Character Sightings Part 4 - The Princesses

Well, my first experience with the Princesses was this April. DH had some business in Anaheim, so I went down with him and we stayed at a hotel across the street from Disneyland for two days. During the mornings and early afternoons I would wander the park by myself. At first I thought that would be kind of weird, but I soon decided that it was really great because I could take my time and do whatever I wanted.

The first day I wandered around Toon Town and got quite a few character photos that I posted in the last entry. Then as I left Toon Town I figured that I might as well give the Princess Faire a try since it was right there.



I must admit, standing in line with all the little princesses was a bit daunting. If you have never been to the Princess Faire, you need to go over there even for a few minutes just to see what it is all about. Seriously, a little girl could pretty much just spend the whole day there. You can buy a princess outfit, complete with all (and I mean ALL) the accessories. Then you can purchase various tiaras and hair extensions and have a stylist princessify you right there (for less than $100)

All the little girls around me were admiring each other's princessness and those who hadn't been princessified were quick to beg their parents into taking them over for a little princessification before their big photo shoot.

They also have princess crafts, princess storytelling - one of the princesses comes out and tells a story to the kids, and the royal coronation ceremony where at least 3 princesses come out on stage and the little girls get to learn how to curtsy and do a princess dance.

Anyway, back to the Princess Royal Walk. You stand in line for about 90 minutes with a bunch of very princessified little girls and their moms who are constantly on the cell phone finding out where all the males in the family are and telling them when to be back.

At the end of your long wait, you will be able to take couple of pictures with three of the princesses. You don't know which three until you greet the first one. Here are the three I got the first day (it was June Gloomy in April, thus the coat with shorts. The day starts off very cool and overcast and heats up hotter than Mr. Toad's Ride!)

Princess Jasmine (in her June Gloom outfit)


Princess Cinderella


Princess Pocahontas


Day number two rolled around and I decided to hit California Adventure and get one of my favorite Malibu Mocha Frappes for the long wait in the Princess Faire line. Seeing as I missed getting my picture with my favorite princess (Belle) the day before, I was determined to give it a shot again.

That day I got:

Princess Pocahontas


Mulan (at the time I hadn't seen the movie and didn't know she isn't a princess. I guess since we don't really have any place else for her to be they figured princess and heroine were close enough and so they put her in the line up.)



Princess Aurora


While wandering around California Adventure I noted the Snow White backdrop in front of the Animation Bldg. and waiting in line three times to get pictures (in the previous posts I showed the ones with Dopey and the Old Witch) Snow White was the last one I got and when I went up to her I was so surprised that she even talked in the nasally Snow White voice. It really cracked me up!



Ariel can be found at the Princess Faire with her legs, or over in her special grotto by King Triton's pool with her fin (flipper? tail?). Currently both the pool and this grotto are under renovation. I don't know what they are doing or if it will remain like this. They are working on a whole Ariel's Island to go out in the water in DCA in front of the Ariel's Grotto Restaurant. That is not under construction right now, but I imagine they may be moving this over there eventually.



This is my favorite Ariel. I think she looks the most like the actual animated character.




As I mentioned there is a restaurant along the pier in DCA. It is fairly pricey and the food is only okay. You won't be hungry, but you certainly won't want to hurry back for the food.

Seeing as I hadn't been able to get a photo with Belle in my two Princess Faire tries, on a girls day in July, Mom, Sis and I did the Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto.


You come in and go down the stairs and are greeted by Ariel (with her legs) and she poses for pictures with the photographer and they will also use your camera.



Me, Sis, Ariel and Mom



Then you get four different princesses that come by your table while you are eating and they chat with you and take pictures with you. You don't even have to get up!

Princess Aurora


Princess Snow White


Princess Cinderella


Princess Jasmine


As you can see -- no Belle. UGH!

At this point let me note that usually in the afternoon, between 3 and 5 I have seen at least 3 of the princesses come out to the entrance area of Disneyland for photos. Last week I also saw the Fairy Godmother and the Evil Queen as well. Once after this I spotted Belle at the front entrance to Disneyland and got in line, but some guy totally cut in line to hug her and get a picture and she ended up going in just before I got to her.

That did it, from that point on I was on a quest to get my picture with Belle!

