Retired: Meet Dug and Russell from ‘UP’ at the Wilderness Explorer’s Clubhouse

Update: The Wilderness Explorer’s Clubhouse at Disney’s Animal Kingdom closed in October of 2025. It has been converted to the Zoogether Day Gathering Spot, where Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps now meet. At the time of this update, guests can still meet Dug and Russell on the Discovery Island Trails on the back side of the Tree of Life. The article below details the former meet-and-greet location. It is now part of our retired character meet-and-greet archive. 

Dug and Russell from ‘UP’ have a dedicated meet-and-greet at the Wilderness Explorer’s Clubhouse at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Below, we’ll discuss the details of this location and preview a few photos of both characters with their autographs. The pair meets together; however, their times are often listed separately in the My Disney Experience app. For a while, they were meeting separately. Therefore, some of our pictures show them as individual meet-and-greets.

The Wilderness Explorer’s Clubhouse sits near the front of the park. If you’re facing the Tree of Life, you can take the path to the right of the tree toward Asia. The clubhouse will be on your left, in front of the Lemur exhibit.

Here is a look at the area. The queue is partially covered. But since this is an outdoor meet-and-greet, it’s subject to inclement weather.

Given the popularity of these characters, wait times are typically lengthy. If you get in line and see one of them disappear, don’t worry. Another will be back within a few minutes. Normally, a cast member will tell you who you will meet when you join the line.

I joined the line at 10:25 a.m. with approximately 12 sets of guests ahead of me. Russell was meeting at the time. A cast member near the entrance indicated we would meet Dug because Russell was about to leave. I met Dug at 10:38 a.m. for a total wait time of 13 minutes, which wasn’t too shabby.

Dug is adorable!

He was more than eager to sign his autograph.

Here’s his signature.

After I met Dug, the cast member said that Russell would return at 11:00 a.m. So we got back in line at 10:59 a.m. and met Russell shortly after.

He was kind enough to show me his badges.

Here is a photo of his autograph.

For active characters at Disney World, you might like our list of character meet-and-greets at Walt Disney World.

In the Comments

Did you ever meet Dug and Russell at the Wilderness Explorer’s Clubhouse before it closed? Let us know in the comments.