Hello everyone,
Sadly as much as we would have LOVED to have been at Long Lost Friends Week this week at Disneyland, we can't be everywhere at once, especially since they didn't announce the dates until just last week.
Although we are very sad we aren't there, fortunately the only character who has appeared so far that we haven't met is Ludwig (yes, he was in WDW, but for the same reason, we didn't see him! So annoying!)
Anyway, for those of you like us who can't get out to DL this week, I've put together my own collection of pictures from my adventures meeting all the same characters at the Disney Parks around the world! (Except Ludwig, of course...)
Not to criticise their efforts this week (it really looks amazing), but this post also proves that actually, with some effort - and luck - you could actually meet nearly all these characters at all the other parks, which brings me to this: who truly is "long lost?"
Who would you put out this week? Who is the "rarest of them all?"
I'll post my suggestions later in this post!
Meanwhile, back to this weeks offerings...
So, here it is! Character Central's very own "Stay at Home Long Lost Friends Week!"
First up, Disneyland have Esmeralda, Clopin and Frollo this week. All three can be found in Tokyo or DLP if you're lucky. Esmeralda is the most common one, but it's not impossible to find the others too! Frollo usually appears everyday at DLP Halloween
As you can see, I've also had the good fortune of meeting Quasimodo and Phoebus. Neither are appearing this week.
Lilo and Stitch aren't really "long lost" at any park, but nonetheless, they're there this week! Stitch is out daily in Tokyo and Florida, and features at character meals in California and Florida.
Both appear on some Disney Cruise Line sailings fairly often.
Scrooge McDuck is not so long lost in Tokyo, where he appears daily. He used to appear in DLP fairly often, but not so much nowadays sadly.
He appeared at WDW's Long Lost Friends Week, along with Ludwig von Drake.
Jane and Terk are generally harder to find, but not impossible. The Critter Breakfast in DL is a good place to find Terk (because a Northern Californian themed breakfast makes so much sense for an African gorilla...), and Jane features every year at all the Halloween parties at the Magic Kingdom.
As you can see, Tarzan appears with Jane and Terk at the Magic Kingdom during Halloween, but he isn't appearing this week at DL.
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are definitely very rare ones this week, but as luck would have it, I've met them!
They have appeared very rarely at DLP, including just a few months ago when it snowed really bad and the day parade had to he cancelled!
If you've ever done any Disney marathon, you might have been lucky to meet them too.
Ping and Mushu can be tricky to find, but not impossible, especially in DLP!
Mushu appears daily in the Studios with Mulan.
Mulan doesn't dress as Ping often, maybe once a year, but again, not impossible (just very unlikely, sadly).
The Robin Hood gang are always highly sought after amongst character fans. They used to always appear at DLP, but more recently you can only find Friar Tuck, with the Sheriff and Prince John both usually appearing at Halloween time.
Fortunately all four are still out daily in Tokyo.
All four appeared at WDW's Long Lost Friends Week.
The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf are also usually a highly sought after bunch amongst character fans.
Luckily you can still meet all four of them daily in Tokyo Disneyland, where they have special Toontown outfits!
The three pigs have also been out at DLP a few times this year. They were out at Valentine's, and again more recently at Easter.
The Wolf appeared daily last year at DCA's Dancing with Disney, but that has since ended.
All four appeared at WDW's Long Lost Friends Week.
Pocahontas can be found daily in Animal Kingdom, and I know that she sometimes appears in both Tokyo parks, as well as occasionally along the trail in Frontierland at DL.
Meeko has fallen in to semi-obscurity sadly, but he does usually appear at the Critter Breakfast at DL (which makes more sense than Terk!)
I believe he might still appear with Pocahontas in Tokyo, but I'm not sure.
John Smith is a very hard to find hero indeed. I met him just once at the much-missed Pirate and Princess Parties at the Magic Kingdom (that picture isn't below as it's not very good quality, sadly).
He has also met runners at some Disney marathons.
Governor Ratcliffe definitely is a tricky one, but can usually be found regularly at Halloween time in DLP.
Peter, Wendy, Hook and Smee are definitely not long lost!
Peter and Hook appear almost daily in DL itself! Wendy is harder to find in the US these days, but can appear randomly at both US resorts.
All four are always out in Tokyo and Paris.
Peter, Hook and Smee appear on select Caribbean Disney Cruise Line sailings.
Well that's everyone!
I said I'd offer some of my own suggestions for another Long Lost Friends Week, so here they are!
(I'll keep it to characters I do have pictures of but are extremely hard to find. That means they have appeared in some capacity in recent history at the parks, and I'm not just grasping at straws!)
First up, let's top the Lilo and Stitch offering and add into the mix Jumba, Hamsterville, Gantu and the Experiments!
They have appeared occasionally in parades and shows only at Tokyo Disney Resort. I was extremely fortunate to attend a very special event where we got to meet them in June 2011. Anyone who knows me or reads this blog often will know that Stitch is my favourite character, and when I met these characters, I could have died happy there and then!!
Let's also beat Scrooge by adding his naughty nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie!
The Nephews are definitely incredibly rare, but in 2011 appeared at DLP's Christmas and Halloween seasons for guests!
They also, at least up until last year, appeared regularly in Tokyo's Easter and Halloween parades (they've never been allowed to meet guests in Tokyo though).
I have also been very lucky to meet them at some special events.
I might not have met Ludwig, but I have met another duck who is near impossible to find in the US, but who does appear from time to time at DLP (yes, he's appeared even in the last few weeks I believe!), it's Launchpad McQuack!
If you're going to find him, he'll be at the Hotel New York in the mornings. He is pretty random, but definitely not impossible. DLP is almost certainly the only place you will find him nowadays.
The Three Good Fairies might be rare, but there is one fairy who has never appeared in the parks for meets, and that is the Blue Fairy.
I met her at a very special event for Disneyland Paris' 20th Anniversary last year, but you can only normally find her in parades at the parks.
Frollo might be a nasty villain, and the Wolf somewhat fiendish, but there are some who are so evil that they appear very rarely!
What about Stromboli, or even Yzma and Kronk? Of course no villainous selection would be complete without the king of the Underworld, Hades!
Hades has met guests at both DL and DLP at Halloween in the last couple of years, though appearances have been random. It would definitely be good to see him more often.
Stromboli, Yzma and Kronk haven't been seen meeting guests for years, sadly. Although, Yzma and Kronk do appear in the Disney Cruise Line show Villains Tonight!
Peter Pan is definitely a hero, and John Smith gives any good man a run for his money, but what about Li Shang, or the hero who is a god among men, Hercules?
Li Shang has appeared rarely at EPCOT in the last year or so, but is quite elusive overall.
Hercules used to appear daily at Tokyo DisneySea, but hasn't been seen since last year, sadly. He hasn't been seen in any other park for a very long time.
Now, don't you wish that was this weeks line up?!
If they had a Long Lost Friends Week like that, I'd almost certainly be booking the next flight, even if it cost the Earth!
I really hope you enjoyed this post, and that it gave you an insight into character hunting around the world - as well as not making you feel so bad now about not attending this week!
Now that you know all these characters appear elsewhere, where will your next Disney trip take you? Have you been tempted to book a trip?!
You can share your own rare character photos with us by clicking the 'Discuss' button at the end of this blog post, and posting your own pictures to our forum!
Also, remember, "who is the rarest one of all?"... Let us know what you think!
Have a great day everyone,
Dan. |