From Mickey Mouse and his friends to Marvel superheroes and Disney Princesses, there are so many opportunities to meet a wonderful array of characters at Disneyland Paris. It’s always so much fun interacting with the characters and watching our children’s face light up in amazement is among our greatest Disney memories. If you’re in search of characters then read on for our guide on where to meet characters at Disneyland Paris.
Where to Meet Characters at Disneyland Paris
There are lots of opportunities to meet characters at Disneyland Paris:
1 | Character Dining
Character dining is an incredible experience in Disneyland Paris and it always brings such treasured memories. There are two venues for character dining: guests can have breakfast and dinner with Disney characters at the Plaza Gardens Restaurant and lunch with the Princesses at Auberge de Cendrillon.
How to Reserve Character Dining at Disneyland Paris
Character dining is extremely popular at Disneyland Paris and the reservations are often snapped up well in advance. Guests who have booked a hotel and tickets package at Disneyland Paris are able to reserve dining slots 12 months in advance. You can add character dining at the time of booking or log into your account to add it to your reservation – click here to add character dining to your booking
If you have not booked a hotel and tickets package you can check prices on the official Disneyland Paris site – check prices now!
One of the benefits of staying in a Disney hotel is that guests can reserve character breakfasts and dinners as well as princess dining at the time of reserving the hotel (note, your reservation must be paid for in full before you can reserve character and princess dining). Staying onsite also gives early access to reservations at the most popular restaurants including Captain Jack’s, Walt’s, Chez Remy and Downtown at the New York Art of Marvel Hotel.
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If you have a meal plan, a supplement may be payable for character dining – it is dependent on your level of meal plan.
Dinner with the Disney Characters
A selection of Disney characters join guests at a buffet-style meal held in the Plaza Gardens Restaurant every evening. Mickey Mouse typically attends every evening (although no specific character appearance is guaranteed) and is accompanied by some of his friends – this can include characters such as Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Tigger, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Eeyore and Rabbit.
How to meet characters at Disneyland Paris: we met Mickey Mouse, Tigger, Eeyore, Pluto and Rabbit at our most recent character dining (December 2022)
Princess Dining
Auberge de Cendrillon, or ‘Cinderella’s Inn’, is the setting for princess dining in Disneyland Paris. It is an absolute must for princess fans and it’s one of the hottest reservations in the park. During Princess Dining, guests are treated to meet and greets with 3 or 4 of the Disney Princesses and Cinderella’s mice, Suzy and Perla.
Princess Breakfast: we attended the recently restarted Princess Breakfast on our most recent visit (Oct/Nov 2023) For our sitting, and from other recent reports, it seems 3 Princesses are in attendance at breakfast – we had a wonderful time with Merida, Jasmine and Cinderella.
Update October 2023: The Princess Breakfast has now finished Auberge de Cendrillon and is due to move to the recently reopened Disneyland Hotel. The Princess Breakfast will only be available for Castle Club and Suite residents of the hotel.
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Many of the young guests wear prince and princess costumes for their Royal dining – we picked up some lovely (and relatively inexpensive) outfits prior to travelling. Our 5-year-old was adorable in his Prince Charming costume (check prices here!) as was our 3-year-old in her Rapuzenel dress (check prices here!). You can also purchase dresses in the park but I didn’t spot any Prince Charming costumes.
As of January 2023, Princess dining costs €95 for adults and €50 for children – read more about Princess Dining on the official Disneyland Paris website here!
Disney Princesses at Disneyland Paris tip: Cinderella almost always holds court at Auberge de Cendrillion, which is no surprise given it’s her inn! Ariel, Aurora, Rapunzel and Snow White make frequent appearances with Belle, Merida and Tiana less common. Mulan makes rare appearances (I’ve seen one recent appearance) and Jasmine, Moana, Raya and Pochahontas are also very unlikely. Minnie Mouse ocassionaly attends in her princess outfit.
Character Breakfast
Like the character dinner, the character breakfast is a buffet-style breakfast served in the Plaza Gardens Restaurant. The Disney characters in attendance at breakfast are usually different to those that attend at dinner – we had Geppetto, Pinocchio, Rabbit, Tigger, Captain Hook and Mr Smee at our most recent character breakfast in November 2022.
Guests who stay at one of the Disney hotels (check Disney hotel prices here) can reserve the first breakfast sitting at 8:15am – you can enter the park through the special breakfast line (usually in the centre) and, because there’s no one else in the park, you can take some spectacular photos at the castle.
We also love the 9.15am sitting as you can take full advantage of Extra Magic Hour and then sit down to a lovely breakfast without leaving the park. Food is quite limited during Extra Magic Hour ( Cookie Kitchen on Main Street which sells chocolate-filled Mickey Mouse beignets, croissants, cookies and muffins) and most of the dining options only open at 11am so the character breakfast is the only chance for a sit down breakfast without leaving the park.
How to meet characters at Disneyland Paris: Mickey Mouse doesn’t typically make an appearance at the character breakfast – this is because Mickey, often accompanied by Minnie Mouse, is busy welcoming guests to the park from the balcony at the train station close to Main Square.
2 | Meet Mickey Mouse
There is one spot in the park where you are almost certain to find Mickey Mouse – at his permanent meet and greet location, the Meet Mickey Mouse theatre in Fantasyland. It is from here that Magician Mickey greets guests in between his magic shows when he hangs out in his dressing room backstage of the theatre!
The Meet Mickey Mouse meet and greet typically runs between 10am and 5pm daily and guests queue inside the theatre.
Where to meet characters at Disneyland Paris tip: it’s not surprising that Mickey Mouse is one of the park’s most popular meet and greets. As a result, the wait time often exceeds one hour – we waited 75 minutes on our most recent visit (Oct/Nov 2023) so time your visit well! There are usually cartoons playing on the tv screens to help pass the time in the queue.
Check out our guide on how to meet Mickey Mouse at Disneyland Paris!
3 | Princess Pavillion
The Princess Pavillion is the name given to the Disney Princess meet and greets in Disneyland Paris. Guests meet one Disney Princess in the pavilion and their identity is a surprise until they reach the top of the queue. Aurora, Arielle, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White and Tiana typically appear at the Princess Pavillion.
Where to meet characters at Disneyland Paris tip: The Princess Pavillion is one of the most popular meet and greets in the park and the wait time generally hovers around 90 minutes to 2 hours.
4 | Hero Training Centre (Marvel Avengers Campus)
The Hero Training Centre is the setting for Avengers superhero meet and greets in the Avengers Campus in Walt Disney Studios. Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Iron Man host regular meet and greets and there is also the option to pick an unnamed superhero and find out their identity at the time of the meet and greet – we met Captain Falcon this way.
The interactions are fantastic at the Hero Training Center and the Avengers superheroes will show you how to pose for awesome photos!
How to reserve a spot at the Hero Training Centre
The Hero Training Centre works by way of a virtual queue – spots are released twice daily at 10am and 2.15pm. You can join the queue for one of the listed Avengers superheroes or choose the surprise meet and greet.
You can reserve one virtual meet and greet daily and you must be in one of the parks to reserve (only guests who have activated their ticket can reserve so make sure you swipe each of your party individually upon entering the park). You can make your way to the Hero Training Centre when your countdown timer reaches zero and then you will join a short queue to meet your superhero.
5 | Meet and Greets
Every day there are meet and greets across both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. Along with the aforementioned permanent meet and greets – Mickey Mouse and the Princess Pavillion – there are scheduled meet and greets which are listed in the Disneyland Paris app. There are also some surprise meet and greets which pop up seasonally or even daily.
