Character Meet and Greets at Disney World To End This Weekend, per Report

Several character meet and greets at Disney World are reportedly ending on Sunday, October 23.

Credit: Disney Parks

Fans of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida visit the parks for a myriad of magical reasons, and each of them has favorite rides, attractions, and experiences they enjoy when they’re in the parks. Those favorites are some of the reasons Guests keep coming back to visit again and again.

But regardless of Guests’ ages, most look forward to saying hello to Mickey and the gang when we visit. As kids, it’s almost a rite of passage to meet the Mouse himself, and as we get older, it’s like visiting an old friend. Character meet and greets at the parks are some of the most popular Guest experiences enjoyed by thousands every day.

Sadly, reports suggest that several of the most popular character meet and greet opportunities at Disney World will become a thing of the past beginning October 23.

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Credit: Disney Parks

The areas and characters that are reported to be included in the cut are Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theater at Magic Kingdom and Minnie Mouse at the EPCOT International Gateway. In addition, Donald, Daisy, and Max will no longer meet Guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Minnie just joined Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater in July.

Credit: ResortsGal

At this time, it’s unclear how long our friends will be on hiatus, but reports say they’ll bid farewell to Guests this weekend.

The pandemic, which originally led to the halt of operations at Disney Parks all over the globe in early 2020, seems to be much quieter these days. Though people still get COVID, the number of infected individuals has dropped drastically. So why would Disney World announce its plans to cancel Guest-favorite experiences now?

Credit: Insider

Disney has reportedly made the decision because of labor shortages at Disney World.

In recent months, more character dining experiences have returned to the parks, and shows like Fantasmic!, which is returning on November 3 to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which feature several Cast Members, are straining the already lower pool of workers available to dress up and play the roles of Disney’s most beloved characters.

Credit: TripSavvy

Announcements about further cuts to experiences could be on the horizon if Disney World is facing a significant labor shortage. As such, we will continue to update our readers on this as news becomes available.