BEST character dining for 1st timers

[rcdisneyfam]

My family and I have our favorites but our friends are going with us for the FIRST time. I want to show them the most characters. Plan on doing 1 breakfast, lunch, dinner. Help me choose. Thanks

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We like Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. It has a great group of characters which includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale who come around to your table and Donald Duck in the Lobby area. The combination of these characters makes it top rate and would really impress first timers. We also like Crystal Palace because it gives you a totally different group of characters from Pooh.

HBC

 

[Gluman11]

My Fam, likes the breakfast at the Poly...........if you make yourself an advanced PS, you can, pretty much get "right in" without waiting..............and the characters are Mickey, Goofy, Chip, Dale...........I don't remember seeing Minnie there on our last trip, but I could be wrong........but this is a pretty 'laid back' atmosphere.........that's why we like it..........

We're just not into the crowds at the CP or CM's...............

Have fun..........

 

[kaseyC]

One of our favorites for dinner is 1900 Park Fare at the GF, they usually have Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla (the mice) and the Fairy Godmother in the Lobby. I think the best one for character interaction is the Garden Grille in The Land Pavillion at Epcot - go around 2:00-4:00 pm for a late lunch or early dinner, the place usually is not too crowded and the characters spend alot of time with the kids. The characters are Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale- all dressed in farm wear.

 

[texas8891]

The Princess breakfast at Cinderella's castle is great if you can get a reservation. Otherwise, I really like the bbq lunch at the Land pavillion and Mickey's Backyard BBQ.

 

[jeankeri]

The character meals that were the biggest hits for us were The Land and Crystal Palace (both for lunch). All the characters made it to our tables and the food was a big hit as well -for both kids and grown-ups! We also went to O'hanas and Restaurantasaurus (breakfasts). Restaurantasaurus had Donald Duck and Krispy Creme donuts going for it, but was very unorganized (IMHO). With 8am ps's, being at the park before the parking lot opened/ being on the first tram, were not seated in the restaurant until 8:35. Does this happen at Cindy's or CP? Only Donald and Goofy made it to our table- my boys chose to go to Dinoland instead of waiting for Pluto. O'hanas was much more organized, but if you plan on going to a couple of character meals- Goofy, Pluto & Chip& Dale are at them all! I would consider it only if you are staying at the Poly.
The last character meal we did was LTT for dinner. If you like Thanksgiving (and your kids do to) you won't be dissapointed. It also has Minnie and Meeko, which were a big hit for my boys!
Enjoy!