Disney Park Guests Want More Characters Not Rides, Numbers Suggest

From Disneyland to Tokyo Disney Resort, all Disney’s theme parks have one thing in common: long lines. Meeting Mickey, riding Space Mountain, even buying a pretzel – everything comes with a wait time, with a park’s newest attractions typically drawing the longest of the lot.

However, that currently isn’t the case at one Disney theme park.

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Just four months after it opened, Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen is generating lines that rarely hit over 40 minutes. On a recent visit to the park, this writer found that even when lines were posted at over 30 minutes for Frozen Ever After and Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, the reality was generally 20 minutes or less.

While the park’s newest rides (and every other ride) sat at relatively low wait times, one attraction consistently drew in lines over an hour long: Duffy and Friends Play House.

The permanent meet-and-greet spot is home to Duffy, Shellie May, LinaBell, Olu Mel, and other members of the Duffy and Friends gang. On March 19, wait times for LinaBell reached the highest peak in the entire park at 140 minutes – eclipsing The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, and Frozen Ever After, which were the next busiest attractions.

This isn’t a one-off. Hong Kong Disneyland is currently in the middle of its three-month Duffy and Friends Play Days celebration, which involves limited-edition merchandise, shows, and treats around the park. While this has caused a small rise in wait times, lines are consistently long to meet the crew year-round (hence how Duffy ended up with an official park-wide celebration in the first place).

As Inside the Magic has reported multiple times in the past, Duffy and Friends are infamously popular across Hong Kong Disneyland and other Disney theme parks in Asia, with Shanghai Disneyland recently generating a chaotic eight-hour line for the drop of new Duffy merchandise.

If these lines are anything to go by, this is the exact kind of experience Hong Kong Disneyland fans are after. The resort has infamously struggled in the past, only turning a profit for a handful of years since it opened in 2005. However, leaning into the fandom that continues to surge around Duffy – and embracing more character opportunities – may be key to helping the park thrive in the coming years.

Do you think Disney should put more effort into its character meet and greets? Let us know in the comments!