Best Character Dining for Adults

[fizzymint]

I just spent my honeymoon at WDW last month and we got Memory Maker. To make the most of it, we ended up in character queues, though we initially had no interest in meeting any. Turns out, it was a blast!! When we go back, I'm actually thinking about booking some sort of character dining experience.

We'll be going with a friend who is a bit more apathetic about characters, but is all about tasty food -- and humoring us.

What are some good options for character dining for adults? Some of the things we want to take into consideration:

• Good food!
• Timing -- getting into a park early might be fun
• We like the silliness of the 'in suit' characters a bit more than the face characters

I've seen Tusker House come up for good food, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts are! Thanks!

 

[sponica]

Do Garden Grill in Epcot, I went in college and loved it. They only did dinner back then (which from what I hear was far superior to what dinner is offered now) but I have breakfast booked for this trip. It's Chip and Dale and Mickey (I think). I just remember chip and dale being bonkers.

Bonus: you don't have to get up as its served family style.

 

[tannerandcatesmom]

It won’t get you into the parks early, but Cinderella’s dinner at 1900 Park Fare is fabulous! The entire Tremaine clan is there and the step sisters are a hoot!! My hubby got picked to dance with Anastasia, she was hysterical and then Lady Tremaine came over to “size him up”! We really enjoyed it, the food was great too!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I would agree with PP, Cinderella's dinner was great. Me and my DH loved it as much as our girls. But it's at GF so while it's close to the parks, it won't get you in early. I have heard that Tusker House is great for the breakfast and mid AM meal (around the time they switch out the buffet) so you can have both breakfast and/or lunch. Heard it's fun to see the characters dressed up in their safari gear. We love Ohana breakfast with stitch but again, won't get you in the parks early. I would recommend Crystal Palace for breakfast. It's nothing special, characters are OK but it will get you into MK early if you snag an early resi and so will BOG but no characters for that one.

 

[Lisa F]

I love Pooh so I always book CP... I have a 9 year old but I won't lie, I book it for me. The food is decent enough, not amazing but it's a buffet. I prefer it for breakfast over dinner. There is no advantage to having it PPO anymore with the new opening procedure except that you can get it done before the park opens.

I also love garden grill for PPO breakfast, you can go right on soarin' and I love the characters. Food is basic but good.

For Mickey and friends and best food at a character meal, I love tusker house in the AK. Any meal is good there.

Those are my top 3 as an adult

 

[PollyannaMom]

I second Garden Grill. Sponika is right about Chip and Dale being soooo much fun! We also had Mickey and, IIRC, Goofy. We've done both lunch and dinner, and I wouldn't hesitate to try breakfast, especially if you can get in early - that "empty park" feeling is definitely worth it (not to mention the photo ops!) - The restaurant does slowly rotate, though, so avoid it if someone in your party gets motion sick so easily that it would bother them.

 

[ShadeDK]

I'd recommend breakfast at 'Ohana (Stitch, Lilo, Mickey and Pluto). Similar to Garden Grill in terms of food and family style service (but with ham instead of bacon - although the later may be requested). 'Ohana has a nice laid back atmosphere while still feeling "adult". It won't get you in the parks early - but I'd recommend a late morning reservation after you've hit MK or Epcot.

You may already know this (it's not clear from your post), but to clarify - Photopass photographers don't follow the characters to your table and you'll have to take your own pictures. That may be where your apathetic friend can come in handy if they're not interested in being in the shot. Have fun!

 

[22Tink]

1900 PF dinner. Those Tremaines are a riot!! We also really enjoyed our PPO Garden Grill breakfast. The characters included the adults as much as the kids, and I appreciated that it was family style instead of buffet so we could remain in our seats to eat and not worry about missing any of the characters.

 

[Lisa F]

I second Garden Grill. Sponika is right about Chip and Dale being soooo much fun! We also had Mickey and, IIRC, Goofy. We've done both lunch and dinner, and I wouldn't hesitate to try breakfast, especially if you can get in early - that "empty park" feeling is definitely worth it (not to mention the photo ops!) - The restaurant does slowly rotate, though, so avoid it if someone in your party gets motion sick so easily that it would bother them.

pluto not goofy

 

[Simba's Mom]

I like Cape May character breakfast. With all the convention trade, it seems to attract more adults than the others (but of course, there's still a large number of families). I noticed the first time I dined there solo that there were several other solo adults there also, and several adult groups.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I would say Tusker House for food if you’re going any time other than breakfast (I have heard it has good breakfast but we’ve never done a breakfast ADR). The other character buffets we’ve eaten at for lunch or dinner have had meh food.

