New Phineas and Ferb Meet & Greet
First appearing on Disney Channel in August of 2007, and appealing to both children and adults, the animated series Phineas and Ferb has taken the world by storm. With a sketch on some butcher paper in a restaurant by Dan Povenmire of a boy with a triangle head, he and his partner Jeff “Swampy” Marsh were inspired to create the Emmy Award winning show we know today. It wasn’t always this easy though as it took them 16 years of pitching their idea until Disney finally accepted it.
It was hard for Disney to make the leap. Here’s an animated series that presents itself as hard lines and well defined shapes and angles. Not being rounded or humaniform it wasn’t exactly the type of animation Disney is used to producing. In fact, Disney Channel CEO Gary Marsh was against it, and the company had originally said “No” to the series. However, looking for something to rival Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Disney eventually piloted and then signed on for the series.
And that’s when it started. That one question everyone who visits a Disney Theme Park starts to ask about their (or their children’s) favorite characters. In this case it was, “Where can I find Phineas and Ferb?” or “Where’s Perry?” Of course, the answer was initially nowhere. Disney did not throw their marketing and franchising genius behind the show fully until after it’s second season. The first official in park appearance of Phineas and Ferb was in the 2009 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade at Disneyland. People immediately wanted more, and since this time they’ve appeared a few more times, especially media events.
Now, as a lead in to the release of their upcoming movie “Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension”, Phineas and Ferb have created a movie set on Disney’s Hollywood Studios Backlot. It can be found near the exit to Muppet*Vision 3-D. There is a well organized rope-queue where you’ll find a sign that is intended to bring you into the story. And the hours as indicated when I visited were 10:30AM – 2:00PM and 3:00PM – 5:30PM.
The premise is that the boys are on the backlot to make a movie called ““We’re Making a Movie” – The Movie”. And the best part? Everyone’s a star in it. The set is considered “hot” (meaning they’re making a movie), and you’re in line waiting to film your scene in the movie with Phineas and Ferb. The set itself is full of all sorts of eye candy for fans of the show, including Ducky Momo, the Giant Floating Baby Head, and an occasional appearance of Perry the Platypus (sadly not a live character).
The queue can be long, I waited about 45 minutes to see Phineas and Ferb, and this was on our second attempt. We had decided that the line was far too long the first time. They payoff is pretty good, you can spend as much as 4-5 minutes with the characters. They do take frequent breaks, heading behind the scenes roughly every 10 to 15 minutes which contributes to the long wait time.
The boys are working with a Director who, while interacting with the boys is also there to help create other scenes for the movie. Pulling guests out of the queue he will stage some of the better known musical numbers from the show including: Gitchee Gitchee Goo, S.I.M.P. (Squirrels In My Pants), and Backyard Beach (a personal favorite). These folks don’t just act out the parts, they get props to do it with. Inflatable guitars, the giant baby head, hula skirts, etc. The Director then pulls out his camera and a clapperboard and after announcing the take with the help of a guest, he “films” the scene. Keeping with the highly interactive nature of the Studios it is exciting, fun, and enjoyable to watch.
Here’s a clip of the Director in action by Shane G (used with permission) of StudiosCentral.com:
The characters are definitely the best part of this meet and greet. And I don’t just mean Phineas and Ferb, who look fantastic (though freakishly large), I also mean the Director who, no pun intended, can steal the show if he’s very into it (I’ve seen a few different castmembers playing this role). If anything the set itself is a disappointment. It’s a 2D background depicting the tree under which the boys get most of their “creative” ideas. The rest of the set is entirely built out. It just feels out of place. Sadly Perry the Platypus is not an interactive character he just pops up as a painted piece of the set from time to time. Disney also missed the mark in not painting the building behind the set to look like Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.
Whatcha doin’? Have you met Phineas and Ferb yet? Long to? Excited to meet them? Are you their biggest fan? Today is gonna be a great day.
