Disney Announces New Hotel Addition — and We’re Not Sure If We Like It

Disney has announced a new addition for some of its hotels, but we’re not sure how to feel about it and we want YOUR input!

All-Star Movies

It’s been a BUSY time for Disney World’s hotels. Construction is actively taking place on the Disney Vacation Club Villas being built at Disney’s Polynesian Village. There’s also a LOT of work happening at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (seriously, it’s an intense construction zone over there in certain areas). Plus, we’ve seen updates that’ll make your hotel pool day much fancier, and other things happening around the resorts. But now we’ve got one update that is…interesting.

Disney has announced a NEW addition for the lobbies at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort and Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort. The addition is called “Disney Character Clicks” and it’s powered by At&T 5G.

So just what is it? Well, basically it’s a…photo booth(?) of sorts. It’s a complimentary PhotoPass experience that’ll only be available for a limited time.

Character Clicks at All-Star Movies

When you enter these lobbies, look for the Character Clicks photo box. You can tap your MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile Pass to the reader on the box, and then select a Disney character to digitally appear in photos with you. The characters are all dressed up in their outfits for the 100th Anniversary.

We spotted Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto as some of the digital character options.

The Options

You can select multiple characters to appear in your photo. Once you select the characters you want, you’ll step back and watch as they pop up on the screen. Then you can pose with them and get some shots. You’ll find free photo downloads from your session on the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com/PhotoPass.

Snap a Photo

On the one hand, this is an easy way to snap some photos with Disney characters in outfits themed to the 100th Anniversary. We don’t expect these booths will have tremendously long lines, so it’ll also likely be much quicker to do this than it would be to get in line for a “traditional” character meet and greet.

While Disney has done some character caravans at the hotels where some characters appear in their 100th Anniversary outfits to meet with guests, those aren’t guaranteed to pop up during your stay. You’ll need to be at the right place at the right time to see one of those.

Awwwww

And it’s otherwise difficult to find Mickey in his 100th Anniversary outfit in Disney World, though it appears Mickey and Minnie are set to meet guests in their 100th Anniversary outfits in EPCOT once that park becomes the “host” of the celebration in Disney World later in the year.

So, ultimately, this provides you with a more “guaranteed” way of snapping that character photo with a 100th Anniversary outfit theme.

What Do You Think?

On the other hand, it is not a true character meet-and-greet experience by any means. You can’t hug the characters, get autographs, talk to them and see their response, or interact with them in any real way. They pop up on the screen, move around a bit, and then you take the photo — that’s basically it.

And while the photos make it sort of look like the character is “there” with you, it’s not perfect. It won’t really replace a true character meet-and-greet photo.

It’s essentially just an enhanced version of a Snapchat or photo filter in a way, which may frustrate some fans who feel like they can already get a similar effect by just using the technology on their phones or computers.

 

 

We have a feeling that some fans out there would have preferred that Disney instead focus on making it possible for more true character interactions to come to the hotels (or the parks) with our favorite friends in their 100th Anniversary looks.

But what do YOU think? Do you like this addition? Do you think it’s something Disney should do more of? What do you think Disney should have done instead of this 100th Anniversary offering? Tell us in the comments!

Character Clicks

For more 100th Anniversary news, see our posts linked below and stay tuned for updates!

What do you think of this addition? Tell us in the comments.

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