Character Meet and Greets at Universal Orlando Resort

Have you ever dreamt of meeting your childhood (and adult) heroes? Well, now you can at Universal Orlando Resort! There is sure to be someone who will have you racing over to get an autograph; from cartoon favourites The Simpsons, beloved Marvel superheroes including Spider-Man and Captain America through to real-life icons such as Marilyn Monroe. So why not grab a camera and capture some special memories that will last a lifetime?

Big and small kids alike are bound to love meeting the famous faces roaming the park and interacting with guests, or at scheduled appearances throughout the day. On arrival at the park you will receive a guide map with icons showing the general area where and when characters are set to appear. To be sure you don’t miss any of your favourites it is worth double-checking with a member of Universal’s staff which characters will be appearing and exactly where.

You could even download the official Universal Orlando Resort app to your mobile phone or tablet before you go (its conveniently available for both Android and Apple platforms), which will show you the Character Zones and the times that the performers will be available for autographs and photos, as well as providing plenty of other helpful park information.

“Loved the experience, the characters were great and at 39 years old I felt like a kid again! Amazing atmosphere, friendly actors and generally a huge bonus to an amazing day”

In both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, you can meet with characters including SpongeBob, Shrek and his friends, the Grinch, the Simpsons, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy and many more. You’re bound to have plenty of fun seeking out all of the famous figures!

The younger members of your group will be thrilled about meeting the intrepid Dora the Explorer as she sets off on an adventure through the park, or how about having some fun with the lovable Minions? For older kids the impressively-costumed Transformers such as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron tower over the crowds and are sure to appeal, and taking the chance to meet all the Marvel superheroes who ride out on ATVs to meet the guests and sign autographs is a must!

Experiencing the Jurassic Park Raptor Encounter is something that you should definitely try to fit in to your trip. Having made its debut in 2015 at Islands of Adventure, this meet-and-greet experience will make you feel like you are part of the Jurassic Park movie, as an actor introduces you to a realistic velociraptor which emerges from its containment and poses for photos with guests!

Fortunately waiting times for the character meet and greets are usually quite short, with around 15 minutes at most, even on busy days. This means you don’t need to plan your day around queuing if you are trying to collect as many autographs as possible.

Full list of Meet and Greets at Universal Studios:

• Transformers including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron outside TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D
• Meet with various members of America’s favourite family at The Simpsons Character Zone
• Find SpongeBob SquarePants inside the SpongeBob SquarePants store
• Universal’s Superstar Character Breakfast at Cafe La Bamba
• Shrek and Donkey outside the Shrek 4-D attraction
• You might find Woody Woodpecker, Curious George, Doc Brown from Back to the Future and more at the Hollywood Character Zone

Full list of Meet and Greets at Islands of Adventure:

• Marvel Superheroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm and Rogue within Marvel Super Hero Island
• Spider-Man can also be found at the Marvel Alterniverse Store
• Marvel Character Dinner at Cafe 4 on Marvel Super Hero Island
• Classic Comic Book Characters including Betty Boop, Popeye and his sweetheart, Olive Oyl
• Raptor Encounter within Jurassic Park
• Meet The Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am, Thing One and Thing Two, as well as The Grinch at the Dr. Seuss Character Zone

Please note: Appearance of characters listed is subject to change without notice, and not all characters listed are guaranteed to appear at the same time or on the same day.

Character Dining at Universal Orlando

It’s not just roaming the park that you will be able to meet with the many characters that inhabit Universal Orlando Resort; there are plenty of character dining opportunities where you can grab a bite to eat and meet with your favourites.

Start the day the Universal way, with Universal’s Superstar Character Breakfast. At this buffet breakfast on Thursdays to Saturdays at Café La Bamba, you’ll bump into SpongeBob SquarePants and say ‘hola’ as you meet characters from Dora the Explorer and Despicable Me before they head out to take part in Universal’s Superstar Parade, which you can watch from a special viewing platform after your breakfast.

Over at the Tahitian room in Loews Royal Pacific Resort, every Saturday you can enjoy a leisurely buffet breakfast of favourites, including pancakes, eggs and bacon while the kids meet with the Despicable Me crew, including Gru, Edith, Agnes and the Minions. It’s worth noting that this room has communal seating, so you may be sharing tables with other guests.

However you don’t need to have booked a room in the hotel or have theme park admission to reserve your space for this breakfast experience!

There are a couple of seasonal dining experiences that you might want to look into if you will be at Universal Orlando over the Halloween or Christmas periods. First up is Halloween Horror Nights Scareactor Dining Experience at Universal Studios' Classic Monsters Café, which will set the mood for your night of ghoulish fun at the park. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat themed dinner buffet with the chance to have some scary photos taken with costumed characters. This dining experience isn’t recommended for guests under the age of 13, as it might be too intense, and is available on select evenings in September and October. You’ll need to reserve ahead of time to make sure you get a seat as these are really popular nights.

For something a little more relaxed and family-friendly why not book the The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast. Head to the Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous in Islands of Adventure on select dates between November and December to meet the Grinch as he makes his way around the tables whilst you enjoy the delicious breakfast buffet selection on offer. Again, you’ll need to make reservations to ensure that you aren’t disappointed this Christmas!

Whichever characters you bump into over at Universal Orlando you are sure to make holiday memories that you’ll treasure. If you have any photos of your meet and greets that you want to share we’d love to see them, and might even share them on our social media channels!