As this year draws to a close, I would like to reflect on some of the best news and happenings from the year, and the characters that Jon and I have met on our travels to the parks.

On the 1st of January this year, Jon and I launched our long time planned Disney Character website, and soon began adding many pages, features and pictures. We now have over 800 fans on our Facebook page, and we thank you all very much for your continued support in making this website a success. In the New Year we have some fantastic new features to be added, so stay tuned to see those!

We are always adding more and more content, and the website is always evolving and changing. We have a multitude of new characters, locations and outfits for characters to add that still haven’t been added. In addition, the content on the site needs another update, and I will be going through to make sure that all pages are fully up to date in the coming weeks.

So to our trips, and of course the characters we have met.

This year Jon and I have met over 130 individual unique characters. Of course on top of that, many of those we have met multiple times, in various locations, wearing different outfits. This year has been a very successful year in terms of the cool and rare characters we have met, and the different outfits we have seen for the Fab 5 and friends, and others.

Through this year we managed to get to four of the five Resorts (we didn’t get to Hong Kong), or putting it another way, ten of the eleven existing Parks! Quite the achievement, huh? 

Starting right at the beginning of the year in Disneyland Paris, we have some cool and rare characters that were out for Valentine’s Day. As well as Mickey and Minnie in their sweetheart finest, the Park surprised everyone by having out Jaq, Gus, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Bernard and Bianca! Quite the day for characters that day!







This year saw the addition of Tiana and Prince Naveen at Disneyland Paris. The Resort welcomed the pair in grand style by giving them their own section in a new daytime Castle show, by adding them to the day parade, and giving them set meet ‘n’ greet times on Main Street.



Disneyland Paris also welcomed three other characters into it’s family that were never there before - Boo, Mike and none other than Angel! All three began appearing alongside Tiana and Naveen in the same Castle show I mentioned above.







In Walt Disney World, Disney’s Hollywood Studios welcomed the newest Pixar villain, Lotso. He was put up in the usual “new character” spot over at the Animation Building. Lotso also started appearing in the Park’s Block Party Bash, as well as in Pixar Play Parade over at Disney’s California Adventure.





Also in Hollywood Studios the Power Rangers left after some years of meeting their fans on the Streets of America. This was due to the fact that Disney actually sold them!

Some of the Fab 5 and friends also received some new outfits at Hollywood Studios, which made a welcome addition to the normally themed-outfit-lacking Walt Disney World.











Hollywood Studios also saw the addition of a brand new character, Special Agent Oso. Currently the bright yellow bear can only be met by eating at the Hollywood and Vine.



In the Magic Kingdom, Chip and Dale started meeting in their cute space outfits full time (although they had been spotted out previously); Goofy moved from being a cowboy in Frontierland, to being a pirate in Adventureland, and Ariel was evicted from her greeting grotto in Fantasyland to make way for the new Fantasyland expansion. She was moved to the Adventureland Veranda, where for a while she met with her ever-elusive Prince Eric. Sadly Eric left a short while later, but Ariel remains there for the time being.







The Magic Kingdom saw two new major character additions this year, too. Belle was evicted from the Fairytale Garden to make way from Disney’s newest princess and her hero - Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.



Rapunzel and Flynn also made their debut at Disneyland in California, and Disneyland Paris.



Vidia was also welcomed to Pixie Hollow at both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland California, making the total Pixie Hollow Fairy count seven.



In California, the Princess Fantasy Faire show made a welcomed return, giving the much underused tent-stage a second life.



Duffy the Disney Bear, the immensely popular cuddly bear belonging to Mickey Mouse, was imported from Tokyo DisneySea and started making appearances in EPCOT and in California Adventure. Overall he has been a success, but not attracting anywhere near the attention Disney has seen in Japan, or that they had hoped for.



Back over in Disneyland Paris, at Halloween the resort premiered Dr. Facilier there for the first time. The witch doctor made appearances in the daytime villains show and in the special Halloween Soiree show, and in a first for any Disney Park, he made regular appearances for meet ‘n’ greets over in Frontierland. He also was featured in the day parade in his very own specially designed boat!





Around the same time, Chewbacca and Darth Vader made a random, but welcomed return to Disneyland Paris, now currently meeting over in Discoveryland near Star Tours. It is the only park where either of these two meets regularly.





Staying with Halloween, at the Soiree this year they put out three very rare and random characters - Pain, Panic and Philoctetes!





Before we leave our tour of the year’s events, we have to of course mention the most magical season of them all, Christmas. Nothing really amazing happened at the parks this year, but Disneyland Paris saw some new meet ‘n’ greet outfits for some of the Fab 5 and Friends.









As you can see, it has been quite the eventful year in the world of Disney Characters. Hopefully in 2011 we will continue to welcome new characters into the Disney family, and will be able to add them to this site for you all to enjoy.

Happy New Year everyone!