The number of Animal Kingdom characters available for meet and greets is less than you will find in other Disney Parks, but they still feature a few unique opportunities. In addition to the fab 5 you can also find some characters that are more animal related. The one thing you won’t find much of here? Princesses. That’s right, there is only one of them. There are still plenty of good opportunities to meet here though if you’re looking to find characters.
Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for informal chances to meet characters in the park. These can be some of the best chances for special and truly unique interactions. If the characters have the time, they are always willing to interact. There will be a few instances where they may have to keep moving along due to a commitment. Don’t take offense. As an example, check out this random meeting with Alice from Alice in Wonderland, where she was strolling along and our girls simply waved at her. While this actually occurred in Epcot, you get the idea. These can make some of the most cherished memories for you and your kids. Keep those eyes peeled!
Remember, one of the time-honored traditions of Disney World is that characters will sign autographs. If you’ve got little ones with you, this is a great way to make a memory that will last for them. These are some tried and true Disney autograph books. A good pen is also helpful for the fur characters as their hands are covered with a costume.
Below we’ll lay out for you the formal opportunities and some of the informal ones, where you can catch a few minutes with some of your favorite Disney characters in Animal Kingdom. Certain characters can only be met at Animal Kingdom, so if they are on your list must do things make sure you plan accordingly. The characters you can only meet for free in Animal Kingdom are:
- Kevin
- Pocahontas
- Russell and Dug
- Scrooge McDuck
- Launchpad McQuack
- Timon
- Rafiki
Always get a daily times guide as you enter each park.  Characters who are available for meet and greets will be listed on there, along with specific times and locations where you can find them.   Also, while times may show as continuous over several hours, be aware that characters take breaks throughout the day, so you may have to wait while the characters take a break. As you can imagine, an hour in the hot Florida sun and humidity while sporting some of those costumes can take it out of you!
Now let’s talk about the Animal Kingdom characters you can find around the park!
Chip ‘n’ Dale (in Dinosaur Costumes)
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 3:30 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet: Chip ‘n’ Dale meet in all of the parks; however, Epcot is a character meal at Garden Grill that you will have to pay for
Daisy Duck
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet: Daisy meets in all the parks. You can also meet her at the Tusker House character meal in Animal Kingdom.
Donald Duck
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet: Donald meets in all the parks. You can also meet him at the Tusker House character meal in Animal Kingdom.
Goofy
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â Goofy meets with Pluto
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet: Goofy meets in all the parks. You can also meet Goofy at the Tusker House character meal in Animal Kingdom.
Kevin
Where:Â Roaming Discovery Island
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet: None. Do note that Kevin will stop for pictures if you ask nicely, but this isn’t a formal meet and greet. She’s around 12 feet tall and blue, so she’s hard to miss roaming around. And that’s not a typo, Kevin is actually a girl!
Launchpad McQuack
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â None
Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Where:Â Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island
Times:Â All day
Other Characters:Â None
FastPass+ Eligible:Â Yes
Other Opportunities to Meet: Mickey and Minnie meet in all the parks. In Animal Kingdom Mickey and Minnie are also part of the character meal at Tusker House in the Africa area.
Pluto
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â Pluto meets with Goofy
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â Pluto meets in all the parks
Pocahontas
Where:Â On the trail behind the Tree of Life on Discovery Island
Times:Â Usually from about 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â Nope, this is the only place you can meet Pocahontas
Rafiki
Where:Â Character Landing on Discovery Island
Times:Â Usually shortly after park opening to around 5:00 PM
Other Characters:Â Timon
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â None.
Russell and Dug
Where:Â Discovery Island at the Wilderness Explorers Clubhouse
Times:Â Usually between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â None
Scrooge McDuck
Where:Â In DinoLand U.S.A.
Times:Â Between 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM
Other Characters:Â No
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â None
Timon
Where:Â Character Landing on Discovery Island
Times:Â Usually shortly after park opening to around 5:00 PM
Other Characters:Â Rafiki
FastPass+ Eligible:Â No
Other Opportunities to Meet:Â None
Character Landing Offers Random Animal Kingdom Characters
In addition to these scheduled character meet and greet opportunities you can meet random characters at Character Landing. There are no assurances that there will be meetings on any given day, but we’ve had luck here in the early afternoon. As you can see in the picture above, we’ve met Thumper and Miss Bunny here. Pictured below is when we met Terk too.
Character Landing can be found on your right as you get close to the bridge that takes you from Discovery Island to Dinoland U.S.A. There’s a small sign above the entrance. It’s a pretty small little pathway.
Your first clue if there is a meeting going on is that a cast member will be standing at the entrance. They can sometimes be cagy as to who is meeting, but we’ve generally found they will tell you is there.
Recently we also ran into Jiminy Cricket at Character Landing. Always check here for various Animal Kingdom characters!
Other Disney World Character Guides
While Animal Kingdom character meet and greets are more sparse than other parks, there are some great opportunities here. Especially when you consider the number of characters you can only meet in Animal Kingdom. If characters are really your interest right now, below are links to the character articles we have for each of the other parks.
Magic Kingdom Character Meet and Greets
Epcot Character Meet and Greets
Hollywood Studios Character Meet and Greets
Wrapping Up
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