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 new 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 chance 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 to pose for a few still shots. Of course, the Mad Hatter was more than happy to accommodate my request. Here are a few photos.
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:
- Meet Pluto at Epcot’s Entrance
- Meet Joy in Pixar Plaza at Hollywood Studios
- Meet the Talking Dug at Animal Kingdom
- Meet Timon and Rafiki at Animal Kingdom
The Mad Hatter usually meets at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. (However, sometimes the White Rabbit meets instead.)
In the Comments
What do you think of all these new character meet-and-greets? Is the Mad Hatter a bucket list character for you? Let us know below in the comments!
