Hi April,
Thanks so much, we love helping guests plan their Disney vacations! Great news, there are so many places you can meet the Disney characters.
You will be able to dine with a number of Disney characters at select restaurants. Take a look
here for a list of character dining restaraunt locations. However, if you prefer, the characters are out and about at the parks. Magic Kingdom may be the best place to start. Visit Mickey's Toontown to peek inside Minnie and Mickey's homes. You will be able to meet the big cheese himself inside the Judge's Tent and if you head over to Exposition Hall you will find a great number of his friends, including Tink and her fairy friends who has just recently set up a second home there. Near the front of Magic Kingdom across from City Hall, many of your favorites pop in and out throughout the day. You can usually find Pooh and friends back near the Winnie the Pooh attraction and of course Ariel has her own Grotto in the back of Fantasyland.
If you happen to be at Hollywood Studios, the Disney stars love to drop in for a visit. Be sure to check out the area near the large Mickey Sorcerer hat. Buzz and Woody are back near Toy Story Midway Mania and you can often find the Power Rangers as well as Playhouse Disney pals here. Epcot has a great Character Connection location near Innoventions where you can visit the Disney pals.
The best thing to do is check the park map for the marked character locations, but keep your eyes peeled as some of the pals like to pop out in unknown places for a quick hello. Id you are having trouble locating your favorite, ask a Disney Cat member. They have a special hotline number they can call where Mickey's operator will let you know if that pal is visiting with guests that day.