We'll We Ever Meet N Greet The Characters again?

[LanceQ]

My sister is a CM and she said she asked a guest relations cast member about this very thing. Apparently, people are not complaining about the new way to see characters, in fact: they are getting positive feedback more often than not.

That said, there is far too much money to be made on autograph books and pens.

Disney Parks sell a LOT of merch. Autograph books is but a minuscule drop in a vast ocean. If the character meets stayed socially distant forever (which I don't think they will), Disney's accountants wouldn't even notice the loss of revenue from two extremely small and cheap items like autograph books and pens.

 

[DisneyPhanDoor]

Disney Parks sell a LOT of merch. Autograph books is but a minuscule drop in a vast ocean. If the character meets stayed socially distant forever (which I don't think they will), Disney's accountants wouldn't even notice the loss of revenue from two extremely small and cheap items like autograph books and pens.

You may be right, but, when I was a CM many years ago, the #1 selling souvenir in the park was autograph books. Number 2? Pens. Those items outsold every other item- by a mile. Plus, the markup on those items is HUGE! Characters generate zero revenue on their own. They really are there to sell food ( character meals), photos (photo pass) and merch (autograph books/pens) so I agree, the meet and greets will come back eventually!

 

[LanceQ]

You may be right, but, when I was a CM many years ago, the #1 selling souvenir in the park was autograph books. Number 2? Pens. Those items outsold every other item- by a mile. Plus, the markup on those items is HUGE! Characters generate zero revenue on their own. They really are there to sell food ( character meals), photos (photo pass) and merch (autograph books/pens) so I agree, the meet and greets will come back eventually!

Well, then we can file my comment under the ever-expanding file of, "I don't really know what I'm talking about."

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Karin1984]

You may be right, but, when I was a CM many years ago, the #1 selling souvenir in the park was autograph books. Number 2? Pens. Those items outsold every other item- by a mile. Plus, the markup on those items is HUGE! Characters generate zero revenue on their own. They really are there to sell food ( character meals), photos (photo pass) and merch (autograph books/pens) so I agree, the meet and greets will come back eventually!

That's some very good insight. Thank you for sharing this! I was in Disneyland Paris the past few days and one thing we noticed that they were still selling pens and autograph books. They didn't remove them from the shops.

Also in comparison to last summer with covid measures they had removed most of the magic shots from the park. Last year there were so many options, and they had several new additions between June and October. But as photopass isn't a big thing in Paris. The photopass is free for the highest tier AP card, they probably make a loss on this. Therefore, no wonder they got removed. It is a pity as it was one of the most fun things of last summer.

My sister is a CM and she said she asked a guest relations cast member about this very thing. Apparently, people are not complaining about the new way to see characters, in fact: they are getting positive feedback more often than not.

There are indeed several positives about it. It goes quicker, lines are shorter, people can do more things in a day. And I can imagine it's great for people with (young) children as they don't get restless while waiting.

You can still have magical moments. For example, Minnie is meeting in Disneyland Paris in a remote corner of Frontierland. While we approached her, we saw a little girl, 3-4 years old having the time of her life as Minnie had no other guests at that moment, and they had a private meet & greet. Normally you cannot meet Kristoff, Anna or Elsa. the toddler in front of us was enamoured by Kristoff, and really didn't want to leave. A few moments later, she was playing peekaboo with Elsa. It was adorable and all without hugs or autographs.

Characters have more freedom (and space to move around), it takes more of their improvisational skills. They are also meeting in couples, which helps to create fun interactions between the characters.

Below clip wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for covid measures. Currently at Disneyland Paris there are characters to welcome you from the train station. There is a song over the speakers next to the Main Street USA music. Donald is meeting 50ft away. There was a quiet moment as the photopass girl was changing the batteries on the camera. Donald starts dancing to the song, and I joined in. It became without a doubt one of the best character interactions I have ever had. Could there have been another magical moment at that quiet moment? Maybe. Maybe not. But dancing with Donald was more magical than any hug he could have given me.

(No, I don't know why you only hear the Main Street Music in the video, the song was quite loud)

 

[DisneyPhanDoor]

That's some very good insight. Thank you for sharing this! I was in Disneyland Paris the past few days and one thing we noticed that they were still selling pens and autograph books. They didn't remove them from the shops.

Also in comparison to last summer with covid measures they had removed most of the magic shots of from the park. Last year there were so many options, and they had several new additions between June and October. But as photopass isn't a big thing in Paris. The photopass is free for the highest tier AP card, they probably make a loss on this. Therefore, no wonder they got removed. It is a pity as it was one of the most fun things of last summer.


There are indeed several positives about it. It goes quicker, lines are shorter, people can do more things in a day. And I can imagine it's great for people with (young) children as they don't get restless while waiting.

You can still have magical moments. For example, Minnie is meeting in Disneyland Paris in a remote corner of Frontierland. While we approached her, we saw a little girl, 3-4 years old having the time of her life as Minnie had no other guests at that moment, and they had a private meet & greet. Normally you cannot meet Kristoff, Anna or Elsa. the toddler in front of us was enamoured by Kristoff, and really didn't want to leave. A few moments later, she was playing peekaboo with Elsa. It was adorable and all without hugs or autographs.

