Please tell me your favorite Character dining experience and why!

[Edelweiss]

I am so conflicted about the Character dining experiences. I have a 7DD that would love it. Is the $$ worth it? Or is it better to just try and catch the characters in DL?

Thank you for your help!

 

[ludari]

I've done five or six character dinings and most them have been on the Disney Cruise Ships. The only character dining experience I had in the parks was at WDW and it was very similar to the cruises. I prefer these character dining meets over trying to find them in the parks because as you enjoy your meal the characters will come to your table for those photo opportunities and the cast member will take the photos for you. Obviously you will not meet all the characters during yoru dining experience so if your DD has a favorite character you should confirm which characters will attend. I believe it's worth it because you are getting a meal, not having to stand in line and I feel you get more time to spend with them.

 

[RavenRequiem]

I've only done 1 as I hadn't been to DL in 16 YEARS! Well, I made sure we went to Surf's Up! as it was my birthday and I HAD to see Stitch. He's my favorite. Well, we were seated near the front where they do the dancing with the kids and the pictures. During a lull in the crowd, a slow song came on and Mickey started slow dancing by himself. My sister got up and asked if she could dance with Mickey (she was 25 at the time). He paused and kept glancing around for Minnie so he wouldn't get in trouble. Meanwhile, he took so long to do this, Stitch came up and started dancing with my sister. Once Mickey noticed this he started pouting. All the while Stitch kept teasing Mickey all while dancing with my sister. Those of us at the table were laughing the whole time. It was hilarious.

 

[GeneralTso]

If your daughter likes the princesses at all, then Ariel's Grotto would be perfect!
You get to meet Ariel (with the fin) as you go in. Then the other princesses rotate through. One time we were there and they were "switching shifts" so we saw double the princesses: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Belle, Jasmine, Mary Poppins and Alice I think. It was many years ago.

Our favorite is Goofy's Kitchen. We loved the interaction there.

Least favorite--at the Grand Californian, I forget the name. Very subdued vibe, kind of dark, characters that were pretty unknown except Baloo.

 

[SharonLovesMickey]

I LOVE character meals. I am guaranteed to see the characters. They usually spend a few minutes with you, especially with younger kids. AND YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR DAY WAITING IN LINES. I LOVE characters, so I always book plenty of character meals.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Nov 2012 my family attended four of the five at DLR, skipping the Storyteller's one at GCH. I vote for Minnie & Friends at the Plaza for character interaction. It's SO lame that it's the one meal where your official photo is without a character, but there are SO many characters, especially old-school, classic ones and the ones at M&F were the most playful and interactive. So it was a lot of fun.
Otherwise, though, I vote for AG, because I liked the more formal feel of it. I liked the musical cues and official introductions of each princess. I enjoyed having a sit-down meal where the food (the tons and tons of food) came to us. I loved the spectacle, the decor that made it really feel like Under the Sea formal dining space, and how many people were a bit more dressed up than the average parkgoer. I know I was, as my sons were in their prince costumes, so I would have felt too shabby in jeans. So maybe others felt the same with their princesses.
So take your pick: playful, plentiful characters in a casual setting or a meal that feels like a semi-formal-dining occasion more worth the price.

 

[disneydeb64]

In October of 2011, we stayed a night at DLH for MHP. We decided to pop over to Goofy's Kitchen, not really realizing it was a character dining experience. Were we surprised to see characters aplenty! The surprise, interaction, characters (the Fairy Godmother was a sweetheart) all equalled an awesome experience for us.

 

[xsuki000]

I was really into meeting the characters and getting their autographs during my first trip to WDW in April. I had never been into meeting characters before. I decided to do the character dining at the Crystal Palace over there and I thought it was alot of fun. I'm not that into Winnie the Pooh but it was nice being able to sit and eat and have the characters come to me rather than wait outside for 20-30 minutes to see them. The other thing I thought was different/nice was that it felt more relaxed and less rushed. I guess because people are sitting, comfortable and eating they feel like they can spend a little more time with each table. I was able to make conversation with the photopass person, which I wasn't able to do at all, when I was outside waiting. The only con i thought was that the food wasn't great, and if it weren't for the characters, I would never pay the amount I did for that food.

 

[bobieglo]

I've gone to three character meals. 2 in WDW (just my DH and me) and 1 in DL (DH, Mom, Dad, and DD). The two in WDW were amazing! We loved Tuskers for the classics and then had an even better time at 1900 for the interactions with the characters that talked.

That being said I was so excited to take my DD who loves princess to her first character meal. I was a bit disappointed. I felt like all the princesses rushed through the tables, although they were able to hold conversations, they didn't. I kind of feel like they were just pushing the diners through as fast as they could, and I didn't really like that.

