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. While not all of these changes are always popular with guests, Disney is constantly making adjustments to try and make character offerings as diverse as possible while still keeping things running efficiently around the parks.
In this month’s character update, we take a look at some rare characters set to appear for a limited time at Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom gets a new wandering creature, plus Ralph and Vanellope are on the move!
1. Kevin from UP! debuts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Image: Disney
Beginning this week, Kevin, the bird from from Up! will be appearing at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Discovery Island area of the park. Right now, this character simply wanders around the front area of the park, and guests can interact with Kevin by petting her, talking to her (she squaks back!) and taking photos with her. Right now Kevin is appearing randomly throughout the day, but eventually there will probably be times on the Disney’s Animal Kingdom times guide for this character as this character experience changes and evolves.
2. Disney Princes come to Epcot for Valentine’s Day
Though there are plenty of Princesses for guests to meet at Epcot, later this week to help celebrate Valentine’s Day, several Princesses around the World Showcase will be joined by their princes, including Prince Phillip (joining Aurora in the France Pavilion) and The Prince from Snow White in Germany. This is only going to be a one-day special event, so if you’ve wanted to meet these princes but haven’t been able to do so yet, make a date to visit Epcot this Valentine’s Day
3. Cinderella’s Carriage also making a Valentine’s Day appearance
Image: Disney
Though not technically a character, Cinderella’s Coach will be magically appearing in front of Cinderella’s Castle from February 13-15th, also to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Disney PhotoPass photographers will be on hand during this period to help guests capture their magical moments in front of this iconic carriage.
4. Ralph and Vanellope on the move at Epcot
Image: Disney
Beginning this week Wreck It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz will move from their temporary meet and greet location in Innoventions West to a permanent location in the ImageWorks area of the Imagination Pavilion. This new space is intended to house several character meet and greets in the future, with Ralph and Vanellope being just the first permanent character experience to be housed here.
5. Long lost friends schedule now available for Magic Kingdom
Last month, it was announced that as part of the yearlong Mickey and Minnie Surprise Celebration, a number of “long lost friends” would be meeting guests at the flagpole on Main Street USA. And now that this new event has completed its first few weeks, here’s what looks like current weekly schedule for this new experience:
Monday – Robin Hood and Little John (From Robin Hood)
Tuesday – Gideon and Foulfellow (From Pinocchio)
Wednesday – Remy and Emile (From Ratatouille)
Thursday – Prince John and Friar Tuck (From Robin Hood)
Friday – Judy and Nick (From Zootopia)
Saturday – Phineas and Ferb (From Phineas and Ferb)
Sunday – Chicken Little and Abby Mallard (From Chicken Little)
6. Guardians of the Galaxy – Awesome Mix Live! returning to Epcot this summer
Image: Disney
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Live! will return to performing daily at America Gardens Theater at the back of Epcot’s World Showcase this summer from June 14 through August 18. The show features Star-Lord and Gamora in person as a 7-piece alien band plays many recognizable tunes from Awesome Mix Volumes 1 & 2. Here’s the official synopsis of the show:
After saving their world from certain destruction, Peter Quill—a.k.a. Star Lord—brokered a deal with Nova Prime and the Xandarian government to bring an outreach program to his home planet. The purpose? To share Xandar’s rich heritage and culture with Earth’s people. As luck would have it, Peter informed Xandar’s leaders that there’s already a place on Earth with a similar mission… a theme park called Epcot, where all of Earth’s cultures are celebrated. So, as part of their first outreach, Xandar has sent some of their most talented performers to showcase their music!
