The Best Villagers In Disney Dreamlight Valley

Disney Dreamlight Valley scratches a very particular itch for fans of life-simulator games everywhere. If Animal Crossing’s aimless tranquility isn’t really your thing, then perhaps Dreamlight’s elaborate quests, story, and RPG-lite systems will be. Likewise, if you prefer a healthy dollop of IP to interact with while harvesting and fishing, you’ll be right at home.

The town is populated with characters from many walks of Disney, all lovingly rendered — both visually and personality-wise — in the dialogue trees you can have with them. But which of the game’s 30-plus residents is the best? Here’s a look at Dreamlight Valley’s citizens du jour.

Updated on October 13, 2024, by Bobby Mills: With the roaring success of Disney Dreamlight Valley, Gameloft continues to add more and more fresh faces to the roster, from movies both classic and modern. With the cast pushing 50, it would be impossible (and a big ask of your time, dear reader!) to rank every single villager; but we felt it was right to at least keep our list updated with the newest arrivals, now that the Eternity Isle saga has concluded, adding Jafar and Tiana. Bon appetit!

22 ​​​​​​Mickey Mouse

The Leader Of The Club

A list like this just wouldn’t be complete without the big cheese himself: Mickey, even if he is occupying the bottom spot. As one of the first characters you’ll meet when embarking on your village restoration project and one of the oldest residents of the valley, you’ll have ample time to get to know Mickey. Though he initially seems to exude nothing but the usual corporate-approved squeaky-clean energy, he soon reveals hidden depths.

We join Mickey at a low point. Minnie has phased into another reality, and he’s dealing with her absence in the only way he knows how: forced smiles and raucous laughter. Still, the mouse is supportive through the game’s tutorial, has a marvelous selection of dapper outfits, and continues to be a great pal long after you rescue his beau.

21 Donald Duck

He Gets Stuck With All The Bad Luck

For once, Donald is a notch above his lifelong rival, Mickey – something he’d be absolutely thrilled about if he ever got his feathery mitts on our list. But really, he’s like the Luigi to the big Mick’s Mario: supposedly the second fiddle, but the one who gets the buckets of personality and character flaws that the sanitized company mascots aren’t afforded.

In Dreamlight Valley, Donald’s no different. A jerk with a pounding heart of gold, you’ll hear his incessant temper tantrums (which sound like someone landed a direct hit on a train whistle factory) from the other end of the map. Constantly tripping over himself, but eager to please his squeeze Daisy and the other Villagers in spite of his rage, you’ll learn to love this grumpy mallard in no time.

20 Jafar

Not Quite A Diamond, But He’s Rough

What Dreamlight Valley attempts to do with Aladdin’s nemesis Jafar is super-unique, and sets him apart from the more cut-and-dry villainy of his fellow ne’er-do-wells: a redemption arc. To begin with, he’s the principal antagonist of the Eternity Isle DLC, luring you to the ancient ruins so that he might tap into Oswald’s power as the ‘first spark of imagination.’

Once his plot is foiled, however, Jafar realizes if he doesn’t want an eternity of banishment, he’d better start pulling his weight for his fellow residents. There’s something ever so slightly off-putting about seeing him prepare gift baskets and cook fine meals, but it’s good for a chuckle or two. By the end of his friendship quests, Jafar’s been put on trial for his prior misdeeds, and your player character’s happy to let him off the hook. That being said, he might have a scheme cooking for the next DLC…

19 Mike And Sulley

They’re A Package Deal

“Wait!” we hear you cry. “What are you playing at, including two characters in the same entry?” Simple: from the very moment they lumber their monstrous hides into the Valley, Mike Wazowski and Sulley are inseparable. In the Monsters Inc. realm where you find them, they’re locked in a managerial dispute over laugh power; after you restore efficiency to the factory, the incumbent CEOs are keen to take a vacation in your town.

From there, you’ll never see these two chums apart. They live in the same house, share a sleep schedule, attend the restaurant and store together at the same time, and their quests revolve almost entirely around each other. In a way, it’s kind of sweet – though it can get overbearing when you’re trying to hang out with, say, Sulley, and Mr. Wazowski won’t back off. Everyone needs time apart, fellas!

