How To Have Even More Fun With Characters!

One of the most enjoyed aspects (for both children and grown-ups) at Disney is often the character Meet & Greets - those times that you have an opportunity to walk up to a favorite Disney character, take pictures with them, ask them to sign your autograph book, and get some good furry or royal hugs. But one thing that guests often forget is that you can actually chat it up a little bit with these characters. After all, you've waited patiently in line for your turn - take advantage of the moment! Imagine this were a "real life" situation. Would you simply walk up any other celebrity that you might have waited to see, give them a hug or a handshake, take a picture, and walk away, or would you take the opportunity to say, "Hello," ask how their day is going, and gush, just a little bit, about some reasons why you love them so much? The Disney characters are no different and it will often provoke way more fun and enjoyment out of the characters right back at you!

When my family was chatting with Aladdin and Jasmine in Moroco in Epcot's World Showcase, Aladdin, flipping through our autograph book to find a spot to sign, noticed that Merida had previously signed the book. He launched into this whole little story about how Merida had tried to teach Abu (Aladdin's monkey) how to use a bow and arrow. He pointed out an empty spot, that was clearly missing some sort of decoration, on the storefront behind him - what was once there having fallen victim to a monkey shooting an arrow! The next time we saw Merida at the Magic Kingdom, we mentioned that Aladdin had told us all about Abu and the arrow, and she was quick to point out an arrow that had gone astray and was stuck into the scenery of her own Meet & Greet location - another product of Abu's archery training! The story was hilarious, and the way that the two characters, in different parks, had this joint story about Abu was just incredible and added so much fun to our day - enough that I'm still talking about it now! And we would never have known, if we were just interested in grabbing a quick picture and moving on.

The furry characters know when they are meeting with a family who is open to a little fun, too. The

last time that we met with Chip & Dale over and Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney's Animal Kingdom (the two chimpunks now meet outside of Rafiki's Planet Watch at that park), Chip began dancing with my daughter, when her hair tie suddenly popped off of one of her pig tails! Chip went ahead and picked up the hair tie (way more dexterity than I would have believed him to have, in the fist place) and then began to put it back in her hair. He worked really hard at doing her hair properly, too! Unfortunately, hair ties were not his strong suit, due to his oversized chipmunk hands. Again, that interaction, which lasted quite some time, was a highlight of our trip, and wouldn't have happened if we were just looking for an autograph and a picture and, then, to move right along.

And this is all true whether you're meeting characters at Disney World, like in my examples, or at Disneyland, on a Disney Cruise, or even at Aulani! Just some things to think about when you're about to meet with a Disney friend. Be open to a little bit of extra fun, and they will do their best to throw some your way!

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