 

[lovin'fl]

Just did 1900 Park Fare breakfast with two college kids who roll their eyes at the characters but they enjoyed Mad Hatter and Alice...and loved the food. Kept talking about it all week...saying they wanted more of the eggs Benedict and chicken tenders. It was good.

 

[JZCubed]

I just spent my honeymoon at WDW last month and we got Memory Maker. To make the most of it, we ended up in character queues, though we initially had no interest in meeting any. Turns out, it was a blast!! When we go back, I'm actually thinking about booking some sort of character dining experience.

We'll be going with a friend who is a bit more apathetic about characters, but is all about tasty food -- and humoring us.

What are some good options for character dining for adults? Some of the things we want to take into consideration:

• Good food!
• Timing -- getting into a park early might be fun
• We like the silliness of the 'in suit' characters a bit more than the face characters

I've seen Tusker House come up for good food, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts are! Thanks!

Tusker House - get the River of Lights package too.

If you're gonna' wait in line for photos, go see Mickey in Magic Kingdom....he can actually talk sometimes.

 

[cole4/25]

I can’t say I’ve done all of those but Garden Grill is awesome!!!! Totally our fav!!! BUT...... If I’m not too concerned with quality of food then it would be Crystal Palace - right in Mk & it’s a buffet so there’s going to be something everyone likes.

 

[Arielfan98]

Garden Grill breakfast!!! I did it with my sister (we are both adults) back in January 2017.

-Reserve a table a half hour after park opens so you can run to Soarin' first and ride it with no line! (OR I've heard of people reserving a table before park opens and then going on Soarin', but the CM let us in early anyway).
-Character interaction was great and not awkward at all. We saw Chip and Dale twice!!
-Excellent service and food. Bill came to about $80 for 2 adults with tax and tip.
-Unique setting on a rotating platform and you can see Living with the Land ride.
-We were so full we only needed a light snack during dinner-time, so it saved us $$$

 

[horse11]

1900 PF dinner. Those Tremaines are a riot!! We also really enjoyed our PPO Garden Grill breakfast. The characters included the adults as much as the kids, and I appreciated that it was family style instead of buffet so we could remain in our seats to eat and not worry about missing any of the characters.

When are the Tremaines there? Breakfast or Dinner?

 

[kboo]

For breakfast:
1. Crystal Palace (the characters are fun, the restaurant is pretty, the food is ok)
2. Garden Grill (fun characters, less hectic, good food)
3. Tusker House (fun characters, excellent food - we usually book the last breakfast slot to take a break at AK and get breakfast and lunch food)
4. Trattoria al Forno. (Flynn Rider.... and good food, and good service, and ... Flynn Rider...)

For dinner:
1. 1900 Park Fare - we've gone several times and love it. The stepsisters and Lady Tremaine are hilarious. The food is surprisingly good for a buffet, too.
2. Garden Grill (see above)
3. Tusker House (see above - one time we had a late-ish dinner and walking out felt like we had the park to ourselves - that was really nice - wait, now I can't remember if there were characters at dinner)

IMO, Tusker House has some of the best in-park food, buffet or not, character meal or not. The fact that there are characters is just a bonus. I'd rank it 2nd behind Boma for best buffet.

 

[kboo]

When are the Tremaines there? Breakfast or Dinner?

Dinner.

Breakfast is usually some combination of the Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins, Tigger ...

 

[22Tink]

When are the Tremaines there? Breakfast or Dinner?

Dinner. Breakfast has Mary Poppins and Alice I think. We haven't done breakfast before.

 

[daisyduck73]

PPO breakfast: Garden Grill in Epcot or Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.
Not in park: Cape May Cafe at Beach Club

We have done these as 2 adults, and all were great character interactions. I think Garden Grill characters were the best of these three.