Best Character Meal for 21 month old?

[Sunset Cliffs]

We will be taking my son to WDW for his first visit in June and at that time he will be 21 months old. I thought it would be fun to take him to a character meal, but I'm not sure which would be best for him. We are leaning towards the one at the Tusker House, but I have never been to a character meal before, so I'm not sure how the characters interact with the kids, etc. We have started him watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so that he will recognize Mickey Mouse and I think it is working!

We went to Disneyland last Thanksgiving and showed him Mickey from afar and he seemed interested but we didn't get any closer. I'm just concerned that if he is not ready for that "up close & personal" visit w/ the characters...do they recognize that?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Perditamarie]

You can meet Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom....it is right in the park, so no commuting. We enjoy the breakfast there....we try to schedule a later seating to get a "brunch". The characters are very sweet and your son should have time to check them out before they come to your table...if he is not ready to meet them you can tell your server or wave them by.

Happy planning!

 

[pooh4evr]

I agree Pooh Breakfast at Crystal Palace in MK.

 

[Captain Masamune]

My sister has taken her 4 kids to WDW almost every year and raves about the character breakfast at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary.

 

[MushuGirl06]

I agree Pooh Breakfast at Crystal Palace in MK.

I was definitely going to recommend Crystal Palace because of Pooh and Tigger and especially if he watches (i know hes young to watch tv but he could...) watch my friends tigger and pooh on playhouse disney or I would say Chef Mickeys because of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on disney also the last one I would say might work if he does watch the little einsteins and all the shows on playhouse disney is hollywood and vine (DHS) in the morning because they have all those characters going around from table to table

 

[Dominic'smom]

Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace

 

[PrincessPeyton]

I agree Pooh Breakfast at Crystal Palace in MK.

Me too! we took my DD2 and she loved seeing Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger! I also think it was the best buffet we had the entire time because she had plenty to pick from!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I had forgot about Crystal Palace. The reason I focused on the Tusker House is because of Mickey Mouse. We have TIVOed a couple of Mickey Mouse Clubhouses and he watches them every once in a while. I think he is really starting to like Mickey. So that might be what I was after. I was looking at Chef Mickey's too, but it sounds like people are saying it is hard to get a reservation there.

Does anyone have any views on the Tusker House? I am definitely going to keep the Crystal Palace & Chef Mickey's in mind.

 

[estherhead]

I feel I have to warn you that I just took my baby that age to Tusker House & she was TERRIFIED! It didn't matter that the characters stayed away. Daisy Duck led a little dance around the room and my baby screamed & screamed. That Daisy Duck is one scary lady.

But I took a previous 21 month old (she's 7 now) to a princess meal & she had a fabulous time. The princesses all talked to her and cooed over her. But they are face characters. So I'm not sure. I have bigger kids so it didn't bother me to just hold her throughout the breakfast as they were having a blast. But had I just had the baby I would have been sad I had paid the money to terrify my kid.

I'm not saying not to go, but I think I'd test it first. Put on a mask at a store and chase around your baby & see if he is terrified or laughs. My baby was terrified when I did this & my other kids thought it was hilarious at that age. That should have given me a clue but I didn't even think about it.

 

[chipper10]

We took DS for the 1st time this past September. We did Hollywood and Vine, Crystal Palace, and Chef Mickey's. I think he enjoyed Chef Mickey's the most. He played around more with the characters there. And he was going through a big Donald Duck phase then too.

 

[Miss Mo]

Oooh you've got me in a dilema now - was going to take our little one to Chef Mickey's - he'll be 15 months, but now I'm swithering with Crystal Palace. We're there for 2 weeks - do you think doing both would be overkill? He loves Tigger and Pooh and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he cuddles two different Pooh bears every night when he goes to bed.

I'm right in thinking you can book 90 days in advance plus an extra 10 if you are staying on property right? So I should be able to phone in the next couple of days!!!

Woo hooo!!! Starting to get soooooooooo excited about this trip!

mo x

 

[sabrecmc]

We've done Tusker House and Crystal Palace several times. My daughter was 22 months the first time we did them. I think Crystal Palace was a bigger hit, and she loves Mickey. Mainly, this was due to the layout of the place, I think. Crystal Palace is open and airy and bright. There is more room to interact with the characters. They do a parade around the restaurant. There was more time to eat between characters (though, that's probably totally random).

That's not to say we didn't really enjoy Tusker House. It was just noisier and more cramped and there was less time for interaction with the characters. They did a parade as well, but with these African noisemakers that were really loud and bothered my daughter the first time we were there (though by the second visit, she was parading around shaking one by herself just fine, thank you very much!). They did a really good job with what they had and I personally loved the breakfast there. One nice thing was that if you do an early breakfast, you're in the park before it opens and right back by the safaris to go ahead and get that done first thing in the morning before people can even hoof it back there! If your child is comfortable with characters, then I'd do both, but if you have to pick one, for a young child, I just felt that Crystal Palace was not quite as intimidating. Goofy is huge in "person"!

 

[puffkin]

By 21 months, my DS could identify pretty much every character in the parks and was a pro at the character meals. We have him brainwashed

That being said, I would recommend Crystal Palace for a first character meal. Nicer pace, friendly characters and the restaurant itself isn't overwhelming. Plus it is in the MK, so no travel.

The best character interaction for that age group we have found to be at H&V. It is a really laid back meal and not nearly as crazy as some of the other places. However if your child isn't familiar with those characters it is probably not a good choice.

Tusker House is very noisy and crowded. My DS doesn't mind it but he has done lots of character meals. I wouldn't recommend that one for a first meal. Chef Mickey's is always packed and the restaurant is very garish and busy. Again, I probably wouldn't recommend for a first meal.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Another vote for Crystal Palace! We took DS right at age two, the characters were SOOOOOO soft, and really gentle with him, and even though the restaurant was pretty full (we had a before park breakfast) it wasn't too loud in there and it was nice and bright! Also, we got done right at 9 and had a wonderful morning in the MK! Breakfast time was also great because DS hadn't gotten crabby from a long day, he was bright and happy after a good nights rest!