>

Everyone loves seeing the characters in the parks. When my son was younger, we had to get an autograph book every trip to Walt Disney World. We would get to the Magic Kingdom right after the rope dropped and catch as many characters as we could outside the Magic Kingdom and right around Main Street Square. We have many autographs and pictures from these excursions. Some times, the wait for the characters was worse than the wait for an attraction. So, we used to go other places to find the characters we wanted to see. We have eaten at the Character Breakfasts, so we could see Lilo and Stitch for example. But sometimes, Magical Experiences happen when you are least expecting them. A few years back we stumbled upon a place that looking back on it, we should have looked for all along, but like many visitors, we looked at the guide map and decided there wasn’t anything there, so we didn’t plan a stop. I’m talking about the Unknown Magic of Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Camp Minnie-Mickey is one of the areas in the Animal Kingdom. As you look at the guide map, the only attraction there is the Festival of the Lion King, but at the time, my son who was 10 wasn’t interested and we decided we could bypass it. I think the only reason we ended up in that area of the park, was because we thought it was the path that lead to the exit, but instead led us to this wonderful Unknown Magic. As we walked along the path, we passed by side paths that we didn’t think anything about, until we saw people walking back from them holding out autograph books. So we thought there must be someone up the pathway, so up the first path we went.

When we got there we were very surprised! Not only was Goofy standing there signing autographs and posing for pictures, dressed in outdoor wear, but there weren’t any more than 2 people in line with us. It was amazing. We actually stood there and played around with him, got him to sign our autograph book and each got our picture taken with him. We also got a family picture with him, taken by the character guide that was with him. We continued down the main path, this time taking the time to go up each side path and seeing who was there. At that particular time, it was Mickey and Minnie. Just as it was with Goofy, there weren’t really any other people in line. It was a really great way to see the Characters and so nice that there were very few
 other people there with us to get their autographs and pictures. And the area where you get to meet them is a very casual place; it is a small wooden gazebo, back in the woods. Very “camp”-like.
Another one of the meet and greet pavilions that is in Camp Minnie-Mickey, is some what larger. It actually houses 3 to 4 characters at a time and is home to the Hundred Acres Woods crew; Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. This line was little bit longer, but compared to other places in Disney World, it wasn’t bad at all. We actually got pictures and autographs of all four characters within fifteen minutes. You can’t even do that at the Crystal Palace Buffett.

What a Magical Experience, it was to see three of the big five, and then the Pooh crew all in a matter of twenty minutes and get pictures and autographs with them. We even got an autograph from Koda, from Brother Bear.

So, now you know, there is an Unknown Magic hidden in the Animal Kingdom. It is Camp Minnie- Mickey, and it can provide you with Magical Experiences, by giving you an opportunity to see some big name characters, get their autographs and not even have to wait in lines with many other people.