Better Character Interaction at EPCOT?

[Susan A]

Another mom (of a 7 year old) says she prefers EPCOT for kids because it has better character interaction. She there were more characters at EP vs. the Magic Kingdom and that the characters at EP roam around the park, vs. standing in line at greeting areas in the MK.
She was there three years ago.
Does anyone else find that to be true?

[TheVBs]

Can't say whether there are actually more at Epcot than MK, but you do still have to stand in line to meet them. There are often characters placed around the World Showcase which may make it seem more open and like they're roaming, but they're still actually designated meet & greet areas with lines. Hope this helps!

[Melanie]

A few times I've seen 'training' going on in front of the fountain there by Club Cool and Mousegear, and it's definitely more relaxed. But yes, around World Showcase and in the Character Spot, there are the typical queues.

[PirateLover]

In my experience, roaming characters are rare. From what I've seen, the length of character interaction is dependent on crowd levels. If the line isn't super long, you will likely get more individualized time. If crowds are low overall, you may see a roaming character here and there. Some of my best character interactions have happened in the MK.

[AgentC]

On a regular day I think Epcot character interaction is about the same as any other park. There are not roaming characters. I actually find the lines there to sometimes be longer because the spots in the World Showcase are clearly marked and easy to find so they tend to build lines quite early.

Your friend may have felt like the characters were roaming because so do meet in rather random spots at the front of the park and it may not feel like a real spot.

The other thing she might have run into is the character training Melanie mentioned.

They often do training at Epcot. They will usually bring out 6-12 characters in a large group. The last few times I've seen a training session they have been in between the Canada and UK pavilions and in the US pavilion. They are great fun but they are not advertised so it is just luck if you come across one.

[phillydan]

On our last visit to Epcot, we were taking a break in front of Figment an out of no where came no other than Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I assumed they were in training, since the location was kind of off the beaten track. The funny thing was that no one really knew they were there, so Cindy was by herself for almost 5 minutes just looking around and waving. Once a few people lined up though, it was the usual mayhem. Not sure if this classifies as roaming, but it was most unexpected.