Characters have more freedom (and space to move around), it takes more of their improvisational skills. They are also meeting in couples, which helps to create fun interactions between the characters.

Below clip wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for covid measures. Currently at Disneyland Paris there are characters to welcome you from the train station. There is a song over the speakers next to the Main Street USA music. Donald is meeting 50ft away. There was a quiet moment as the photopass girl was changing the batteries on the camera. Donald starts dancing to the song, and I joined in. It became without a doubt one of the best character interactions I have ever had. Could there have been another magical moment at that quiet moment? Maybe. Maybe not. But dancing with Donald was more magical than any hug he could have given me.

(No, I don't know why you only hear the Main Street Music in the video, the song was quite loud)

THIS^^^^^ This is exactly why this way is better. So fun!
I would encourage anyone that likes this way of interacting with characters to email guest relations and let them know. Of course, this also could lead to upcharges for actual hugs and autographs. Disney (especially under Chapek) just LOVES to find ways to further monetize the experience....but I honestly think the revenue generated by books/pens is enough to make it almost guaranteed that meet and greets will be back and accessible to ALL guests. The FOMO of kids seeing other kids get autographs are the reason they are for sale at almost every register at every merch location; even the tiny kiosks! You also might notice that there are a plethora of pen styles in varying (all overpriced) prices.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

That's some very good insight. Thank you for sharing this! I was in Disneyland Paris the past few days and one thing we noticed that they were still selling pens and autograph books. They didn't remove them from the shops.

Also in comparison to last summer with covid measures they had removed most of the magic shots from the park. Last year there were so many options, and they had several new additions between June and October. But as photopass isn't a big thing in Paris. The photopass is free for the highest tier AP card, they probably make a loss on this. Therefore, no wonder they got removed. It is a pity as it was one of the most fun things of last summer.


There are indeed several positives about it. It goes quicker, lines are shorter, people can do more things in a day. And I can imagine it's great for people with (young) children as they don't get restless while waiting.

You can still have magical moments. For example, Minnie is meeting in Disneyland Paris in a remote corner of Frontierland. While we approached her, we saw a little girl, 3-4 years old having the time of her life as Minnie had no other guests at that moment, and they had a private meet & greet. Normally you cannot meet Kristoff, Anna or Elsa. the toddler in front of us was enamoured by Kristoff, and really didn't want to leave. A few moments later, she was playing peekaboo with Elsa. It was adorable and all without hugs or autographs.

Characters have more freedom (and space to move around), it takes more of their improvisational skills. They are also meeting in couples, which helps to create fun interactions between the characters.

Below clip wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for covid measures. Currently at Disneyland Paris there are characters to welcome you from the train station. There is a song over the speakers next to the Main Street USA music. Donald is meeting 50ft away. There was a quiet moment as the photopass girl was changing the batteries on the camera. Donald starts dancing to the song, and I joined in. It became without a doubt one of the best character interactions I have ever had. Could there have been another magical moment at that quiet moment? Maybe. Maybe not. But dancing with Donald was more magical than any hug he could have given me.

(No, I don't know why you only hear the Main Street Music in the video, the song was quite loud)

First, amazing video! And I totally agree with you that the character interactions are SO much better this way. My nephew had a dance off with with Stitch (who twerked btw ) that lasted minutes. It was spontaneous and will be something he remembers.

Interestingly, magic shots are back at Disneyland. And more than in ever. I felt in the past you had to know which locations had them and then ask for them to do them, where now they’re volunteering to do them at almost every place. I also notice they’re taking more time and we had quite a few who did little mini-photo shoots with our family, even moving us around the area like in Galaxy’s Edge. I’m sure that will go away as capacity increases, but it made the cost of the photopass worth it.

THIS^^^^^ This is exactly why this way is better. So fun!
I would encourage anyone that likes this way of interacting with characters to email guest relations and let them know. Of course, this also could lead to upcharges for actual hugs and autographs. Disney (especially under Chapek) just LOVES to find ways to further monetize the experience....but I honestly think the revenue generated by books/pens is enough to make it almost guaranteed that meet and greets will be back and accessible to ALL guests. The FOMO of kids seeing other kids get autographs are the reason they are for sale at almost every register at every merch location; even the tiny kiosks! You also might notice that there are a plethora of pen styles in varying (all overpriced) prices.

