How much $$ for food (if we DON'T do dining plan)

[JTsMom]

Wow Beth, you are a wealth of information! Thank you for typing that all out for us.

I didn't even realize there was a character greeting area in Epcot. I knew there was one for Disney Visa people, but the one you mentioned is for everyone, right?

Luckily, DS is not a princess fan, so that knocks out most of them for me! He is a Mickey fanatic though, and never got tired of saying hi to him, and hugging him.

We did happen upon the Pooh characters at AK, and that was awesome! A CM actually pulled us aside to go meet them, as there was absolutely nobody there! The characters were all decked out in their holiday wear too, which was cute. We got some awesome pics- even one of all three of us. The Photopass guy took so many pics, and we were able to take a lot of time there. For anyone who is interested, it's just outside of the Dinoland (or whatever it's called) section, down a trail, kind of hidden.

[egoldber]

The character place in Epcot is called the "Character Connection". It's on the map. And yes, it's for everyone. I've heard about the one for Visa folks and maybe AAA? but I've never explored those.

The AK character greeting right outside Dinoland is also on the map. The entrance is basically right across from the Flame Tree BBQ and kind of behind the restrooms outside Dinoland. There is a sign right there that lists the times that the characters appear. It also have the advantage of being pretty shaded, which is nice, and because of that is not as obvious to people as the more popular character greeting locations near the Lion King show, which generally get SWAMPED when a show lets out.

[fivi2]

We went to the AK one by FOTLK right after a show started, though, and it was empty. We saw all the characters without a wait at all. (It was a very slow time of year). Some bear character I didn't recognize was also walking around that area with no one near him. The girls danced with him a while.

Also, there were a few characters out at Rafiki's Planet watch with no lines. Jiminy Cricket and someone else... Can't remember who. Again, the girls didn't know who they were, but were in love with all the characters anyway!

We totally missed Pooh by Dinoland, though! Thanks for the heads up for next time!

[egoldber]

Some bear character I didn't recognize was also walking around that area with no one near him.

That was probably Koda or Kenai from Brother Bear, a movie I do NOT recommend for your girls LOL!!!! But they are often there.

You can also often find Balou (sp?) and King Louie from The Jungle Book across from the drums in Africa in the AK.

Yes, I forgot about the characters at Rafiki's Planet Watch. We have found Pocahontas there many times.

Sometimes you can also find Pocahontas in Adventureland at the AK. Also on the VERY backside of Adventureland, kind of behind Pirates of the Caribbean, near where the afternoon parade starts, you can often find Peter Pan and Wendy. We had the BEST interaction there once when Amy was an infant. The way I had Amy dressed that day she looked like a little pixie and PP and Wendy kept going on and on about how they wanted to fly off to Neverland with little pixie. I have a really sweet picture of them touching her face (very gently). PP wrote a really nice page in our autograph book.

And Captain Hook and Mr. Smee regularly hang out in Adventureland as well and their line is never really that long. Captain Hook also has great interaction.

Did I mention we really love characters?

I think part of the reason we don't want the DDP is that then we would have to curtail our "out of restaurant" character experiences. The interaction outside the restaurants is soooo much better. The characters in the restaurants always seem like they are in a hurry.

[JTsMom]

Aside from seeing Alice in passing, Mary Poppins from high up on Dumbo, and rushing by characters with insanely long lines at DHS (Daisy and some green Army men), and Buzz (also a long line) in Tommorowland, we haven't seen any out and about!

Most of the meals are pretty rushed- especially Chef Mickey's. The exception, IME, was Garden Grill. Everyone came by twice there, stayed for quite a while, took pics with everyone, and it felt more private b/c of the way it's set up. Mickey even played cars with Jason- he was on cloud 9.

[egoldber]

Mary Poppins from high up on Dumbo

Ah yes, MP often comes through Fantasyland and rides the carrousel. We got lucky and Sarah got to ride the Carrousel with her once. She was in heaven!!!

I do think that GG is one of the better character meals. I really don't like CM.

[billysmommy]

Capt Hook and Mr Smee are wonderful!!! We've always had the best times with them. Billy loves to wear his Peter Pan costume and Capt Hook fights him every time

Peter Pan and Wendy's spot is down the path that leads to the bathroom and there we've only had to actually stand in line once ~ it seems like an odd spot but is nice and shady.

We also love the Character Connection in Epcot ~ rarely busy and the air conditioning is a nice break.

One of the best interactions we've had was at the princess breakfast in the castle. Billy told Cinderella downstairs that he was there to protect her and all the princesses. One of the CM's must have heard because when we got upstairs all the CM's started talking about how this was the prince who was coming to save the princesses. Our waiter then said something to him also. Aurora was first to stop at our table and she asked him if he really was going to rescue them all. He said yes and she went to get all the other princesses to come and thank him. We'd never seen Billy blush before. Snow White danced with him and then they all said good-bye. They covered Benjamin's face with kisses and he still talks about how he wants to get more "princess kisses" . It was really magical for them

[WitMom]

We decided to do the dining plan after all, so my original question is no longer relevant. BUT I wanted to say thanks to everyone for the additional information on characters. That is awesome info to know!