Princesses, available outside character dining?

JSLVL

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
We are thinking of visiting Disney world in November. My daughter will be 5, and it's important to me that she has the chance to see/meet a fair number of princesses. My husband, however, isn't sold on character dining. Are there other options? Will we see them in the park? Are there other meeting options? My husband and I haven't been to Disney since we were teens in the mid '90s, so I have no idea of what to expect. We do plan on visiting a couple of different parks. Thanks for your help and advice!
 
Magic Kingdom-Cinderella, Elena, Rapunzel, Tiana, Ariel, Belle (yellow dress) and Merida
Epcot-Elsa, Anna, Snow White, Aurora, Belle (blue dress)
 
Yes, all the princesses are available outside of Character Dining.

Cinderella, Elena, Rapunzel, and Tiana are at Fairytale Hall (FPs available). Ariel (mermaid form, FP) and Merida are also in MK.

Anna + Elsa, Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, and Aurora are all in Epcot's WS.

Pocahontas is at AK and Moana is at DHS.
 
How do we get to them? Are they just walking around? Long lines? Fast pass?
 
How do we get to them? Are they just walking around? Long lines? Fast pass?

We have two young daughters that love to meet the Princesses. Characters are available, but it takes some planning to actually meet them. The MDE app lists character meeting location and times. I suggest checking pre-trip one morning and getting a feel for the ones you want to see.

Some of the really important Princesses only meet for 30 minute blocks, a few times a day. Snow White, Jasmine, and Aurora or good examples in MK. Similar for Epcot with the addition of Mulan and Belle.

Disney knows how many people it takes get through the greet line in 30 minutes. Usually if you aren't in the line 20-30 minutes before the meet starts, they will already have blocked off the line. So you better know the location and time in advance.
 
Princesses are not walking around, they have their own areas they stay in. Certain ones are only open certain times, and some of them have the FP option. Check the MDE app and make your plans from there.
 
How do we get to them? Are they just walking around? Long lines? Fast pass?
Check out my post above...no "walking around," and only five are available by Fast Pass.

You maybe be interested in subscribing to Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator. It's about $6 right now and it's a very helpful guide.
 


My DH isn't keen on the character dining either, but I make him go anyways. :D If you want to be sure your daughter meets the princesses and you don't want to spend all day trekking them down- do the character dining at the Magic Kingdom's castle. If your DH doesn't want to go, then either head into the park before him for the meal and then he can meet up with you afterwards (if you are staying onsite) or he can go and ride something or walk around while you do the meal.

Eating at the castle is expensive, but I always try to book their last "breakfast" slot of the day before it switches to lunch prices. That way we have a late brunch, we pay a little less than lunch/dinner prices, the kids meet the princesses, and we don't have to stop again for lunch.

For our next trip, we are going to try out Akershus for lunch at Epcot, which I was reluctant to do before because of the Norwegian food (my husband and I will eat it, but I didn't know if the kids would...) and then do the Character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

Have a great trip!
 
Akershus also does breakfast that is normal breakfast buffet. Not interested in the lunch for the same menu reasons. Park Fare was a lot of fun (we did dinner buffet). The Step-Sisters and Step-Mother are very interactive and funny.
 
Akershus also does breakfast that is normal breakfast buffet. Not interested in the lunch for the same menu reasons. Park Fare was a lot of fun (we did dinner buffet). The Step-Sisters and Step-Mother are very interactive and funny.
Yes, I didn't want to do two breakfasts on our trip. The kids will be fine at Akershus this trip. ;) We did the Park Fare for dinner before, but the kids wanted to meet the breakfast characters this time. We try to switch it up a little each trip! :earsboy:
 
My daughter and I are doing a princess trip next week, so I am well-versed in where all of the princesses are located! First of all, you should know that if you don't do character dining, you will be waiting in many, many lines. Each princess is an individual line and each line can be a good 30 minutes long (longer if you get to the end of the line of the existing line and opt to wait until the princess after she comes back from her break). If that's not a problem for you, here are the ones I have written down to visit throughout the parks:

MK:
Cinderella/Elena - Fastpass at Fairytale Hall
Rapunzel/Tiana - Fastpass at Fairytale Hall
Ariel - Fastpass at her Grotto
Merida - In an alcove close to the castle
Aladdin and Jasmine - Adventureland
Belle - Fastpass Enchanted Tales With Belle (not officially a meet and greet, more of a photo op)
Tinkerbell - Not officially a princess, but you can FP her meet and greet on Main St.

EP:
Aurora - France
Belle - France
Aladdin and Jasmine - Morocco
Snow White - Germany
Anna and Elsa - Norway
Mulan - China

HS:
Sofia the First - Disney Jr.
Moana - One Man's Dream

AK:
Pocahontas


We are planning on doing all of these, plus every single princess meal, but this is an all-out girly girl princess trip. On an average family vacation, we do a few M&Gs and a reservation like CRT to meet the majority in one fell swoop.
 
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My DH isn't keen on the character dining either, but I make him go anyways. :D If you want to be sure your daughter meets the princesses and you don't want to spend all day trekking them down- do the character dining at the Magic Kingdom's castle. If your DH doesn't want to go, then either head into the park before him for the meal and then he can meet up with you afterwards (if you are staying onsite) or he can go and ride something or walk around while you do the meal.

Eating at the castle is expensive, but I always try to book their last "breakfast" slot of the day before it switches to lunch prices. That way we have a late brunch, we pay a little less than lunch/dinner prices, the kids meet the princesses, and we don't have to stop again for lunch.

For our next trip, we are going to try out Akershus for lunch at Epcot, which I was reluctant to do before because of the Norwegian food (my husband and I will eat it, but I didn't know if the kids would...) and then do the Character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

Have a great trip!

We quickly learned it was easier to do lunch at CRT and see all the princesses then to wait in lines to see them all. Saved a lot of time and FPs! Of course, no Anna and Elsa but this last trip we got to see them with FPs about a week before they moved to Epcot!
 
My husband also isn't keen on character/princess meets! I've only booked a rapunzel fast-pass (and secretly at that!), I hope he's right as the 6 year old will otherwise be sorely disappointed!!
 
And keep your eyes open. We ran into an unannounced Jasmine just outside Figment once. I think it may have been her first day (she seemed nervous) but she was just there with her handler and no one waiting. She gave my kids a lot of attention and they really enjoyed it!
 
A great spot to meet characters is outside the gates of Hollywood studios on the right hand side of entrance. They do not have photopass photographers there but there have been very short lines in my experience. Today we saw Minnie Mouse, tiana, Snow White, and Pocahontas. Only about 2-3 people in front of us for each line. It wasn't on the app so I guess you never know who is going to be there.
 

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