When my son was younger we rarely met characters in the parks. Our visits were always ride-focused and spent racing from one attraction to the next. I didn’t know anything about characters. So when I started Resorts Gal, I decided to put an emphasis on learning about them. At the time, I didn’t feel comfortable writing about something that I knew so little about.

Well, since that time I’ve spent hours upon hours standing in line to meet characters. We’ve been at this for nearly a decade and I’m still learning new things. But there are a few things that stand out to me that I always like to point out. So here goes:

1. Children of all ages love to meet characters. If you think your children probably won’t want to meet characters (like I did) you’re probably wrong. At the very least, give it a try. There is nothing like getting a hug from someone they regularly watch on television.
2. You need an autograph book. When you’re standing in line or at a character meal and your children see another child getting a character’s autograph, they are probably going to want one. Even if you just bring a small notebook and pen from a dollar store, you’ll make their day.
3. You might have to wait in long lines to meet characters. I’ve waited for up to two hours to cover a couple of meet-and-greets in the parks. The funny thing is–kids will wait so patiently if they know Moana or Princess Jasmine is at the end of the line.
4. You will meet the nicest people while standing in line to meet characters. (I cannot say enough good things about the people I have met while waiting to meet someone else.)
5. If you’re attending a parade, it’s a good idea to get a spot early so your children can be on the front row. Many of the characters will walk by and interact with guests. Seriously, if Snow White winks at you or Goofy shakes your child’s hand–they are going to remember that.
6. You need to know how to find characters in the parks. By that, I mean, you need to know how to work the My Disney Experience app before your trip. It is important that you check the meet-and-greets in the app on the day of your visit.

Thankfully, I can help you with that. I created a tutorial with screenshots that shows you, step-by-step, how to find characters in each park. You can pull this article up on a desktop and then practice at home. However, character meet-and-greets disappear as the day goes by. So it is better to practice this particular tutorial earlier in the day than later. If you try to do it at 7:00 p.m. you might get a message saying–you filtered out the fun.

Okay, here is the tutorial on Resorts Gal: How to Find Characters in the My Disney Experience App.

If you want to know what characters meet in the parks, you can preview the entire list in our Disney World Characters Guide.

We update our character guides regularly, but I always like to remind readers that characters are entertainment and entertainment is subject to change. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to find what characters are definitely meeting by using the app on the day of your visit.

When I’m touring with my niece and nephew or children of friends, I always let them know that we will meet a certain character if we can, and prepare them for a potentially long wait. 

Can’t Find a Character? If a character isn’t listed (who you are pretty sure meets regularly), ask a cast member wearing a blue shirt if they can help you locate them. The cast members who work the character meet-and-greets wear blue shirts and khaki pants or shorts. The best place to find them is at another meet-and-greet.

Here are our character guides for each park:

• Magic Kingdom Characters Guide
• Epcot Characters Guide
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios Characters Guide
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Characters Guide

In our next lesson we’re going over The Little Things.