Disney World Character Meet-and-Greet Changes for This Summer (A Park by Park Breakdown)

If you’ve been planning on meeting characters at Walt Disney World this summer, you’ll want to be aware of a few changes. With the debut of Cool Kid Summer, we’ve seen a bit of a shuffle at all four theme parks. So below, we’ve provided a summary of what’s new — and what’s no longer available — with links to our updated guides to help you plan accordingly.

As always, we like to stress that character meet-and-greets are entertainment and entertainment is subject to change. Sometimes those changes happen without much notice. So our best advice is to always check the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit for exact characters, locations, and times. We have a tutorial on how to locate characters in the app here, and we recommend practicing at home.

There is, however, one caveat: you’ll need to practice earlier in the day rather than later. Each day, as a character’s last meet-and-greet time passes, their listing is removed from the app. At the end of the day, the app doesn’t list any characters. It usually says something along the lines of Shhh… all the characters are sleeping. I try to mention this so you won’t get in bed at 9:00 p.m. the night before your trip, hoping to figure it all out! Okay, now for a few summer updates!

Magic Kingdom

Here are a few of the character updates we’ve seen at Magic Kingdom.

Princess Elena of Avalor recently moved to the Town Square Theater Porch at the front of Magic Kingdom. She is listed in the character section of the My Disney Experience app. (We have photos of her new location here.) Elena formerly met alongside Cinderella at Princess Royal Fairytale Hall. You can now expect to meet a visiting princess at that location. The visiting princess may or may not be posted outside the attraction’s entrance.

Romeo McGrowl, one of the Country Bears who performs at the Country Bear Musical Jamboree, is now meeting in his updated look. You might find him roaming the area of Frontierland in front of Grizzly Hall. His times are listed in the character section of the My Disney Experience app when he’s available.

Pluto is part of the Big Top Bash at Storybook Circus for Cool Kid Summer. You’ll find him roaming the area throughout the day. (You can see a few photos of the area here.) This limited-time offering is available daily between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (You can find this offering by using the search feature in the app and searching for Big Top Bash.) Note, this is not a traditional meet-and-greet.

Stitch is now part of the Galactic Blast at the Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland. Showtimes are currently listed in the My Disney Experience app as daily from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This limited-time offering will be available from now through September 1, 2025. (Use the search feature in the app and search Galactic Blast to find this offering.) Note, this is not a traditional meet-and-greet.

See our Magic Kingdom Characters Guide for more details.

Epcot

Phineas and Ferb will have a new meet-and-greet at Epcot debuting on June 1st! This will be a limited-time offering. We’ll update this article when we know the exact location.

Goofy plays a big part in Cool Kid Summer at Epcot. He’s at Communicore Hall daily between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This offering is listed in the My Disney Experience app. (You can find it by using the search feature in the app and by searching for GoofyCore at CommuniCore Hall.) This limited-time offering will be available now through September 1, 2025. Note, this is not a traditional meet-and-greet.

See our Epcot Characters Guide for more details.

Hollywood Studios

We’ve seen the most character changes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and expect to see even more after Cool Kid Summer ends. One thing to note is that all of the character meet-and-greets around Grand Ave have ended. This area will soon close as construction begins for the new Monsters, Inc. themed land.

Here’s what we know for this summer:

The Disney Junior characters (Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, Fancy Nancy, Pluto, and Roadster Racer Mickey Mouse) are all participating in the Get Animated dance party inside the Disney Junior Play and Dance attraction. This is a temporary offering for Cool Kid Summer. The dance party is held daily between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. You can find it by using the search feature in the app and searching for Get Animated at Animation Courtyard. This offering is scheduled to last through September 1, 2025. Note, this is not a traditional meet-and-greet. If you want to formally meet Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and Fancy Nancy, you might be better off making reservations at Hollywood and Vine. See our Disney World Character Dining Guide for more details.

Several classic characters are now meeting in newly reimagined areas where the Disney Junior characters formerly met. You’ll find Max, Daisy Duck, and Chip and Dale in Animation Courtyard. They all meet intermittently throughout the day until about 5:00 p.m. These characters are listed in the character section of the My Disney Experience app. They are traditional meet-and-greets.

You might also run into Clarabelle Cow, Donald Duck, and Goofy. They are all scheduled as roaming characters in Animation Courtyard. Since they are roaming, we would not consider them a traditional meet-and-greet where you stand in line and wait your turn. If you see them, you can approach and ask for a photo or an autograph.

See our Disney’s Hollywood Studios Character Guide for more details.

Animal Kingdom

Timon and Rafiki have recently been removed from the My Disney Experience app, and they are not showing on the Cool Kid Summer maps character list. You may remember they debuted last summer at a special meet-and-greet at Rafiki’s Planet Watch to celebrate The Lion King’s anniversary. They did, however, continue to meet until recently.

Pluto has also moved from his meet-and-greet in the Dinoland, U.S.A. area to The Oasis. This is a traditional meet-and-greet. His times are listed in the character section of the app.

See our Disney’s Animal Kingdom Character Guide for more details.

Final Thoughts

As many of you know, we try our best to keep our character information as updated as possible. But with so many changes, it can be difficult, and we could miss something. Something could also very well change from the time you read one of our updates to the time you visit the park.

Again, I stress checking the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit. As a backup plan, you can always ask a character-specific cast member wearing a blue shirt for help. The best place to find a character attendant is at another character’s meet-and-greet. From our experience, they typically are in the know better than anyone else when it comes to characters.

We hope you’re able to meet lots of characters this summer at Disney World! For more details, see our Disney World Characters Guide.

In the Comments

Did you find this update helpful? Are you planning on meeting characters this summer? Let us know below in the comments section.