Character dining close to closing time

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Second guessing my Crystal Palace reservation for 6:15 when the restaurant closes at 7. Will this give us enough time to meet characters or will we feel rushed? My very picky kid is age 9, so this is probably the last character dining we will do for a while, since he will be a "Disney adult" next time we come. We haven't dined as Crystal Palace before, so I really want to have a good time meeting the characters and not feel rushed.

 

[Disnsyncey]

They will be circulating until at least 30-45 min after their last ADR, I wouldn't be surprised if the characters are around until at least 7:30, and they will definitely have enough food for y'all before they start packing up....

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

There will be ADR's up til 5 minutes prior to official closthing time.
They will never rush you.
You'll have plenty of time to eat and meet characters.

 

[kj2mom]

We have found the later reservations to often times be the best. The characters continue to roam but as diners finish and head out their tables remain empty so there are less people for the characters to interact with. This can leave more time for interaction with the remaining guests meaning you could receive longer interactions and potentially even multiple interactions as the amount of customers dwindle. Rest assured, they have a set time they are required to continue to roam so don't feel you are holding anyone up by remaining while they are out.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

Second guessing my Crystal Palace reservation for 6:15 when the restaurant closes at 7. Will this give us enough time to meet characters or will we feel rushed? My very picky kid is age 9, so this is probably the last character dining we will do for a while, since he will be a "Disney adult" next time we come. We haven't dined as Crystal Palace before, so I really want to have a good time meeting the characters and not feel rushed.

Why’s it close? Is it cause of the Halloween party or something else? It’s normally open pretty late.

Don’t go close to closing time. The characters tend to leave and the place clears out pretty fast. You don’t get any special 1 on 1 time.

 

[Isthisnormalatdisney]

We have found the later reservations to often times be the best. The characters continue to roam but as diners finish and head out their tables remain empty so there are less people for the characters to interact with. This can leave more time for interaction with the remaining guests meaning you could receive longer interactions and potentially even multiple interactions as the amount of customers dwindle. Rest assured, they have a set time they are required to continue to roam so don't feel you are holding anyone up by remaining while they are out.

I’ve had the opposite experience. Eventually after a certain time the characters just leave and never come back. It really depends how close to closing time you go. Hollywood and vine is a pretty bad offender for this.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Why’s it close? Is it cause of the Halloween party or something else? It’s normally open pretty late.

Don’t go close to closing time. The characters tend to leave and the place clears out pretty fast. You don’t get any special 1 on 1 time.

I'm sure its a party night.

I’ve had the opposite experience. Eventually after a certain time the characters just leave and never come back. It really depends how close to closing time you go. Hollywood and vine is a pretty bad offender for this.

I've gone several times within 15 minutes of closing and not just there but other character meals and they have never just left.
And I've had much more extensive interactions after there's not as many guests.
Perhaps you just have an off experience.

 

[Mazz519]

Characters will be around 33-45 mins after the last ADR... We once had a late reservation at Chef Mickeys and it turned out to be great alot of people left but all the Characters were there way past closing.. It was great !!!