Best Character Meal?

[hot_mama]

We are taking a trip with another family in June. We have two girls and have been several times and know which character meals they like, but they are princess style. They have two boys, and have never been. We really want them to enjoy, and have no idea which character meals the boys might like. They want us to plan it all....so what is the best character meal to take boys to?

 

[P&B's Mom]

I have a boy and have been to just about every character meal. My son especially likes Chef Mickey. He has also enjoyed Tusker House (lunch will be available in June along with traditional breakfast), Cape May, 'Ohana, and Crystal Palace. Hollywood and Vine is good for little ones. Good luck!

 

[Kidanifan08]

We have a 5 yo son, and he has always enjoyed Crystal Palace, Tusker House and Chef Mickey. Garden Grill was nice, but our pictures did not turn out very good, due to the background being dark.

We like to get one of the first reservations of the day for Crystal Palace or Tusker. That way, we get into the park before it has opened for the day and we can do some pictures without other guests in the background. They even had a photopass photographer on Main Street at MK to do pictures in front of the castle as we were entering for our 8AM ADR at Crystal Palace.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We enjoy breakfast at Cape May Cafe.

It is Minnie, Goofy, and Donald.

 

[ercrbc]

Have you thought about going to TREX in DTD? It's not a character meal but the moving dinosaurs and all the bugs and ocean creatures in the restaurant were a BIG hit with both my kids.

 

[hot_mama]

Have you thought about going to TREX in DTD? It's not a character meal but the moving dinosaurs and all the bugs and ocean creatures in the restaurant were a BIG hit with both my kids.

No, I hadn't thought about that. That is a great idea. The boys are 9 and 6, and would love the dinosaur theme. We may do that in addition to a character meal.

 

[hot_mama]

Thanks for the great ideas, I like the idea of being in the park before it opens! Are there any pirate character meals (captain hook or anything like that)?

 

[Kidanifan08]

Thanks for the great ideas, I like the idea of being in the park before it opens! Are there any pirate character meals (captain hook or anything like that)?

We just did the Pirates and Pals cruise last week, and really enjoyed it! They have light snacks and NA beverages before the cruise. There is an opportunity to do pictures with Captain Hook and Smee. The cruise was nice and there is some cheesy humor during the boat ride; kids of all ages seem to enjoy it. It was great to see the fireworks from the water. We saw the Halloween fireworks the night we did the cruise. At the end of the cruise, there is an opportunity to do photos with Peter Pan. It was not too expensive. The cruise picks up at the docks behind the Contemporary.

 

[moericus]

We did Chef Mickey's for breakfast and I don't think any of us liked the atmosphere. It seemed very rushed and over-crowded. I thought the characters were running from table to table. We barely had time for pictures.

Crystal Palace was the complete opposite feel. I thought the characters did a great job of spreading out and spending time with the kids. I think the food was a little better too. And, I think there is something amazing about walking around Main Street before the park opens. It's a neat feeling. The down side is it's Winnie the Pooh and friends. I would think 6 and 9 y.o. boys are way past Pooh bear.

 

[blondietink]

We have done every character meal on property and we have 2 boys that are older now. The last time at Chef Mickey's we were very disappointed for more than one reason, and we will rpobably never go there again. Our favorite used to be 1900 Park Fare for breakfast as there are lots of characters. However, we had avoided Crystal Palace because we just aren't a Pooh family. We tried it finally 2 years ago and this is by far and away our favorite. Best food, if you can get an 8 am slot, you will get into the park before everybody else. We like a late lunch best as we feel the lunch food is better than the dinner food, and if you can get in late, it will hold you until bedtime with just having a snack later.

We had also avoided Norway for some time as it is all princesses and with the boys, we thought UGH! But when free dining rolled around, we tried it and they had the best time. All of the princesses came to our table several times and gushed over their "princes". Boys were teens and loved the attention!