They aren’t going to go to a method of charging for autographs. They have character meals for that already. I could see them becoming less spontaneous in DL though, which is an edge it always had over WDW.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Character Meet And Greets have always been one of the top draws of Disney Parks especially Disneyland because there's something about them that makes adults kids and teens want to greet characters especially if your child or teen is a huge fan of that character. But when character meet and greets do return Disneyland may do these options,
A. Make character meet and greets give you the option of wanting an autograph or picture with the character with the picture at a price of $7,99 while the character autograph is always free,
2. Give kids the chance to talk to face characters in a special Character Social Hour where the kids can interact and chat with face characters anytime and once the character is finished chatting and interacting with the child kids get an autograph and a certificate and a special book that says "Today I Met " and it would be a book that kids could fill in talking about their character social hour and it would be better than an autograph book for kids
3. Have special parades where characters can meet children and invite them for a special autograph session after the parade for a private meet and greet with character hugs and interactions with a price of $9,99
Believe me these ideas would work and be a miracle for Disneyland to do. But things like autograph books will NEVER disappear because a lot of people do not use them just for character autographs they use them for celebrity autographs and sports stars autographs as well. But as long as Character Meet And Greets continue to exist kids will continue to do them as a memory of their Disneyland trip

 

[TsWade2]

Character Meet And Greets have always been one of the top draws of Disney Parks especially Disneyland because there's something about them that makes adults kids and teens want to greet characters especially if your child or teen is a huge fan of that character. But when character meet and greets do return Disneyland may do these options,
A. Make character meet and greets give you the option of wanting an autograph or picture with the character with the picture at a price of $7,99 while the character autograph is always free,
2. Give kids the chance to talk to face characters in a special Character Social Hour where the kids can interact and chat with face characters anytime and once the character is finished chatting and interacting with the child kids get an autograph and a certificate and a special book that says "Today I Met " and it would be a book that kids could fill in talking about their character social hour and it would be better than an autograph book for kids
3. Have special parades where characters can meet children and invite them for a special autograph session after the parade for a private meet and greet with character hugs and interactions with a price of $9,99
Believe me these ideas would work and be a miracle for Disneyland to do. But things like autograph books will NEVER disappear because a lot of people do not use them just for character autographs they use them for celebrity autographs and sports stars autographs as well. But as long as Character Meet And Greets continue to exist kids will continue to do them as a memory of their Disneyland trip

Oh brother! Such nonsense! I hope the characters are back to meet n greet later this year. I hope they won’t social distanced forever.

 

[TsWade2]

I hope the characters won't be social distancing forever. Because I've heard a lot of people saying the characters will never meet and greet anytime soon, which it sounded like they won't meet and greet forever. I know you guys won't help me, but sometimes life isn't fair.

 

[mouschievous]

Disney World is starting meet and greets again in November, so I bet there's hope for DLR!

As noted on the Disney Parks Blog in the announcement for the returning experiences, “although the environment is not right just yet for hugs and autographs, you’ll soon be able to have individualized time with some of your favorite characters, getting to visit with them in a theme location and snap a photo or two.”

https://www.parksavers.com/character-meet-and-greets-returning-to-walt-disney-world/

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Disney World is starting meet and greets again in November, so I bet there's hope for DLR!

From the photos I've seen today- these look like the DL Paris setup where the characters are set up behind stanchions and you can meet/speak with them but still not physically interact.

 

[TsWade2]

They are social distancing again? I thought they're done with that! And the pandemic is over with! What's going on here? That can't social distance forever, you know!

 

[sweethannah]

They are social distancing again? I thought they're done with that! And the pandemic is over with! What's going on here? That can't social distance forever, you know!

I'm looking at the app and there are character meet and greets. I'm thinking this might be a one off as the characters are all in Halloween theming and maybe they save photo ops with these characters for OBB?

 

[TsWade2]

I'm looking at the app and there are character meet and greets. I'm thinking this might be a one off as the characters are all in Halloween theming and maybe they save photo ops with these characters for OBB?

I guess that make sense.

 

[sweethannah]

I guess that make sense.

Im sure ppl in the Park will quickly report if meet and greets have changed.

 

[pharmama]

The video is not a meet and greet. I'm not sure why they have them doing that little greeting from the train platform. It is a fun opportunity to see some of the the Fab 5 together in their Halloween costumes (well, except Pluto... why didn't Mickey get Pluto a costume? And Minnie also MIA ). We saw Donald, for example, doing a traditional, not distanced M&G in that candy corn outfit last week outside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

I think this video is being taken out of context and is just a snippet of stuff they're having the characters do to mix things up in addition to traditional M&G.

 

[TsWade2]

The video is not a meet and greet. I'm not sure why they have them doing that little greeting from the train platform. It is a fun opportunity to see some of the the Fab 5 together in their Halloween costumes (well, except Pluto... why didn't Mickey get Pluto a costume? And Minnie also MIA ). We saw Donald, for example, doing a traditional, not distanced M&G in that candy corn outfit last week outside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

I think this video is being taken out of context and is just a snippet of stuff they're having the characters do to mix things up in addition to traditional M&G.

I hope you're right, because I don't want them to be social distancing again.

 

[pharmama]

I hope you're right, because I don't want them to be social distancing again.

I was in the parks last week and assure you there were MANY non-distanced M&Gs going on.

 

[TsWade2]

I was in the parks last week and assure you there were MANY non-distanced M&Gs going on.

Okay. Thanks.

 

[lily_belle]

I was there for a few days leading up to D23 and in and out of the parks all weekend. I can assure you they were doing in person meet & greets and hugs with the characters. I think this was just a one-off at park opening or something.