Everyone goes to Disney for different things. Some enjoy riding as many rides as possible, whereas others prefer hunting down their favourite characters to have a one-on-one bonding experience that is finished off with some epic photos.
My family and I personally love to mix a bit of both throughout the Magic Kingdom park.
To help you make the most of your day, I’ve put together the ultimate Magic Kingdom characters guide, so you don’t waste any time in finding your most beloved Disney characters including Disney princesses, Stitch, Buzz, Captain Jack Sparrow and more!
Magic Kingdom Characters Guide: My Disney Experience App
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Disney has made finding characters that little bit easier with their My Disney Experience app. The app, which you can download to your mobile device, has a ton of cool features to help you plan your perfect Disney day.
Some of the app features include an interactive map with updated ride wait times, the ability to book restaurant reservations before and during your visit, and of course, the locations and schedules of your treasured Disney characters. If you’re clueless when it comes to technology, here is a step-by-step guide on how to use the My Disney Experience App to find characters throughout the parks.
To find the character schedule, you’ll need to open the interactive map and click the top drop-down section, which will say wait times by default. This drop-down will then show you a range of different categories, but as you’re looking for characters, you can go ahead and click characters.
From there, you can also filter the map to only Magic Kingdom and then you’ll be able to see where characters are all over the park.
If you’re looking for a specific character, there is also a list view option at the top right-hand corner of the map, which will show you all of the characters in a much simpler form.
By clicking on the character you want to meet and greet with, a window will pop up with information on where to find them and the times they’ll be in that location.
You should aim to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled meet and greet times as queues form fairly quickly.
I also want to point out that you don’t need to wait until entering the park to have access to all this information. You can download the app ahead of your trip and create an itinerary for your day in the parks. I highly recommend doing this so you can familiarise yourself with the park and so you don’t miss out on any of the rides or characters on your Disney bucket list.
Magic Kingdom Characters Guide: Character Meet and Greets at Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom is one of the best parks for character meet and greets, and although the pandemic put a halt to meeting characters, the parks are slowly introducing the experience back. Here is a list of the characters you can meet and their locations throughout the Magic Kingdom park.
Throughout the day, you will see cavalcades and shows and often spot more characters at the top of the train station near the main entrance too! More on this below!
Main Street, U.S.A
- Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theater
- Snow White Town Square Theater Porch
Tomorrowland
- Stitch next to the Stitch’s Great Escape ride sighting at Rocket Tower Plaza Stage
- Buzz Lightyear at Rocket Tower Plaza Stage
Fantasyland
- Anastasia and Drizella at Cinderella Fountain
- Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Cinderella at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Elena of Avalor at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Belle at Maurice’s Cottage
- Merida in Fairytale Garden
- Peter Pan at Neverland Map
- Chip and Dale at Storybook Circus
- Donald Duck and Goofy at Pete’s Silly Sideshow (returning soon!)
- Daisy Duck and Pluto at Pete’s Silly Sideshow (returning soon!)
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger at the Thotful Spot (returning soon!)
Frontierland
- Country Bears at the Frontierland Balcony
Adventureland
- Captain Jack Sparrow across from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride
- Aladdin and Jasmine in the Agrabah Bazaar
Random Sightings
Meet, and greets aren’t the only way to see your favourite characters, as you can also spot them on parades, cavalcades (smaller and shorter parades), or randomly throughout the park. You can find the parade and cavalcade times on the My Disney Experience app, but the characters that pop up out of nowhere, unfortunately, aren’t recorded, so really, it’s all about luck.
Magic Kingdom Characters Guide: Character Dining at Magic Kingdom
Along with character meet and greets all over the park, there are also a few character meals at Magic Kingdom where you can sit down, enjoy a meal and be greeted by some of Disney’s most iconic characters.
It is important to note that all character dining experiences are held at table service restaurants. Table service restaurants need to be booked before your trip as reservations fill up fast. With that being said, however, it sometimes is possible to secure a table on the day but to avoid disappointment it’s best to book in advance.
Cinderella’s Royal Table
The most sought-after dining experience in the entire Magic Kingdom park is by far the Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella’s Castle itself. Not only do you get to dine and feel like royalty, but you also get the opportunity to meet Cinderella before a cast member seats you at your table.
Prior to the pandemic, a range of Disney princesses would also make their way through the castle during seatings, but as of right now, you can only meet Cinderella before entering.
The Crystal Palace
The second character dining experience in Magic Kingdom is found at The Crystal Palace, however, as of this writing, it is currently unavailable. Once everything returns to normal throughout the Disney parks, you’ll be able to dine in the beautiful greenhouse-inspired palace with the likes of Winnie the Pooh and all of his Hundred-Acre Wood friends.
Be Our Guest
If you’ve booked in for the dinner service at the Be Our Guest restaurant, then lucky you, you’ll get to meet the Beast. Unfortunately, he only appears at dinner, so book accordingly if you wish to meet him.
Magic Kingdom Characters Guide: The Best Locations for Taking Photos of Characters
Of course, the best photos you’ll get of the Disney characters are during the meet and greets, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only decent photos you’ll get of them that day.
There are also parades and cavalcades that run throughout the park. You can find information about these on the entertainment section in the drop-down menu of the interactive My Disney Experience map.
Parades and cavalcades are a great way to see lots of characters all in one go, and as they’re on beautifully decorated floats, it makes the photos even better.
Knowing exactly where and when they are appearing is really useful! The Disney app My Disney Experience Genie has this information!
Train Station Bridge at the front of the Magic Kingdom park is another fantastic spot to see and take photos of Disney characters. The characters change from day to day so, with every visit, you’ll get to see different characters waving hello!
THE BEST PLACE to get a really good close up is to the right of the bridge as you are facing the bridge. Right by the little kiosk with red umbrellas, pictured below.
Then you get this close as the characters walk straight past you!
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