In this post, we talk about meeting characters aboard Disney Cruise Line ships. We’ll provide tips that are relevant to all ships, including how to find schedules, when to arrive, how to fit in the most greetings, and what to know about specially-reserved greetings. We’ll close with discussion of some specific special characters, like Alaska Mickey and Minnie and the pirate crew. Read on to learn about meeting characters on the Disney Wonder!
ABOUT THIS Post and Related Posts
Disney Cruise Line is, in a lot of ways, the best opportunity for meeting Disney characters. While our toddler is a big fan of meeting characters at the parks, the stress of finding greetings and fitting them into park days makes that a real challenge. Disney Cruise Line is…to some extent…comparatively…stress-free.
This post should give you a straightforward understanding of how to build a stack of photos and autographs aboard all the Disney Cruise Line ships. (Note: I’ll usually talk about greetings in the context of kids meeting characters because I have a kid, and I don’t usually meet characters on my own. Adults without kids are more than welcome to meet characters, too, subject to one exception discussed in the Pre-Booked Character Greetings section.)
There are four main parts to this post.
First, we talk about standard greetings on the ships. For example, you’ll maybe see in the app that Mickey Mouse is meeting on the Deck 5 balcony at 5PM for 10 minutes. That seems simple enough, but there is some stuff to unpack (starting with the fact that he’s almost always going to meet for more than 10 minutes and you almost always want to arrive before 5PM).
Then we talk about Pre-Booked Character Greetings. These are greetings you can book before embarkation. These vary by cruise ship and itinerary, and you shouldn’t be surprised to see Disney debut new ones this post doesn’t mention (but we explain how to look out for those, too). Some are free, some are paid, and the booking schedules vary somewhat.
Next, we’ll talk about dining and miscellaneous character appearances. This is a short section talking about other places you’ll see characters—giving high fives at dinner, walking along Serenity Bay at Castaway Cay, as part of the onboard entertainment—but where they aren’t necessarily doing one-on-one greetings.
Finally, I’ll close with some discussion about specialty characters. The Alaskan itineraries, for example, have the very popular Alaska Mickey and Minnie. On most Bahamas itineraries, you’ll have a Pirate Night that includes greetings with characters in the pirate outfits. I’m sure I don’t know about every single one of these, but besides the ones I’m able to provide specific discussion of, this section will include tips for making sure you know what to expect on your cruise.
For more on our recent Disney cruise experiences, we have:
If you’re taking a Disney cruise as part of a land-and-sea trip with a stop at Walt Disney World, you might be interested in reading about meeting characters at Disney World.
Finally, if you’re new to cruising and want to learn more, we have a Guide to Picking the Best Disney Cruise.
Standard Character Greetings on Disney Cruise Line
Most of the character greetings on Disney Cruise Line are scheduled greetings around the ship that can’t be booked in advance. You’ll basically need to just wait in line for these, but of course you’re here because you want to know a little more than “basically”…so let’s dive in.
Seeing Your Disney Cruise Line Character Schedule
Character greeting times are posted in the Disney Cruise Line app. You can see the entire itinerary’s lineup of character greetings as soon as you’re on the ship. Depending on which port you’re embarking from, you might be able to see this information while you’re at the port (Port Canaveral Wi-Fi has this ability, for example).
The characters are listed as part of the larger “Daily Activities” section, but also in their own “Characters” section. The listings include a time, location, and duration. Here’s a quick example screenshot:
If you’re interested in meeting characters, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to scroll through all the characters on each day, paying special attention to which characters meet the fewest times. Itineraries tend to be pretty generous with the sensational six—Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto—who often have multiple greetings on multiple days. Besides them, though, you’ll want to be on the lookout for characters who meet only once or twice the entire itinerary.
The itinerary does not indicate special outfits. We discuss special outfits in more detail below, including some of the ad hoc ways to know if a greeting will have a character in a special outfit. Rare characters and rare outfits are both going to be more popular than other greetings, so plan to arrive extra early (again, more details below).
Meeting Characters and Stacking Greetings
Let’s use this schedule as an example, focusing on the Pluto and Goofy greetings to talk through some specific tips:
For starters, while these locations aren’t super specific, they’re good enough. Once you get to a spot like “Deck 5 midship” you can start asking Cast Members (or other guests in lines) which greetings are where.
You can see each greeting also has a timeframe beneath it (all 10 minutes in the above case). These are usually not totally accurate and tend to reflect about how long the line will remain open once the greeting starts. Usually the character greets a little bit longer.
Everyone who gets into the queue for that character will get to meet the character. I recommend planning to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for all greetings. If there are specialty outfits involved, arrive even earlier (again, more on these greetings below)
When you get to a character greeting early, you’ll usually see one of two things. First, you might just have a group of guests informally queuing or meandering about. It’s helpful to confirm with them or a nearby Cast Member that you’ve found the right queue, then just wait for the character to arrive.
Alternatively, you’ll find another character greeting in that spot with a line already going. In the above example schedule, if you got to the 4:45PM Goofy greeting at Deck 5 Balcony 15 minutes early at 4:30PM, you’d see a line of guests greeting Pluto, who was at that same spot at 4:15PM.