Regular Meet and Greets (listed on app)
As soon as you plan your visit make sure to download the official Disneyland Paris app – it is an absolute must-have for any visit to Disneyland Paris. The app lists all the information you need to know about the Disneyland and Walt Studios parks – it includes park opening hours, and parade times and lists the regular character meet and greets:
Typical meet and greets include Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Captain Hook, Chip and Dale, Max, Goofy, Jafar and Baboo in Disneyland Park. Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie (Toy Story), Olaf (Frozen) and Minnie Mouse and Friends host meet and greets in Walt Disney Studios.
Seasonal Meet and Greets include Santa, Santa Stich and Santa Goofy during the Christmas season. During the Halloween season, the Disney villains often make an appearance with Maleficent leading the way. Jack Skellington appears at both Halloween and Christmas.
Unscheduled/Pop-up Meet and Greets (not listed on app)
As well as the listed meet and greets there are pop-up meet and greets which take place throughout the park. Keep an eye out for signs listing meet and greet times, queue ropes and parasols/umbrellas marking where a meet and greet takes place:
- Phantom Manor: Mickey Mouse regularly hosts meet and greets in the pagoda close to Phantom Manor (it is the same spot where Jack Skellington hosts his Halloween and Christmas meet and greets). Mickey wears his Phanom Manor uniform.
- Cowboy Cookout: Mickey and/or Minnie usually host a meet and greet near Cowboy Cookout in Frontierland. On our most recent visit (Oct/Nov 2023) we met Minnie outside Cowboy Cookout and Goofy was close by (outside the Frontierland Playground near the Premier Access entrance to Big Thunder Mountain).
- Front Lot Walt Disney Studios: Goofy and Pluto often make an appearance in the front lot of Walt Disney Studios.
- Frontierland Lakefront: we met the awesome Scrooge McDuck in front of the lake at Frontierland on our most recent visit.
6 | Disney Hotels at Disneyland Paris
If you are staying onsite at a Disneyland Paris hotel then you might have the opportunity to meet Mickey Mouse at a hotel-specific meet and greet. Every morning/evening characters from the Mickey Mouse and Friends gang stop by the character meets at Newport Bay Club, Sequoia Lodge and Santa Fe Hotel. The meet and greets are themed to the hotel so you will often find Mickey and Minnie in nautical clothing at Newport Bay or in retro gear at Santa Fe. We’ve met Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Pluto and Max on various evenings throughout our stays in recent months.
Where to Meet Characters at Disneyland Paris tip: the characters at the hotel meet and greets are a surprise each day. We love meeting each and every one of the characters – it’s all part of the Disneyland Paris fun!
The hotel character meet and greets are an awesome perk of staying onsite at Disneyland Paris. Queues can be long for meet and greets in the parks so this is a wonderful opportunity to meet the characters without the long queues:
- Santa Fe: Mickey or Friends visit in the morning – check prices now!
- Cheyenne: Woody or Jessie visit in the morning – check prices now!
- Marvel New York: one of the Marvel superheroes visits the hotel’s Superhero Station (hotel guests only, must pre-book a slot) – check prices now!
- Sequoia: Mickey or Friends currently visit in the morning –check prices now!
- Newport Bay: Mickey or Friends visit in the evening – check prices now!
7 | Marvel Avengers Campus
The Marvel Avengers Campus in Walt Disney Studios is really unique in that the Avengers superheroes do walkabouts through the campus and perform unscheduled shows for guests. There’s no way of predicting when the shows will happen but if you hang around the Avengers Campus in the afternoon it’s highly likely you will catch some wonderful performances and experience some great character interactions.
On our most recent visit in 2023 we saw the following superheroes during our time spent visiting the Avengers Campus:
- Heroic Welcome: Avengers superheroes including Spider-Man, Thor, Captain Marvel, Captain Falcon and Iron Man appeared together on the rooftop surrounding the Quinjet aircraft while welcoming new recruits (or park guests!) to the Avengers Campus.
