For many families with young children, meeting characters is an important part of a Disney World vacation. Unfortunately, lines for characters are often longer than lines for attractions themselves. Today, I begin a new series on how to meet your favorite Disney World characters without spending all day in line, starting with some of the most popular characters...the princesses!!
Princess Tip #1: If you have a little princess of your own who MUST meet Rapunzel AND Cinderella, head immediately to the Princess Fairytale Hall in Magic Kingdom at rope drop ("Disney speak" for park opening). There are two lines at the Hall: one for Rapunzel (and a visiting princess), and one for Cinderella (and a visiting princess). Get in line for Rapunzel and meet her first. When you're done meeting Rapunzel, get FASTPASSES to meet Cinderella later (or use FASTPASS+ if you're an onsite resort guest---more on that new program in a later post).
Princess Tip #2: After you meet Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall, head immediately to New Fantasyland. Here, you can meet Ariel in her grotto and Belle in her cottage (as part of the Enchanted Tales with Belle "mega-experience"). Meet Ariel in her grotto first, then head to Enchanted Tales. Ideally, you'd have a FASTPASS+ time for this attraction (if you're a Disney onsite resort guest). If you don't have a FASTPASS+ time and lines for this attraction are prohibitively long, try heading back here during the evening parade or right after the fireworks.
Princess Tip #3: Merida (from the movie Brave) meets daily in Fairytale Garden in Magic Kingdom (between Cinderella Castle and Tomorrowland), starting at 9:15am. To avoid long waits, you really need to arrive as close to 9:00am as possible. If you have two days to spend at Magic Kingdom, meet Merida first thing on one morning, and meet Rapunzel first thing on the other morning. If you only have one day at Magic Kingdom and Merida is a "must-meet" for your family, head to Merida first. Then, stroll over to New Fantasyland to meet Ariel and Belle (using a FASTPASS+ reservation, hopefully). Meet Rapunzel and Cinderella later in the day (using two FASTPASS+ reservations).
Princess Tip #4: Consider a princess character meal. Instead of spending valuable time meeting them in the parks, you can meet five or six princesses while you eat, freeing up tons of time to experience other attractions during the rest of your day! Cinderella's Royal Table at Magic Kingdom (inside Cinderella Castle) plays host to the most popular princess meal, but you can also dine with the princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot's World Showcase. It's just as elegant...and not as expensive!!
Princess Tip #5: Spread your "princess meets" out. Most people associate the Magic Kingdom with princesses, but many princesses can be met in other parks as well. Rapunzel, Merida, and Tiana appear only at Magic Kingdom, so these should be your top priorities. Cinderella and Ariel appear only at Magic Kingdom and certain character meals. All of the other princesses are available for meets at other parks.
As always, if you'd like personalized advice for how to organize your unique Disney vacation, e-mail me at disneymadeeasy@yahoo.com!
Meredith McCutcheon
Owner, Magic Minus the Mayhem: Rochester Hills, MI
