EPCOT Character Spot Refurb and Character Changes

[Len90]

One thing that has been pretty quiet is the refurbishment to the EPCOT character spot. It quietly closed in October 2012 and is finally reopening this month (June 2013). As everyone remembers it used to offer Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. When it closed for the refurb, Disney opened a temporary location next door with three characters. Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto. Donald was to be only in Mexico and Goofy replaced Stitch at the front of the park. The new permanent location has just started opening up and it will now two rooms of three characters (Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto). To go along with the cutback is the addition of Fastpass + to the character spot and the elimination of Daisy from the front of the park. Daisy is now no longer scheduled at EPCOT and Goofy moves over to the mural at the front of the park.

To me this is upsetting as EPCOT was the last place you were still able to find Donald scheduled in his sailor suit and see Daisy in her normal attire. It also brings up the discussion of has Disney gone too far with worrying about the speed of getting through character meets. It's bad enough we have three Mickey rehearsal rooms in MK and now will have two Character Spots in EPCOT. It also is upsetting how we are losing out on lots of other characters now because of this. It's becoming almost impossible to find rarer characters now.

[Amy]

One thing that has been pretty quiet is the refurbishment to the EPCOT character spot. It quietly closed in October 2012 and is finally reopening this month (June 2013). As everyone remembers it used to offer Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. When it closed for the refurb, Disney opened a temporary location next door with three characters. Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto. Donald was to be only in Mexico and Goofy replaced Stitch at the front of the park. The new permanent location has just started opening up and it will now two rooms of three characters (Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto). To go along with the cutback is the addition of Fastpass + to the character spot and the elimination of Daisy from the front of the park. Daisy is now no longer scheduled at EPCOT and Goofy moves over to the mural at the front of the park.

To me this is upsetting as EPCOT was the last place you were still able to find Donald scheduled in his sailor suit and see Daisy in her normal attire. It also brings up the discussion of has Disney gone too far with worrying about the speed of getting through character meets. It's bad enough we have three Mickey rehearsal rooms in MK and now will have two Character Spots in EPCOT. It also is upsetting how we are losing out on lots of other characters now because of this. It's becoming almost impossible to find rarer characters now.

That really was a quiet refurb as I hadn't heard anything about it. It is sad that they are taking more and more of the characters away. I suppose most guests enjoy having a dedicated spot where they know they will be able to interact and take a photo with their favorite characters, but it takes some of the fun away as well. I remember the days when you could run up to a character and take a picture or get an autograph. Daisy was one of those characters you could still sort of do that with as there was never really a line, and unless you were looking for her on the side, many people didn't notice her. Hopefully they will find a place for her once again. Where is the mural that you mentioned Goofy will be hanging out by? I can't seem to place a mural in the front of EPCOT

[sfein]

Does that mean no more character bus (or is that gone already - haven't been back to Epcot since 2010)?

[Len90]

Amy the mural is off to the right in the Legacy Plaza West. It's right where you would always find Daisy and Stitch in the past.

Does that mean no more character bus (or is that gone already - haven't been back to Epcot since 2010)?

The character bus has not been there for years now. I honestly think the bus is now part of the Main Street vehicles and can be seen if they run the Rainy Day Character Cavalcade.

[yodiwan1]

wow this sucks. My daughter loves Daisy! We really don't wnt to have breakfast at the AK on our trip just to see her! lol

[Len90]

wow this sucks. My daughter loves Daisy! We really don't wnt to have breakfast at the AK on our trip just to see her! lol

You can catch Daisy over in the Pete's Silly Side Show near the Casey Jr. Splash area. She won't be in her usual outfit though. There are two sides to the meet and greet, each with a separate queue there. One side is Minnie and Daisy and the other is Goofy and Donald.

[yodiwan1]

wow this sucks. My daughter loves Daisy! We really don't wnt to have breakfast at the AK on our trip just to see her! lol

You can catch Daisy over in the Pete's Silly Side Show near the Casey Jr. Splash area. She won't be in her usual outfit though. There are two sides to the meet and greet, each with a separate queue there. One side is Minnie and Daisy and the other is Goofy and Donald.

