Mad Hatter Surprises Guests in the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot

A very merry unbirthday to you! It is indeed a very merry unbirthday if you run into the Mad Hatter. We recently caught him making a surprise character pop-up with Alice in the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot. Unfortunately, the Mad Hatter hasn’t had a traditional meet-and-greet at Walt Disney World in quite some time. He formerly made appearances with Alice near the Mad Tea Party at Magic Kingdom. But these days, Alice’s only meet-and-greet is in front of the Tea Caddy at Epcot.

When I initially walked past this location, I was on my way to meet Daisy at the International Gateway. She has returned to that location since the Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet opened. So it was only by chance that I ran into the endearing friends from Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, the line had already been cut. But the cast member said they would return for one final set at 3:45 p.m. I returned at 3:35 p.m. and wasn’t surprised to find a number of guests already forming a line.

Thankfully, I was still near the front of the line and didn’t have to wait too long. Approximately 40 guests were waiting by the time the pair returned. Another cast member cut the line as soon as they began greeting guests. Remember, you always want to get in line early. You run the risk of not being able to join the line if you arrive late. (In other words, don’t be like the White Rabbit, who’s always running late for very important dates!)

After chatting with Alice and the Mad Hatter, I asked if they minded posing for a few still shots. Of course, the Mad Hatter was more than happy to accommodate my request. Here are a few photos.

The Mad Hatter freezes when asked for a still shot.

Alice and the Mad Hatter carrying on with each other.

The Mad Hatter sticks out his tongue sideways for a pose.

It was a wonderful meet-and-greet opportunity. Hopefully, we’ll see him around a bit more in the future. While this is not a dedicated location, I wanted to point out that you should always be on the lookout for surprise character meet-and-greets. Recently, we’ve run into rare surprise characters at Hollywood Studios, then character training at Epcot, and a pop-up character dance party! You never know who you’ll run into in any of the Disney Parks.

As for characters, we’ve covered a ton of new meet-and-greets at Disney World lately, including the following:

The Mad Hatter usually meets at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. For more details on Alice and Wonderland characters, you might like the following spotlights: Alice, Mad Hatter, The Tweedles, The Queen of Hearts, The White Rabbit

More Planning

Resorts Gal specializes in Disney World Resorts, Characters, and Dining. Explore our resources, including our Disney World Resorts Guide. It provides an overview of everything you need to know about the Disney Resort Hotels. For dining, our Disney World Dining Guide is an excellent place to start. Our Disney World Transportation Guide is a wonderful resource for planning your routes. It’s one of our most popular resources. 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. Lastly, our Disney Parks Guide provides a complete overview of all four theme parks and water parks.