Anyone feel that Character Meals are a scam?

[The Sweetness]

Okay, heres my 2 cents. If you were told or had seen a menu of what would be available, and it was reasonably close, then you werent ripped off food wise. If it was a princess dinner, and A princess joined you (briefly or not) then you were not ripped off.

 

[mommapoppins]

Our family (me , DH , dd12 , dd3 , dd6mon. ) absolutely LOVE character meals and have several planned for our next trip. We did CM and O'hana on the last trip and had a blast! the food at both was good if not excellent. The girls just love "eating" with Mickey and the others.

My personal opinion about the CRT price increase is that it has alot to supply and demand. The demand is VERY high for a small restaurant so they have decided to raise the price to balance out the demand a bit. I think it may work for some people, but some people feel like it isn't a trip to WDW without a trip into the castle. I think they only added the picture package to kind of justify the price increase, but I don't think that was the point. The point was to try to get some people to forgo the castle because they were too busy. I would love to try this meal but probably won't due to the price and the fact that there are other princess meals to choose from.

 

[abeyst]

I can just hear them now in the board room, "How can we justify raising the prices on the Cinderella breakfast by 30%?"
"Oh, I know, tell them they get a "photo package" for "free" ...and it will only cost us a few pennies per pic, GREAT IDEA!"

LOL!!!! Bet they even put on their special 'Boardroom Mickey Ear Thinking Caps' !!!

 

[jwfla422]

CRT (with the NEW plan that started this month FEBRUARY)=BIG RIP OFF
Oh, it includes a photo package FREE!! (or you mean for another 12-14 bucks for just the kids.....) Supply and demand, give me a break, RO/TT (RIP OFF/TOURIST TRAP) now that's more like it!! "They will come, so we will keep raising our prices..."

Maggs- Restaurant Akershus-Breakfast was the meal we didn't like, 3x we tried it and finally gave up Haven't tried lunch or dinner and probably never will after giving breakfast at try....3 times!!

So I guess if you have the dining points you can "waste" them on CRT, I mean, use them on the big CRT rip off (I've never spent $22.99 on chicken fingers, oh, they have caviar in them....well....that's a different story)...

 

[abeyst]

They can dip the food in gold and I still won't pay $40 pp for it!

 

[tink22]

I have posted this before, but feel the need to say again that character meals are not ALWAYS the best way to get quality time with characters. And it's not their choice all the time. Each princess has 50 minutes to see 50+ tables. So there is no room for tons of time. If the restaurant is slower then it's different but as you know it's not normally the case. And now at CRT with the new wishing celebration, that cuts down on your princess time even more because they are having to make up for those lost 5-10 minutes that they are doing the 'show'.
I hate reading that Guests are upset with minimal interaction because if you look around at the restaurant you would see it's very big and has tons more people who paid their money too. Granted it should be more than a 'hi' and a photo, but you really can't put your expectations up there too much.
Anyway I just feel the need to say this because it's not always a choice of the character for how much time they spend with a family but rather their schedule that does not allow great interaction.

 

[robinb]

But ... did your girls like it? Did they dress up? My 6 year old DD *loved* Norway because she could see Ariel. Sure, I could wait for Ariel for 45 minutes in the MK, or I can see her in Norway. Plus a bunch of other princesses. I do agree on the food. I've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner at Norway and I have to say that breakfast is my favorite. No Ariel at breakfast, though ...

 

[tjmouse]

Scam? I guess after reading these posts, I conclude that either I am a very lucky person or just have a good outlook about my vacations.

Have I had a character meal that was not the best food? Yes.

Have I had a character meal where I thought one of the characters was rushed or not as attentive as I would have liked? Yes.

Have I cringed at the thought of paying $40 for a breakfast for 2 when my dd only eats a cinnamon roll? Yes.

Have I paid time and time again for a $30 photo package at Chef Mickey's or Donald's or PSB just because it was too cute to pass up? Yes.

Have I had to remind myself that everyone has bad days at work, even Mickey and Minnie? Yes.

Do I regret one single experience I have been able to share with my daughter, seeing her face light up, even if Mulan only spent a minute with her? No.

Do I regret the memories and being able to share my expeience with people who look at me like I'm nuts because I get so excited about sharing dinner with Mickey Mouse? No.

Disney is not perfect, it would be impossible to please 100% of the people 100% of the time. But I'll tell ya, they come pretty darn close with me, regardless if I get cold eggs once and a while or not, I'm still at Disney and I'm lucky that I get to go as often as I do.

(And God bless those Cast Members. They really do have tough jobs, but I still hope to have one those jobs some day!)

 

[C.Ann]

The only character meal that we truly enjoyed - both food wise and time wise with the characters - was at the Garden Grill in 2001..

Other than that, they are extremely overpriced and the food is definitely nothing to write home about (unless it's to complain)..