It really is depressing that it has been so long since I was there that I forgot reading about that!

[Len90]

It really is depressing that it has been so long since I was there that I forgot reading about that!

No worries, I actually forgot about that until I asked a CM what time Daisy greets at the flagpole until. As for that meet and greet, head there towards closing and you should be able to have it all to yourself. That's what we got and they actually allowed us to just walk around instead of entering and exiting for each side. I wasn't a fan of the lighting in there or the costumes, but it was a quiet meet and greet area.

Also keep in mind the princesses will be moving from the the theater to the former Snow White attraction. It probably will allow for more princesses since there are only three at a time available in Town Square. Also Minnie has been removed from the theater to the back of the park. She will only appear with Mickey at the theater for special events. So much for getting to see the two of them together. It should be interesting to see what becomes of the space in townsquare. Will Pluto get a permanent spot or will it be for special characters like the space in Animation courtyard.

[cy1229]

Well you could always do a character breakfast or dinner if you want to see Daisy.

[Len90]

Well you could always do a character breakfast or dinner if you want to see Daisy.

It's not even that. It's the whole idea of limiting the variety of characters you can see in the park. I also think that going with these multiple room setups Disney is looking for a problem. Kids can start wondering why the people in line in front of them are no longer in line in front of them in the room.

[cy1229]

Well you could always do a character breakfast or dinner if you want to see Daisy.

It's not even that. It's the whole idea of limiting the variety of characters you can see in the park. I also think that going with these multiple room setups Disney is looking for a problem. Kids can start wondering why the people in line in front of them are no longer in line in front of them in the room.

I know. The children in a certain age bracket really, really enjoy seeing their favorite characters live in person. If they kept making new films with Mickey, Minnie, and the gang, I think kids would be more excited than they are. Eliminating or restricting the variety of the characters makes me think they should eliminate them altogether. But that's never going to happen.

[Amy]

Well you could always do a character breakfast or dinner if you want to see Daisy.

It's not even that. It's the whole idea of limiting the variety of characters you can see in the park. I also think that going with these multiple room setups Disney is looking for a problem. Kids can start wondering why the people in line in front of them are no longer in line in front of them in the room.

I had to read this about 4 times before I finally understood what you were saying Len ~ I don't know if I am tired or a little part of my mind couldn't reconcile what you were implying

[Len90]

Well you could always do a character breakfast or dinner if you want to see Daisy.

It's not even that. It's the whole idea of limiting the variety of characters you can see in the park. I also think that going with these multiple room setups Disney is looking for a problem. Kids can start wondering why the people in line in front of them are no longer in line in front of them in the room.

I had to read this about 4 times before I finally understood what you were saying Len ~ I don't know if I am tired or a little part of my mind couldn't reconcile what you were implying

Wow that is bad grammar on my part

Let's try it this way:

It's not the character meals that I am even thinking about. I am troubled by the idea of limiting the variety of characters you are now able to see at the parks. I also think Disney is making a huge mistake with the latest meet and greet locations. The townsquare theater splits to at least three rehearsal rooms. Now the character spot will have two different rooms as well. Disney is assuming now that kids won't wonder how the family in front of them in the queue may no longer be in front of them when visiting the characters. Secondly, it can be troublesome to see families coming out of another doorway when leaving the theater. To me it seems like poor thinking and planning on disney's part.

I understand Disney wants to get everyone through the lines quickly since people do always complain about losing so much time waiting in line. However, there are too many costs coming along with this in terms of missing out on characters and giving away the magic.

[metsofny]

so the sun bleached the carpet?

[Amy]

I wonder if kids even think about what you are mentioning though Len. I would guess the excitement of seeing their favorite characters probably overrides any curiosity of what is behind other doors. Kids, and most adults, are so self-centered, they aren't really paying too much attention to what is happening to others so I doubt there would be many problems. And if a kid is curious, I'm guessing parents can assuage their concerns fairly easily.