Character dining -Best option

[bevkay4]

What is the best recommendation for character dining in Disney. Is the Cinderella Castle the very best? I was told that 1900 Park Fare was also nice with great food. We will be going to Disney World in late June with a 4 and 6 year old and would love suggestions for the best places for char. dining? Also which is best--breakfast, lunch, dinner and how far in advance must we book?

Thanks for all advice given.
Bev

 

[bitohoney]

Well do you have girls or boys? We like Akershus breakfast, it is the princesses and the food is good (and Epcot is my favorite park)! Crystal Palace is fun too with Pooh characters and it's a buffet. This next trip we are going to try 1900 Park Fare and breakfast at Tusker House with Donald!

 

[bevkay4]

We have a boy (6) and a girl (4). They are very easy going about all of the characters and like them all as long as they each get something special. The boy will go to see princesses and the girl will see pirates/toy story/incredibles if they each get a special event.

Thanks!

 

[PearlySwan]

"The best" is a rather subjective term. There are people who wouldn't bother with Cinderella's Royal Table (CRT) while others wouldn't want to try 1900 Park Fare or Arkeshus. Personally we loved dinner at CRT and Arkeshus restaurant. We haven't tried 1900 Park Fare yet. If you haven't dined at CRT, and can get a ressie there (hard to get), I would strongly recommend it at least once. It's the experience of being in the castle that matters to most of us rather than the food. We actually liked the food at Arkeshus more than at CRT, but that's another subjective as everyone's palate is different.

 

[Nadjalu]

The absolute best characters are at Crystal Palace...Pooh and friends.

 

[silmarg]

The Character Meals are all usually good. Here is my take on them:

Chef Mickey's is a classic. We never miss it. The food is good but because of its size, character interaction can be a bit rushed.

Cinderella's Castle - the food is ok and the character interaction is ok. But the price is crazy. I've "been there done that" but would not go out of my way to do it again (and I have 2 DDs).

Akerhus - The food (esp dinner) is for a specific palette. Not mine. Pass.

Crystal Palace - Excellent in park choice. Food is fairly consistent. Character interaction is usually good.

Liberty Tree - I miss it.

1900 Park Fare - I havent been in a while. And it seemed like they changed the characters every year. The food is a notch above most buffets

Hollywood & Vine - Not a bad choice for breakfast. Especially for preschoolers.

Tusker House - Another very good breakfast choice for in park character dining.

If I had to choose just one... it would be Chef Mickeys for the nostalgia or Crystal Palace for the characters (I like the Pooh characters).

You can book 180 days in advance - and I suggest you book it as close as the 180 mark. These tend to be popular.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Best is really different to different people. We have a son (his first trip he was age 2 and going on his 5th birthday it will be his 5th trip), so hopefully this breakdown will help in someway.

Best food and good character interaction Tusker House Breakfast (my husband, my son and I enjoy the food selection) and my son have had great character experience here...we went here 3x and its a must for my son every trip (I guess until he outgrows going to character meal). They have a musical parade, I think ever 30 mins. And getting to the food is not crazy like Chef Mickey or CP. You can get food and we never see a line.
Crystal Palace Lunch (we all liked the food selection here and my son loves Pooh and friends here. and they have a little parade). We went here 4x and its a must ever trip
Cape May breakfast (food is good and character interact was good too)
Hollywood and Vine (we ate breakfast here was good and one of the best character interaction my son got when he was 2). We went here for lunch 3x (food can be so so one day and bad the last time we went but we really go here b/c my son loves it. Ever 15 to 20 mins they have a song and dance and GREAT character interaction. He likes The Little Einstein). I'm hoping to drop this one on the next trip but he asked if he can go here again. We go here for the song and dancing and parade not for the food.
CRT breakfast - food was good but not great. Character interaction for my son was good. The princess took time talkng to him, taking lots of pictures and hugs. We were happy to go to this one.
Chef Mickey (BAD food, we left hungry and had to get room service. It could have been a bad night but all 3 had bad experience. We will go back to Chef Mickey for breakfast b/c my son did like the character interaction). I read that breakfast was better.
1900 Park Fare (we went for breakfast and dinner). Breakfast food was ok and dinner was Bad. We did have GREAT CHARACTER experience. Cinderella came over our table and asked my son to dance with her...that was one magical moment we captured and it was worth the price.
Have a magical trip.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I think it depends on your definition of best.

