Credit: DisneyLast week, Disney cast members were the first to visit Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy in their new EPCOT meet-and-greet location.
After The Walt Disney Company destroyed Future World and Innoventions, Mickey Mouse temporarily greeted guests in the Imagination Pavilion near the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival. Chase Disney Visa cardholders can also meet two of four Disney characters just steps away: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto.
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The Chase cardholder meet-and-greet will remain, but Mickey Mouse will leave the Imagination Pavilion location on June 10 with the opening of CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza. Located in the World Discovery neighborhood, the new Walt Disney World Resort areas will feature EPCOT’s permanent Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet.
Disney cast member Maddie Bell (@maddiebell03 on TikTok) shared this video after attending a Walt Disney World Resort employee preview of the new character experience. Bell posed with Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse at the new EPCOT meet-and-greet:
@maddiebell03 my first cast preview was today and it was everything I hoped for and more 🥹🥹 #disney #disneycastmember #epcot
“It was everything I hoped for and more,” Bell wrote. “…The queue was so cute.”
Like the former Future World Character Spot, guests wait in the same line for all three characters. First, they meet Mickey Mouse, followed by Goofy, and finally, Minnie Mouse. Each Disney character poses in front of EPCOT-inspired murals featuring Disney Park icons like the Monorail, the Imagination Pavilion, and Spaceship Earth.
According to Bell, only Mickey Mouse is “guaranteed” to be at the new meet-and-greet daily. Guests could encounter other classic cartoon friends instead of Minnie Mouse and Goofy. It’s unclear who else could appear at the EPCOT meet-and-greet, but they’ll likely be friends of the Mickey Mouse Club, such as Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Pluto.
The new Mickey and Friends meet-and-greet also features PhotoPass photographers instead of automatic camera boxes currently operating at meet-and-greets throughout Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
“Actually photopass photographers?!” @elawrence91 commented. “Yay!! I was so worried that they’d put those stupid boxes in.”
Disney Parks fans overwhelmingly loved the updated character meet-and-greet.
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“The last space was so heinous,” said @jdizzle1972. “Huge improvement.”
“I’m getting old EPCOT vibes,” @nicoleeabella replied.
Still, some commenters were underwhelmed by the space.
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“They just made a lame version of what was already there,” @youngjj0 wrote.
Bell promised the disgruntled fan that Communicore Hall is much better than the former EPCOT Character Spot.
“The last one smelled like sewer and this one doesn’t… so I’d say it’s definitely an upgrade,” the Disney cast member replied.
Is EPCOT’s new Mickey and Friends character meet-and-greet better than the former Future World location? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.