Epcot Character Spot Going Down

[Gator]

Didn't see this posted anywhere so I'll put this up. Just read that the Character Spot at Epcot Future World will go down for a refurb on Oct 21 and stay down until February 2013. During the closure Mickey, Minnie and Pluto will appear in the former Segway training room near to the Fountain View Ice Cream. Goofy will be near the main entrance near Spaceship Earth. Donald will only be in Mexico.

This seems like a really long closure for a simple room that houses characters. How much time does it take to re-carpet and paint the walls?

[Capt_redshirt]

Is this the "for everyone" character spot or the disney chase character spot? if its the for everyone maybe they are re doing the backgrounds or making it look alot better

[Gator]

It's the "for everyone" character spot that is right next to Club Cool.

[EpcotChic23]

Back in June I did the undiscovered future world tour and when we walked by this area the CM told us big changes were coming to this area, but did not Elaborate.:confused:

[Aurora]

Back in June I did the undiscovered future world tour and when we walked by this area the CM told us big changes were coming to this area, but did not Elaborate.:confused:

Interesting....

[DizneyFreak2002]

Well, since they are going the route of a heavily themed M&G area, I wouldn't doubt this is part of what they are doing... oh, and adding in NextGen technology....

[TinkerbellT421]

I will check to see if my friend knows anything....interesting. Hopefully they do something entertaining for the poor people that stand in that ridiculous line.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I will check to see if my friend knows anything....interesting. Hopefully they do something entertaining for the poor people that stand in that ridiculous line.

Just what we need.. Interactive queues for meet and greets.. agh... LoL...

[TinkerbellT421]

Just what we need.. Interactive queues for meet and greets.. agh... LoL...

:bang:

So, some info I gathered is they will be expanding into another portion of the building and will have one side open while the other side is being worked on. And rumor has it it will only have three characters not five anymore. But this is all tentative right now.

[Gator]

:bang:

So, some info I gathered is they will be expanding into another portion of the building and will have one side open while the other side is being worked on. And rumor has it it will only have three characters not five anymore. But this is all tentative right now.

Well that's very underwhelming. And it's taking them over 3 months to do only this?

[TinkerbellT421]

Well that's very underwhelming. And it's taking them over 3 months to do only this?

Exactly what I said lol. Very limited exact details. She's hoping as we'll as I that this changes by the time it come to its completion.

[TinkerbellT421]

Also, when they reopen, there will be two sections. One will be regular wait line, one side will be for fast pass.....ugh

[Twilight]

I loved the Epcot Character Spot it was a great place to meet all five main characters in one spot.
I hope the new renovations make it that much better.

[Disney Doll]

We like that spot too. However, I hate the backdrops they have in there and I would be all for having something less distracting in the background of all my photos.

[Gator]

Also, when they reopen, there will be two sections. One will be regular wait line, one side will be for fast pass.....ugh

What?!?! Great, another fastpass option. Fastpass for rides? I get it and I love it. Fastpass for characters? Don't get it, and definitely don't love it.

[rjmdds]

We like that spot too. However, I hate the backdrops they have in there and I would be all for having something less distracting in the background of all my photos.

A pretty good character blog:pirate: (argh!) has some photos of the new backdrop which is more of an Epcot theme. I agree with you. The other backdrops were kind of bizarre and busy. The blog also notes that when it opens, it will only have Mickey, Minnie and Pluto.

[TinkerbellT421]

What?!?! Great, another fastpass option. Fastpass for rides? I get it and I love it. Fastpass for characters? Don't get it, and definitely don't love it.

Yep. And agree. While I'm a complete geek for character pictures. I will never fast pass character meet n greets.

[DizneyFreak2002]

What?!?! Great, another fastpass option. Fastpass for rides? I get it and I love it. Fastpass for characters? Don't get it, and definitely don't love it.

Just make sure to book your Fastpass for the character meet and greet 180 days in advance LOL...

[Aurora]

Yep. And agree. While I'm a complete geek for character pictures. I will never fast pass character meet n greets.

I can see this being of value for families who have younger kids and don't use FPs for the bigger rides. We stood in line a few years ago at the Epcot character spot behind a mom and two little boys who were so excited to see all the characters. But by the time they got to them, more than a half-hour later, the boys had lost their patience and no longer wanted to approach the characters.

I'm not in this demographic anymore, but when my kids wanted to do this, even though the line was long, it was great to only have to stand in line once for all five characters. Done. :mickey:

[Disney Doll]

Thanks for the blog tip! I headed to check out the new backdrops now.

We are the people who will use Fastpass for characters. I have two boys, ages 2 and 5. They like characters, but those lines can be tough. I especially liked this EPCOT spot because they had cartoons playing while you waited and you could get multiple characters with one line. We did fastpass for Mickey and Minnie in MK last year and it was really nice to walk up with a 5 minute wait.

[AgentC]

Thanks for the blog tip! I headed to check out the new backdrops now.

We are the people who will use Fastpass for characters. I have two boys, ages 2 and 5. They like characters, but those lines can be tough. I especially liked this EPCOT spot because they had cartoons playing while you waited and you could get multiple characters with one line. We did fastpass for Mickey and Minnie in MK last year and it was really nice to walk up with a 5 minute wait.

I'll confess. I've used the fast pass at MK for both the princesses and Mickey. My daughter is 4 and my son is almost 7. Even though we go a lot, sometimes characters are a must do and a shorter line makes my life way easier.

[Gator]

I just saw some pics of the temporary Character Spot at Epcot. I like the backdrop at the temp zone way better than the strange spaceship themed background of the real one. The temp backdrop has a futuristic painting of Epcot and the monorail. I like it.