Notice Issued: Disney Restricts Character Meet-And-Greets, Photo Ops Not Available

Since the inception of Walt Disney’s original park, character meet-and-greets have offered guests the opportunity to interact with their favorite figures from Disney media, ranging from classic icons like Mickey and Minnie to newer favorites like Elsa and Moana.

The rarest and most exciting meet and greets often happen at after-hours events, such as Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure Park. Characters like Pain and Panic, Cinderella’s stepsisters, and even rare villains like Sid from Toy Story (1995) sometimes appear, creating unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities.

That’s the case at Disneyland After Dark. Varying by year, the event series includes 90s Nite, Sweethearts’ Nite, Pride Nite, and Star Wars Nite for 2025.

This week saw Disneyland host both nights of its 90s Nite, during which it introduced strict rules for its character meet and greets.

Disney Restricts Character Meet-and-Greets

As per a notice shared on Reddit, guests on March 6 were alerted to the fact that characters would not be available for proper photo-ops.

Instead, they would only be allowed to enjoy “wave and play” interactions with popular characters at Fantasyland Theatre, such as Darkwing Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Launchpad McQuack, and Scrooge McDuck.

Update for tonight’s character experiences at fantasyland theater
byu/Noodlesaurus90 inDisneyland

“Disney PhotoPass will not be available for these characters,” the notice warned. “Event Guests will have the opportunity to take photos of the characters on their own devices as they walk through the location.”

While guests reportedly received the notice during Disneyland After Dark: 90s Nite, others noted that Disney has similarly clamped down on meet-and-greet events during other Disneyland After Dark events. “This is how it worked for Star Wars nite characters last year,” one Reddit user wrote. “No photo-ops except with backgrounds or droids.”

Standby Lines Cause Chaos

Those who attended Disneyland After Dark events that used regular standby lines claimed that this was a better alternative. “I remember when Queen Amidala was at Star Wars Nite 2023,” one wrote. “The line went from Fantasyland Theatre past the Frontierland entrance. I’m so glad that they changed it to a walkthrough ‘wave and play’ experience last year.”

Another who attended 90s Nite on Tuesday – seemingly before these restrictions were introduced – claimed that standby lines had caused chaos. “The characters would be on for 30 min, then a 30 min break,” they said. “It was awful. Disney didn’t want to spend the extra money on two of each character. It’s so blatantly greedy and ripping off the attendees.”

A guest who had a similar experience wrote: “It was a mess on Tuesday; I would have preferred this; I waited in line for an hour, and the characters all went on break as I was walking towards them… waited for 45 minutes and nothing… I left… wasted about two hours to get a picture with a cardboard cut out of gizmo duck… really was looking forward to Darkwing Duck.”

It remains to be seen how things will play out for Star Wars Nite when the event begins on April 8.

Disneyland After Dark: 90s Nite

Character chao aside, Disneyland’s 90s Nite event saw parkgoers dive headfirst into the nostalgia with rare character experiences, photo opportunities, a decade-inspired cavalcade (90s On Parade), Goofy and Max’s Dance Party, singalongs, and a lineup of limited edition tasty treats and merchandise.

To add to the excitement, guests can also enjoy shorter lines for popular attractions at Disneyland Park.

Are you attending a Disneyland After Dark event?