can you believe that?), and Beast becuase we were not at the right place, or the lines were too long. We saw Prince Charming and Prince Phillip but we had met them before and it was chaotic and drizzling rain when they came out.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Was this during MNSSHP or MVMCP? Cause I haven't seen any of these guys out lately.

I'm so jealous!

[tiaramom]

Is Darby in the new show at playhouse Disney live on stage...??
or a c haracter meet ?

[joanna71985]

Nice list!

[glenpreece]

We saw Darby in Fantasyland last week with Pooh by the playful spot.

[rjmdds]

Most impressive. Were these characters out for meet n' greets? Were there some unique locations that some were found? Which parks seemd to have the rarer characters from your list?

[Greenlawler]

Most impressive. Were these characters out for meet n' greets? Were there some unique locations that some were found? Which parks seemd to have the rarer characters from your list?

95% of them were traditional meet n greet. We lucked into Stotrmtrooper and Bre'r Rabbit (no one was around so they stopped for us).I ran the Marathon so I got about 6 characters we did not see in the parks that week. But they signed for me as well so I guess they were meet n greets too.

The tear drop is where we met most of the unique characters. We caught large groups of characters 10 or more on three days there.

Becuase of the tear drop the Magic Kingdom was the best. We met probably 15 characters we saw no where else that week including Marie, Strombolli, Prince John and others. This is becuase of the construction (I was told) at the Studios forcing them to use that area more often than usual.
The Studios still does the 4:15 unlisted meet n greet with loads of characters everyday at the hat unless Fantasmic is at 6:30 (earlier than usual). If the crowds are low, which they were, they will sign if there are large crowds they may not. This will continue till the Stars and Motor Cars Parade ends. We also got lucky and the stage show at MK was rained out one afternoon. They had a meet and greet instead. That is where we greeted Snow Prince for the first time.
Epcot was a dissapointment character wise this year with less characters than usual and no rarities. Seems like Jose and Panchito are becoming rare, and no unusual characters appeared there at all. Except one day where some came out at American Adventure, but we missed them. A CM told us they were there earlier that day.
Animal Kingdom has an area out front called the Oasis that had a couple of good rarities: Gov Radcliff and Flick who we seem to miss alot. They usuualy have four to six characters most of the day before the parade. It could be anyone but most of the time they are characters like Timon, King Louie, Rafiki, Baloo, and Meeko, but we have seem other rarities like Launchpad in the past. The problem is having to exit the park and make the long journey out of the park to get there.

[Greenlawler]

Is Darby in the new show at playhouse Disney live on stage...??
or a c haracter meet ?

Darby is a regular now with Tigger and Pooh in front of Pooh's Playful Spot. This however has eliminated at least temporarily the chances of seeing the other Pooh characters here. Eeyore and Piglet were no where to be found at the MK except at the Crystal Palace. Of course Pooh, piglet, Eeyore and Tigger are at AK character landing and minus Piglet the three can be found in England at Epcot in the back of the toy store.
I know Rabbit was out for the Christmas parties here at least some nights. I have seen Kanga at several of the parties during the parades but I have never seen her out for a meet n greet. I have heard that she is a substitue at the Crystal Palace if the one of the other Pooh characters is not out.

[Hayden's Dad]

Awesome list. At the Oasis, are the characters inside the gates or outside? I have heard both. Were the characters in the teardrop back there at any particular time of day or did you just keep checking back? I hate you have to walk through the smoking area to get to this spot.
Hades and Bre're Rabbit how cool is that. Thanks for the list. My want list for our trip this year keeps getting longer and longer.:D

[Meeko_33785]

Fantastic list! You sure had better luck than I did in December. Didn't see any random characters and there was no 4:15 set at the Hat. :(

[joanna71985]

We also got lucky and the stage show at MK was rained out one afternoon. They had a meet and greet instead. That is where we greeted Snow Prince for the first time.

Epcot was a dissapointment character wise this year with less characters than usual and no rarities. Seems like Jose and Panchito are becoming rare, and no unusual characters appeared there at all. Except one day where some came out at American Adventure, but we missed them. A CM told us they were there earlier that day.
.

That's always fun when that happens. From Dream Along shows being canceled I have been able to get pictures with Aurora and Philip, Snow White and Snow Prince, Peter Pan and Wendy, Goofy and Donald, and Mickey and Minnie.

