Character Dining & Deluxe Dining

[21hearts]

We are getting the Deluxe Dining meal when we go on our trip & want to book a character dining experience for our two kids. But we are not sure how we would go about it. Do we just call up and tell them that we are getting the Deluxe Dining? Or will they put a charge on our card & then refund it when we "pay" with our dining package?

We've never done a character dining or used a dining package before.

 

[catne]

Um, most of the character dining restaurants do not require any up-front payment...this would include all of the character breakfasts except Cinderella's Royal Table (eating in the castle -- which also cost 2 credits per person instead of one) But everywhere else with character meals, you can go on-line and get reservations yourself. You just tell them you're on the dining plan when you are seated (your server will probably ask) Just off the top of my head, the following are character meals you can book with no charge in advance:

Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom. Characters are Winnie the Pooh & Friends, meals breakfast, lunch and dinner

Chef Mickey's, The Contemporary Resort, Characters are Mickey Mouse & friends. Breakfast & dinner; during "Free Dining" promo they add lunch

1900 Park Fare, The Grand Floridian Resort. Breakfast Characters are Alice & friends, no lunch service, Dinner characters are Cinderella/Prince and the Stepsisters & stepmother

Tusker House, Animal Kingdom park --Character Breakfast, Donald Duck & Friends

Cape May Cafe--Character breakfast, Minnie Mouse & friends

Garden Grill, Epcot-character dinner, Chip & Dale, Mickey Mouse, etc.

Akershus, Epcot/Norway- character meals breakfast, lunch & dinner--Disney princesses

All of these restaurants will cost you one meal credit per person on the Deluxe dining plan. I may have forgotten some, but as you can see there are a lot to choose from.

 

[21hearts]

Thanks so much. I was searching the Disney website and found that you can make the reservations online and was able to get the Play House Disney character dining at the Hollywood & Vine for lunch.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Thanks so much. I was searching the Disney website and found that you can make the reservations online and was able to get the Play House Disney character dining at the Hollywood & Vine for lunch.

Your children will love that! My DD was there a couple of years ago and I thought she was going to pass out when they played her favorite song "The Hotdog Song"

Make sure you reserve all your meals (you can cancel when your there if you cant make it), walk ups are hard to get. Especially since your on the deluxe dining..would be a shame to not use the majority of your credits.

 

[21hearts]

I didn't even think of booking all of our meals. My DH wants to eat breakfast at the resort since he thinks it will be the most convient for us (we have a 2.5 year old and a 15 month old who have to eat upon waking up).

But besides lunch on Saturday I haven't booked anything else. I'll have to talk to him tonight and see what he wants to reserve. I can't believe I didn't even think of that.

 

[vicki_c]

Yes, don't go with the dining plan - ESPECIALLY deluxe dining w/o having reservations to use up those credits, or you could end up wasting a TON of money for those prepaid meals if you end up using all your credits for counter service (no reservation) places.

 

[Kathy Z]

21 hearts - which resort are you staying at? That gives us some idea of what is available right where you are and what other places are easy to travel to. I agree that you must make reservations to get a decent value from your deluxe food plan. It is a shame that some people who are planning their first trip to Disney (or first one in many years) have no idea of how essential ADRs have become for table service meals. If you tell us where you are staying and the approximate time frame of your travel (some people prefer not to post actual dates) we can help make suggestions.

 

[mom2rtk]

DOn't let your husband talk you into "winging it" unless you're good with paying for the Deluxe Dining plan and leaving much of it unused. Better to have an ADR that you cancel than to go without.

When is your trip? If it's during free dining, you really have to have ADR's if you want to make the most of your plan. Many days you will walk into the MK or Epcot and there will be a sign out front saying no table service reservations are available at ALL that day.

 

[Melanie B]

Take a peek at the menus on allears.net. It makes choosing places so much easier. Remember though that not all restaurants accept the dining plan but a lot do. There are so many places that you won't have trouble finding good places to eat that fits your tastes.

Here is the list of what we chose

Day 1
Lunch: Le Cellier
Dinner: Nine Dragons

Day 2
Breakfast: Grand Floridian Cafe
Lunch: Sci Fi
Dinner Wolfgang Puck

Day 3
Breakfast: Kouzzina
Lunch: San Angel Inn
Dinner: Teppan Edo

Day 4
Breakfast: Kona
Lunch: undecided probably Earl of Sandwich or ESPN Club
Dinner: Ohana

Day 5
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner: Whispering Canyon

Day 6
Breakfast: Tusker house
Lunch: Yak & Yeti
Dinner: Spirit of Aloha

Day 7
Breakfast: Chef Mickey's
Lunch: Coral Reef
Dinner: Chefs de France

 

[serene56]

Argh- you have paid for delux dining and no reservations and leave on Saturday?

I'd be curious to know how you made out.


We have regular dining with one sit down service each day.
We managed reservations for:

Park Fare with Cinderella /Prince Charming/Lady Tremaine and the Evil step sisters.

Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends.

Ohana with Lilo and Stitch

Akerhaus with Story book Princesses.