For the Dream, some things that may help:
- use the paper Navigator and the DCL app to discover where the scheduled character meet and greets are. You can then decide if you want to avoid them or not, but at least you'll know that at 3 o'clock on the deck 4 balcony of the atrium Minnie Mouse will be having a character meet. Keep in mind they will have to walk to/from the meet location. The nice thing with the app is you can see the character M&G for the entire cruise. You can also find specific characters if there is one you WANT to visit. Do check each day though because sometimes they add extra M&G slots. Also, if you wanted to, you could set them all as favourites and have the app warn you in advance of a M&G.
- most of the
scheduled meet and greets take place in the atrium area of deck 3 and 4, and then some other areas on deck 3 - there is a vestibule and some background areas on the perimeter of the atrium that they will use. Also, at the other end of the shopping area there is an open area that they will use. As you can see from the clip below there may be other locations on the ship that have scheduled M&G times, too.
- on deck 4 there is an outdoor promenade that circles the ship. This is a great place to take a nice walk because it is sheltered - covered by an overhang of the deck above and the lifeboats. Makes for some nice pictures too. They have really nice padded lounge chairs set up at intervals along the deck. This is one of my family's favourite places to just sit and relax and read a book or for my sister do some hand quilting. We spend a lot of time here and I highly recommend it if quietly relaxing in the shade while watching the ocean go by appeals to you. HOWEVER, the characters also use this as a pathway to get from point A to B. Often they are walking quickly and while they may wave as they walk past are not stopping and greeting. Occasionally they will do a brief stop and greet, but it would be easy to shake your head no if they came close and wave them off. In our experience they haven't really disturbed people who are clearly lounging on the loungers. They are more likely to greet people who come up to them or who are playing shuffleboard. We have seen a couple briefly join into a game of shuffleboard. So if you are ok with a character making their way from A to B and thus being present but at a distance and not interacting with you, then you should be ok. If not, be forewarned. Note that the loungers are perpendicular to the deck -- head is against the wall and foot is out toward the ocean, and the walking path is wide. See pic below.
- inside on deck 4 [think of it as the first balcony level of the atrium] there is some nice seating on one of the sides. I've put two pictures of it below, one taken from below, the other showing it directly. These couches are really nice to relax in. I've even fallen asleep in them before
For the M&G that take place on this level at the ends of the "balcony", the guests will line up along the railing waiting for their turn. The seating is thus a great place to wait for a family member who wants to do the M&G but you either don't want to [you can still see your family member] or if you can't handle standing in line [so family stands in line and you join them when you get close to the start]. The characters will also walk past on the carpet pathway you can see in the second photo as they move from point A to B. But usually they are really moving and not stopping for greeting as they do that. If you are sitting in by the wall you won't have any interaction with them. Did I mention the sofas are really comfy ??
- we have seen sleepwalking goofy walking the stateroom decks
Finally, have you considered counseling ? A good counselor may be able to provide you with some tips and strategies you haven't thought of that may help you outright overcome or if not, better manage/cope with, your fear. It sounds like you have already made some good progress !
SW
The
Disney Cruise Line Blog fan site has copies of previous navigators available; you could browse those to get an idea of M&G locations:
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/
Here is an example of the character appearances listing from the first day from one of those Navigators for a recent sailing of the Dream:
Deck 4 promenade; sorry it is at night and was raining so the loungers are put up, but you can see where they are and the wide walking space available.
Deck 4 indoor seating from below and direct