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

A Pyramid scheme is a scam. A Birthday present women's club is a scam. The character meals are not.

Chef Mickey's, Cp, 1900, all were solid meals and the interaction with the characters was great. All the characters at all these places spent more than ample time with us. I'd rather eat for 30 minutes waiting for characters than stand in lines myself. Though there were plenty of characters with 5 minute waits or less, they never seemed to be the main characters the meals had.

CRT (note we ate at the old price) wasn't up to the others food wise, but the castle isn't exactly big enough for a genuine 5 star restaurant. Plus, it was a unique experience and the characters were wonderful. And the kids loved em. I pretty much asked mine where they might want to go if we got the dining plan again.
CHEF MICKEY'S
CRYSTAL PALACE
1900!
I broke the news we wouldn't go to the castle again and they were ok with it. But I got the "but we ARE going to Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace again aren't we?"

Bottom line is at the old price, they had hour long overloads of their phone system at 7 am in the morning every day. That suggests the market can handle a price increase. There are other alternatives at better prices to see Cinderella, and to see the princesses. And as long as there are, I'm not too upset. I simply won't go to CRT at the new prices. Not worth it to me. Maybe if they can't fill it up, they'll make some changes.

 

[Mamu]

I do think there are pro's and con's to the Character Meals.

They are expensive.
Usually a quick visit, an autograph and photo.
Is the food worth what your paying.

I know the price has continually gone up and up over the last few years. Some have become quite expensive. There are a few I've crossed off my list, either too expensive or did not care for the food.

1900 Park Fare is still my favorite, good food, good service and characters.

Our last trip in October we had dinner at Crystal Palace. 3 adults, 2 (8) year olds. They tried to seat us at a small table, meant for 4, we politely refused the table, said it was to small for our family. They got us a larger table with elbow room.

Do not be timid with Disney or it's Restaurants, your paying to sit in comfort, be served good food and expect good service. Too many of us because it's Disney let little things go. I have always found that Disney does bend over backwards, sometimes it takes a little shove to get then moving. Just be polite and usually things work out.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

But ... did your girls like it? Did they dress up? My 6 year old DD *loved* Norway because she could see Ariel. Sure, I could wait for Ariel for 45 minutes in the MK, or I can see her in Norway. Plus a bunch of other princesses. I do agree on the food. I've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner at Norway and I have to say that breakfast is my favorite. No Ariel at breakfast, though ...

OF course my daughters loved it!! They would love it too if they could stay in their pajamas all day and eat candy, but that is not the point. The point is that Disney does what it does to make money!!! They suck us out of money because they know they will still be booked up for every meal no matter what the cost is!!!. I have been to the Storybook Princess Breakfast many times and got what i expected, i paid alot of money for ok food and for some interaction from the princesses, although i wouldn't characterize Mary Poppins as a Princess. But whatever, that is exactlywhat i expected. We usually go in Spetember and we do not have to wait in long lines to see any characters. So personally, for me, I do not think that the character meals are worth it just for the interaction. As far as raising the CRT due to supply and demand, that theory doesn't make sense because it has always been the same amount of seating so if you get the reservation you get in, it's not like they keep letting people in if they want to eat there. I love O'hana and Donald's in AK. They were definately worth it. BUt that is just my opinion, everyone likes character meals for different reasons. I just don't think that the quality, whether it is the food, service or character interaction justifies the cost. Well to me it doesn't anyway!!!

 

[robinb]

OF course my daughters loved it!! They would love it too if they could stay in their pajamas all day and eat candy, but that is not the point.

LOL! It's -8 degrees here at 10:45 AM and my DD is still in her jammies. No candy yet .

The point is that Disney does what it does to make money!!! They suck us out of money because they know they will still be booked up for every meal no matter what the cost is!!!.

That could be said of any Disney restauant. We make a joke about Mickey's big 4-fingered hand reaching right into our pockets and taking our money out.

I just don't think that the quality, whether it is the food, service or character interaction justifies the cost. Well to me it doesn't anyway!!!

And that's OK. You don't have to go. My DD is in school and I don't have the luxury take her out during the slow times like September or October. We go in mid-summer and Christmas/New Years. It is worth it to us to take the time out of our day to eat and visit with the characters. No, the food isn't the best and yes, sometimes the characters are rushed. But the look on my DD's face is worth it to me. Maybe that makes me an overindugent sucker.

 

[abeyst]

LOL! It's -8 degrees here at 10:45 AM and my DD is still in her jammies. No candy yet .

Forget the kids, I'm still in my jammies and just ate the rest of my chocolate covered Mickey pretzels from my trip last week!

 

[pigby]

We have tried all the character meals, I think, apart from the breakfast at Cape May (which we are trying in August).

