Character meet and greets are a big part of what makes a trip to Walt Disney World so special, and in recent months Disney has taken it upon themselves to make a number of improvements and changes to each park’s character line-up, including adding new experiences, making changes to the lineup and more.
This month, Encanto characters are set to come to the Magic Kingdom next month, a new Disney character is confirmed to be debuting later this year, plus some long-lost friends come to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!
1. Encanto characters come to the Magic Kingdom on September 15
Encanto fans will soon have the chance to enter the film’s Casita and meet Mirabel in a new meet-and-greet experience beginning on September 15. This new character greeting area will be located in Fairytale Gardens at the Magic Kingdom, where Merida used to meet guests. In addition, Bruno from Encanto will also be coming to the Magic Kingdom on this date, as part of the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade experience, which kicks off multiple times a day at this park.
2. New Disney character Asha from the movie Wish coming to Walt Disney World later this year
Though we don’t have an exact date yet, it looks like Asha from the new movie Wish will be coming to Walt Disney World later this year! Disney has posted an audition notice for look-alikes for this character, which mention being able to sign autographs, so it seems safe to assume this will be a full character meet and greet, and not just a cavalcade or parade appearance. Hopefully, more information will be released soon in advance of the opening of this film this November.
3. Stitch roaming character now appearing in Tomorrowland
Earlier this summer Stitch began roaming through Tomorrowland, providing guests with fun character moments while he interacts with them around the land. Like other roaming characters, Stitch will not stop for photos or autographs, but guests can snap a photo while he is interacting with them. Times for this experience are listed inside the My Disney Experience app, so guests who want to catch a glimpse of this character can make sure to be in Tomorrowland when Stitch is out.
Guests who want to pose with Stitch will need to wait until the hard-ticketed Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, where they can meet with Stitch dressed as Elvis for some fun photos.
4. The Seven Dwarfs return to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party after a multi-year absence
And speaking of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, the Seven Dwarfs have returned to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party for the first time since 2019. Guests can meet the Seven Dwarfs in Pete’s Silly Sideshow over in Storybook Circus during this event, and receive a free autograph card following their photo op. These characters have been quite popular on event nights thus far, commanding wait times in excess of an hour, so if you want to meet them you’ll want to make sure you are in line early!
5. Vanellope meet and greet permanently closet at EPCOT
Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph is no longer meeting guests at ImageWorks. Disney hasn’t made any official announcements, but it seems likely that the meet and greet’s closure will make way for the upcoming Figment meet and greet, which Disney originally said would debut sometime this summer.