18 Jack Skellington

To A Guy In Kentucky, He’s Mr. Unlucky

Answering the cries of fans, and in response to tremendous demand in surveys and polls, the Pumpkin King himself has wandered into the Valley. Once you beat Act 1’s story, a mysterious tree spawns in the Forgotten Lands – a tree with a pumpkin-shaped door carved into it that’ll probably appear familiar to anyone who’s seen the holiday classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s the entryway to Halloween Town!

Once you round up an assortment of dolls and arrange them around the tree, the door pops open, and out clambers the spindly skeleton, who’s eager to start bringing his own brand of mischief to the town. He never quite got over his fascination with Christmas, and his good heart compels him to start distributing gifts to his new neighbours; but he can’t resist mixing in a few spooks and scares. Your job is to help keep his fixations in check.

17 Vanellope Von Schweetz

Precocious Racing President

When you unlock the DreamSnaps photography mechanic about halfway through the game, it’s to be expected that there’d be a tutorial. But while any other game would do this via tedious text boxes, Dreamlight Valley instead opts to introduce an entire new character to centre it around. It’s the President (and princess) of Sugar Rush herself, Vanellope.

Ralph’s little buddy is here to show you the ropes about optimising your DreamSnaps shots; and, once that’s over with and her adorable candy house has been situated in your valley, she brings a decidedly video-gamey flair to the town. Her quests involve you completing fishing minigames, brewing health potions, and, ultimately, going on an RPG-esque adventure where Buzz is the final villain. Game on.

16 Ursula

Charismatic, Aquatic Dealmaker

The inclusion of Disney villains in Dreamlight Valley continues to be a point of contention among players. On the one hand, they are absolutely iconic and super-fun characters in their own right. But then again, it does rather affect the laidback tone to have literal murderers and con artists wandering about. All the same, Ursula is a total riot.

Notably, she’s more charitable than many of the supposed ‘hero’ characters are. She soon takes you under her wing (er, tentacle) as her ‘angelfish’ and is more than happy to concoct as many Faustian bargains as you need to help the other villagers with their problems. It’s also the last time the legendary late Pat Carroll got to play the role.

15 ​Goofy

Lovably Clumsy Business-dog

If there were any Disney character you would peg as having an entrepreneurial spirit, it probably wouldn’t be Goofy. And yet here he is, with his near-total monopoly over Dreamlight Valley’s economy. Sure, Scrooge McDuck has a clothing store, and Remy the rat runs a restaurant (that nobody seems to pay at), but if you want any chance of staying fiscally solvent? Goofy’s your sole option.

He operates numerous stalls across the valley’s biomes, buying and selling veggies and other assorted goods for whatever price he feels like offering that day. At least when he’s not all business, he’s cheerful and amiable to hang out with — asking for help with his photo album hobby and demonstrating his ‘perfect cast’ fishing technique. But come on. We all know it’s an act, Goof.

14 The Beast

Prince Who Must Learn To Love

One half of a duo of characters that emerge from the Beauty and the Beast realm door (the distinctly furrier half), Beast takes some encouragement to come out of his hardened shell. When you first encounter him, he’s sequestered himself in his castle, convinced that there’s no way the sweet Belle could ever love him. Which is a sticky wicket, because her love is the only thing that can break the spell keeping him a monster.

After a handful of quests, he joins his sweetheart in the town, but his insecurities continue to mount. He can’t get out of his own way long enough to make friends; despite Mirabel, Kristoff, and Buzz all making efforts to get to know him. It’s up to you to renew his confidence, and in the end, he’s settled, even showing a softer side by setting up a flower stall. Very handy for getting some of those rarer species.

13 Daisy Duck

How She Puts Up With Donald Is Anyone’s Guess

Daisy, a member of Disney’s ‘Sensational Six’ (formerly ‘Fab Five’ before some clever chap pointed out they’d omitted Pluto), was conspicuous in her absence for the game’s first year. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy were all present and correct since day 1 — so Gameloft needed a plausible excuse for her to turn up out of the blue.

