Hi Lindsey!
Welcome to planDisney! I see you are busy planning your next visit to Walt Disney World Resort, and I'm happy to chat with you more about
Lightning Lane passes and
character greetings.
Lindsey, one of my favorite things to do on our visits is meet some of our character friends. Unfortunately, Lightning Lane passes do not currently include any character meets, and I'm not aware of a way to skip the queue. I also chatted with a Cast Member who shared that, currently, there are no options available to skip the line for meeting characters.
When I visited back in September, I used a bit of strategy in planning my visits to meet some of my "must-see" characters and was able to accomplish a few greetings with relatively low wait times. One of my best tips is to head to character lines either right before or right after park entertainment, like a parade, nighttime show, or fireworks. For example, we watched the end of the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade from right in front of the Town Square Theater and then hopped in line to meet
Mickey Mouse. We also decided to check out the
Mickey & Friends greeting at EPCOT close to the start of Luminous The Symphony of Us. Most of the crowds were already gathering around World Showcase Lagoon, so the line was really short. We actually made it through all of the characters and were able to still catch the fireworks!
Did you know that you can view all available character meetings from your
My Disney Experience Mobile App while you're in the park? When inside the app, you can click the location icon from the bottom menu and then change the dropdown at the top of the map to "Characters." The map will display nearby character greetings, or you can select "Show List" in the upper right corner!
If you have a Disney Rewards Visa, don't forget that there are
two exclusive character greetings available just for cardholders - one at EPCOT and the other at Disney's Hollywood Studios. These are considered "must-dos" for me and my family on each visit. Not only do you get to meet popular characters at these locations with typically low wait times, but Disney PhotoPass photo downloads are included for free!
Another one of my favorite ways to meet characters is with
character dining. While advanced dining reservations are highly recommended for these experiences, you can always check availability this week before your trip, as last-minute reservations can open up when other Guests need to change their plans. We were also lucky to use
Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability during our visit and found a table available at Garden Grill Restaurant for a late lunch! You can find this feature on your Tip Board inside the app by changing your selected tab from "Attractions and Shows" to "Dining."
Lindsey, I hope this information was helpful and that you enjoy your upcoming visit to Walt Disney World Resort! If you have any other questions, please stop by to see us again here at planDisney!
Cheers,
Kristi