Epcot Character Training (An Unexpected Character Opportunity)

It’s always fun to see our favorite characters in the theme parks! But it’s even more fun to run into a troupe of characters in one location. At Epcot, there is a chance you might run into one of these groups. What’s the occasion? It’s called character training!

Unfortunately, Epcot’s character training is not something to be expected, but rather something unexpected. If you are in the right place at the right time, you’ll want to stop and take advantage of this surprise offering.

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger at a surprise character training pop up at Epcot

Since I visit the parks often, I’ve run into character training numerous times. We’ve seen character training in multiple locations over the years. Sometimes it’s at the World Showplace gates between the United Kingdom and Canada Pavilions. More often we’ve seen character training on the lone walkway to the left of the American Pavilion. This walkway sits to the immediate left of Regal Eagle Smokehouse. The photo below shows an example of when a large group has formed, and several characters were present. Usually, when you walk by this area, it’s empty.

a large group of guests gathered for a surprise character training at Epcot

So if you walk by and see a few characters out, feel free to join in the fun! We saw Rafiki!

Rafiki at a surprise character meet and greet at Epcot

Then we saw Mr. Smee. He is a rare character indeed. However, he appears in the daily Festival of Fantasy Parade at Magic Kingdom.

Hook left before we got to take a formal photo. He rides on the Peter Pan unit in the Festival of Fantasy Parade.You might also see him during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a character meet, but he’s usually part of the villain’s stage show and Boo To You Parade.

Captain Hook makes a surprise appearance at Epcot

Pluto was out meeting with guests at character training. Of course, you can see him in several locations in the parks. Here are a few traditional places to meet Pluto in the parks:

Tigger and Eeyore were meeting guests as a pair. You can meet Tigger daily at Magic Kingdom. He meets in the Thotful Spot with Winnie the Pooh.

Eeyore and Tigger meet alongside Piglet and Pooh at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. That character dining location serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It makes our list of the best character dining at Disney World. All four of these Winnie the Pooh characters meet at both of the seasonal parties at Magic Kingdom. During the Halloween Party, they meet in their Halloween costumes. And at the Christmas Party, they wear matching winter scarves!

Eeyore and Tigger pose for a photo at Epcot's Character Training

We also recently saw Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh meeting in this area. Since character training is a special surprise, you could run into a variety of characters in the area. Also, autograph-signing characters will sign their signatures at this location. So make sure to have your autograph book out and ready. (PhotoPass Photographers are not a part of character training.)

A cast member will be present with each character. If a character is about to leave, they will let you know. Unfortunately, they can’t always wait to meet everyone with the heat and other circumstances. So if you happen upon a large group of characters or are walking past the American Pavilion or around the International Gateway, you might think to look over this way. You never know who you might run into!

Update: Since we originally wrote this article, we’ve begun to see surprise characters at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Check that article for details on where you might find them. We also ran into Alice and the Mad Hatter as a surprise meet at Epcot one afternoon.

Final Thoughts

For more information about meeting characters at Disney, we have an entire list of character meet-and-greets at Disney World. Or you might enjoy the following: