Character Dining and Dinner Shows?

[aoffhaus]

We are planning a trip in Feb and I am so excited!!! I am excited mostly because we will be taking our little boy who will turn three on our trip to Disney!

I am wondering which Character Dining experiences and dinner shows would you recommend for him?

Also can I make the reservations before hand or is that something I have to do when I get to Disney?

I am a newbie so any suggestions are helpful!!

Thanks

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Okay! First off you can make reservations 180 days in advance. If you are staying onsite, you can make reservations for your first 10 days of vacation at 180 days from your check in day.

There are a lot of great character dining to choose from. What characters would he like to see? Mickey? Winnie the Pooh? Handy Manny? Also where are you staying?

Some of the highest recommended meals are Tusker House breakfast in AK (Donald, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto), Crystal Palace in MK Breakfast/lunch/dinner (Winnie the Pooh and friends), 'Ohana breakfast at the Poly resort (Mickey, Lili, Stitch, Pluto).

You said the birthday boy turns 3 during the trip? Then you should know that Disney will consider him 2 for the entire trip if he's 2 at arrival for ticket and dining purposes. So no ticket needed and he'll eat for free at all character meals, buffets, all-you-can-eat meals.


ETA: Heres "Character Meals At A Glance" from AllEars.net. If you click on the name of the restaurant you can see menu and pricing (under 3 eat free)

 

[aoffhaus]

Yes I learned that he will be considered two for the length of the trip and am excited about that too!!! Thank you so much for your input. We will more than likely be staying in one of the new royal rooms at Port Orleans Riverside.

 

[aoffhaus]

I do have another question though....if he doesnt have to have a ticket, does he still get some sort of pass that tells everyone he is two. Or do I just tell them at each of the parks and restaurants.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I do have another question though....if he doesnt have to have a ticket, does he still get some sort of pass that tells everyone he is two. Or do I just tell them at each of the parks and restaurants.

You'll need to tell them. They'll probably ask the ages of any kids on the reservation so anyone over 9 is charged adult prices and anyone under 3 aren't charged. Be sure to get him a birthday button too, they are free and the front desk at POR should have them!