Character breakfasts worth the time and money?

[frannn]

If you are unsure, just do the ice cream social. You will get the benfit of the characters without spending a lot. We usually do a bunch of the character meals, because we enjoy it, and can work it into our budget. When we do the breakfasts, we usually skip lunch or just have a snack until dinner, so we save $ there. Each time we go, it seems a bit more crowded, and we prefer not to wait on lines with the masses to see the characters. We did, though, wait on line for those characters that we could not meet at the meals, like Jafar, etc.

 

[dgaston]

I would like to highlight what some earlier posters have said-- the ice cream social at the Land is an excellent bargain, and using Character breakfasts at 10 to 10:30 works very well as a brunch. Some of my favorite buffets are Crystal Palace, and Donald Breakfastosaurus in AK. I like the food and character interaction at both of these. But don't feel you must do the meals. That's your choice.

Your time is short so this suggestion may not work. Chip and Dale also can be met at the sing a long at the Campfire at FW. In cooler months this starts at 7 pm, but in May it could be closer to 8 pm. Just a thought.

 

[fruitcake]

Being a BIG Pooh fan, I must suggest a meal at the Crystal Palace. We (DH, dad, and I) attended an early dinner at the CP a couple of years ago, and it is one of my fondest memories of that magical trip. The characters (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore) spent soooo much time with us (even though we were all adults)...it was truly unbelievable. I was wearing Pooh ears at the time, so all the character absolutely loved it!! I think we saw each of the characters about four times each. It was definitely worth the one on one time with Pooh and the many hugs I received!

 

[skiwee1]

We do at least two character meals per trip. One trip we did 6 but that was another story! Anyway since you have such limited time in the parks I would definitely go to an early character breakfast. Since you have a 3 and 5 y/o I would suggest one with Mickey and Minnie or Pooh and friends, depedng on who they like. I'm sure they will both recognize them. You get great pictures with the characters at these meals, more so then just getting them in the parks. You also can get their autograph. It is much better then wasting valuable park time standing in line for a super quick 5 second pose. At these meals the characters come around 3-4 times and really interact with the little ones. It really is a great time and worth every penny.

 

[mom2threeboys]

We just got back with our 5yo, 2.5yo, and 11mo boys. We did lunch at Crystal palace one day, and breakfast at Chef Mickey's the day we left.
They were both good, if you're on a budget and can just choose one, I would say Chef Mickey's!!!! It was definitely the best. There were lots of characters, and the food was great (even Dh was happy, and he's picky!). We got some great pics and the kids had a wonderful time. The characters were so cute and came around in a timely fashion. I can honestly say it was worth every penny.
Crystal Palace was okay, but not as organized, we waited a long time to see Pooh (we saw Eeyore 2 or 3 times before Pooh came by ) and the characters didn't spend long at the table. The food was okay but nothing great. I'm glad we did it, but I don't think we'd do it again. The kids enjoyed it this time though.
If you have a girl, I think the princess meals sound awesome!
Have fun whatever you decide!

 

[AreWeThereYet]

We FINALLY did a character meal after holding out for many years and many visits...and wondered why we had not done one before then. We did the Cape May Cafe character breakfast at the Beach Club and we all loved it. Both DD's (13 and 11 at the time) enjoyed being visited by the characters, whom they both thought they were too old to enjoy, and we had a nice filling meal on the last day of our visit.

We are definitely planning on doing one again this May when we visit The World!!!

 

[toddlisatyriem]

My son was five when we went and the character breakfasts were the highlights of our trip! They were his favorite thing to do because you get up close and can take pictures and interact. There is a character restaurant in Liberty Square that was reasonablly priced and we got to take pictures and chat with a ton of characters.

The charcters in the park that run around either have HUGE lines or they are very quick with a picture because of the amount of people.

 

[nicknamy1996]

We have been lucky enough to go to WDW for that last 3 years and have done CP and CF on each visit. After the first year I recomended it to everyone.

My arguments were that yes may seem expensive... But you should not look at the $80 it going to cost for one meal (Chef Mickeys -2 A, 1 C,1 infant) but just look at the extra $30 or 40 it will cost. After all you are getting a meal out of it that you would have to eat somewhere else. And it is a all you can eat buffet so if you can take the place of 2 meals, or a meal and a snack even better. After dinner the whole family can get their ice cream fix for the day(thats worth $10 in the park.) So in my book you were paying "a couple" of bucks extra for the experience.

But the last 2 years characters have been EVERYWHERE in the parks, even approaching us because of the lack of lines. This year we had our autograph books(first time doing those) almost filled before our first character meal and that was with very little time spend waiting in line. So honestly the "value"of the meal was decreased but if we are lucky enough to go next year I'm sure we'll do it again... Maybe try some different ones though. We almost did Liberty Tree this year, I've heard it's a good one.

 

[Gomez Gang]

I have never heard of the Character Ice Cream Social! How exciting-my favorite food in my favorite place! Do they have it all year round or just during peak seasons? We are going in November and I sure would like to make my priority seating for that! More info on the ice cream social would be great!

We have gone to Chef Mickey's for dinner and breakfast. My suggestion is to go on the day you arrive for dinner or go for breakfast or brunch on the day you leave (that way you have your bellies stuffed for a day of traveling!)
We have done the crystal palace as well but it has gone down-hill over the last 2 years in my opinoin. Plus it is in the MK and you may be wasting valuable touring time if you only have 3 days.

 

[crisi]

nicknamy - You were lucky - my kids discovered autographs this year and we spent a lot of time waiting in lines to see characters (October 2003). In some ways it was nice (teaches patience - something your average preschooler can use some practice with), but it wasn't how I'd hoped to be spending my vacation.

