Apparently only the people (I.E. kids) chosen to help Belle tell the story of Beauty and the Beast get to meet and greet and grope Belle. Of course, I read conflicting information on different sites. Maybe someone who has been through the meet and greet can help shed more light on the subject.
My sister-in-law and mother-in-law took my daughter to MK one day during softs and they did do this. My daughter is way to young to have a part (she wasn't even 2 at the time), but at the end she was "chosen" to sit near belle and get a picture taken. I believe they try and make sure all kids get a picture with Belle at some point during the show. Also, they get to spend more "time" with Belle since it is a story and everything. I was told the kids really enjoyed the experience. I was asking if it was worth it for me, I know my daughter would love it again. Also, it was really cool because everyone got a photo pass at the end of the session and it had a ton (I think over 50) pictures on it that were taken during the story telling time. So you get to have more than just pictures posed with Belle, but if your LO is part of the story you get pictures of that too. I thought that part was neat.
I never got the praise for the dumbo queue area. It's a simple play area that they just threw in a queue. The Curious George foam ball play area at Universal Studios Florida is a much funner concept AND (Get This!), it's an experience that the whole family can enjoy (and can be a war zone at times). The only other difference is it's not attached to a ride. Let's also remember that this has been part of the park since 1998.
It has a lot of little touches to it that if you go around and look at are pretty neat. The sounds it makes when kids do certain things is neat, the fireworks area is cool, the play net has a thing the kids can walk across that is pretty cool. The 2 - 3 year old area is a huge hit for LOs and the fire truck is very popular because there are so many little things on it that the kids can play on. I have seen 6 or more kids playing with it at one time. Two sitting in it, two at the rear playing with the buttons, one playing with the wheels, and one playing with the lights in front. There i also a puzzle thing near it that was added later that LOs enjoy. My daughter is pretty shy and even on busy days she is walking around wanting to do various things in it. Not only are some of things innovative in it, but the fact that they tied it to a ride so instead of standing in line with a whining kid for 30 minutes you are sitting inside with your kids playing.
I am surprised someone said their kids would not play. The only times I have seen this is with older kids (14+) who think they are too "cool" for a kid play area. But I have also seen that age group run around on the nets and not want to come down when the pager goes off, so I think it depends on the kid. But I have never seen kids around me not want to play because it is crowded and I have been there when it is max capacity. I will admit for my LO it is best when it is EMPTY to the point where people don't have to go in there and can go straight on the ride. She loves it then because she gets to play on the big kids stuff.
I have been to the curious george ball area and personally it was not for LOs under the age of 4. So the nice thing about Dumbo is it is for any child who can walk to whenever they decide it is not "cool" enough
Heck when I went with my husbands friend he wanted to go crawl up in the area
I do think it could have been a little bigger to handle a line more than a 40 minute wait, but I have only ever seen Dumbo more than 40 minutes twice. So I guess they are going for the average day and not the Christmas crowd days.
I don't understand how anyone can be against something that keeps kids entertained while waiting for an attraction. That baffles me.