Hello Naomh!
Welcome to planDisney! I love meeting characters in Walt Disney World as they are so lovable and I think I have more fun than my kids!
Now, there are so many ways to meet characters in Walt Disney World! From
Character Dining, and special meet and greets like
Ariel at her Grotto, to surprise appearances as you walk through the Parks there are a ton of ways to make a new best friend!
Now, when you refer to “sightings” I think you are referring to the casual Park walk-throughs that sometimes happen in the Parks at certain times of the day. These sightings can be found on your
My Disney Experience app. If you can’t download this app while in the UK it will be ready to download when you land stateside. What you need to do is click on the map icon, select from the drop-down “Characters” and then to make it easier select “Show List” on the top right. This will give you a list of all the characters in the Parks right now and where they are. The ones that are more likely to be “sightings” are characters in
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Rey, the Stormtroopers, and Kylo Ren are on a mission or patrolling the area and are usually not able to stop for posed photos or autographs. I have taken a quick selfie with them in the background as they passed and witnessed them have conversations with other visitors to Batuu. If you want some steadier images with your favorite Star Wars characters I would suggest heading to
Star Wars Launch Bay. On my last trip in December 2022, I met
Chewbacca and BB-8 and while they did not do autographs I did get some great photos.
There are other sightings that you may catch at Magic Kingdom such as Peter Pan and Anastasia and Drizella which are a little different in that they do sign autographs but a
PhotoPass photographer is many times not always with them. You can of course, always use your camera!
I hope this helps and I hope you capture every memory you really want! Make sure to ask the characters a question about their story and you will find them to be more than willing to answer. I especially love letting Donald Duck know that he is number 1 in my heart!
I hope you have a great holiday! Let me know if you have any more questions!
-Nimmy