Be on the Lookout For Surprise Characters at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

As someone who visits the parks often, I am privy to seeing surprise characters and special appearances from time to time. Only recently, we saw a character dance party for a limited time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was awesome for anyone visiting that week to experience that special interaction with characters. But over the last couple of months, I’ve seen an abundance of surprise characters meeting in select places near the entrance to Hollywood Studios.

Do these characters meet every day? Probably not, but I’ve run into them 4-5 times since March. So, I believe it’s safe enough to say that you might run into them. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek them out. But if you’re in the area, you might nod your head in these directions. If you’re lucky, you might even meet a few characters! I can assure you it’s always a happy surprise!

The first place to look is just inside the ticket turnstiles of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Once you enter the park, look to your left toward Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind Shop (PhotoPass location). You might see a couple of characters out and about in front of the fence next to the shop. They are not hard to see when they’re out. But you could easily walk right past them if you don’t look in this direction.

guests waiting near Sid's One of a Kind Shop to meet rare characters at Hollywood Studios

On this afternoon, we only saw a handful of guests talking to Pinocchio and Gepetto. Grumpy and Dopey were also out visiting.

cast members helping guests meet character pop-ups

I have never met Gepetto, so this was a real treat. Both Pinocchio and Gepetto are rare characters. Pinocchio is often part of the Festival of Fantasy Parade. That is the only place to see him regularly. Gepetto is usually part of the Christmas parade, but I cannot recollect seeing him anywhere else except sometimes in Fantasmic!

Pinocchio and Gepetto outside a fence near the entrance of Disney's Hollywood Studios

After meeting Pinocchio and Gepetto, I still had time to meet Grumpy and Dopey. They were adorable and are also somewhat rare characters. They meet nightly at Storybook Dining at Artist Point, a character dining meal at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. So you have to pay for the meal to see them. They also participate in the Festival of Fantasy Parade and meet at the Halloween and Christmas Parties at Magic Kingdom.

Grumpy with his hands in the air and Dopey with his thinking expression. — Grumpy and Dopey

After meeting these sets of characters, I continued on my way out of the park. It occurred to me that a few characters might also be meeting outside the turnstile area. So I looked to the far left, past the entrance, and sure enough, Baloo and Thumper were out. No one even realized they were there! Looking back through the camera roll on my phone over the past couple of months, I’ve met Piglet, Stitch, Baloo, Thumper, Pinocchio, and Meeko at this location.

Baloo from The Jungle Book meeting as a surprise outside the entrance of Disney's Hollywood Studios — Baloo

Thumper is another exceptionally rare character. I cannot remember when he last had a formal character meet-and-greet at Disney.

Thumper at Disney's Hollywood Studios surprise appearance — Thumper

So, if you’re visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios, check the area between security and the ticket turnstiles before you enter the park and the area near the PhotoPass shop inside the park’s entrance. From my experiences, I’ve run into these characters between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Again, these characters are not guaranteed and probably not out daily. But if you’re in the area, it doesn’t hurt to look for them. There’s no telling who you might find!

For more rare character meets, you might enjoy the following:

Or you can browse our entire list of characters at Disney World.

In the Comments

Do you enjoy meeting surprise characters at Disney World? Who is your bucket list character? Let me know below in the comments.