How can we not love the Disney Parks? It’s literally where the magic happens on a regular basis. You can enter a realm of fantasy with royalty, sail on a pirate ship with Captain Jack, and visit the future to see a great-big-beautiful tomorrow. But our favorite park pastime has to be the character Meet and Greets.
Whether you’re five or ninety-five, there are few better feelings in the world than meeting your favorite Disney character up close and in person. Strangely though, some of the most beloved Disney characters are insanely hard to meet. Here are ten rare characters that need to make more appearances.
The Beast
Both Belle and Gaston can be found in the parks with quite a few fans in line to see them. But where most of your typical princesses are occasionally accompanied by their respected princes, Belle’s main-squeeze doesn’t get out as much as he should. Saying that, he’s not too hard to find.
Keeping close to his character in a way, the Beast isn’t found roaming around the parks like the rest of the characters, but rather he stays inside his castle at the Be Our Guest restaurant. Those with a reservation at the master’s table can meet him in his own queue after they’ve finished off their Grey Stuff.
Rabbit
We don’t care how old we are, if we ever find ourselves in Fantasyland near the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, we’re stopping for a photo opp with our favorite residents of the Hundred Acre Wood. Although Pooh and Tigger are there on a regular basis, occasionally Rabbit can also be found taking a break from his compulsive gardening.
The Pooh characters have been some of Disney’s most beloved entities as far back as the late ’60s. In fact, Pooh is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse nowadays. So why wouldn’t there be more appearances from the other characters? If you do catch Rabbit outside the ride, don’t miss the opportunity for a pic.
Nick and Judy
One of the main themes of this list is the fact that popular characters are somehow missing from the cast of regulars. Zootopia is one of the studio’s most successful films in recent years, and to say it has a fanbase would be a gross understatement. With that in mind, why aren’t Nick and Judy more present in the parks?
True, they were featured in the Main Street Block Party and a few other parades, but why aren’t they more accessible outside of special occasions? Their movie is too recent for them to be considered retired characters, but still, we hardly see them. At least they’re getting their own land in Shanghai Disney.
The Genie
We’re definitely scratching our heads on this one. The Genie is the most popular character in Aladdin, but he’s as rare as a snowball in the Sahara most days. You might see him pop up occasionally if there’s some sort of special event or holiday happening, but it would appear he spends more time in the lamp than the parks.
The Genie should be as regular as Aladdin and Jasmine at this point, but he’s strangely only reserved for special occasions. We don’t know the reason behind his scarce appearances, but it’s something that his fans definitely take notice of, and so do we.
Mushu
In the same vein as Genie, Mushu is one of the most popular characters of the Disney Renaissance. But despite his popularity and firey charm, Mushu hardly ever appears in the parks, unless accompanied by his pal Mulan. True, he does make occasional, somewhat random, appearances at Epcot’s China pavilion, but other than that he’s nowhere to be found.
Mulan’s Meet and Greet is always full of eager fans to see her, whether in her princess attire or her battle armor, but she just feels incomplete without her favorite guardian.
Jack and Sally
Not only are these two a pair of the most popular Disney characters period, but they also have a seasonal appearance you can only access if you stay for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. That means your chance of seeing them on a regular basis is practically zero, and we don’t mean the ghost-dog.
We can understand reserving Jack and Sally for the spooky season, but it would make a number of fans incredibly happy to see them on a more regular basis. Though we would have to admit, their queue line would probably stretch a mile long.
Maleficent
Maleficent is perhaps one of the most beloved villains on the roster and with her own solo films and other appearances in various media, you would think she’d be just as popular as the princesses at the parks. Sadly though, like most villains at the parks, she’s only a seasonal character with very few Meet-and-Greets.
She’s got her own horned-headwear in all the shops, her own desserts and treats, and even a starring role in Fantasmic. With her brand of popularity, Meet-and-Greets would be a no brainer. Unfortunately, it’s even hard to find her, even during the Halloween season.
Max
With the resurgence of ’90s nostalgia, you would think Max would be one of the various characters to return to the forefront, right? Well, unfortunately, he’s still one of the rarest characters you could possibly find in Disney. That being said, he does have a few occasional appearances in Epcot or Hollywood Studios if you’re lucky enough to catch him.
With a recent appearance and his own stage show at Disneyland Paris, we can’t figure out why he’s not still big in the states? At least his dad is always available for a photo or two.
Frollo
If there’s one villain that could possibly rival Maleficent in terms of popularity, it’s this sinister minister. Frollo is perhaps the most realistic and chilling villain the world of Disney Animation has ever known. So, he’s got an immense fanbase that adores meeting him during his rare seasonal appearances.
The Disney villains are a staple of Halloween at the parks, but even during seasonal events and special occasions, he’s still hard to find. He might have an incredible fanbase, but given his reputation, we can sort of understand why he’s kept on reserve.
Robin Hood Cast
We were going to count Robin Hood alone, but whenever Robin is out, he’s normally accompanied by a few of his furry friends from Sherwood Forest. Prince John and Friar Tuck have both been seen in the parks along with our favorite foxy archer, but despite being a popular group, Robin Hood and his pals are some of the rarest you can find.
You might see Robin Hood on his own at Hollywood Studios before the gates to Fantasmic open, or you might find his friends at some special occasion or spontaneous event, but you’re more than likely to get free access to Club 33 than to encounter these guys on the fly.
