Are character meals worth it?

[samkj]

We went to Minnie's last week and saw Daisy, Max (Goofy's son), Rafiki (Lion King), Gepetto, Pooh, Tigger, Captain Hook, Fairy Godmother, Dale, Brer Fox, and of course Minnie! I was amazed at the number of characters that came in the hour we were there.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

However, Surf's up has Daisy and Stitch, characters you cannot see elsewhere.

Just wanted to mention that unless something has changed recently, we have seen Stitch at DCA several times doing meet and greets....

 

[nunzia]

We've done all of them except PP...our ABD took us to Minnie's, Goofy's and Storytellers, and we've done Ariel's twice on our own. My grandkids loved Ariel's..the boys have crushes on the Princesses and of course the girls love dressing up and seeing them. This October when we go with a new grandkid batch (boys 8 and 5 and girl 18 months) we'll do Minnie's. I thought the food there was great, and tons of characters. I didn't realize it was cheaper than Ariel's so that's a bonus. Ariel's had a DVC discount, we'll see if Minnies has DVC or AP..every little bit helps.

 

[hobbit]

Do adults enjoy character dining, and how about a 10 year old boy? Too old for that?

 

[Raine88]

Do adults enjoy character dining, and how about a 10 year old boy? Too old for that?

I'm curious about this as well. Dh and are both 21 and don't have kids..so we aren't sure if it would be worth it for the two of us to do it. We'd love to be able to get pics with more characters than we did last time.

 

[Sherry E]

Do adults enjoy character dining, and how about a 10 year old boy? Too old for that?

My friends and I are grown women in our early 40's and have no kids, and we enjoy Goofy's Kitchen immensely and have been eating there since 1992 (see TR - link in signature below)! If adults look at characters as only being around for kids, then they probably won't enjoy themselves. Goofy's has such a wide variety of food that I think adults will be happy. And Storyteller's Critter Breakfast has the right kind of laid back, calm atmosphere that I think adults don't mind.

Interacting with the furry characters is fun. They know their limits. They come and pose for photos and don't spend too much time on the adults if there are kids nearby. (I always give them a giant hug in pictures!) And if they see that an adult is not receptive to them, they will move on, but sometimes a particularly playful Chip or Dale will draw on our table too and sign their name for us. I love it! The only time it can get a little awkward is when the face characters like the Princesses come by, and they have to stay in character, even when talking to grown, 40-year-old women, and we always feel like we want to let them off the hook and whisper to them, "It's okay. You can be yourself and talk like a normal person with us!!!" When posing for pictures, I don't give giant hugs to the face characters but I feel like I can do that with the furry characters!!!

I think that as long as you are of sound mind and decent health, when you go to any Disney park or restaurant or hotel, you should let your guard down, let your inner child roam free and just play with reckless abandon - no matter what age you are!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

My friends and I are grown women in our early 40's and have no kids, and we enjoy Goofy's Kitchen immensely and have been eating there since 1992 (see TR - link in signature below)! If adults look at characters as only being around for kids, then they probably won't enjoy themselves. Goofy's has such a wide variety of food that I think adults will be happy. And Storyteller's Critter Breakfast has the right kind of laid back, calm atmosphere that I think adults don't mind.

Interacting with the furry characters is fun. They know their limits. They come and pose for photos and don't spend too much time on the adults if there are kids nearby. (I always give them a giant hug in pictures!) And if they see that an adult is not receptive to them, they will move on, but sometimes a particularly playful Chip or Dale will draw on our table too and sign their name for us. I love it! The only time it can get a little awkward is when the face characters like the Princesses come by, and they have to stay in character, even when talking to grown, 40-year-old women, and we always feel like we want to let them off the hook and whisper to them, "It's okay. You can be yourself and talk like a normal person with us!!!" When posing for pictures, I don't give giant hugs to the face characters but I feel like I can do that with the furry characters!!!

I think that as long as you are of sound mind and decent health, when you go to any Disney park or restaurant or hotel, you should let your guard down, let your inner child roam free and just play with reckless abandon - no matter what age you are!!

Mulan last year talked to us like a normal, not face character person. Spent 10 minutes talking about SoCal and our previous visits, spent a lot of time with my daughters(16,18). It was early and many characters were out and about.

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

Mulan last year talked to us like a normal, not face character person. Spent 10 minutes talking about SoCal and our previous visits, spent a lot of time with my daughters(16,18). It was early and many characters were out and about.

Jack

That's exactly the kind of interaction I am waiting for from the face characters! Real chat, and not necessarily the 'act.' One day I just want one of them to come by and break character and say - softly enough so the kids nearby cannot hear, of course - "My feet hurt and this wig is making my scalp itch!!"

Generally, I get the feeling that the face character CMs don't know what to expect when they approach a table with only adults, or mostly adults. They probably don't know if these adults are going to talk to them like they are REALLY Disney characters, talk to them like 'real people' or in some kind of creepy, weird way!! I am sure they get a lot of guests talking to them in kind of a patronizing way, probably in totally inappropriate langauge, etc. And from the guests' perspective, I would imagine that many folks don't know if it is appropriate to hug the face characters or put arms around them in photos, or if it is acceptable to talk to them like normal adults!! I kind of take their lead for photos. I don't throw my arms around them for hugs like I do with Baloo or Goofy, but if they put an arm around me, then I might an arm around them. If they seem more comfortable standing behind me and putting their hands on my shoulders, then I sit there with my hands folded in front of me at the table and don't touch them!!

And as for chatting, I might greet them as though they are Mulan or Belle or Jasmine or whomever, but then I try to just make the exchange very quick and transition into some sort of 'real' chat for a moment and then let them get on to the kids at other tables!! My female friends HATE taking photos with any of the Princesses! They shudder when they see a Princess coming near us!!

Now, the Mad Hatter is one character to watch out for - some of the Mad Hatter CMs are very mischievous and they will sit down at the table and keep asking you your name until you give them a name they like (which could be 20 names later!!). Or sometimes the Mad Hatter will make you get up and wear a teacup on your head and move around until it falls off!! That is one face character who will stay in character and make the adults do the same things - or worse - than what they make the kids do!!!

 

[lilsprstr]

Personally, I LOVE the character meals. I think they're worth it, so that you don't spend the whole time you're at the park searching out and standing in line for pictures with the characters.

Now I will say each kid is different, so it depends on the personality of your child whether or not they will enjoy it. We sat next to a couple at Minnie's Breakfast in the park who had two kids just older than mine, who refused to interact with the characters. I think the parents were pretty disappointed. But my kids were having a blast!

We've been to Ariel's Grotto, Minnie's Breakfast in the Park and Goofy's Kitchen (twice). We usually plan on going to two character meals per trip. Here are some photos:

Ariel's Grotto:

Goofy's Kitchen:

Chip dancing with my son at Goofy's Kitchen:

Minnie's Breakfast in the Park:

 

[Sherry E]

Great pictures, lilsprstr! If you have time, be sure to post them in our dedicated Character Meal photo and information thread (or maybe you already have?):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2234435

 

[lilsprstr]

Thank you Sherry. I haven't dome so yet, but I will.

 

[sillyjodes]

For the food...absolutely not.
For the experience...absolutely!
Our girls are similar ages. Mine are 5 and 2 and they LOVE the character meals. The younger one is free and the infant portion is not that much smaller than the kids portion.
We've had lunch and dinner at Ariels. The first time it was amazing. The second time, at lunch, it was kind of a dud. I've loved the food and disliked the food here.
We've also had dinner at Goofy's. There were a great deal of characters, but we had to wait an hour after our "reservation" to be seated. That really dampened the excitement. Pretty typical buffet meal.
Also, we have had a late breakfast at Minnie's. This was fun, especially since our youngest loves Pooh. The food here was my least favorite. Having a late breakfast was a great rest point for us after our morning ride dash in the park! Also, it wasn't very busy, so the characters played with the kids.
HTH,
Jodie

 

[Sherry E]

For the food...absolutely not.
For the experience...absolutely!
Our girls are similar ages. Mine are 5 and 2 and they LOVE the character meals. The younger one is free and the infant portion is not that much smaller than the kids portion.
We've had lunch and dinner at Ariels. The first time it was amazing. The second time, at lunch, it was kind of a dud. I've loved the food and disliked the food here.
We've also had dinner at Goofy's. There were a great deal of characters, but we had to wait an hour after our "reservation" to be seated. That really dampened the excitement. Pretty typical buffet meal.
Also, we have had a late breakfast at Minnie's. This was fun, especially since our youngest loves Pooh. The food here was my least favorite. Having a late breakfast was a great rest point for us after our morning ride dash in the park! Also, it wasn't very busy, so the characters played with the kids.
HTH,
Jodie

Minnie & Friends seems to consistently get mixed reviews of the food quality, but rave reviews on the character interaction.

Ariel's Grotto apparently changed their menu dramatically a couple of years ago and now people seem to love the food, whereas before it was inedible. (I have not eaten there yet.) Now it is considered "premium dining."

I love the food at Goofy's - but I love the breakfast, not the dinner. I was not that thrilled with the dinner when I had it ages ago. Other folks seem to prefer it over the breakfast. Goofy's has the largest buffet of all the character meals, so that is what makes it "premium dining," I suppose. I am sure you know the "reservations" are not real reservations. It is only Priority Seating, meaning you get seated before the folks without Priority Seating arrangements who happen to show up at the same time as you do, so it can happen occasionally where you have to wait for quite a while past your PS time. I waited a long time at the Blue Bayou to be seated - way past the time of our PS - so I know what you mean about the long wait dampening the excitement! I was so over the Blue Bayou before I even got my table!! Unfortunately, DLR can't have a real reservations system in place, where tables are actually reserved and held for people. It would be great if they could do that, but they won't.