11am reservation for character breakfast

[heidibelle03]

Hi!
This will be our first time to disney and I've read so much about the character meal, I really wanted to to do one. I wanted to do breakfast rather than dinner, as I have picky eaters, so I thought breakfast food would be a better bet for them. However I am behind the 8 ball on my reservation scheduling, and I was only able to get an 11am reservation for the 1900 Park Fare breakfast, which on the schedule ends at 11:15. When asking the disney rep about that, she said, if there's an 11am time slot for a reservation, than Disney will ensure you get the full experience. However I am concerned....are characters really out there from 8-11:15? How do they handle table turnover? Do they keep track of who has left and who's been reseated at table? Do they do the same schtick at each table? Or is it more of a show, and they are in the center of room? What about food, will they really be refilling the egg tray at 11:00? Should we bag it? Would we benefit from arriving early for our reservation? Can kids go into dining area, prior to reservation time to get the experience before characters leave?

 

[ErinsMommy]

Are characters really out there from 8-11:15? "]Yes, if its a character meal, the characters will be there and I believe stay until all guests have had their interaction time.

How do they handle table turnover? Do they keep track of who has left and who's been reseated at table? Do they do the same schtick at each table? Or is it more of a show, and they are in the center of room? Didn't do 1900 PF last time around, but at Chef Mickey's and Akershus they make their way around the tables multiple times so if someone is up getting food they don't miss them -- and the characters tend to follow the lead of how a particular family interacts with them -- some families are ready to jump in the characters arms while some families are more laid back/shy.

What about food, will they really be refilling the egg tray at 11:00? Food never seemed to run out, but if there was something you wanted/liked that there was none left of, I'm sure if you asked they would do their best to accomodate.

Would we benefit from arriving early for our reservation? We got to our reservations early, but never got seated earlier than our reservation time.

Can kids go into dining area, prior to reservation time to get the experience before characters leave? . No. They can watch while standing at the front to be seated though. ETA: At Akershus the line to get in was outside, so you couldn't see anything until your name was called and you went in. At Chef Mickey's, its more open so you can see inside. Not sure how 1900 PF is set up but I found she did better without seeing the characters until it was her turn and she was inside

 

[Cafeen]

One thing to keep in mind is that the "closing" times they list aren't really closing times as we'd think of them. They are mostly akin to "last seating" times than anything and the schedules do run much later than that last time.

So, they aren't going to shut down while you're there. Characters will be out interacting with tables and food will be refreshed, just like if you were there at 8am. It should not be any "worse" than earlier in the morning at all (and hey, it should start thinning out, allowing you a quieter meal and better interaction too ).

 

[Amii]

Several years ago we had the last dinner seating for Chef Mickeys during the slow season. We got there and about 2/3 of the tables were already empty. Within the first 10-15 minutes everyone but one other family had left. The characters stayed out the rest of the time that we ate. My son went up and danced and interacted with all of the characters while we finished eating. Having the last seating worked out great for us.

 

[rapunzels]

I would be concerned too, but I'm a worrier! I'm sure it will be fine.

I will say we were at Chef Mickey's once when it was super slow, and Mickey hung out with my girls for awhile. He took them from our table by hand, over to the dessert table and helped them pick out our desserts. Our girls LOVED it! So you might get more interaction if it is a slower time.

 

[mom2rtk]

It seldom works for us to book a late breakfast, but when I can I do. Some of our best character meal interactions have been late in the shift. The place starts clearing out and the characters have fewer tables to cover.

1900 PF you can't even see into the restaurant before seated, except when someone comes out to call a name to be seated. so zero chance of the kids going in for any interaction ahead of time. There really is no hurry though. You are paying for the character interaction. They aren't going to send the characters home early.

 

[gtpoohbear]

We actually did an 11:15am ADR for Park Fare last time (in 2010). We had breakfast before going to MK for amEMH, then used that as our "lunch", even though it was breakfast food.

The characters were definitely still there and we had some great interactions! If anything, I felt like they were less rushed with us than usual, b/c the restaurant was already starting to clear out by the time they made it over and so they spent several minutes with us.

They don't actually close at the time listed, that's just the last seating. But they will make sure that everyone who is there gets the same experience, both with the food and the characters.