Am I a bad parent....need opinion on dining

[Planogirl]

I would go to the Crystal Palace and another meal that features Minnie and Mickey and Goofy and I'd be done. But then I had a little boy so you might have to throw in a Princess meal too. I'd personally go for Akershus in that case.

 

[moparop]

We like CP best. After that, I'd pick a princess meal. I think two character meals are plenty!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We did Free Dining for the first time last year. I overdid the character meals. The buffets are not relaxing for the parents and the kids usually didn't eat well...so they were complaining soon after.

I made our ADRs this morning and decided two character meals was plenty this trip. I don't know if my kids will even notice, but I did feel a bit of guilt not reserving Chef Mickeys this time. The kids love the characters, but no one is really a fan of the food.

We are doing CRT for the first time and CP. I think that is enough.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

We like the character meals, but we also prefer doing the buffets. The girls get tired of only eating the one or two things offered on the kids' menu, so this way they get a lot more choices and tend to eat healthier foods with more fruits and vegetables. The characters are an added bonus.

 

[momofsamandeden]

Thank you all for your advice. Sit down appeals best for me because whenever we go to our local Chinese buffet I am lucky if I get to eat one plate before I am back at the buffet getting someone something. We like turkey so Epcot chip and dales works but my kids really are into mickey and minnie. We like the breakfast options however that would be a waste for DS who hates anything breakfast related other than dry cereal and fruit.
We are staying club level in the Garden view cottages at BWI so I think their breakfast works better for Sam
The worst about this I have an extremely critical foodie dh. I would rather have three kids whiny through dinner than him about how bad a food is

 

[MickeyNicki]

We will never do a character meal dinner again, the food is just horrible....we love the breakfasts but not the dinners

 

[sandyneck]

At Liberty Tavern in MK there is a sit down character meal that they serve family style. It usually has Mickey and the gang, although I would check who is currently there. This sounds like a good option for you. We always did a late breakfast(11am)at Crystal Palace for Pooh and Friends and then an early dinner another nite(usually our first nite) at Chef Mickeys. Believe me, going up to the buffet a couple times beats standing in numerous different lines so your kids can meet characters in the parks. We liked to "get it out of the way" first thing and then they never felt like they had to waste time in the park.

 

[angelmav]

At Liberty Tavern in MK there is a sit down character meal that they serve family style. It usually has Mickey and the gang, although I would check who is currently there. This sounds like a good option for you. We always did a late breakfast(11am)at Crystal Palace for Pooh and Friends and then an early dinner another nite(usually our first nite) at Chef Mickeys. Believe me, going up to the buffet a couple times beats standing in numerous different lines so your kids can meet characters in the parks. We liked to "get it out of the way" first thing and then they never felt like they had to waste time in the park.

I wouldnt count on this still being a character meal, they only temporarily brought the characters back while CP was being refurbed. I believe the character meals are slated to stop by the end of this month.

 

[AirGoofy]

You take your children to Disney World and consider yourself a bad parent? There is nothing wrong with not wanting to do all the character meals. We have done them all, and now, will try to do 2 or 3 each trip, but no more than that.

With that said, we always do Princess Breakfast in Akershus. The food is the best. As for your list, the food was average at the Garden Grill, but I liked the Family style serving, Mickey wears overalls, Chip and Dale, and you get to see the top of the Land ride. Or, you could go with CM so that your children would get to see all the main characters. Good luck, and don't fret the decision.

 

[sandyneck]

Oh crummy You are right about no more characters at LT. That was a great place to go that you didnt have to serve yourself! Oh well, then I guess I would do Chef Mickeys for dinner to meet Mickey and friends.

 

[Planogirl]

If you don't want a buffet then you might want to consider Garden Grill. I was personally never crazy about the food there but the character interaction might work well for you.

 

[momofsamandeden]

Well I ended up researching CP this morning and the only time we could get in was the first night at 6:45 which hopefully works as i have not made air reservations yet. I was hoping to dazzle the kids with rope drop at MK but I know they will still get that feeling the next morning.