 

[wildernessDad]

For breakfast, we like the character breakfast at Cape May Cafe.
For dinner, we liked Crystal Palace (seemed to have improved food wise) and Chef Mickey's (love the parmesan mashed potatoes).

 

[hot_mama]

We just did the Pirates and Pals cruise last week, and really enjoyed it! They have light snacks and NA beverages before the cruise. There is an opportunity to do pictures with Captain Hook and Smee. The cruise was nice and there is some cheesy humor during the boat ride; kids of all ages seem to enjoy it. It was great to see the fireworks from the water. We saw the Halloween fireworks the night we did the cruise. At the end of the cruise, there is an opportunity to do photos with Peter Pan. It was not too expensive. The cruise picks up at the docks behind the Contemporary.

Great info!

 

[hot_mama]

I think we will try Chrystal Palace for breakfast (so we can be in the park before it opens) and Tusker House at lunch (I think the safari outfits will be awesome). Thanks everyone.

 

[clarkfamily]

Tusker House! I think it would be perfect for a 6yo and 9yo boy. The African/safari/adventure atmosphere is great. The character interaction was great. The food was fantastic! This was tops on our list for doing again.

(Low lighting for pictures, though, but that is a complaint I have about several character meals...O'Hana and Akershus, also, for example.)

 

[hot_mama]

Tusker House! I think it would be perfect for a 6yo and 9yo boy. The African/safari/adventure atmosphere is great. The character interaction was great. The food was fantastic! This was tops on our list for doing again.

(Low lighting for pictures, though, but that is a complaint I have about several character meals...O'Hana and Akershus, also, for example.)

So glad to hear that! We can't wait!

 

[JWG]

This is a very personal decission as you can see by the varied responses. We have a girl, so our perspective is skewed that way. However, my favorite (food) character meal has been O'hana. Their skillet style Polynesian breakfast was ridiculous. Plus their guava orange whatever juice is to die for. I'd for for that alone.

We also liked the characthers, it is Lilo and Stitch, plus a couple of other guests. We had Mickey and Minnie.

We've done Chef Mickey's and Cape May for breakfast. Both were ok. Standard breakfast buffet food. I think Cape May had a better selection of fruits and such. Both offer some set of the Fab Five.

We've done for lunch and/or dinner several:
- Garden Grill (Chip/Dale and friends)
- Chef Mickey's
- 1900 Park Fare
- Akershus (Norway)
- Cinderella's Royal Table

Of those, our favorite is Chef Mickey's. The food is standard buffet fare, we get that. But we've never experienced what a previous poster has and felt the characters were very accommodating. Matter of fact, a couple of times we saw them more than once. We also like the light hearted and somewhat loud atmosphere. Maybe we won't when our DD5 is older, but for now we fit right in.

2nd to that we'd likely say Garden Grill (for the food), agree character photos are hard here or Akershus (for the princesses). We had a much better princess experience for a significantly lower cost here than at Royal Table.

1900 Park Fare and Royal Table were our least favorite. We did Park Fare so we could see unique characters (Lady Trumane, step sisters and Prince Charming), but the food (buffet) left a lot to be desired. Royal Table was good, but just not worth the price. Fun to say we've eaten in the castle, and we may do it again someday. But this is a once to every great once in a while thing - not an all the time thing.

I've eaten at Crystal Palace for breakfast, but it was 1993 so I don't feel I should comment on it as I barely remember it.

We hope to try both Crystal Palace and Tusker House for breakfast sometime as getting into both those parks early is appealing. We're not huge Pooh fans, so Crystal Palace would be for the pics of Main Streen before open. We were able to catch Piglet at DHS this last trip so even for autographs we're good on Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet.

I wish they'd have the Princes at the princess meals or do some Pirate's League meal for boys. Probably not enough interest.

 

[clarkfamily]

I wish they'd have the Princes at the princess meals or do some Pirate's League meal for boys.

TOTALLY AGREE!