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

[momofsamandeden]

For not wanting to do the character buffets? We have them adr'd for dinner but I am so wanting to do other options for our nightly dinner and the breakfasts just do not ever work with us as far as getting out the door let alone vacation.
I have 1900 Park the first night, Chef Mickey, The Garden Grill and Princess Storybook. I have Le Chefs (which I am looking forward to) for lunch one day also so we will swap that day for quick service that night possibly at the Flaming BBQ. I am just not really excited about these other options so which of the characters would you keep?

 

[ccigliano]

I would keep Chef Mickey's as this is the one that I actually enjoy and the food is good as far as buffets go. The next one that I would keep is 1900 Park Fare and this is based on food quality alone as I am not sure what characters are there now. The food seems to be pretty good at the buffets at the deluxe resorts. Good Luck!

 

[quirty30]

I find the food at most of the character meals to be so-so. And I guess as a single mom, I just like to be waited on. That being said, the kids do enjoy them and we try to book at least one per trip, If we do two of them, it's usually one breakfast and one dinner, one more classic character (Mickey/Donald, etc.) and one princess meal. So maybe Chef Mickey's for breakfast and 1900 Park Fare for dinner? Those would probably be my choices.

 

[Perditamarie]

I think the character meals are fun and efficient in getting character time w/o lines....you have to eat anyway!! However, quality over quantity should be considered.

Foodwise, I was ever not so impressed w/Garden Grill .... or Chef Mickey for that matter, but the character interaction is good. Akershus Princess Storybook offers amazing princess opportunities that make it a great value in terms of time and $$. I preferred breakfast over dinner here.

I would definately work in Crystal Palace...their breakfast is great and if you can work in a late seating, it will work as a brunch and cover lunch. However, they do B,L & D and the food is all pretty good at every meal and their location can't be beat!

The great thing about dining in Disney is that the various restaurants offer so much more than meeting characters, they really are a slice and taste of a culture or experience, so don't feel bad if every meal isn't a character meal. Happy planning!

 

[The Tabasco Kid]

I prefer the non-suit wearing character meals, like Akershus. WDW seems to try to match the person to the role. More often than not, we have seen when the made a perfect match, such as the young English lass portraying Alice at Akershus 2 years ago or the lady playing Belle in France last year.

 

[momofsamandeden]

I think that I am going to rethink a lot of our adr because I really think 1900 and Chef Mickey and Storybook are more than enough. As I was just tucking in my son I asked him where he wanted to eat and he said Chinese. Any great Chinese ts in Epcot or should we use his qs for chinese there for him

 

[MYD714]

This doesn't make you a bad parent. Buffets are hard to maneuver with young children. It's your vacation too, and it's nice to be waited on after a tiring day in the parks.

I would keep the character meals that are going to get your kids most excited. Keep the ones with characters they most want to meet.

If Mickey is high on their list, then I would definitely keep Chef Mickey's. This will make meeting Mickey a lot easier than hunting him down in the parks.

 

[design_mom]

We like a character meal or two because then the kids feel like they've met the characters, but we don't take a lot of time out of the parks to visit them. That being said, I think one or two in a trip are PLENTY.

Another thing you might consider since I notice you have several small children: There are a few character meals that are served family style. Ohana is one. I think Garden Grill is another. I like the family-style meals because they bring everything to you. I liked them even more when my kids were too young to handle their own buffet plates. Family-style also eliminates the possibility of "missing" the characters when they come around because someone was at the buffet.

 

[oldbay]

I think you are smart to not do too many character meals. Some can just be fun meals - for example WCC - there are others too, that the kids would like and not be character themed. Also, my DD is scared of the characters now, so we have to limit it to usually one meal a trip. You never know when this will happen either - my husband spent much of one trip trying to distract her as we were at character meals. Plus, you are at disney, it is ok for some of it to be for you, kwim?

 

[djp0630]

You're taking your kids to WDW...of course you are not a bad parent! I love character meals, but not everybody does. I would recommend doing one for your kids, Chef Mickey's is the classic one so I would keep that one. But it's your vacation too, so eat where you want. The kids won't really know the difference!

Edited to add: We loved Akershus so I would recommend that one.

 

[JJsmama]

I would do 1, maybe 2, not more. Sometimes a nicer relaxed atmosphere is good for everyone. We really enjoyed the Poly character breakfast one morning when we were staying at Poly. Also enjoyed Liberty Tree. This year we will do Chef Mickey b/c we will stay at CR and DS2 has never seen the characters. But also we will do Ohana (kids always love!), Biergarten (kids always love!), Chefs de France and Le Cellier, which will both be new for us.

 

[bleeps]

Unless I missed it, there is one other drawback to character meals with young children that no one else mentioned. It can be really hard to get your child to actually EAT during the meal because of the excitement over the characters. Especially when the timing is such that it's one character after another coming to the table (which is nice for getting in and out of the place in a reasonable amount of time, granted), our son would get so wound up that we'd be lucky to get just a few bites of food in to him!

Did we do a couple of character meals every trip? Yes. Did we cut back a bit to keep things more reasonable and to make sure our son was eating enough over the vacation? Yes.

Our two favorites have always been Chef Mickeys and CP.

 

[donac]

The only time I have done a character meal was when we went with a friend and by then the kids were 11 and 16. I never had any desire to do them and neither did the kids.

