Alright then, what do we do to actually meet free-range characters?

Well, the simplest explanation is that you just wander over to where they are and line up to meet them. But… don’t do that

That is not a tactic that is going to meet with success. Understandably, there are a lot of other people that want to meet with these Disney characters as well, leading to… you guessed it: long lines. If we want to see the characters, we have to go early. As in, at least a half hour before the start time of the character meet. For popular or rarely-seen characters, you may have to queue up even earlier than this.

Extra lines for our neurodivergent loved ones are… unhelpful, I know.

Thankfully, this is where the Priority Card comes in. Before we go any further, though, I want to remind you that using a Priority Card for character meets is good for the card-holder and up to four additional people. So that is five total per Priority Card. If you bring more people than that, only five (including the card-holder) will be allowed to meet the character.

You may have reservations.

Unlike using the Priority Card with rides/attractions, the Priority Card operates on a reservation system when used with free-range character meets.

There are a limited number of ‘meeting slots’ for each character each day, so there isn’t the ability to come whenever we want. Instead, we need to come to the character meet location before the first ‘opening time’ for the character. Make sure to come at least ten minutes before opening for regular free-range character meets, and 30 minutes before for ‘rare’ characters. Then, when talking to the Cast Member who is waiting there (sometimes they will be holding a disability sign), we will receive a return time when we can come back to meet the character. In order to receive a return time, the card-holder must be there when requesting the return time.

There are a limited number of ‘meeting slots’ that can be reserved by using a Priority Card.

Which is to say that for each character meet, there are a limited number of Priority Card holders who are able to receive a return time to see that character during the time they are there. This makes sense, as otherwise guests who don’t have a Priority Card would be forced to wait around for an hour or more and then end up not meeting the character at all.

And that would not be fair. This is why we have to come early to receive our return time! If we aren’t able to see the character due to there not being any return times available, we can try again another day. Sometimes there are multiple times in the day when a character is available to be met, so we can also try again during the next meeting time (for example, there may be meeting times in both the morning and the afternoon). There is no limit, however, to the number of times you are able to use the Priority Card to meet characters.

No touchy, no touchy. No touch.

When you are meeting free-range characters, you are able to talk to the Cast Members that are accompanying them to let them know of any needs that you or your loved ones may have.

For example, if you really, really don’t want to be touched, you can let the Cast Members know that, and they can talk to the character before you meet them, keeping more of the magic alive. This is not to say that all characters will touch you! But many of them will offer a hug, a handshake, a high five or something similar. And if that is a trigger for you or your loved one, then avoiding that is a good thing. This isn’t to say that the characters will always receive the information, or won’t get you mixed up with another guest. They will try their best, but are human too, so even if you request something specific such as no touching, mistakes can still be made. Just to let you know so you can plan accordingly.