After booking your Disneyland Paris tickets, you know you’re about to enter a truly unique and magical world. Everything is designed for you to have an extraordinary time, whether you’re with family or friends. Between the magic of Disneyland Paris and the incredible thrills of the rides, you’re guaranteed an emotionally rich Disney experience. Yet, there’s one more little thing the park offers that can add even more emotion to your trip.
Indeed, to enhance the magic of your stay, you may want to meet the very famous characters of Eurodisney Park. For this, there are several locations designated for these encounters. Some of these spaces allow you to meet them in a more or less intimate setting. You can see them up close, talk to them, and take photos with the Disney characters. While others are less intimate and more crowded. You can therefore see them but from a greater distance, surrounded by more people. And there are few moments when you can take advantage to create memories of your encounter with the Disney characters.
In this article, I will give you information on the different places where you can meet your favorite princesses and heroes.
Seeing a Disney character at a meet-and-greet location
Since Disney characters are a central element of Eurodisney Park, there must be dedicated spaces for meeting them. To meet Disneyland characters, there are therefore meet-and-greet locations that you can find in various parts of the park. It’s important to know that these meeting points are in very high demand. There are a lot of people hoping to meet the beautiful princesses and brave heroes of the park. That’s why there are usually large crowds at these locations. You have to wait in line, and the queue can be relatively long.
However, once it’s your turn, you have the opportunity to spend a special moment with them. You can even capture this moment with great photos of Disney characters. Of course with your own camera, but also with the Disneyland Paris Photopass. It’s really a wonderful opportunity to see them up close, while enjoying their presence just for you. It’s a unique sharing moment in a location specifically designed for that.
The Virtual Queue Technique
It is possible, for some meet-and-greets, to book your time slot directly on the Disneyland Paris mobile app. The system is quite simple. You just choose which character you want to meet from those available on the app. You then enter into a virtual queue system that gives you an approximate meeting time. Be aware that this given time may change throughout the day, depending on the speed at which the queue progresses. When it’s your turn to see a character, you receive an alert. But if you are far from the meet-and-greet location, you risk losing your spot. So, make sure to regularly check your scheduled time.
In the park’s pathways
Once in the park, there are many times when you’ll be strolling through the pathways of Disneyland. Whether you’re going from your hotel to the park, from the park to your hotel, or from one attraction to another. So, if you don’t particularly want to wait in line for a Disney character photo, you can always let yourself be guided by the park’s pathways.
Indeed, Disney characters also roam the pathways of Disneyland Paris. Like you, they are looking for people to meet. That’s why you can encounter them just about anywhere and at any time as you go from one attraction to another, or stroll from the park to the hotel.
It’s important to know that in this setting, the characters are extremely surrounded by both young and old, all hoping to get a chance for a photo with one of the characters. Therefore, it’s difficult to see them up close and take pictures with them.
During the “Meet the Characters” meals…
Next, if you wish to spend a more intimate moment with the Disney characters, there are other places where you can meet them. It’s in a more personal setting, but also very pleasant since you can meet them during meal times. At Disneyland Paris, there are meals specifically organized for the purpose of allowing you to meet the Disney characters.
Firstly, there are breakfast options. At the Plaza Gardens Restaurant, you share an American buffet with your favorite characters. And at the Auberge de Cendrillon, a refined breakfast awaits you, offering a unique moment alongside the beautiful Disney princesses.
As for lunch and breakfast, there are two types of meals. There are those at restaurants like Auberge de Cendrillon, Inventions, or Café Mickey to enjoy a meal in the company of famous Disneyland characters. But there’s also the Hakuna Matata restaurant where you can dine alongside Mickey and Rafiki.
As you might expect, these special moments are highly coveted by everyone. Therefore, it’s imperative to make a reservation. Booking a Disney character encounter means making a meal reservation at one of the mentioned Disney restaurants where characters will be present during the meal. The characters may change, but you can be fairly certain to meet the main ones like Mickey, a princess, Chip and Dale, etc. Yes, it’s noisy, and yes, your children may spend little time eating and a lot of time smiling and looking at their heroes, but believe me, it’s really worth it when a character comes to sit at your table and takes the time to play with your kids! Because yes, the characters stop at each table and spend a few minutes just with you!
You should book the character dining restaurant as early as possible, ideally at the same time as your admission tickets or your stay, to ensure you get a spot. Generally, everything is fully booked one or two months before the day of the event.
During the Disneyland Hotel brunch
The second place where you can meet your characters is also during a meal. Indeed, the Disneyland Hotel organizes a themed brunch every Sunday. Each theme corresponds to the current season in the Disney park, as well as to what is happening on that particular Sunday (Mother’s Day, Easter, etc.). You can therefore meet six characters dressed according to the theme of the meal you are attending.
These characters, whether rare or famous, take the time to spend moments with you during your meal. They come table by table to meet you. You can even take photos with them to keep beautiful memories of this special moment. They can also sign an autograph book if you wish and if you have one.
This moment is much more interesting for you if you prefer to spend a special time with the characters present. Indeed, each person is at their table eating while waiting for the characters’ visit, which means there’s no one else around you.
Encounter a character at the Disneyland Hotel
Once you’ve finished your day, but also when you start it, you find yourself in your hotel. What better way to enjoy these moments than to take advantage at the Disney Hotel, in a smaller setting, to meet Disney characters. Indeed, there are far fewer people in the hotel than in the Disney park, which considerably reduces your wait time to meet them.
The characters from Disneyland Paris come to visit you before you head to the park. They come directly to the hotel, so you don’t have to go to them. It’s a good time saver for the rest of your day. Indeed, at the Disneyland Hotel Paris there are neither endless queues nor travel time, and quite a few characters regularly pass through the corridors for everyone’s enjoyment.
These brief moments are perfect for striking a pose alongside your favorite characters before you start your tour of the attractions.
Conclusion
So now you know where you can meet the Disneyland Paris characters. If you want to see the Disney characters quickly, just to get a closer look but not too close, and if you don’t particularly want to take photos or talk to them directly, you can enjoy their presence while walking through the park’s pathways.
On the other hand, if you really want to meet them personally, enjoy a more intimate moment, and capture it forever, you can. You can enjoy their presence in the hotels, at brunch, during meals, and at meet-and-greet locations. In any case, there are enough options for you to do what pleases you.