 

[SavingsFan]

We just came back from Disney and we did two character meals as well as the ice cream social. I have to say that it was worth the money to us. It is a very unique interaction...one you will usually not experience out in the park while meeting characters.

My son's eye was hurting while at the ice cream social. Dale came over and was getting ready to have his picture taken with him. My son pushed him away. I explained that Josh's eye was extremely irritated and he was just not feeling up to the experience. Dale sat down next to him. He put his arm around Josh as if to console him! Then Dale picked up a spoon and started to feed Josh ice cream!!! That was such a magical moment for us. It also made Josh feel a whole lot better.

Chef Mickey had a great breakfast. Every 20 minutes to half hour they would get the whole restaurant waving their napkins around to the music. One of my sons went to the bathroom and Joey and I were left alone at the table. Chip sat down next to him and pretended to start consuming Joey's food! That was very cute.

We also did a breakfast with Winnie The Pooh and friends. This was so cool because it was in the park at the Crystal Palace. We had reservations before the park opened and so they let us in under the rope before the park even opened. The rest of the general public was just left standing behind the rope! Main street was completely empty. It was almost like entering a ghost town. Dh took photos but they did not come out very well. But we were the ONLY guests walking down Main Street.

Tigger spilled orange juice on our table and acted like he was so sorry. It was so funny seeing him try to get the cm's attention when he is not allowed to speak! lol. He stayed around extra time just to make it up to us. We got some great pix. This was a fun breakfast because they dance around the restaurant every 30 or so minutes. Everyone forms a conga line of sorts and dances around behind the characters.

The characters made each meal very special. For food, The Crystal Palace was the best. They had made to order omlettes and we love omlettes. The Garden Grill (ice cream social) was the cheapest. Chef Mickey was just a whole lotta fun. Chef Mickey takes your picture when you walk in and we even purchased that package. None of the others took our picture, so that was special.

I think it is totally worth your time and money but you must decide.

Christina

 

[vhoffman]

One advantage of a character breakfast is that, depending on the time, you could get into the park early and avoid the crowds. This was our experience with Cinderella's breakfast and the Crystal Palace. Both times our reservation was before the park opened but we were allowed in due to our reservations. We ate and got out of the restaurant before park opening which allowed us time to just soak up the park without all the crowds. Also, my kids are both 7 (twins). I really don't think they'll enjoy the character meals for much longer. After a few years they'll think its for babies, not "cool". Those years go by fast, gather moments while ye may....

 

[KCMiller]

Here's an idea about CB's as well - at some of the Character Meals, the characters are in themed costumes, which can lend themselves to some wonderful pictures. When we went to Chef Mickey's for the breakfast (thanks, Paramount!), we loved meeting Goofy and Mickey - and noticed that they were in chef clothes! For some reason, the camera I took went on the fritz, so I didn't get the pictures I want, but when we go back in October, I'm going to get a picture of my whole family with Chef Mickey and Chef Goofy, to hang in my kitchen! What a great and appropriate souvenier! I also found some potholders with Goofy and Mickey on them - so the decoration in my kitchen will be subtle, but will always remind me of WDW, and what could be better?

If you have a sun room, a picture of the characters at the Garden Grill (they are in overall, farmer type outfits) - if you have a patriotic theme in your family room, a picture of the characters at Liberty Tree Tavern (in colonial garb) - you get the point!

KC

 

[bcarson]

Thanks for all of your replies. I have went ahead and booked a ps at Chef Mickeys and at the Crystal Palace. I thought it was interesting what you said about the early breakfast. So if you go early for breakfast are you able to ride the rides early when your breakfast is done? That sounds like a plan!

 

[emersonsmom]

We have done the Character meals 2 years in a row. My older daughter is now 3. It is by far money well spent. Waiting in line, only to have the character leave RIGHT before you get there is heartwrenching. Not to mention just trying to locate characters can be a pain. With the character meals you get so much personalized attention. Last year at the princess storybook breakfast, snowwhite couldn't stop holding our baby at the time and came over again before we left and said "goodbye emma, I hope to see you again". To see the look on my daughters face was priceless.

Here are some pictures from our PSB last year.

http://members.sparedollar.com/emersonsmom/emmadiss.jpg
http://members.sparedollar.com/emersonsmom/emmadis.jpg
http://members.sparedollar.com/emersonsmom/emmajasmine.jpg

 

[frannn]

I would love to see your DD at PSAB (mine went a 1 year old- had a birthday blast-wish I knew how to attach pictures)!
When I click on the link, I get "page cannot be displayed".
Bummer.

 

[emersonsmom]

I fixed it!

 

[frannn]

They look a little shy. I wonder if DD1 is going to be as outgoing (as she was in Oct) when she sees the characters again in Sept. I think she was mostly concerned with the food, though....

 

[emersonsmom]

Yea, the pictures weren't great but she wasn't as shy as she appears in the photos..lol As soon as she saw snowwhite she was jumping up and down and refused to eat and couldn't sit still. Then she ran up to her and the first thing she said was "where's doppy?" It was so cute!

 

[disneymom3]

I have a now three year old who was two at the time of our last visit. We did several character meals and the pictures of him are priceless!! The reason?? In every single picture, he has his back turned to the character and is basically pretending they are not there!! The other two kids are hugging the characters, smiling, excited etc, but not my middle guy. He did this even with the princesses. I would not trade those pictures for anything!

Would other people think it was worth the time and money? I don't know, but I sure did. (Of course, he and his little brother were free at the buffets and family style restaurants!)