If there’s a greeting already going on, you’ll ask the Cast Member whether the line is for that greeting or the next one. At some point, usually around 10-15 minutes before the second greeting starts, the Cast Member will explain to the person the end of the line “you’re the last person for Pluto (in this example)” at which point all the people standing around waiting for the Goofy line will line up in the same line behind that person.
Anyone who arrives after this point is in line for 4:45PM Goofy, not 4:30PM Pluto. So if you arrive relatively late for a greeting, be prepared to be told that you’re lining up for a different character than the one that’s currently greeting, even though it’s the exact same line of people.
Spot-saving is basically the norm for these greetings. I try to keep a relaxed mentality on a cruise, and for me a good way to relax while helping Zoe have fun is to grab a book, get to a character early, and read in line while waiting for a character to show up. That way, Emily and Zoe can be somewhere else until the greeting rolls around.
Without going too far down this rabbit hole…if you’re at all familiar with our content, you know we don’t advocate fringe “hacks” (site name is dumb, I know) or tricks. Spot-saving at, for example, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by having one person wait in line and then a group of 20 pushing their way up to join them near the front is not something I’d ever advocate (if you ever disagree, sound off in the comments!).
But for standard character greetings both in the parks and on cruise ships, having a parent hold a spot in line is so common it’s the majority procedure in some lines. I don’t think this is controversial, nor do I think it should be. As long as everyone joining the line only takes the time allotted for a single greeting, no one has been wronged (this is in contrast to people joining a ride line, where 5 people take up more seats than one person, which makes the wait longer).
The only bad practice here is when one person holds a spot for a group that then proceeds to take way too much time. “Too much time” is subjective, but basically I think that one person in line = one stateroom of greeting time. IMHO, you should not have one person hold a spot in line for three staterooms worth of people, all who need individual photos, followed by every combination of group members possible (“okay, kids done, now everyone with a half birthday this month get in there! GRANDPA YOU’RE A LEAP DAY THAT DOESN’T COUNT…we’ll do you next!”)
In the most borderline case of spot-saving (which I haven’t done or seen), you could theoretically have one parent be the last guest in line (in our example) for Pluto and the other the first in line for Goofy, getting your kid back-to-back greetings. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend trying this. The queue setup already has Cast Members on alert to make sure the last group doesn’t try and “double dip” greetings. Rather than run any risk of confusion, just put a few groups between you in this case.
Since it’s common for several greetings to occur around the same time around different parts of the ships’ atria, spot-saving is a good way to have your kid meet multiple characters in a short timeframe. It’ll often make sense to put a parent in a longer line while the kid (possibly with another parent) squeezes in a shorter greeting or two nearby. (And while I wouldn’t shout instructions to your kids a floor down across the atrium…it happens.)
Character Autographs and Photographs
Most characters are able to do autographs as part of greetings. The only interesting thing I’ve seen in this regard is that if one character greeting runs long, you’ll sometimes see the character who meets next in that spot sign autographs in line while waiting for their greeting to start. That way, when they start greeting they’ll only have to do photos with the first few people, having already done their autographs.
The character greetings have professional photographers to take photos that are available for purchase onboard. I have accepted that I will always wind up buying the full photo package. Knowing this ahead of time, I make sure Zoe prioritizes looking at the professional camera, not mine. That said, I still take some photos because the professional ones occasionally miss cute moments or just don’t come out as well (okay, honestly, my photos are never better…but better safe than sorry, plus then I have an exact timestamp in case the professional photos don’t show up in my account).
The onboard Disney Cruise Line photography service is “Shutters”. I recommend making your Shutters package purchase as early as possible (it can usually even be done before the cruise). Don’t wait until the last morning. And if you don’t make the purchase before you get off the ship, you cannot get your photos later.
Pre-Booked Character Greetings
As of this update, there are usually two character greetings that can be reserved before your Disney cruise sets sail. These are subject to changes, so stay alert when it comes to the details of your specific itinerary.
The first of these is the Royal Gathering, formerly known as the Princess Gathering. The Royal Gathering is available on most (maybe all?) Disney Cruise Line itineraries. It is free but requires advance reservation. The gathering usually consists of five back-to-back greetings with princesses. Because it is free, it usually gets booked very quickly. We have a separate post discussing the Royal Gathering, including tips for booking it.
Besides the Royal Gathering, each Disney cruise itinerary usually has either the Royal Court Royal Tea OR Olaf’s Royal Picnic. Both of these are intended for families with kids 3-12 and combine character greetings with shows, food, and an assortment of gifts. These are paid and require advance reservation. We’ve reviewed Olaf’s Royal Picnic here.
As of this update, the Royal Gathering is bookable 30 days before embarkation for all guests (concierge guests may be able to book earlier), while Olaf’s Royal Picnic and the Royal Tea are bookable at the same time you book your other onboard activities and Port Adventures (the date varies by your level of Castaway Club). Of course, confirm specific booking dates for your cruise.
