Character Meet-and-Greets at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in 2023

Mickey Mouse

Mickey meets at Town Square Theater near Magic Kingdom’s entrance, the exact location of his traditional meet-and-greet during the day. However, he wears his holiday suit during the Christmas Party. He usually meets until 6:00 p.m. in his magician costume. Then, he breaks from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. to prepare for the party. His party meet-and-greet begins at 7:00 p.m.

In the past, we usually wait to meet Mickey right before the end of the party. But since we had several other characters to meet in the area, we arrived at approximately 8:25 p.m. and met him by 8:41 p.m. We were finished before the parade reached Main Street, USA. So, this strategy worked well.

Mickey signs autographs at this location. He also takes his time with everyone. So, don’t expect the line to move quickly. However, he has this magical way of making you feel like you’re the only one in the room once it’s your turn. Most guests leave with a smile and a twinkle in their eyes.

Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws with Sally

Jack Skellington (Sandy Claws) and Sally meet in Town Square Theater next to Mickey Mouse. However, given their popularity, the line starts to form for this meet-and-greet at 4:00 p.m. Many guests head straight to this location when they get their wristbands for the party. Note that if you’re already visiting Magic Kingdom as a day guest and staying for the party, you’ll still have to get a wristband before joining this line. Jack and Sally are an exclusive character opportunity for party guests.

For the past couple of years, we’ve waited in lines for up to two hours for this meet-and-greet. Since I had good pictures from last year, I decided to focus my time on some of the newer meet-and-greets this year. However, only ten guests were in the queue when I walked through the area a few minutes after 8:00 p.m. So I decided to try my luck and met them by 8:21 p.m. Jack and Sally do not sign autographs, but a cast member attending the meeting will give you an autograph card. See Where to Meet Jack Skellington (Sandy Claws) with Sally for more tips.

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is part of the character lineup at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. She meets on the patio off the side of Town Square Theater. Her times were listed in the character section of the My Disney Experience app. Mary Poppins signs autographs at this location. As you might expect, she is practically perfect in every way.

Mirabel

Leaving Main Street, USA, we’ll head toward Fantasyland. Usually, we’d take a right and continue to Tomorrowland. But no traditional characters are meeting in Tomorrowland in 2023. As we pass Fairytale Gardens, we’ll stop and meet Mirabel in the Encanto. At this special meet-and-greet, she wears a pretty holiday cape.

We joined the line to meet Mirabel before the party’s official start. Given her popularity, she ended up coming out before the party started. This could vary. So you’ll want to ask the cast member in the area what time she’s come out before committing to joining the line too far ahead of time.

Most characters, with a few exceptions, do not begin meeting until 7:00 p.m., so you may or may not see her meeting guests earlier. It was warm this evening, too. By the time we met her, she had removed her cape. It was so warm that I was surprised she had it on in the first place! But it would have made for a unique picture.

Alice and the White Rabbit

Past Mirabel’s meet-and-greet, you can see the Mad Tea Party attraction. Alice meets here with the White Rabbit. You may remember that she meets with the Mad Hatter at the Halloween Party. We got in line to meet Alice and the White Rabbit at 6:45 p.m. The pair weren’t arriving at the party until 7:00 p.m., but several guests had already formed a line. We met them at 7:13 p.m. By that time, a long line had formed, and I was glad we had gotten there early.

Alice signs autographs at this location. She enjoys talking about tea, her cat Dinah, the Cheshire cat, or anything else related to Wonderland. This was a fun meet, and while I missed seeing the Mad Hatter, it was refreshing to see the White Rabbit.

Tweedles

Next, we have the Tweedles from Alice in Wonderland, who meet near Mad Tea Party. They are on the opposite side from Alice and the White Rabbit. This evening, the Tweedles didn’t come out until 7:35 p.m., which was a little late compared to the other meet-and-greets. Everyone waiting was told they would arrive any minute. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Most everyone ahead of us had given up and left by the time they arrived, over 20 minutes later. Thankfully, we stayed and got a couple of fun photos. These two make for a fun meet-and-greet.