As for Panchito and Jose, I believe they are having some surgery (according to my friend, who knows them very well). I hope they return soon.


Darby is a regular now with Tigger and Pooh in front of Pooh's Playful Spot. This however has eliminated at least temporarily the chances of seeing the other Pooh characters here. Eeyore and Piglet were no where to be found at the MK except at the Crystal Palace. Of course Pooh, piglet, Eeyore and Tigger are at AK character landing and minus Piglet the three can be found in England at Epcot in the back of the toy store.
I know Rabbit was out for the Christmas parties here at least some nights. I have seen Kanga at several of the parties during the parades but I have never seen her out for a meet n greet. I have heard that she is a substitue at the Crystal Palace if the one of the other Pooh characters is not out.

Eeyore and Piglet only appear at the CP at MK. They do not show at Pooh's Playful Spot (although Eeyore used to in a pinch, before Darby came), though all 4 are out during mvmcp and mnsshp.

Rabbit is not scheduled for the parties. He only shows up once in awhile because he feels like it. Otherwise it is just Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore.

I don't believe Kanga would ever show up as a sub at CP. They would use Rabbit before Kanga.


Awesome list. At the Oasis, are the characters inside the gates or outside? I have heard both. Were the characters in the teardrop back there at any particular time of day or did you just keep checking back? I hate you have to walk through the smoking area to get to this spot.
Hades and Bre're Rabbit how cool is that. Thanks for the list. My want list for our trip this year keeps getting longer and longer.:D

At the Oasis, it is before the turnstiles but inside the security check.

[Greenlawler]

Awesome list. At the Oasis, are the characters inside the gates or outside? I have heard both. Were the characters in the teardrop back there at any particular time of day or did you just keep checking back? I hate you have to walk through the smoking area to get to this spot.
Hades and Bre're Rabbit how cool is that. Thanks for the list. My want list for our trip this year keeps getting longer and longer.:D

Haydens Dad,
The week we were there the characters at the teardrop came out at different times. The first day they came out at 10:00-12:00 and 1:00-3:00. There were two sets that rotated. We did not actualy see the 10:00 am set but what happened at the 1:00 p.m. set was this: At 1:00-1:25 a group came out, we were the only family around but that changed quickly. Another complely different group came out at 1:30-1:50. Then they repeated the sets from 2:00-3:00. The first grouping included Max and Prince John along with the Sheriff, Foulfellow and about 6 others, Lilo and Stitch seemed to have the longest lines. The next group came out with Marie and Strombolli, Pinochio, Gaphetto and about 7 or 8 others.
The second day the same pattern was repeated except they did not do the 10 am-12 greeting just the afternoon one. There were some different characters but we had seen them all except Brer Bear.
On the last morning we were at the parks the characters came out at the teardroip at 11:08 , 12:00 and 1:00 that is when we found Darkwing and Gideon (whom we had not seen this year as of yet).

The best way to work the teardrop in my opinion, is to divide and conquer. I hold the boys off on doing anything in Toon Town until 11:00 when we run back to check thew teardrop. Then if they are not there we hang out in Toon Town playing or riding till 12:00 when one of us goes and checks. We follow the same pattern at 1:00. It really only takes two hours and my boys love Toon town. Of course one strategy is to ask a CM at toon town fair if characters will be out that day at the teardrop. Sometimes we get a CM who knows they are supposed to come but they probably don't know the time. You can generally bank on the top of the hour. We have even met a CM or two who checked for us. Most of the time, however, from my experiance the CM's honestly don't know.

[glenpreece]

What/where is the tear drop???

I agree about Epcot, we saw nobody there except for Belle, Snow White and Dopey.

[Greenlawler]

What/where is the tear drop???

I agree about Epcot, we saw nobody there except for Belle, Snow White and Dopey.

The Teardrop is a popular source of mystery on these boards. It is the area located near the Train Station and behind Mickey's Judges Tent in Toon Town. Just walk until you come to a dead end and your in the teardrop. There is a wooden fence that reads "cast members only". It is called the teardrop becuase if you had an ariel view the area it looks like a teardrop shape.
It is one of three "training areas" to help characters break in new attendants. The others are the area in front of the American Adventure at Epcot, and the area to the left of the Hat in the DHS (although they are currently not using this area).
The characters that come out in these places tend to be some variation of the same 20-30 characters but on occasion a new face will spring up like Clara Cluck three or four years ago, and Marie last year. My guess is they are also checking the characters popularity but I do not know for sure.

