Walt Disney World Resort has been treasured by guests for over 50 years, but the park still holds many secrets waiting to be discovered. 

Disney superfan or not, to many guests the best part of any trip to Disney is meeting your favourite characters, serving as a reminder that we’ve left reality behind and entered a new world of fantasy.

As peak Disney season approaches, there’s been a huge +1000% increase in Google searches for ‘Walt Disney World Resort characters’ in the past month.

To add a little bit of magic to your trip, the experts at AttractionTickets.com has compiled a list of the 5 best-kept character secrets for you to explore on your next visit to the magical resort.

1. The ultimate Disney princess sighting

The most common way to meet your favourite Disney royals is through the traditional meet and greets, mainly in Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom is known as the unofficial ‘Disney princess headquarters’ and is where many guests hang out hoping to get a glimpse of their favourite princess – however, there is actually a much better location to spot them.

If you head to the U.S.A train station in Main Street at Magic Kingdom, located at the front, you’ll see a big variety of Disney characters by the train station waving hello to guests, including the princesses.

2. Andy’s not coming!

It’s a well-known myth amongst Disney fans that if you supposedly shout ‘Andy’s coming’ to the toy story characters that they’ll fall limp onto the floor. This ‘secret’ surfaced from an image of the toy story characters laying flat on the ground at one of the resorts, however, it isn’t the reality of what would happen and most likely the characters would be lying on the ground all day with the number of people trying this.

Instead, at Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, say howdy to Sheriff Woody, yodel a hello to Jessie the Cowgirl and remember to greet Buzz Lightyear with your best Space Ranger salute.

3. Up your selfie game with props

If you have a favourite character that you want to meet, did you know you can bring a prop and take your themed photo to a whole new level? Whilst you don’t want to carry anything too heavy, you can easily pack a few small props to add more charm to a photo with your favourite characters.

Whilst meeting Belle in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, bring your favourite book and pretend to be reading it in the photo. You can also offer an apple to Snow White in the Town Square Theater right inside Magic Kingdom’s entrance, or wrap up in a scarf and hat to beat the cold with ice queen Elsa in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot.

4. Spot *this* rare character

While there are plenty of characters you can expect to meet on a daily basis at Walt Disney World, there are some rare characters that only come out a few times a year. The Disney villains and princes are known to be the most rarely spotted characters around the parks, however, they do appear in the parades.

But Mushu, the fierce protector of Mulan, is the rarest character you will ever come across. When he is slithering about, you can usually find him in the Chinese Pavilion at Epcot and if you spot him that usually means Mulan is nearby as well.

5. Say THIS to get a character’s attention

Want to grab your favourite character’s attention? Say this to leave a lasting impression…

Any wonderlanders should head to the UK Pavilion, Epcot and tell Alice that today is your ‘unbirthday’. Greet her politely and shake hands, you can also ask what her favourite tea is or what her favourite colour flowers are.

Or in Fantasyland, next to Gaston’s Tavern, if you’re feeling confident you can challenge Gaston to an arm wrestling or a push-up contest. To butter him up, be sure to tell him you think he is more handsome than the Beast and he might just let you win.