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Thread: Coming Soon: Fastpass to meet Mickey at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

  1. #1
    Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix
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    Coming Soon: Fastpass to meet Mickey at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

    The Disney Parks Blog just announced that Fastpass service will be added to the new Mickey Mouse meet-and-greet location in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park (link). According to the article, visitors will get a Fastpass with a one-hour return window during which they can come back to meet Mickey, pose for photos and/or get an autograph. With Mickey's Toontown Fair closing last week at the Magic Kingdom to make room for the Fantasyland expansion, a new meet-and-greet area is under construction inside the Exposition Hall on Main Street.


    Walt Disney World visitors will soon be able to get a Fastpass to meet Mickey Mouse in his new home on Main Street. Photo (c) Disney.

    In a Disney press release, Imagineer and Senior Show Producer Jon Georges is quoted saying "This isn't just remodeling Expo Hall; it is completely re-imagining this entire venue as a beautiful Victorian-era theater and the new home for Mickey Mouse."

    Mickey and Main Street, U.S.A. are great examples of pure Americana that complement each other very well, Concept Designer Jason Grandt said in the press release. We drew a lot of inspiration from classic Mickey animated shorts such as The Nifty Nineties and Mickeys Grand Opera. Many of the scenes in these shorts look like they take place right on Main Street.

    According to Disney, the new meet-and-greet area will bring visitors "backstage," where they will meet Mickey "in a rehearsal-room environment amid posters, steamer trunks and stage props." This sounds very similar to the Mickey's movie barn setting at Disneyland, where Mickey greets visitors in rooms themed to classic Disney animated short features.

    During remarks during the Disney Investors Conference last week, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs included character meet-and-greet opportunities to the list of activities, like attraction Fastpasses and dining reservations, that visitors to the Disney theme parks will be able to schedule in advance of their trip using new technology Disney is developing. This is the first time that Disney has ever used Fastpass for a character meet-and-greet opportunity, and it's likely just the first of several such offerings we'll see in coming months. Staggs also said that new meet-and-greet locations would be constructed during the Fantasyland remodel for the Disney princesses, and it's not a stretch to imagine that each of those locations will come with its own Fastpass offering.

    Disney has given no indication that the new "talking" Mickey Mouse character will be used for this new meet-and-greet opportunity, but Disneyland tested the interactive character last year and it fits into Staggs' comments that characters will someday be able to interact with guests in "highly personalized" ways.

    These new meet-and-greet locations are also extremely well suited for Disney's Photopass service. Last month David Koenig wrote about a rumored plan to limit character appearances at the Disneyland Resort to specific locations, "making it easier for a Disney's PhotoPass photographer to capture the marketable moment on camera." (link) The Disneyland Resort strongly denied the report.

    The new area and the Fastpass offering are said to open "this spring," which means sometime between late March and June. In the interim, Mickey and Minnie are available for photos in Tomorrowland, and the Disney princesses have temporarily relocated to Adventureland.

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  3. #2
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
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    Hm.....Fastpasses for seeing Mickey? Me Likey!!!!

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

  4. #3
    CL--DLR Trip Planning and DVC Toocherie's Avatar
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    Ok, is it just me or does there seem to be a disconnect between how WDW feels about the Fastpass system and how DL feels about it? I get the feeling that DL doesn't like it--example: disconnecting Buzz from the system. Why not just add Star Tours to the system rather than eliminate Buzz? Why not have EVERY major ride have the Fastpass system? Why Space Mountain but not Toy Story? And why do some rides--like Toy Story and Peter Pan--have it in WDW but not at DL?

    I am wondering if DL will choose not to institute the Fastpass for character meets in the future. Given the history it seems to me that they will not do it unless they are forced to by the powers that be.

    In the meantime I will enjoy Fastpass for those (and many other) rides when I go to WDW!

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  5. #4

    I think it's a space issue at DL. I am looking forward to this in September. One meet that NEEDS a FP on both coasts is the Princess one!! We have NEVER done the PFF at DL...even with 3 girls!


  6. #5
    Wandering lonely as a cloud...
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    All I can remember being in the Exposition Hall was guest services and a rest room, so it seems like a good idea to put something interesting back in that kind of boring corner.

    The fast passes seem like a good idea for people who really want to meet and greet Mickey.
    And while they use up their fast pass on a character meet, I will be riding Space Mountain.

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  7. #6
    some imagination, huh? DisneyFunFamily4's Avatar
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    I will be interested to see how this works, we will definitely give it a try.

    Quote Originally Posted by 3Princesses1Prince View Post
    I think it's a space issue at DL. I am looking forward to this in September. One meet that NEEDS a FP on both coasts is the Princess one!! We have NEVER done the PFF at DL...even with 3 girls!
    I hear you on PFF at DL, the waits are horrendous. we did it once or twice when the girls were younger (in the off season during the week) but i got to the point if we wanted to see the princesses we would just pay for a meal at Ariels and avoid that mess.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by DisneyFunFamily4 View Post
    I hear you on PFF at DL, the waits are horrendous. we did it once or twice when the girls were younger (in the off season during the week) but i got to the point if we wanted to see the princesses we would just pay for a meal at Ariels and avoid that mess.
    Which is what we've done, even in the off season.
    Shannon
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    Miss M(16), J(13) and R(10), and Mr. N(9)

  9. #8
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    I am also interested in seeing how this works - and how / if they will enforce the times on the FP's. Personally, I think that will make a difference as to if it will be a success.

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