Toonfinding
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Toonfinding

(toon-find-er): 1)(n.) a person who tracks down the various animated characters within themeparks. Disney themeparks were the first to use these characters. 2)(n.) a cast member within the Disney themeparks whose sole job is to assist Guests in locating various characters for the Guests to interact with. 3) (n.) a website dedicated to the meet-n-greet characters of the Disney themeparks.

Toonfinding… what an odd little hobby that has expanded into so much more. Greetings… for those who don’t know who I am, I am Lord Niekon, the webmaster for a site known as Toonfinder.com. And what exactly does Toonfinder.com do for it’s visitors? In a nutshell, it’s a place where people young and old can visit to see photos of some of their favorite Disney characters who have been out over the past few years within a meet-n-greet atmosphere. Amongst a plethora of photos of these characters, there is also an interesting mix of articles, restaurant reviews, and other such tidbits… thus the full title of Disney Characters and Stuff. But this is a bit of rambling on my part. The purpose here is not to discuss the site but rather the fun and not so fun times that one can have while exploring the Disney parks in search of those elusive characters and interacting with them. And before we’re a bit further into this I do have to point out that I have never worked for Disney nor will I likely be working for Disney for various reasons (one being I’d more than likely have to give up on the site), so anything written here is from the fingertips of a normal (now that’s funny) person who just has a high respect for the characters and those who work with them. So let’s begin shall we?

Let’s make sure we have the necessary equipment before we proceed:

Camera? Film or diskettes? Character autograph book(s)? Pen that is functioning? Back-up pens? Map of the park(s)? Patience? Admission ticket(s)? Toonfinding partner (it makes life easier, trust me on this one)? Money for drinks after a morning of madness (OK, maybe the drinks are a bit premature at this point in the story)?

Autograph Book

If you have most of this, then you are ready to go… and don’t forget the sunscreen because you will get burnt to a little tourist crisp and then served up at one of the Cast Member cafeterias as a dessert.

For those who have never really done a trip to a Disney park with character hunting being part of the itinerary let’s go over a couple of basic rules of engagement…