Guests Prioritize Rides, Slow to Line Up for Character Hugs at Disney World

April 18 was set to be an exciting day at The Walt Disney World Resort as normal, hug-friendly character meet and greets made their triumphant return after a two-year hiatus. Theme Park Reservations for Magic Kingdom on April 18 were completely booked up, and it was not hard to imagine seeing multi-hour wait times for meet and greet areas popping up very quickly.

But the number of Guests visiting their favorite Disney characters seems a bit underwhelming.

According to the My Disney Experience App, Magic Kingdom Guests are still choosing “E Ticket” attractions like Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train over getting pictures arm and arm with Mickey Mouse.

Just under 90 minutes after opening, the line to “Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall” is only 60 minutes long, and the line to “Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess” is only 50 minutes.

Read More: Traditional Character Meet and Greets Are Back at Walt Disney World!

Back down Main Street, U.S.A., the line to “Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater” was also under an hour.

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Meanwhile, wait times for iconic rides like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean are already well over an hour, with the Snow White-themed attraction already recording a wait time of 90 minutes.

It is unclear why the rush to meet characters is slow at the start. Perhaps there is still some caution held by the Guests, or the desire to beat crowds to their favorite attraction still holds priority over a conversation with Cinderella. Disney Genie might also be directing Guests elsewhere around the Park. Either way, it has only been 90 minutes since Magic Kingdom officially opened, and we at Disney Fanatic expect the wait times for Character Experiences to only rise throughout the day.

It should also be noted that not every Disney Character Experience at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingom has a wait time displayed on the My Disney Experience App, and we encourage Guests to visit each location for the most up-to-date status of wait times.

In the meantime, we will continue to update our readers on Disney Park news as more information comes to light.