Disney theme parks have given children, teens and adults the opportunity to meet many of the characters featured in the company's animated and live action films ever since Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif., in 1955.
Original characters featured in the early years, of course, included Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Three Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, and even Tom Sawyer. When Disney World opened in 1971, the theme park added more characters that had been developed since the Disneyland opening, such as Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and the Aristocats.
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The list of Disney characters featured in the theme parks' various parades and meet and greets has grown exponentially since "The Little Mermaid" was released in 1989. Joining classic princesses, such as Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in recent years have been Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," Princess Tiana from "Princess and the Frog," Anna from "Frozen," as well as Queen Elsa from "Frozen."
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Characters Are Available to Meet Around Disney Parks
At Disneyland, Mickey's House and Minnie's House in Toontown will be available for occasional meet and greets with Mickey and Minnie when the refurbished area reopens on March 19. Other meet and greets are also staged with other characters around the park as well.
At Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Mickey and Minnie conduct meet and greets at the Town Square Theater. At Epcot, Mickey is at the Garden Grill Character Dining, Minnie is at World Showcase Plaza, Goofy is near Spaceship Earth, Donald Duck is at Mexico Pavilion and Daisy Duck is at International Gateway, The Park Prodigy reports. At Hollywood Studios, Mickey and Minnie appear at Red Carpet Dreams, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck are at the park entrance and Goofy is at the Tower of Terror queue. At Animal Kingdom, you can catch Mickey and Minnie in their safari attire at Adventurers Outpost and they will be at Tusker House character dining, along with Goofy, Donald and Daisy.
For years before Disneyland and Disney World's Hollywood Studios opened their Star Wars Galaxy's Edge themed areas, guests at Disney's parks might run across Darth Vader or any number of Stormtroopers marching through the grounds or even the Star Tours ride line.
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The parks focused more on their Star Wars characters once Disney opened Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in May 2019, and at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios in August 2019. Since the new area openings, guests can often see characters roaming the land, such as many more Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren, Rey, R2-D2, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Vi Moradi, and, of course, Chewbacca and Darth Vader.
Hollywood Studios' Galaxy's Edge on March 1 staged a surprise guest visit with The Mandalorian and Grogu that attracted large crowds to the Star Wars-themed area once social media got a hold of the news, according to Blog Mickey. The unannounced visit was likely a promotional appearance in conjunction with the March 1 premiere of Season 3 of "The Mandalorian" on Disney+. Disney World has not yet revealed when The Mandalorian and Grogu will make regular appearances at Galaxy's Edge, though.
The Mandalorian and Grogu already made their debut at Disneyland in November after Disney revealed the news at the D23 Expo in September.