That being said, I'm sure others have had the interactions I was looking for at AG, it just didn't happen for us. Also, I can't say anything bad about the food, it was delish.

I will probably try another venue next time. My daughter would probably pick AG again if given the choice.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

I like Goofy's Kitchen and Minnie's at the Plaza best. They both have great food, and plenty of characters with good interaction.

 

[RSWA2]

Similar to the way Crystal Palace works at MK, Minnie and Friends is a great way to get into Disneyland early in the morning before the parks opens to the public. It's also a great Character dining location.

However, I think the best character interaction would be Goofy's Kitchen. It's also much slower pace and feels less hectic.

 

[Swtonscrappn]

I have been to all the character meals but Goofy's Kitchen so far. (Planning on eating there in October ). So far, my favorite character meals have been Ariels Grotto and Surfs UP! The Ariels Grotto I really enjoyed because of the food. We saw 5 princesses that day. When we did Surfs UP! in 2009 it was Lilo and Stitch's breakfast and TONS of fun. They had a hula lesson for the kids and stitch was hilarious. I haven;t been since it was changed to Mickey's Surfs Up.

 

[tlovesdis]

I've done all of the character meals at DL and my families two favorites are Minnie and Friends and Surf's Up. The character interaction for these two can't be beat. We used to do Goofy's Kitchen every trip, but the character interaction was less and less each time we went so we stopped.

We just did Minnie's in March and it was fantastic! We saw a ton of characters and they even posed with my sister and I, not just the kids!!

 

[Mama Who]

It's not a dining experience but we just had a blast at Dancing With Disney over in DCA this week. Really great interactions, lots of characters including some I've not seen out and about before and a great vibe for the kids.

There were two groups- "Ladies of Disney" and "Mischief Makers."

Ladies of Disney: Cruella, Marie, The Stepsisters, Daisy, Clarabelle and the Queen of Hearts

Mischief Makers: Lilo and Stitch, Terk, Timon, Genie, Big Bad Wolf, Hook and Smee

They aren't doing autographs, but will pose for pictures and are dancing and playing with the kids.

ETA: And it's free.

 

[Edelweiss]

So if you eat at Minnie and Friends you can get into the park earlier in the morning??? It sounds like it is in a good location.

I definitely think Ariel's Grotto needs to be on the list?

Or should I save my money and head over to Fantasy Faire? Which I don't know much about, but I heard they have Princess experiences there!

 

[Edelweiss]

It's not a dining experience but we just had a blast at Dancing With Disney over in DCA this week. Really great interactions, lots of characters including some I've not seen out and about before and a great vibe for the kids.

There were two groups- "Ladies of Disney" and "Mischief Makers."

Ladies of Disney: Cruella, Marie, The Stepsisters, Daisy, Clarabelle and the Queen of Hearts

Mischief Makers: Lilo and Stitch, Terk, Timon, Genie, Big Bad Wolf, Hook and Smee

They aren't doing autographs, but will pose for pictures and are dancing and playing with the kids.

ETA: And it's free.

Thanks! This is something we will DEFINITELY check out!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We've done all the character meals at DL and our hand's down favorite is Goofy's Kitchen. Lot's of characters and tons of fun, we've never had a bad experience there. We always book an early morning breakfast there so it doesn't take away from park time. It's the only place I know where you can get peanut butter and jelly pizza for breakfast!

 

[Disneyland1084]

A few years ago I was having breakfast at the PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier hotel when Stitch snuck up behind me. Well, he didn't sneak up he just startled me. I just didn't see him coming. It was funny. I jumped. The $$ is worth it in my opinion.

 

[taaren]

Its always a time vs money equation. Personally I hate spending time waiting in lines, especially considering we probably wouldn't look for characters otherwise (my DS7 isn't impressed by them for the picture taking part).

Are there other priorities you have on your DL list? How much time are you willing to spend in the park for particular characters?

Btw, if you're looking for Tink or any of the rare ones, there are many that are not at the character meals.

We like Goofy's Kitchen, but we don't go every trip. (That's because I'm also not fond of spending an arm and a leg despite drinking the Disney Kool-aid.) The main reason we like GK is because I don't like having a big long meal at the beginning of the day when I could be riding rides, and I'd rather have some relaxing down time at the end of the day and a filling dinner when I can just go roll into my bed afterwards. Also, the food is delicious.

I've also found that in the times when we did wait in line in the parks to meet characters, it wasn't as interactive. When you're in the restaurant, prep your child with questions they'd like to ask the various characters, or requests. My DS's favorite character meal experience was when he asked Pluto and Mickey to dance Gundam style. But they'll also scrawl cute things on your paper table cloth and sometimes leave notes for other characters to react to.

 

[Lady Elle]

the first time I went to disney we had a meal in the castle with all the princesses, I got all there autographs and pictures, it was a very special moment for me.