[Hayden's Dad]

Thanks Greenlawler. I would just hate to miss an opportunity to see Hook, Smee, Pan, Wendy, Aladdin, Jasmine, etc.. in Adventureland trying to see if someone will be out at the teardrop. Last time we were there the only ones we saw back there were Anastasia and Drizella, but we had already met them twice so we didn't go see them. Thanks for all the help and keep the tips coming.

[joanna71985]

Of course one strategy is to ask a CM at toon town fair if characters will be out that day at the teardrop. Sometimes we get a CM who knows they are supposed to come but they probably don't know the time. You can generally bank on the top of the hour. We have even met a CM or two who checked for us. Most of the time, however, from my experiance the CM's honestly don't know.

The CMs won't know about the Teardrop characters (for the most part). So really the only way to find out is to go there in person and check.

[Greenlawler]

I totally understand what your saying, you have to pick and choose. Although we were in toon town quite a bit we chose not to wait for Minnie Mouse. This is the second vacation we have skipped her....oh well three boys what can I say? The Adventureland characters are there so late, most of them till well into the evening like 5 or 6. I always think its worth the risk. You could check at 11:05 and 1:05 and not miss much park time. Plus Hook and Smee are always prime candidates for the teardrop.

[glenpreece]

The Teardrop is a popular source of mystery on these boards. It is the area located near the Train Station and behind Mickey's Judges Tent in Toon Town. Just walk until you come to a dead end and your in the teardrop. There is a wooden fence that reads "cast members only". It is called the teardrop becuase if you had an ariel view the area it looks like a teardrop shape.
It is one of three "training areas" to help characters break in new attendants. The others are the area in front of the American Adventure at Epcot, and the area to the left of the Hat in the DHS (although they are currently not using this area).
The characters that come out in these places tend to be some variation of the same 20-30 characters but on occasion a new face will spring up like Clara Cluck three or four years ago, and Marie last year. My guess is they are also checking the characters popularity but I do not know for sure.

Great Thanks I'll head back there for usre next trip!!!

[Hayden's Dad]

THATS A GOOD PLAN. AND YOU ARE RIGHT THE CHARACTERS AT ADVENTURELAND ARE USUALLY OUT LATE. WE JUST NEED TO ADJUST OUR LOOP AND START FROM TOMORROW LAND AND GO TO TOON TOWN IN THE MORNING THEN MAKE OUR WAY BACK OVER THERE AFTER LUNCH. THANKS AGAIN.:thumbsup:

[jpH/keD]

Great Thread guys! You are all SICK, very sick! I hope you know this and are PROUD!! We love the characters too but I cannot wait in those lines! We do character meals instead! Much to my surprise my DH says he doesnt really like character meals!:confused: That makes me so sad because my DD6 and I LOVE them! We love all things princess so we have all of them! Still waiting for Giselle tho! Great tips again guys! Keep up the great work! Some of us are listening! :thumbsup:

[rjmdds]

I could follow this thread ALL DAY!! Thanks for the info.

[Greenlawler]

Here is a list of the characters we have seen at the "training locations". We have run into them, probably 8 times over the years in our 12trips. Twice at Epcot, Twice at The Studios, and Four Times at the Teardrop (three of those times were last week). It is always so exciting! My sons favorite thing to do is look under the fence at the teardrop and look for character feet coming our way. It is so cute, when he stands up and screams with joy that "I see feet"!
Needless to say it takes some luck to hit the right area on the right day, as they change the times and days a lot, as has been noted already.

Here are the more common characters who are polite and train new associates
Shaker
Wendall
Liver Lips
Big Al
Mr Penguin
Koda
Meeko
Smee
Hook
Marie
Strombolli
Brer Bear
Max
Timon
Friar Tuck
Sheriff
Prince John
Darkwing Duck
Mickey Mouse
Foulfellow
Gideon
Pinochio
Gephetto
Lilo
Stitch
Terk
King Louie
On occasion "face" characters will also be working with new trainers. This is more rare but as Hayden's dad reported with the sisiters it happens. I have seen Maleficent and Cruella before at the teardrop, but only once three years ago.