 

[lilpnutmama]

I don't think you will regret doing one or two character meals. When the kids are as little as yours and mine you do get a kick out of seeing their little faces when the characters come to the table (assuming they aren't terrified, lol)

We loved Garden Grill but I see a lot of people don't like it so not sure what to say about that. We went two years ago. We sat in the outer section --definitely ask for that - we just put booster seats on the bench for the little one - they will try to seat you in the upper section due to high chairs or whatever but refuse -- because seeing the Land ride going by keeps the kids busy while they wait for the characters. They bring the food to you as someone said so you don't have to be getting up.

I am not sure about Chinese food, we haven't had any there.

 

[NemoMom07]

If you time your lunch at Les Chefs in France you could make that a character meal in sorts. Remy makes appearances M-S between 12-5(not exact times but close). Remy is not a full size in costume character. He is only a few inches tall and brought around on a tray with cheese and grapes and interacts with each table. I would sooo love to do this, but we are not going to Epcot.

 

[kimis]

We always do a couple of character meals because that is the easiest place to get pics with characters without wasting time standing in line at the parks. It works for us. The food is not bad and some of them are quite good.

 

[bangzoom6877]

No, you are not a bad parent at all!!

All the restaurants at WDW (except V&A, Bistro de Paris, Shula's) have kid-friendly items on their children's menus so anywhere you eat, children should be fine!

Character meals are not for everyone. We love them but they can get hectic. As a previous poster mentioned, it is hectic going to the buffet to get food (especially when you have little ones like I do and have to get their food as well as your own) because you feel you don't want to miss the characters and photo ops when they come around. However, my kids really enjoy character meals so we do several of them. Akershus is good because other than the cold table (for salads and some cold apps), they bring your food to you (you order off a menu, it's not family-style). At Garden Grill in Epcot, dinner is served family-style so no worries about missing the characters due to being at a buffet. Chef Mickey's has some great character interaction, and when we had breakfast there in 2008, we found that the buffet line moved very quickly (and there was a tour group of over 100 people who arrived when we did...made me nervous but it worked just fine!).

We're going to some non-character dinners in our July trip and will have a 3- and 5-year-old in tow. We're going to Chefs de France, Le Cellier, Captain's Grille, Kona Cafe...also going to Whispering Canyon dinner and 50s Prime Time lunch, which have some entertainment but are not character meals and not buffets.

 

[Vickis3js]

I know I get tired of doing the character meals. I feel like I never get to eat. I am too busy looking out for the next character, getting autograph books and cameras ready. Its way more stressful then needs be.

I would keep Chef Mickeys. Its one of my kids favs they will be 10,9, and 8 when we go again and they all picked it. Akershurs was another fav of theirs. We went early before park opening and it was a really nice meal.It was a mix of buffet and a plated meal. We did 1900 PF for dinner and we will never do it again. It was a mad house and we felt crammed in a hallway. Food was not that good either. We did it again but for a late breakfast and it was 10x's better. Ohana for breakfast was a good one as well. Its not a buffet so no need to get up and down many times.

We did a lot of character meals our first trip and this next one we are toning it down a bit with them but it seems we are still doing more then I would like but I keep saying its what the kids want. Makes it a little better to cope.

 

[dzorn]

For not wanting to do the character buffets? We have them adr'd for dinner but I am so wanting to do other options for our nightly dinner and the breakfasts just do not ever work with us as far as getting out the door let alone vacation.
I have 1900 Park the first night, Chef Mickey, The Garden Grill and Princess Storybook. I have Le Chefs (which I am looking forward to) for lunch one day also so we will swap that day for quick service that night possibly at the Flaming BBQ. I am just not really excited about these other options so which of the characters would you keep?

We do prefer a few character meals. I find if the kids see them there they are less inclined to want to wait in line for them.

Of the ones you have listed I would say 1900 has the best food at least at dinner. I have only been to chef Mickeys twice and the food was not very good and interaction hurried.

Princess Storybook did not impress me food wise for breakfast either. Most of it is served family style but it took forever to get more. Server was MIA most of the time we needed something. Princesses very rushed.

Garden Grill has had great character interaction I thought the food was good, but I love turkey. The time between coursed was a little longer. It is also served family style so you don't have to get up.

Some you may want to consider is O'hana. We always get the latest reservation for breakfast we can. Go to MK for rope drop and then over to the Poly. Food is served family style so you don't miss any characters. Interaction as always been great with the characters and DD enjoy the parade.


We enjoy Flame Tree BBQ but don't forget AK usually closes earlier than other parks so I would not plan on too late.

We probably have character meals more than others but my DD has difficulty waiting for them in line so that is our solution. You certainly do not have to do as many as you have. I also find buffets easier to get food quickly to keep the natives for getting to restless. They are not at an age were I feel they can sit through a 2 hour meal. YMMV.


We also really enjoy Cape May at the Beach Club for breakfast. It just seems more relaxed and layed back. Good breakfast buffet.

We also enjoy crystal Palace for any meal, but will probably not book breakfast again. (They were the only place to serve frozen waffels to my DD who has food allergies. All others made them fresh)

 

[dzorn]

I just asked the DDs to pick only one they both chose Crystal Palace.

Densie in MI