Finally, cruises that offer specialty days also often have greetings that can be booked in advance. For Marvel Day at Sea and Pixar Day at Sea, for example, you can usually book some greetings 30 days before embarkation.
Anything that’s bookable will be in the “My Plans” section of the Disney Cruise Line website. I highly recommend doing some independent research (forums can be a great resource for this) ahead of time to find out if there are any specialty greetings on your itinerary.
Other Character Appearances on Disney Cruise Line
There are a handful other ways you might encounter or see characters on the Disney Cruise Line ships, but these aren’t likely to include photo ops or autographs.
Characters appear as part of some of the onboard entertainment. If your kids love Anna and Elsa, something like the Frozen Deck Party on the Disney Wonder might appeal to them. And of course you’ll see Mickey and Co. at the embarkation show (exact title varies by ship) when you set sail.
Characters make appearances at the Oceaneer Lab and Oceaneer Club, the clubs for the youngest kids. Donald came to play with the kids as part of a “pajama party,” for example, during open house hours while we was on the Disney Wonder. (There are also sometimes scheduled greetings in the kids’ clubs, like in the Marvel section of the Oceaneer Club on the Disney Wish.)
There are some events like dance parties or the Pixar Pals Party, where select characters mingle and dance with guests. These are usually held in the lobby atrium. On the Disney Wish, the WISHing Ever After show—held at 10:15PM on the last night of our itinerary—included a short time where various characters (including Mickey, Minnie, Moana, Rapunzel) did some quick greetings.
We also had a few chance encounters with characters on the ships. Usually I think they’re on their way to or from some appearance. If they have time, they might be able to chat quickly or sign an autograph. Zoe got to meet both Belle and Cinderella this way.
Specialty Character Outfits on Disney Cruise Line
While we all know that more popular characters will have longer lines, you should also know that rare outfits will also tend to draw longer lines. Characters can wear multiple outfits throughout the itinerary. On our 2023 Alaskan cruise, for example, Minnie had greetings in her Captain Minnie outfit, her Disney Cruise Line 25th Anniversary outfit, and her Alaska Minnie outfit.
Rarity of an outfit is somewhat relative. Several characters wore their 25th Anniversary outfits several times during our Disney Wonder cruise, and they were available on many itineraries, but they were still only around for about a year.
There are a few outfits that are available only at Disney’s ports. The Castaway Cay outfits are unique during any single itinerary, but many, many itineraries stop at Castaway Cay (Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point will also offer unique outfits when it debuts).
Some outfits are available only on select days of select itineraries. For example, the Alaska Minnie and Mickey outfits are (1) only a few greetings and (2) only on Alaskan itineraries. Similarly, I’ve seen other unique outfits on, for example, Mediterranean itineraries.
Finally, there are specific outfits for specialty days and holiday cruises. For example, even the non-Pixar / non-Marvel characters have special outfits for Pixar Day at Sea and Marvel Day at Sea. And if you’re doing a Halloween or Christmas cruise, you can expect special outfits on those, too.
If you care a lot about specific outfits, you’re going to have to put a bit of work into researching them (beyond the information we can provide in this post), including asking the Cast Members onboard which outfits you can expect when. The Cast Members who attend to the characters were usually quite helpful on all matters related to greetings.
When it comes to the rarest outfits, you’ll want to arrive early. How early? Well, the earlier the better. On our Alaskan cruise, we tried to meet Alaska Minnie on the ship deck and her queue was closed about 30 minutes before she started greeting. And it was not a short line when it closed. Here’s the similar Mickey line around the time it closed:
We haven’t had a chance to experience every specialty greeting, and we probably never will. While I look forward to learning more about these, they’re definitely something you’ll want to research on your own for your specific itinerary, if you’re interested. Here are some of the ones we’ve “collected” so far…
Pirate Night Outfits
Pirate Night is a special night on select Disney Cruise Line itineraries (I believe it’s most Caribbean itineraries). The last time we experienced Pirate Night in 2024 it was part of our Nassau port day, and it included pirate themed greeting beginning around 3PM. There were non-pirate greetings in the morning, followed by a break from noon to 3PM, followed by Pirate costumes.
Here are some quick snaps I took of Mickey and Minnie (other characters included Chip and Dale, Donald, and Daisy):
Mickey and Minnie Alaska Outfits
Note: Other characters have special Alaska Outfits, too, but the outside Mickey and Minnie greetings are the most popular of these itineraries.
On our cruise (your experience may vary!), Mickey and Minnie debuted their Alaska outfits on Day 3 (Glacier Explorer day), with their first greetings on Deck 10 (outside) at 9AM and 9:30AM. We were in line for Mickey 20-30 minutes early, and the line for Minnie, on the opposite side of Deck 10, was closed by 9:10AM.
Mickey and Minnie greeted four times that day. The first three times were outside and these were the only times the entire trip they greeted outside. They did wear the Alaska outfits inside for some greetings later on. We met Alaska Minnie inside on her last day, Day 6, Ketchikan Day.
