Big Character Change Up at Animal Kingdom

Sivako! Your next trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom will look much different. Disney made a big change to how you will meet several characters. What do you think of this change?

Coming to an End

animal kingdom wilderness explorer russell character — Credit: Susan

Back in 2020 when Walt Disney World reopened we noticed many changes. The most interesting was the ways to meet the characters.

Disney creatively introduced distanced meet and greets, character cavalcades, motorcades, and even flotillas. As character hugs returned many of these cavalcades and motorcades disappeared.

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests could still enjoy many of their favorite Disney pals floating along the Discovery River at the heart of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It now appears that all Character Flotillas have come to an end.

Character Meet and Greets

Earlier it appeared that Disney’s Animal Kingdom was beginning to make a transition to character meet-and-greets on land.

Pocahontas and Meeko can now be seen in the Oasis section and guests can meet Goofy over at Dinoland. Find Pocahontas near the bridge to Discovery Island. If you want to see Meeko, head over to Garden Gate Gifts by the front of the park.

Even with these meet and greets, the character flotillas still continued to entertain guests throughout the day. Now all character flotillas are removed from the My Disney Experience app. These characters now meet all throughout the day.

Last Remaining Flotilla

Reopening Date Announced for a Disney World Refurbishment — Credit: Kate

The final flotilla at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the Discovery Island Drummers. Throughout the day starting at 9:15 am until 4:15 pm, guests can still enjoy these lively beats.

All Character Flotillas are removed from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

This is an interesting transition. Many guests enjoyed the surprise of seeing their favorite characters along the Discovery River. You can see a full listing of character meet and greet times on Character Locator.

What do you think of this change? Do you prefer traditional meet and greets or do you like the Character Flotillas? Share your thoughts with us and share this news with your Disney pals.