A bunch of Character dinning questions

[Lulu's Mom]

I have some questions about different character meals that I am thinkging of booking for our upcoming trip in December. We have only done 2 ever, CP for BK and LTT for D. The cast will be me, DH, DD 3.5 and DD 10 months we are staying at POR and will be relying on DW transportation.

Donald's BF: I have not really heard anything good about this so I was wondering what peoples experiences have been. Is it worth trying???

Chef Mickey's : Is this better for BF or D??

Ohanna's : Is this one also better for BF or D??

CRT vs. Storybook Princess: Which one is better and for what meal??

Last question how many character dinnings do you think is enough, I know we are going to do LTT for sure and I was thinking 2 more would be effecient for a 10 day trip.

Also if you have any other recommendations please share.

Thanksso much

 

[danielle782001]

We love Donald's breakfast at the AK. We are always confused when we read the bad reports. The food selection is the norm and done well. We really enjoy the egg pizza! There is a nice dessert and fruit bar. We are always seated quickly with the ADR. The place is big so you don't feel crowded. But best of all the character interation has been great all three times we have been. They come around in a timely fashion but they don't race past your table. They all (Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Mickey) all make sure you get the pic you want and always are playful with the kids. We recommend this one!

 

[MickeyNicki]

The Donalds Breakfast is closing and there will be a new breakfast at Tusker House, I think it will be the same thing just in another location. The Donald Breakfast was very good.

The Princess Breakfast had great food and amazing character interaction. It is nice to be the first ones there.

CP is a huge favorite of ours but the all time must do every trip winner is Cape May Buffet...it is one of the quieter breakfasts and the characters come around often and "talk" to you, play games with you and play tic tac toe on the paper table cloths. The food is the best and the fruit selection is wonderful.

 

[bradk]

- i personally don't care for donald, it's probably now officially my least favorite. my experiences aren't unique, but i know others feel differently.

- i've only done CM for dinner but loved it

- 'ohana is not a character meal for dinner, only breakfast

- crt is a princess meal for breakfast and lunch, princess storybook is all 3 meals. it's a big plus to eat in the castle, but it's also more expensive.

 

[kcashner]

Chef Mickey's is good for breakfast or dinner. THe dinner is one of the best in the "character" category. We also like 1900 Park Fare for dinner.

Donald's--food was only fair on our visit, but the service and total experience were excellent.

Cape May Cafe--my favorite of the character breakfasts. It's at the Beach Club. The food is always good and the character interaction is great. Better food than at Donald's.

Ohanna--I think characters are only at breakfast. Fun....not spectacular, but kids always like the parade part of the character interaction.

Personally, I don't think CRT is worth the price--whether in dollars or dining credits. Yes, every little girl needs to eat at the castle once, but it isn't worth repeating. Storybook Princesses was better and cheaper.

How many character meals.....when DD was younger, we sometimes did one every day. She's a teen now and has decided that she enjoys the better quality food at some of the upscale restaurants that don't have characters. However, on a recent trip with a friend we still "had to" do some characters.

I think it depends on your family, what's easiest for Mom, etc. There is no such thing as too many characters!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We've done Chef Mickey twice for dinner. I think the food is bland, but the chance to see Mickey and Minnie without a wait is great. Plus, it is such a fun restaurant. I just realize I am not there for the food. I was thinking about trying it for breakfast next.

Last trip we did both CRT breakfast and Norway dinner. This coming trip I had my DD pick one, and she picked CRT. We are going to try it for lunch. I think breakfast is way overpriced, but my daughter's excitement and joy is so worth it. Norway was fine, but food nothing great. The character interaction probably was a little better.

We'll be trying 'Ohana's breakfast this trip.

We always do CP breakfast. I love getting an early ADR and walking down Main Street without any crowds! I also think their breakfast food is very good.

This trip we are doing three character meals. I let each child pick one. (I actually just asked my DS 2 if he wanted to eat with Pooh, and of course, he said yes! ) Last trip we did four and I thought it a bit much, but we were only there 7 days.

Have fun!

 

[ballarinamom]

I personally don't like spending alot of money (or credits) for breakfast. we usually grab a muffin at the hotel and get in line for rope drop. Then we eat when the crowds start to show up. We did OOP for CRT for Lunch (1st seating time). We were surprised at how much we liked the food. The appetizer plate was really good. I loved the major domo's pie. I didn't think I would like it that much. And the chocolate muffin thind was a pleasant surprise as well. Worth 2 credits? NO, do it OOP. We also really enjoyed Alershus for Dinner. Again 1st available seating. The cold buffet was nice and the entres we really good. DH said best meal of trip. But the dessert plate was best. DD5 had a good meal at each one. If your 3.5 year old gets into autographs like ours did at 3, do as many different character meals as you can so you won't have to wait in line. You can see them in A/C and sitting down!

 

[danielle782001]

We also really enjoy Cape May for breakfast! We agree with a pp... Nice, quieter then most, great character interaction, excellent selection of food!

 

[dreamn_Disney]

We love character dinning and on our next trip we will be there for 6 nights/7 days and are doing CRT for lunch, Donald at AK for breakfast, H&V for breakfast, and CP for lunch. Actualy we only have 2 TS that are not character. We are also leaving the World one night and doing a dinner show with pirates. Did I mention we love character meals .

 

[Gus]

We're big fans of Chef Mickey's for breakfast. We usually hit MK at rope drop (even better for EMH), hit the big rides, then get the latest breakfast we can at CM. We have an 11:10 ADR on our September trip.

 

[danielle782001]

We went to the Garden Grille this past December for the first time. We were really impressed. The food was served family-style (all-you-can-eat) and the kids got to make their own cupcakes at the end of the meal. The food was very fresh and very tastey! The character interaction was wonderful. Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale spent a good amount of time at the table. The place rotates over the "Living With The Land" rise in Epcot which was kind of cool.

We were looking back at pics today of that trip and was reminded of how much we all really liked that one!