- Spiderman entertained with stunts and acrobatics on the roof of the Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure ride
- Thor and Loki put on a fun interactive show featuring Thor’s hammer
- Spiderman and Black Widow leapt from the rooftops close to Mission Equipment, the Marvel Campus gift store
- General Okoye taught the 5 tenets of the Dora Milaje in the Warriors of Wakanda show
- Various superheroes walked through the Campus interacting with fans and posing for photos.
Where to meet characters in Disneyland Paris tip: if you’re in the Marvel Avengers Campus in the afternoon one of our favourite things to do is grab a hot dog at the FAN-tastic Food Truck and take a break at the outdoor tables just opposite (outside the Super Diner). There’s a good chance you will catch some of the Marvel Superheros as the make their way through the campus.
8 | Character Secret Spots
If you want to catch a glimpse of the characters as they make their way to meet and greets, character dining and live shows then you need to know about these secret character spots in Disneyland Paris. The characters don’t have time to stop but they wave and allow opportunities for photographs as they pass by.
The first spot is located close to Small World and Pizzeria Bella Notte: there is a set of gates which is the location the daily parades start from.
If you are lucky and chance upon it at the right time, you might spot a Disney Princess as they make their way to Princess Pavillion or are en route to the princess dining at Auberge de Cendrillon. The princesses are really friendly and, while they don’t have time to stop to chat, they will wave at guests as they pass by. We’ve also spotted Mickey Mouse at this spot.
There is another princess walk-by location close to Auberge de Cendrillon. There is a metal fence and gate to the left of the restaurant (if you are facing Cinderella’s carriage in the courtyard of Auberge de Cendrillon). Sometimes the princesses pass through here on their way to the restaurant and you can get some photos and wave as they pass through.
Other Ways to See Characters at Disneyland Paris
There are a few other opportunities to see the Disney Characters at Disneyland Paris:
9 | Disneyland Paris Parades
The Disney stars lead the parades at Disneyland Paris and it is one of the highlights of a day in the park. The parades are dependent on when you visit but recent highlights have included the Disney Stars on Parade, the Halloween and Christmas parades and the 30th anniversary ‘It’s time to Shine’ celebration parade.
The parades are an amazing opportunity to see the Disney characters in action and the main parades have float after float filled with wonderful characters – Mickey and Minne Mouse typically lead the Dinsey stars in the parades and the princess floats are hugely popular – the parades are a rare chance to see the Frozen princesses in Disneyland Paris. Donald and Daisy Duck, the Toy Story gang and Peter Pan are all among our kids’ favourite parade characters.
As soon as the music blasts through the speakers and the floats start winding along the parade route the energy is electric as the park almost comes to a standstill. In some of the parades, the characters step of their floats and dance up a storm in the area in front of the cancel.
10 | Live Theater Shows
There are some incredible theatre shows at Disneyland Paris and they feature some wonderful Disney characters.
Mickey and the Magician: this is one of the best shows to see Mickey Mouse. It runs in Walt Disney Studios and follows Mickey as he learns the tricks of the trade as a magician’s assistant. It features some of Disney’s most popular characters including Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Elsa and Olaf.
Frozen: a Musical Invitation is a must for Frozen fans. Anna invites guests to help her surprise Elsa in this interactive show and the small theatres make for an intimate setting.
11 | Entering and leaving the park
Extra Magic Hour is one of the best perks of staying at one of the Disneyland Paris Disney hotels. It describes the hour before the standard park opening time when Disney Hotel Guests and Magic Plus and Infinity Annual Pass Holders are granted early access to the park. As a special treat during Extra Magic Hour, Mickey Mouse welcomes guests from the train station balcony overlooking Town Square – and sometimes he’s even joined by Minnie Mouse!
