Meet and greets at the Disney hotels: a perk of staying on site

Yes, you can meet Disney characters right in your hotel, as long as you’re staying there.

It’s one of the perks of being a Disney hotel guest: the characters come to the hotel (usually the lobby), mostly at the quiet times of the morning and evening, often in outfits linked to the hotel’s theme. The setting is calmer than in the parks and the queue is usually much shorter.

I particularly love these morning meet and greets: I go down for breakfast, bump into a character in the lobby and head off to the park with a first photo, without having queued. These meet and greets are for hotel guests only: they’re part of your stay.

It’s simple: the characters come to you, in the hotel. Most meet and greets take place in the lobby or near reception, at the quietest times, which means mostly in the morning and late in the day.

The characters often wear outfits linked to the hotel’s theme, which gives you different photos from the ones in the parks. Access is for hotel guests only: it’s your status as a resident that entitles you to it.

What’s on offer varies with the season and how full the hotel is. The best habit: check the Disneyland Paris app that morning, or ask at reception, to find out who’s coming and when.

Each hotel works in its own way. Six of the seven Disney hotels offer meet and greets. The Davy Crockett Ranch is the only exception. Here’s who you can meet depending on your hotel, and how it works (booking required or daily meet and greet included). Remember to check the details in the app on the day, as what’s on offer can change.

Two hotels offer dedicated meet and greets, booking required, for their own guests only.

At the Disneyland Hotel, there are the one-to-one royal meet and greets (Mickey, Minnie and royal characters) and the princesses, in a carefully designed setting. At the Disney Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel, it’s the Marvel superheroes, plus a superhero photo area for hotel guests only.

One small detail: you book a time slot, not a specific character. For the princesses, you don’t choose which one you meet, and at the New York the Marvel superhero at your time slot is also set by the hotel’s schedule.

The easiest way: open the app on the day of your online check-in (possible 1 to 7 days before arrival) and see whether the meet and greet can be booked. For some meet and greets, the time slot only appears once you’re there: in that case, open the app that morning, as with the virtual queue.

Good news: you don’t need to do anything to get it. Every guest over 3 automatically receives a MagicPass in their name. It’s what identifies you as a hotel guest, which gives you access to the meet and greets for residents only.

It comes as a physical and/or digital version (in the Disneyland Paris app and in Apple Wallet on iPhone). The digital MagicPass is usually available from 7 days before arrival. One useful detail: if you book your stay 3 days or less before arrival, the digital MagicPass isn’t available before your stay. You pick it up when you get there.

At the Newport Bay Club, the Sequoia Lodge, the Disney Hotel Cheyenne and the Disney Hotel Santa Fe, it works differently: a daily meet and greet with a Disney character is included, with no booking. There’s nothing to book in the app: you just need to turn up at the right time, usually near reception.

The difference from the meet and greets you book (Disneyland Hotel and New York): here the timing is flexible too, with no time slot to book. You don’t know in advance who you’ll meet, and it can vary from one day to the next. Some hotels have a particular flavour, like the Cheyenne and its western theme, but the character who turns up depends on the day’s schedule.

The best habit is the same: check the app that morning or ask at reception.

Beyond the meet and greets you book, the Disneyland Hotel offers other moments with characters. The Royal Troupe puts on free performances in the lobby, with no booking. You sometimes come across characters there.

There’s also character dining: the Royal Banquet (Mickey and friends in royal outfits) and La Table de Lumière (princesses, sometimes joined by their princes). These meals are another way to meet the characters, longer and more relaxed. I cover them in detail in my character dining guide. For the rest of the hotel entertainment, see the Disney hotel activities.

To plan your stay, you can browse all the character meet and greets, read the virtual queue guide (useful for the meet and greets you book) and find out whether you can enjoy the Disneyland Hotel without staying there. To choose where to stay, compare all the Disney hotels.