Live-Action Ariel Meet-and-Greet Relocating to Echo Lake at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The live-action Ariel meet-and-greet will soon move to a new location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Ariel has been meeting inside Walt Disney Presents since the live-action version of The Little Mermaid debuted in May of 2023. Per the Walt Disney World website, Ariel’s meet-and-greet will be “temporarily unavailable” beginning October 28, 2025. At this time, we are unsure if the meet-and-greet will return to Walt Disney Presents in the future or if it will be replaced. Here is the exact wording of the announcement.

Meet Ariel at Walt Disney Presents will be temporarily unavailable beginning October 28. Ariel will be greeting guests at Echo Lake, near 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

Walt Disney World Statement

Ariel with braids and a long blue land dress at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Guests hoping to meet Ariel will want to check the My Disney Experience app on the day of their visit for her exact location and times. Here are the steps for using the app to locate characters:

Open the My Disney Experience app and select the pin drop at the bottom of the home screen.
Scroll (left to right) through the icons at the top of the screen and select “Characters.”
After selecting characters, use the locations drop-down to select the park of your choice.
Then, on the bottom right of the screen, select “Show List.”
Scroll through the list of characters with their times and locations.
As an alternative, you can use the map view to locate characters.

*As the day passes, you might notice that characters disappear from the app. When their last scheduled time passes, the meet-and-greet automatically disappears. A new schedule won’t be loaded until the following day. It is essential to check the app for meet-and-greets on the day of your visit.

Learn More: Complete Screenshot Tutorial for Locating Characters at Disney World

For more on Ariel at Walt Disney World, you might like the following:

Or see our entire list of character meet-and-greets for Disney World.

More Planning

At Resorts Gal, we specialize in helping you plan the perfect Disney World vacation. Start with our Disney World Resorts Guide for an overview of every resort hotel, or explore our Disney World Dining Guide and Disney World Transportation Guide to plan where to eat and how to get around. If you plan to meet characters in the parks, we have an updated list of Disney World Characters. It includes every available character meet-and-greet in the parks and where to find rare characters throughout the year. Our Disney Parks Guide provides a complete overview of all four theme parks and water parks.