As your return to visiting the most magical place in California draws closer, you may be wondering, where can I find my favorite characters at Disneyland and California Adventure? With social distancing guidelines still in place in 2021, these beloved character meet and greets will look a little different due to physical distancing and lingering covid restrictions, but there are still many places in both of the west coast Disney parks offering character meet and greets.
Disney is choosing not to release information regarding the locations or times that characters will be out to avoid large crowds from gathering, but we’ll cover exactly where to find your favorite characters at the Disneyland Resort theme parks in this article. Just click the sections below to expand the section of the parks that you’d like to learn more about. You can find detailed maps with exact locations where you can find characters, a full listing of characters you can expect to be at that location, and some photos of some of those characters as well.
Disneyland
Main Street, U.S.A.
Mickey Mouse and other iconic Disney characters will wave and greet returning guests from the Disneyland Railroad station.
You can see Chip and Dale, Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, and Pluto posing for pictures and acting out zany scenes for guests to capture.
Royal Theatre & Royal Hall
One of the best places to get up close and personal with some Disney princesses would be the Royal Theatre right next to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Here you can meet Cinderella, Belle, Anna, Ariel, Elena, and Aurora. You’re close enough to strike up some playful banter and take some selfies as well.
Also, nearby there is the Royal Hall, where you can find Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Flynn Ryder. You can also sometimes catch the evil queen from Snow White here as well.
Small World Terrace
This is a small, raised section between “its a small world” and the Matterhorn Bobsleds.
The parade viewing area has now been turned into a dedicated character meet & greet area where you can find, Tigger, Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh, as well as Mary Poppins and Bert displaying some tricks and balancing his cane on his chin for your enjoyment.
New Orleans Square
Look high to the 21 Royal balcony and above Pirates of the Caribbean for views of Captain Jack Sparrow and Redd the pirate. Tiana will also make appearances in New Orleans Square doing some fancy twirls on a balcony.
Mickey’s Toontown
Moving into Mickey’s ToonTown, there are a few different locations to see characters. At a gazebo just north of the Jolly Trolley, you can find Clarice showing off, and some Aristocats characters posing for some up close photos. At Donald’s Boat you can catch Donald Duck waving and posing, and at Mickey’s house you can meet the mouse himself and get those precious selfies with the character that started it all.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Rey, Chewbacca and Vi Moradi can be seen from above the Black Spire Outpost speeder garage. If guests are unafraid they will see Kylo Ren and First Order Stormtroopers on the TIE Echelon landing platform that’s right next to the Milk Stand. Here you can see a whole mini-show of Kylo Ren and his loyal Stormtroopers where they interact with the guests, and it’s actually a lot of fun to watch!
California Adventure
Avengers Campus
Avengers Campus had its grand opening on April 4th. Join your favorite Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Ant Man and The Wasp, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Loki, and the Taskmaster.
Buena Vista Street
On Buena Vista Street, at the Carthay Fountain, you can find a ton of classic Disney characters characters like Dopey, Snow White, Elsa, Clarabelle, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto and of course Mickey offering photo opportunities to guests who line up for them.
Hollywood Backlot Stage
If you head into Hollywood Land, at the Hollywood Backlot Stage, you can find Marvel characters doing their rounds. We were only able to catch Black Widow on our last trip, but we have heard with the recent opening of Avengers Campus there will be a ton of Marvel characters here, and throughout Avengers Campus as well.
Expected Marvel superheroes include Captain America, Black Panther, Thor, Spider-Man, and the Dora Milaje looking as heroic and brave as ever.
Cars Land
In Cars Land, you can meet Tow Mater next to Fillmore’s Taste-In, and Lightning McQueen at the end of the street near the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers to grab some of those precious selfies that make all your friends jealous!
Pixar Pier
Moving into Pixar Pier, you can catch Incredibles characters across from the Incredicoaster like Fro-zone, Mr & Mrs. Incredible, and Edna posing for pictures. You’re close enough to interact with them and get some cool poses, too! If you head deeper into Pixar Pier, on a stage near Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff, you can find your favorite Toy Story characters like Jessie and Woody offering some great photo opportunities throughout the day.
Disney Junior Theater
Disney Junior characters such as Vampirina and Doc McStuffins will be waving and posing at the indoor theater stage in Hollywood Land.
Near Goofy’s Sky School
Farther back into the park, you can find Miguel from Coco with his expert puppet master in a gazebo right next to Goofy’s Sky School.
Paradise Gardens Park
Make smart choices at the food court here, as the area will be under surveillance by Officer Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from “Zootopia”. You can find them on the eastern side of the Little Mermaid attraction, in Paradise Gardens Park.
Grizzly Peak
Just next to Grizzly River Run, north of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, you can find Wendell interacting with guests, showing them his favorite fish stew recipe and just being zany.
Character Interactions in 2021
Traditionally when guests enter the parks, they have the opportunity to meet their favorite characters, hug them, get autographs, and take pictures. While these new rules are in place, guests will not be able to get up close and personal with characters. No hugging, autographs, high fives, or anything involving physical contact will be allowed at this time.
However, this does not mean the magic is gone! As you can see above, Disney will be bringing back a lot of characters in a lot of different places for guests to see. There will be socially distanced ways to view the characters, give a wave, and take pictures. Some may be close enough to snap some great selfies as well. A few of these characters have already made their way back to the park for the A Touch Of Disney event.
Practice makes perfect, and we’re sure that Disney will bring an incredible and magical character experience even with these new social distancing regulations.
What do you think about the new options for character interactions when Disneyland reopens? Is your favorite character on the list? Are characters a highlight of the Disney experience for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Written by
Rachel Van Norman
Guest Author
Rachel fell deeply in love with all things Disney as a little girl. Now as a wife and a mother herself, she shares this Disney obsession with her son and everyone around her. From her love of princesses to eating all the Disney food, Rachel spends her time radiating Disney magic and keeping everyone up to date on Disney news.
We wanna see Sulley from Monsters Inc and Joy from Inside Out at Pixar Pier. We wanna see Pinocchio at Carthey Circle or Fantasyland. We wanna see Wendy at Carthey Circle or Fantasyland. We wanna see the characters from Meet The Robinsons. And we wanna see Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled at Disneyland.