My two favorite character meals are:

1)Crystal Palace for breakfast - love the characters, the buffet is great and love getting into MK before park opening

2) CRT for breakfast or lunch - love the characters, the food is good and love the fact that it is not a buffet ... character meals are much less hectic when you aren't running around to get your food.

Now, my 8 year old DD's favorite meal is Chef Mickeys. We have only eaten here once and I thought it was way,way,way overrated. I did not care for our dinner at all. But, DD LOVED it ... so we are making a breakfast reservation here next trip.

 

[MJMcBride]

I feel the best breakfasts are 'ohana and the princess breakfast at Norway

 

[gigi1313]

one of our top faves is Garden Grill... great food, very nice relaxing atmosphere, outstanding character interaction... best overall place to see Mickey (in our family's opinion)...

for princesses, akershus all-the-way! we prefer b'fast as the lunch/dinner offerings just do not appeal to us...

our other fave b'fast spot is 'ohana w/lilo & stitch (and mickey)... top notch all the way

 

[ShannonMB]

We've been to CRT (bfast and lunch), Crystal Palace (bfast and dinner), LTT (miss it also!), Chef Mickey's, Tusker House bfast, and 1900 Park Fare (dinner).

We love them all and like to try new ones each trip, but IMHO, the very sweetest character interaction we've had has been at Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. On our last trip, Pooh was so adorable with DD, he kept acting like he was going to leave, then running back over for one more hug. I was actually in tears because it was so darn precious. My DD, who once thought herself *too old* (at 8) for Pooh, now counts them among her favorite characters. Besides, they are all SO huggable!

 

[TillyMarigold]

I can't believe no one's mentioned breakfast at Cape May! Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, in their bathing suits, the food is great and the character interaction is too, and it's the quietest character meal (they can get LOUD).

 

[silmarg]

our other fave b'fast spot is 'ohana w/lilo & stitch (and mickey)... top notch all the way

The breakfast sausage at Ohana's is to die for...

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I really liked in order:
#1: BOMA
#2: 1900 Park Fare
# 3 Cape May
......these are all for "dinner."

We tried Akershus for breakfast and were very disappointed in the price/food variety. The princesses only came by once for a very brief meet-n-greet.

 

[can'twaittobewarm]

Great info here. Thanks!

 

[catyanna]

I loved Epcot's Garden Grill for dinner. Michey, Pluto, Chip & Dale all dressed in farmer attire. The food was served family style & it was fabulous. And so was the service. We had a late dinner(7:50) so the restaurant was not as busy as at earlier times and my 2 yr old son got the attention of all the characters. He had a great time.

For lunch we love Crystal Palace w/ Pooh & friends. they have a great children's buffet section that the kid love. Also, the kids can get up and walk around the whole restaurant with the characters singing & dancing.

For breakfast, 1900 Park Fare was great. We had Alice, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, Pooh, & Tigger. This too is buffet style. The food was by far the best breakfast that I have had at WDW.

 

[monikay]

Loved 1900 Park Fare - we want to do dinner again! This time with the Villans! Breakfast at Akerhaus - very good food and princesses. Chef Mickey's was fun. Cape May was fun and good food. CRT just eating in the castle was a blast.

 

[somethingblue]

I really liked in order:
#1: BOMA
#2: 1900 Park Fare
# 3 Cape May
......these are all for "dinner."

We tried Akershus for breakfast and were very disappointed in the price/food variety. The princesses only came by once for a very brief meet-n-greet.

Boma isn't a character meal.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Nothing better than Chef Mickey's in my book.

 

[MightyDuck001]

I've been to Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, and Cape May Cafe. Usually we opt for breakfast at whichever hotel is closest and easiest to get to or which park we'll be going to. I thought Cape May Cafe was great- it was a quiet restaurant (more so than Ohana or 1900 Park Fare), the breakfast buffet was tasty, the decor very nice, the characters came over often, and the service was great. Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy in beach clothes were also a little more gender neutral, good for boys and girls. Afterwards you can walk to Epcot, or take the boat to Hollywood Studios.