What alibi did they land on? Daisy, being a journalist, had been touring the world for hot scoops and, after a certain amount of playtime, you’ll get a letter in your mailbox heralding her return. Once she’s resettled, she opens a Boutique, which you can use to distribute your gorgeous Touch of Magic clothing items to other players, as well as participate in her daily design challenges. She has characteristically exacting standards, so bring your A-game.

12 ​​​​​​Simba

The One And Future King

​One of the valley’s quadrupedal citizens, this friendly feline comes as a package deal with his mate Nala. He immediately scores points for the beautiful Pride Rock home you can install for the couple, which sets the Sunlit Plateau off gorgeously. In terms of Simba himself, he’s a very useful buddy.

His questline will introduce Dreamlight Fruit trees into the village’s ecosystem; these exclusive plants can be used in a host of high-value recipes and are crucial to progressing several quests. It’s also hysterical to see Simba strutting about the town performing his ‘Hakuna Matata’ head-dance — but surely his neck must be starting to hurt by now!

11 Rapunzel

Flower, Gleam And Glow

Another buff to the princess quotient will never be turned down by Disney fans. Once you make your way into the Wild Tangle rainforest on Eternity Isle, you’ll bump into Rapunzel (complete with her 50 feet of braided hair) whiling away the hours painting. She doesn’t seem to care too much that her adoptive mother abandoned her on the island; as long as she has her tower and her capybara chums, she’s content.

Once you attend to Rapunzel’s initial quests, you can either leave her in the jungle, or situate her in your original valley instead. She’s an energetic addition to the cast, and has a fairly compelling questline which culminates in a moment the movie never quite had the guts to include: her calling out Mother Gothel for her narcissism and telling her, to her face, never to speak to her again. You go, Punzie.

10 Tiana

Forget ‘Almost There’, She’s Just There

And the princesses just keep on rolling in. Hailing from the bayou of New Orleans, this feisty young culinary master comes with her gargantuan restaurant, Tiana’s Palace, which is a welcome addition; it doubles the capacity of Remy’s overstuffed branch, which with the game’s cast now nearing 50 was probably needed. The jazzy, warm aesthetic of her joint makes the rat’s place seem positively ramshackle.

Tiana herself is a wonderfully kindhearted villager, immediately ingratiating herself with the townsfolk by shoving Cajun food down their gullets. Her questline generally involves her bringing a touch of pleasantness to the village, whether by liberating caged critters from Mother Gothel’s home, holding a cookery contest, or opening a meal stall for the shyer residents that don’t fancy sitting in. The only downside is that her husband, Prince Naveen, is nowhere to be seen. C’mon, Gameloft: Ariel gets Eric and Anna gets Kristoff.

9 Mulan

She’s Getting Down To Business

With her fierce combat skills and regimented lifestyle, Mulan reps for the less traditionally ‘feminine’ end of the Disney Princess spectrum (staffed also by the likes of Merida and Raya), which brings spectacular diversity to your valley. She’s a bit over her head when you first find her in her realm; oversleeping on duty and failing to keep the camp clean. Luckily, you soon pluck her from her responsibilities for a cozier life under your jurisdiction.

It’s fascinating to watch the battle-hardened princess struggle to adapt to village life. You’ll catch her swinging swords around and striking kung fu poses and her questline deals with her inability to perceive daily activity planning as anything other than battle stratagems. She soon strikes up a friendship with Mirabel and Scrooge, though, and is able to start a tea-tasting society, which takes the edge off.

8 Stitch

Cute, Fluffy Abomination

If you’re looking to infuse your valley with a bit of chaos, Stitch is your alien. He makes a bang of an entrance right off the bat, crash-landing his spaceship on the beach and immediately setting about playing pranks on everyone. Swiping socks, erecting unflattering signs of Donald — he’s quite the mischief-maker. Luckily, you’re able to bring out his goodness and convince him to mellow out.

