Mickey and Friends Meet-and-Greet at Epcot (What to Expect)

It’s been years since Mickey and Friends had a traditional meet-and-greet location at Epcot. Formerly, classic characters met at the Epcot Character Spot, which became part of a demolition project in 2019. Five years later, the new Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet finally debuted with the opening of Communicore Hall.

If you’re visiting Epcot with hopes of meeting Mickey Mouse and Friends, this is the place! We stopped by to check out the space and say hello to a couple of old friends. It was sure good to see them in a dedicated, and more importantly, air-conditioned, space inside the park. However, most of the line is outdoors in a partially covered queue. Thankfully, you won’t have to stand in direct sun while waiting. But it might be a little humid, depending on what time of the year you visit.

Below, we’ll walk through our first visit to meet Mickey and Friends at Epcot. We’ll discuss location specifics, what to expect, and preview photos of the character meet-and-greets. The Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet is on the outskirts of the World Celebration Gardens. If you elect to walk through the center of the park from the main entrance, this area is on the right, past Spaceship Earth.

Mickey and Friends has a Lightning Lane and a Stand-By Entrance. It will take some time to tell how long the average wait will be for this location. But if I were to guess, these meet-and-greets will likely have decent wait times between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. So, if you don’t want to purchase a Lightning Lane, you might start your morning here or visit later in the day. Of course, if you’re in the area and notice a reasonable wait time, you can stop at your convenience. The Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet is open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. The exact times for this location will be listed in the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit.

A 45-minute wait time was posted over the stand-by entrance when I arrived.

Here is the outdoor portion of the queue. You cannot see the inside portion from the exterior. But I wanted to mention that when we made it inside, we only had to wait a few more minutes to begin meeting the characters.

While you’re waiting, you might notice some of the murals, like the dinosaur below, offer a nod to the original Epcot. It’s a reminder of Ellen’s Universe of Energy.

Here’s Goofy with Spaceship Earth.

I assume the diver represents the Living Seas, now The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion.

Here are a few more photos.

This next photo is an interior portion of the queue. A cast member in this room will ask how many guests are in your party and then allow a few groups at a time to enter the meet-and-greet space.

The meet-and-greet area is one large room with three spots to meet characters. So, even if the line is long, you still get the chance to meet three characters. That’s not the worst deal. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse met this afternoon. We were told that they would be the traditional characters at this location. However, occasionally, you might find a few of Mickey’s other friends. I presume those friends might be Daisy Duck and Pluto. A guest next to us in line said she had walked through the meet-and-greet earlier and that Daisy had been there.

Mickey was first up. He wears his suit and tie look at this location. You might ask him to point out a hidden Mickey or two!

After meeting Mickey, we stepped to the side for Goofy. A few guests were still ahead of us, waiting to meet Goofy. But at that point, it only took a few more minutes.

After that, it was time to say hello to Minnie Mouse. She wears her traditional red dress with white polka dots.

Here’s a photo of the entire space. A PhotoPass photographer was available at each character’s spot (Thank you, Disney!), and each of the characters signed autographs at this location.

The only downfall is that as soon as you finish meeting Minnie Mouse, a cast member opens a door that immediately leads outside. It was pouring rain, and since we were inside, there wasn’t any way to know. It felt like we were pushed out into the rain without notice to get umbrellas out. Hopefully, they will do a better job of making guests aware of this in the future. I don’t understand how this exit strategy was overlooked when the building was constructed. But you’ll see what I mean if you end up here during a downpour.

Overall, it’s good to have a traditional meet-and-greet for Mickey Mouse and his friends at Epcot again. It’s been far too long. As far as the space goes, it works well. Also, it’s hard to complain about a long wait with three characters at the end of the line.

I hope you enjoyed this walk-through of the new Mickey and Friends location at Epcot. For more characters at Epcot, you might enjoy the following:

• Meet Donald in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot
• Meet Anna and Elsa at the Royal Sommerhus
• Meet Alice in Wonderland at the United Kingdom Pavilion
• Meet Moana at Epcot
• Meet Asha at Epcot

If you have a Disney Visa rewards card, you can also meet classic characters at the Disney Visa Cardmember Photo Opportunity at Epcot. Or preview our Disney World Characters Guide for meet-and-greets in the other parks.

In the Comments

What do you think of the Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet at Epcot? Will you take the time to meet these characters on your next visit? Do you like the looks of this new location?