DH and I went to Disneyland for the Fourth of July. Sounds really cool, but we'll leave that for another post. It was very hot, somewhat humid, and really crowded. DH hates it when it's crowded. So we opted for no rides that day and instead, DH said he wanted to see the Princess Faire and get our pictures with the princesses. No joke, he totally wanted to do it.

We go there and the line was surprisingly short - about 30 minutes. Two college guys got in line behind us. They were from Arizona and one of the guys was going to be the photographer and the other one wanted to get pictures with the princesses so he looked like a "player." Needless to say, the "player" notices Aurora going in to the photo area and asks which princess she is. I told him that she was Aurora, but he probably knew her better as Sleeping Beauty. He said, "Oh, well, the only Disney princess I really know is Anastasia." (Don't worry -- I set him straight and gave him a quick tutorial on Disney princesses before we got up there!) None-the-less, they were really entertaining for DH and I was glad he wasn't the only guy in line.

That day we got:

Princess Minnie (I personally feel that this is cheating -- kind of like princess filler ya know?) But she is darn cute isn't she?



Princess Aurora


And Princess Jasmine (can I tell you how completely excited the "player" was that we got Jasmine? That bare midriff really makes her a favorite with the guys doesn't it?)


Alright, as you can see, no Belle AGAIN! I mean, I was starting to wonder if they had some kind of Belle Secret Service that would radio ahead and let them know I had gotten in line and to get Belle out of there.

Last week my friend Kim and I went down for the day. She has a DH and a son so they are like my DH -- all about the rides and food. We decided to do some things that she didn't normally get to do when they were with her and the Princess Faire was one of them.

We got:
Princess Jasmine (this is my favorite Jasmine)


Princess Ariel


And.....can I have a drum roll please???

That's right, Princess BELLE! Waaaaaahoooooooo! I was so incredibly excited and surprised. I haven't gotten a copy of it yet, but she was so thrilled that I was thrilled that she asked me for a hug and the photographer snapped a picture of it. It was really sweet. (I know, silly for an adult to be so excited about a character, but now that I am into this character thing it kind of takes you over!) Anyway, I'm very happy that I finally got a picture with my favorite princess.

Character Sightings Part 3

I figured it would be best to put all of the "Original Characters" meaning Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale all in one post. They are easy to find (well, except for Donald and Daisy!) and therefore most people get multiple pictures of them. I am going to try and get them in their various different outfits if I can.

Places to find these characters:

Mickey can most easily be found in Toon Town if you go through his house, into his movie barn and wait in the movie room. You have the chance to catch him in one of three outfits - Steamboat Willie, Sorcerer and Director.









The other characters are often found around Toon Town so keep your eyes open!







We found Pluto over in Tomorrowland once.



Right now you can find all the characters in the plaza at the entrance to Main Street. They are currently wearing their Year of a Million Dreams blue outfits. (obviously I still need Minnie)









They have different outfits over at Disney's California Adventure. So far this year I haven't spent enough time over there to get a picture with any of them in their beach wear, but here are a few of them in their Halloweentime Candy Corn Acres attire.

Character Sightings Part 2

I had a vacation this week from work, so I had the privilege of being able to go down to Disneyland three times. You'd think I would get tired of it, but honestly, each time I am there I see something new or different or get to experience something I haven't.

In keeping with the character theme of my last post, I am including some more shots of characters from both parks. I'll try and include information as to when and where we saw them so that it might help you if you are character hunting on your next trip.

Again, some characters are easy to pose with and others are more "free spirited" and I was lucky just to get a shot of them.

This is Peter Pan, or on this day he was aka "Pete!" He was literally running around Fantasyland and I finally had to yell out, "Hey Pete!" to get this shot. I have seen him in Fantasyland (mid day and on Main Street - see Mad Hatter photo below)


We spotted Pinocchio and Gepetto skipping with some kids one afternoon in December. I haven't seen them since.



Merlin can be found doing his Sword in the Stone show several times each day. I love that he is peeking over at me in this picture even though he was pointing the stick at someone to the far left of me. He was the first CM on July 4th of compliment my homemade flag ears (seen in the picture at the top of the page.)



