Where better to begin than the fairytale worlds of Fantasyland. Guests on 1st April certainly weren’t disappointed – passing by L’Arbre Enchanté opposite Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, a motley line-up of some of Disney’s storybook stars were ready and waiting, all wearing their special 15th Anniversary medals.
Featuring Lumière next to a giant “15” with the Disneyland Resort Paris logos on one side and a plain reverse, the medals are featured on a blue lanyard with the word “Welcome!” covering the design in many different languages, similar to the banners and posters all over the resort. They can currently be seen on meet ‘n’ greet characters as well as during Disney Characters’ Express.
In Fantasyland, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were more than happy to pose for photographs and sign autographs…
Though with some of the more lively characters, it takes a bit of patience…
Even a Penguin from Mary Poppins was up bright and early to meet the crowds!
Over in Frontierland, guests are treated to a picture-perfect meet ‘n’ greet spot opposite Big Thunder Mountain, with the Disney VIPs ready and waiting in their customised Frontier costumes – now also adorned with 15th Anniversary medals.
There always comes that point in scheduled character meet ‘n’ greets when the character in question has to run off for a quick break. Whilst it often produces cries of “No, Goofy! Come back!” from the stressed parents in line, some guests at the front of the queue during switch-over can be treated to, say, four of the Fab 7 all to themselves!
But if you thought meet ‘n’ greets were the only way to get up-close with Disney characters this year, think again. There is, of course, Disney Characters’ Express, which gives its stars around 15-20 minutes to run off to four Lumière-themed photo points around Central Plaza and meet guests.
Then there’s ‘Character Dining’. Already popular at The Lucky Nugget Saloon, Inventions and more, the concept has now been extended to L’Auberge du Cendrillon in Fantasyland, where guests can meet and dine amongst fairytale stars from Suzy and Perla the mice, to princes and princesses and even the fairy godmother! Seen here attempting to cross the parade route from the backstage entrance to Cinderella’s inn, she soon found an alternative route when the Dreams of Power float in front of her (which she continued to hiss and “boo” at) broke down…
But what’s that, you’re bored of these same old Disney characters? Well, stick around in Main Street each morning and you’ll be treated to a very original spectacle indeed…
The ten fluffy letters of Alpha Bet You Are, dancing along the street to themes of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “Following the Letters” (rather than “Following the Leader”), they’re free to be hugged and stroked before forming their famous ten-letter word at the foot of Main Street.
But you’d rather something less fluffy? Don’t worry – they have this covered too. For a more “mature” meet ‘n’ greet experience, you could head to Front Lot every morning at 10:30am for the ‘Red Carpet’ meeting, which sees not only classic Disney characters invade La Place des Frères Lumière but also stars from Disney Studio 1’s Ciné Folies shows, such as Dracula…
Alternatively, you might find the treasure of Adventureland and encounter Jack Sparrow himself in front of Pirates of the Caribbean, signing autographs and carousing with the ladies in perfect pirate style. But one tip – should Jack depart on one of his long-winded jaunts through the caves and across the rope bridges of Adventure Isle, it might be best to give up the chase. This pirate has a fantastic ability to completely lose his merry trail of adoring fans in an instant.
As you can see, not all of the Disney characters wear those special anniversary medals. At a mega meet ‘n’ greet session outside Cowboy Cookout Barbeque, guests could spot Brer Bear, Cowboy Goofy, the Country Bears, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Chip ‘n’ Dale. But, strangely, none were wearing their special anniversary apparel.
There we go, “More” Disney Characters indeed! Whatever the year brings, whatever the weather, whatever the time, it seems we can be sure one place will always be ready and waiting to transport us all to our own personal Wonderland…
If you enjoy Disney character photos, you might want to check out the now fully-updated Character albums of our partner site Photos Magiques, now featuring over 100 autographs and over 560 photos! Click here to go there.