Stitch will teach you the meaning of ‘ohana’ as you go through his (oddly nostalgic) quests, which mostly involve bringing his Hawaiian home’s comforts to Dreamlight Valley. A rustic beachfront house, a VHS-compatible TV, a ukulele; everything a little blue fluffball could need. Now all we need is Lilo to keep him company.

7 Buzz Lightyear

To Infinity And Beyond!

Of the game’s two Toy Story reps, spaceman Buzz edges out his cowboy partner Woody. While it’s precious that the two toys come as realistically-sized nippers, Woody’s brown outfit (and tendency to flop on the floor) makes him tough to spot when you need him. No such danger with Buzz; his fluorescent green wings and loud laser would make any Space Ranger fail a stealth mission.

Buzz’s quests and dialogue trees are great. It’s apparent that his delusions of being a real ranger never fully left him as he patrols the valley instructing you to watch out for Zurg. One mission even has you perform a full combat drill in case of a Zurg invasion, right down to having you wear a crummy cardboard spacesuit. But hey, with Dreamlight Valley’s magic? It could happen.

6 Moana

How Far Will She Go?

A staunch supporter of sailing, Moana is a delight to have around the valley. In contrast to the fairly tedious company, her friend Maui provides (not to mention more chest-beating than a Donkey Kong game), this peppy, excitable lass earns her keep from the moment she sets foot in your town. She runs the local fishing service, going off on her boat and returning with fresh fish catches every few hours.

Especially exciting is when she has rare finds among her spoils, like kingfish and fugu, which are otherwise extremely hard to come by (and needed for some delicacies). Apart from this utility, she’s bubbly and confident, giving the village a zap of energy whenever she walks by doing the hula. Sail onward!

5 Ariel

Darling, It’s Better Where It’s Not Wetter

She wants to be where the people are, and she’s pulled it off. When you first meet Ariel, she’s beached on a deserted island, so it’s a good thing Goofy just so happened to be working on a raft that magically conveys you to that very place. Like her nemesis Ursula, this princess is initially water-bound, so any land-based hangouts are off the table. This can make raising her friendship level a bit tough.

But worry not! Just as in the film, if you pursue Ariel’s questline enough, she’ll sprout legs — no voice sacrifice required. From then on, she’s a full-fledged member of the community, and it’s pure magic to hear Jodi Benson’s voice singing away in the background. Extra points, Gameloft, for putting her in her lovely ‘village girl’ outfit rather than the puffy ballgown Disney prefers to have her in all the time.

4 Belle

Girl From The Great, Wide Somewhere

They obviously couldn’t put in Beast without Belle; like peanut butter and jelly, the two are inseparable. She’s yet another classic Disney princess to bolster the ranks, and her presence is very much welcomed. It’s kind of surreal seeing her chat with fellow heroines like Elsa and Mirabel who are at least 20 to 30 years her junior. The magic of IP crossover!

Belle is deeply in love with Beast, being able to see the good heart in him beneath all that matted fur, and will stop at nothing to bring it to the surface and heal it from years of isolation and corruption. She enlists you in a series of projects designed to demonstrate to a skeptical Beast that she really does care, with mixed results. In her spare time, Belle enjoys cracking open a good book, and can often be seen rifling through Merlin’s collection, to his slight chagrin.

3 Mirabel

Exceptionally Unexceptional Gift

As Mirabel Madrigal is an extremely young member of the Disney family — hailing from 2021’s Encanto — few players expected her to be added so soon, even in spite of her movie’s juggernaut popularity. As it turns out, she’s utterly charming and more than earns her place in the Valley. It’s impossible not to mention her house, an eye-popping recreation of her family’s Casita, which comes alive to wave at you every time you pass by. Hola!

Sweet, mischievous, and eager to please, Mirabel teaches you about a lot of the game’s secondary mechanics, like animal feeding and cooking for profit. All of this is wrapped up in stories about her (extensive) familia, inescapably catchy renditions of the movie’s songs, and more hypnotic skirt-twirling than you could ever want. She’s the real gift.