Winnie the Pooh and Friends

Winnie the Pooh and Friends meet at The Thotful Spot next to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Those friends include Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Due to guest demand, they usually begin meeting ahead of the party at 6:30 p.m. This was one of the longest lines we saw this year. We skipped this line because we met them last year, but you can expect to wait an hour or longer to see them throughout most of the party. These fun friends do not sign autographs. However, a cast member attending the meet will provide an autograph card with their signature.

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider

Several princesses meet with their princes during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They used to meet in Princess Fairytale Hall, an excellent location. However, this last year, they met along the Fantasyland Castle Wall, which is a pretty terrible area in terms of lighting for pictures.

Two spotlights were set up for this meet-and-greet. This area is along the wall between the carousel and Enchanted Tales with Belle. For whatever reason, they roped off two lines: one for Rapunzel and Flynn Rider with Cinderella and Prince Charming, and the other for Snow White and the Prince with Aurora and Prince Philip. So when you arrived, the cast member would ask who you wanted to meet and then tell you which line to join.

We got in line for Cinderella and Prince Charming at 11:00 p.m. with about ten groups ahead of us. At approximately 11:05 p.m., they left, and everyone waiting was told they would return at 11:30 p.m. (25 minutes later!) Nearly everyone left, and the guests ahead of us were upset. Some had been waiting a long time, with small children crying because they wanted to meet the princesses and saw them leaving.

I hope they implement a better system for this meet-and-greet. Nobody wants to stand in line for characters who swap out. Character lines are an investment of time. Many children will patiently wait for hours to meet that one character. So, to see them walk away and be told they’ll be back nearly half an hour later is understandably frustrating. You might survey the setup before joining these lines.

Snow White and The Prince

Snow White and The Prince are part of the group that meets along the castle wall.

Aurora and Prince Philip

We never met Aurora and Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty, but we ran into them leaving the area as the fireworks began, so I grabbed a quick photo.

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Here is a photo of Cinderella and Prince Charming. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to wait to meet them again this year.

Belle

Belle meets outside of Maurice’s cottage at Enchanted Tales with Belle. Depending on the weather, she might be inside the cottage. This meet will have long lines early on in the party. But they tend to diminish after the fireworks.

Ariel and Prince Eric

Ariel and Prince Eric meet in front of Prince Eric’s Castle in New Fantasyland. Like Belle, they hold long lines early into the party. But this area tends to die down after the fireworks.

Donald Duck and Scrooge

Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck meet in the circus tent behind Dumbo, the Flying Elephant. They have a meet-and-greet toward the back of the play-while-you-wait area. Last year, we waited an hour and a half for this meet-and-greet, one of the longest lines at the party. This year, I got in line at 10:15 p.m. and met them at 10:50 p.m., so it was still a long line, even after the fireworks.

This is an excellent location because it’s what I call a two-for-one. You get to meet two sets of characters at the end of the line. After meeting Scrooge and Donald, I met with Daisy and Minnie.

Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck

Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck are after Scrooge and Donald. They are wearing their festive holiday dresses. Aren’t they adorable? All of the characters at this location sign autographs. Additionally, PhotoPass photographers were available at every meet-and-greet during the party we attended, with one exception. Mickey Mouse has a photo box at his meet-and-greet.

Santa Goofy

Santa Goofy was meeting in the Calliope Tent toward the back of Storybook Circus. He was on break when we stopped by to meet him. Usually, he meets in front of The Barnstormer.

Seven Dwarfs

After waiting in line for over two hours to meet the Seven Dwarfs at the Halloween Party, I approached things differently. So, as soon as the fireworks started, I headed for their meet-and-greet. No one was waiting! However, I wouldn’t recommend missing the fireworks unless you don’t care for them. I didn’t want to miss them, but I will likely see them later in the season. I also didn’t want to wait another two hours to meet them–even though they are one of the best meet-and-greets.

The Seven Dwarfs meet inside Pete’s Silly Sideshow during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They do not sign autographs; a cast member will provide an autograph card. They were wearing a few holiday accessories!

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen

Last year, Tiana and Prince Naveen were relocated to the Liberty Square Riverboat’s dock. This was an okay location, and while the lighting was decent, it wasn’t necessarily the best for taking photos. We got in line to meet them at 9:27 p.m. and met them at 9:45 p.m., so the wait wasn’t terrible.