It’s a really great time to interact with Mickey (and Minnie if she’s there!) Mouse and it’s often quiet as many guests take advantage of the limited crowds to make their way straight to the popular rides like Big Thunder Mountain. We always have so much fun waving and dancing while Mickey blows kisses and sends love hearts from the balcony!
Mickey Mouse also waves goodbye to guests from the train station balcony at the end of the day. A wave from Mickey Mouse is always a lovely way to end the day at Disneyland Paris!
FAQ about character interactions at Disneyland Paris
If you’re wondering about how the character interactions work at Disneyland Paris then hopefully the following information helps:
1 | How long do character interactions last?
Character interactions tend to last a couple of minutes at Disneyland Paris. Most of the characters are in costume and communicate through hand gestures and movement – think Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh etc) – but the characters are fabulous at their interactions and each one is unique and special.
The meet and greets with the Disney Princesses are magical and the princesses converse with guests – the princesses remain in character at all times and speak of their stories and loves. During the Princess Dining, the character interactions are really wonderful and the princesses often check in with each table a few times as they pass by.
2 | Can I dress up as a Disney Character in Disneyland Paris?
On regular park days only children under 11 are welcome to dress in costume. Older children and adults are only permitted to dress up during specific events (e.g. during the standalone Halloween party nights).
We usually buy our costumes in advance as it tends to be less expensive.
3 | Do Characters sign autographs at Disneyland Paris?
Yes! Bring your autograph book and a pen and the characters will happily sign your autograph books at meet and greets and during character dining.
4 | Can I hug the characters?
Some characters are happy to hug guests but, out of respect, it’s best to ask each character before you dive in for a hug!
5 | Can I meet Elsa and Anna from Frozen at Disneyland Paris?
As of November 2022, Olaf is the only Frozen Meet and Greet in Disneyland Paris – the enchanted snowman hosts his meet and greet in Art of Animation in Toon Studios (Walt Disney Studios).
There are no Frozen Princess Meet and Greets at Disneyland Paris however, it is still possible to see the Frozen Princesses. Anna and Elsa appear in the Disney Stars on Parade and they can also feature in the seasonal Halloween and Christmas parades or during special events in the parks. The Frozen princesses also appear in Frozen: A Musical Invitation – it features Sven, Kristoff, Anna, Elsa and Olaf.
6 | How long do I have to queue to meet the Disney characters?
It depends on who you want to meet!
- The Princess Pavillion and Meet Mickey Mouse both tend to have long queues which can be upwards of one hour. Jack Skellington’s Halloween and Christmas meet and greets and the Stich Meet and Greet are also hugely popular – sometimes Stich meets guests during Extra Magic Hour so, if you have access, be sure to make the most of the much shorter queue.
- Queues for other meet and greets can be short if you time it well – we’ve recently met characters like Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Cowboy Cookout, Pluto and Captain Hook within less than 30 minutes of joining their queues.
7 | Do I have to book to meet characters at Disneyland Paris?
Most of the meet and greets do not have to be reserved at Disneyland Paris – you just walk up and join the queue on the day.
However, there are some meet and greets that you will need to reserve in advance:
- Character breakfasts, dinners and Princess dining: Disney hotel guests can reserve at the time of booking your Disney hotel or can add to their Disney hotel reservation at a later date via the website. If you are staying offsite you can make dining reservations 2 months in advance (with the exception of character breakfasts which open 3 days in advance)
- Marvel Avengers Hero Training Center: there is a virtual queue for this meet and greet. you need to log onto the Disney App at 10am or 2.15pm and grab your spot in the queue.
8 | Is there a list of characters that I can meet at Disneyland Paris?
There is no definitive list of the characters to meet at Disneyland Paris. This is because the characters hosting meet and greets vary at Disneyland Paris.
Although Mickey Mouse and the Princess Pavillion are permanent meet and greets the other meet and greets can vary depending on time of the year. You can check out the listed meet and greets on the Disneyland Paris app and keep an eye out for any unlisted meet and greets in the park.