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Does this still exist? Heading to the park in April, 2013…
Our 6 year old LOVES Phineas and Ferb…Hollywood Studios is on our schedule…Downtown Disney is not.
THANKS!
I noticed that this meet is not on any of the touring plans nor is it in the lines app. Are you guys planning on adding this in to any of the touring plans or putting it in lines?
I will mention this to the team. It’s not even in the Ultimate Plan.
I do make some suggestions up above with some plans you can work it in to.
Does anyone know if this meet and greet area still exists? We are going in June 2012, and I know my boyfriend’s son would love this.
It was still there as of the end of October.
It’s still there as of last night 🙂 (12/20/2012)
They’ve tweaked it a little for the holiday season.
Jen if you ping me a few weeks before you go on Twitter, I can check for you then… I’ll be in the parks for all of the Star Wars Weekends.
Awesome!! I love the director and all the interaction with the people in the queue – only at Disney! We aren’t going until Aug 2012 and I’m so hoping they are still there then!!
Yeah it’s pretty neat. It’d be cool if they last that long.
Thanks for the information Todd. Huge Phineas and Ferb fans in this house. We were sad that we missed them in March. Of course, this just adds to the reasons that we have to head back to WDW. Will be showing this to all of my boys (hubby included) later.
Woot! And then you’ll tell him where you booked to stay right? 😉
This looks great! What is touringplans suggestion on when its best to fit this in our day at Hollywood Studios? Right when it opens at 1030am?
How old are the kids? (or are you just Adults?)
If I were following the Tween Plan ( http://touringplans.com/plans/18327 ) I might drop it in in place of the Backlot Tour or the Magic of Disney Animation..
For Small Children Plan ( http://touringplans.com/plans/18325 ) in place of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, or take your break in the park instead of exiting, and then use the saved time to do the meet & greet.
for the Non-Touring Touring Plan ( http://touringplans.com/plans/18315 ) swap out whatever makes sense. You might even still be able to do the thing you swap out.
Hope that helps.
Thanks! Very helpful. I’ll be with two boys ages 10 and 6 so I know we’ll need to hit Toy Story Mania and Star Tours and RockNRoller coaster
You’re welcome
I hope they are still there in October when we go! My kids are CRAZY about P&F! They normally do NOT like getting their pics taken with characters (sad, but on the upside at least we don’t have to stand in line!), BUT they are SO EXCITED to meet P&F! I can’t wait to get their pics taken with them! And they will be SO disappointed if they aren’t there when we go!
Well the movie is out in August, and you can figure Disney may well be pushing it along through October. I really don’t see why they’d pull it out, just that it’s not got an air of permanence.
Do you know if there are any plans to get this at Disneyland?
I do not. Characters meet&greets are handled much differently at DL than WDW. For example, WDW tends to have queues and designated areas for them. DL tends to be a bit more ad hoc.
We loved the Phineas and Ferb meet and greet; the only thing that would have made it better is the boys being a bit more rested so they would have gotten into it more. I’d love to see Perry and Dr. D added to the mix here or Candice and Jeremy or Isabella…tons of possibility with this! Just wish they had more merchandise – it seems to be hard to come by.
Are you saying I wore your kids out Lynn? 🙂
Yeah with all the great quotes from the show you’d think they’d have some of those on t-shirts.
Is this going to be a permanent M&G? I am hoping they will keep the boys around. Although, I would LOVE to meet Doofenshmirtz. We will be going in Oct. I hope they are still there.
It doesn’t have a feeling of permanence, and looks like it could go down as easily as it went up. OTOH, not sure what else they’d put in there, so it wouldn’t hurt them to keep it around.
My son and I love this show. He’s really looking forward to the meet and greet in August.
He’ll really enjoy it. It’s really geared for children of all shapes, sizes, and ages 🙂
That show is awesome – headed down next week. This will be a must stop at the Studios.
Yup I love Phineas and Ferb also, glad my wife got me hooked on it. Have a great trip.