Jack Sparrow is pretty easily found these days. He has a special section set up on the north east corner of Tom Sawyer's Island and he comes out several times throughout the day. He is one of the "free spirited" characters and he does not pose for pictures. He wanders around looking at people's bling and stealing women's purses. You just have to have someone with a camera following you around and hope you get a good one. He is one of the few characters that still freaks me out and I only take pictures of him and then get out of there!



Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger are pretty easy to find. They have their own area of Critter Country with backdrops and everything. I have yet to see Piglet back there, but would love to hear from anyone if they have seen Piglet in this area. If so, I may have to set up camp around Pooh Corner and wait for my chance!





We ran into Cruella this May afternoon in the Main Plaza. She is usually found there both mornings and afternoons. She rarely has a handler, so you sometimes have to just jump in for a picture. For some reason if there is no handler, people forget how to form a line and wait their turn, so be sure you bring your patience when waiting for this picture.



Bert, Mary and the penguin are some of those "free spirited" characters. They usually roam all around the Main Street area. Sometimes venturing into Fantasyland. They don't have a handler and don't often set up in an area for pictures.



Peter, Alice, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit are all "free spirited" characters. They love to play around and get guests involved in their capers. They are tough to get pictures with, but you can easily get pictures of them! I have seen them out in the front entrance, along Main Street and over near the tea cups.






The Evil Queen can be found over in DCA in October in front of the Golden Screams theater. Yesterday I spotted her out in the front entrance while three of the princesses, and the Fairy Godmother were posing for pictures. She had not set up in an area and I had to run after her and yell, "Your majesty! May I please get a picture with you??"



Disney's California Adventure:

I found Mater and Lightening in the little area across from Soarin' Over California. I haven't seen them there in over a year now.



The Green Army Men are another bunch of "free spirit" characters. This guy was running around DCA in June to promote the opening of Toy Story Midway Mania. We were on our way to the Princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto so I didn't want to lay on the ground and get my shirt dirty.


I spotted Flick and Princess Atta in the Bug's Land area. I have seen them there in the morning/early afternoon.




For several months this last year they had the original sketches, cels and concepts for the Snow White movie on display in the Animation Bldg on Hollywood Blvd. Out in front they had this cottage backdrop set up and several characters took turns taking pictures out in front. I waited in line three times this day to get the Old Witch, Dopey and Snow White.


Sully can by found back to the right of the entrance to the Monster's Inc ride. He cannot sign autographs, only take pictures.

Rare Character Sightings

I'll readily admit that until the last few months I haven't been big on getting any pictures with characters. In all honesty, they pretty much freak me out. I don't like that there is someone in the costume and I can't see their face. I don't like clowns either.

But, through the Disney Challenge on Two Peas, I have finally become inspired to try and get some pictures of characters. Someone on Two Peas shared a site that records characters spotted around WDW and how common or rare the character is. (I have a link to the site in the sidebar). I really enjoyed reading up on whcih characters were around the parks and how rare some of them are. It made me start to look for characters at Disneyland and try to see which ones I could never find.

I got my first character picture in May of 2007 with my sister. She wanted a picture with Eeyore and Tigger was with him hogging the camera so I was dispatched to take a picture with her and try to distract Tigger. It worked pretty well and ended up being an okay experience.



Then a few months later I ran into Cinderella's Fairy Godmother (I call her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo) and she wasn't scary at all because I could see her face. I have seen her in the Main Plaza area and out at the front entrance.





On Girl's Day during Dec. of 2007, Eeyore came to our table for pictures which was great! and then Goofy jumped in to our official Christmas tree picture.


These events were enough to really break the ice for me. I decided that 2008 was going to be a year for me to get as many character shots as I could. Below are some of the rare characters we haven't seen very often around Disneyland or DCA. Some I was able to snap a picture with, others I just stood in line and was only able to get a quick shot before they left.

Governor Radcliff - Golden Screams Theater DCA in October


Prince John - Golden Screams Theater DCA in October


Evil Queen - Golden Screams Theater DCA in October


Jane and Terk - Disneyland Entrance


I have multiple pictures of Jasmine from the Princess meal at Ariel's Grotto and the Princess Faire, but I have only scene Aladdin out this one time. Disneyland entrance.


Suzy Mouse - Disneyland Main Plaza




Old Witch - DCS - Animation Bldg - special event


Baloo - Disneyland Mainstreet


I just go this one yesterday!! Finally!!! Disneyland Mainstreet