I personnally do not think our trip would be complete without at least 2 character meals. Mostly we are happy with the food on offer, but once or twice the service could have been better (notably at Chef Mickey's).

Recent examples include 'Ohanas breakfast - in October - fabulous - loved the view of the castle, the pineapple juice, the Mickey waffles although Stitch spent approx 5 seconds at our table.

Liberty Tree on Halloween - okay basic food but wonderful character interaction - possibly because we were dressed up.

Breakfastaursaurus in July - great server, fairly quiet despite peak season, good character interaction and good basic breakfast fare - exceeded our expectations.

CRT in July - enjoyed the characters, food was fine but service couldv'e been a little better this time - server disappeared for quite a time - no refills.

CP for dinner - excellent salmon - generally really enjoyed our meal in July despite the wait to get in. Have to pay full price now for my DD and it was rather expensive for a couple of pizza slices and a chicken leg. Characters good but had to wait around a while to see them all.

 

[melomouse]

Robin, you are always so funny. If we don't keep a sense of humor in 8 degrees OR on these boards, we're destined for the Doom Buggies!!!

Scam? I guess I reserve that word for things like internet identity theft and telemarketing calls. Disney's in business, that's the way it goes. When I book a character meal< I know what it costs and have few expectations other than:

We will leave "full" and

My kids will see characters, smile, and

I will take a picture!

For this reason, based on what I have learned on these boards, I likely will not be booking CRT anytime soon - the whole panic about getting ADR's is nutsy to me, anyway. But that's for ME and for My family. We are all different.

Bring back the Villain's Dinner and I will be there in a heartbeat. CM is a known quantity and basically I will pay to see Donald and eat the mashed potatoes. Last trip's visit to CP disappointed - but the kids are evolving out of the Pooh phase, so methinks that's a major factor.

You do research, know your family's needs, trust your gut - and book! Or not!
But a "scam"?? Only if you feel you've been "had". Disney can't make you feel "had"... they are pretty upfront about what the deals - or lack therof - are. If they disappoint - we as customers need to address the problem right away, and they do try to make it right most of the time.

So much is about inflated expectations. Because you CAN pay doesn't always mean we SHOULD!!

JMHO....

 

[Stitchfans]

so far all we have gone to is CM food was very good and on both occasions character interaction was very good.

for our next trip spring '07 we plan on going back to CM and since we are such big Stitch fans we plan on going to Ohana. Really looking forward to that one. Love that Stitch!!

 

[terri01p]

I, myself do feel as if it's a money scam, we went to 1900 Park Fare, the buffet was horrible, and I'm not being pickey...it was truely bad, the characters, were fairy godmother at the door, cinderalla, prince and a mouse that was it, they came around once and we just had an over all feeling of being rushed. It was not good, we were so disappointed by this as it was suppose to be so great. We did love Cystal Palace though, the buffet was worth my money, food you could really eat, everything was good and fresh, didn't feel rushed and characters came around a good three times.

 

[hsmamato2]

Well,last month at Cm- we enjoyed ourselves a lot, our kids are 18(yes,18)-almpost 13,and 6,when I mentioned that maybe we wouldn't do Cm,they all were SAD-so we did! BUT,we got to see all the characters,I liked the table near the dessert bar,lots of action....except Goofy-we stayed and sipped our coffee and ate desserts with fresh fruit on top,the server hinted we should be going now,politely,we politely told her that we were waiting to meet Goofy-WOW! it was amazing how quickly he came to hug the kids!
So, we were happy,the server got another party in,and for the price we paid, it was a ton of fun! But, I do remember when it was less busy,and the characters really spent more time with you...the good old days....

 

[spacemtn1971]

In retrospect I have pretty much determined that "scam" is a pretty harsh word. It is more a matter of the value vs. the "magical experience" which I was commenting on.

My daughters love characters. In fact love is probably not an adequate description, they thrive on the characters, it is the marrow in their disney experience.

I have no problem paying for the experience, which is how we got into the parks in the first place. It costs me $160/day to get into the gates at all.

And I don't mind doing it because the disney experience is magical. What I do have a problem with is that the "disney experience" does not translate into a quality character meal experience.

We have done five character meals, three with free dining last september, and then the garden grill last year and Norway in January. Each time I can count the number of minutes the characters spent with our daughters on one hand.

There were about 10 tables full at Norway. Most were by the salad bar which I have problems with when their was an empty banquet hall which would have lent itself to a much more meaningful experience. But regardless, the "princesses" could have spent about 2 minutes at our table, and "belle" could have figured out that she does like to read, and that my daughter raelly did want to know what good books she had read lately.

For $100 that is not too much to ask. It really isn't. I wasn't asking for an hour of their time. I was asking for efficient, friendly, service. Much like I can get at Cosmic Rays. It should be at least as friendly shouldn't it? Is that really too much to ask?