Character dining not in park

[pearljammer]

I'm just starting to get a grasp (if you want to call it that) on all the character dining options. Can anyone advise where you can attend a character dining experience outside of the parks and which one you suggest? I've read a lot about 1900 Park Fare which is at the Floridian I believe so that is a possibility. Any others not in a park that is great. By the way, this would be for our 4 yo DS.

Thanks

 

[momtoejanda]

I love Cape May Cafe breakfast at the Beach Club. Has some of the fab5. Very relaxed atmosphere good breakfast and then you can walk off the meal on the way into Epcot!!

Chef Mickey is at the Contemporary, I like it but it is very hectic there.

Also you mentioned 1900 Park Fare. They have different characters at breakfast than they do at dinner so you can eat there 2x for different experiences.

 

[TDC Nala]

There aren't a whole lot of options outside the parks:

Besides 1900 Park Fare there are character meals at

Chef Mickey's, Contemporary (breakfast and dinner)
'Ohana, Polynesian (breakfast)
Cape May, Beach Club (breakfast)

If you want to go off the Disney reservation, the Garden Grove buffet at the Swan resort (it is on the Disney property, but not a Disney resort) has characters nightly and a character breakfast on weekends. It doesn't accept the dining plan though.

 

[OhThePain]

Cape May at BC- Breakfast has Minnie, Goofy and Donald. It's one of the more relaxed character meals. The food and interaction are usually very good, sometimes it's a pain to get to if you're using Disney transportation.

1900 PF at GF- Breakfast usually has Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger. The food is good and the characters can be a lot of fun. The dinner usually has Cinderella, PC, LT and the step-sisters. Also has really good character interaction, but we don't care for the food.

Chef Mickey's at CR- Breakfast and Dinner both feature the Fab-5 (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald). We like the breakfast but the dinner is pretty bad. It's a great way to see all of the Fab-5 in 1 sitting.

'Ohana at Poly- Breakfast has Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. I personally don't like it, but then again I also don't like Lilo or Stitch. I have put up with it for my girlfriend.

I would highly suggest Chef Mickey's for the experience. I'm sure your DS would love it. I would also go with 1900 PF breakfast because the characters are a lot of fun.

 

[lemondog]

We love the 1900PF breakfast with Alice, Mad Hatter, etc.

Also Ohana which has Lilo and Stitch, Donald, Goofy, etc.

My kids' all-time favorite is Chef Mickey's breakfast with the main characters - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc. I am not a fan of the food there, though.

 

[ElizabethG]

One of my kids favorites is Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness (dinner/show). Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale are there with a live country band. They also have a rope trick show. The characters are out on the dance floor for interaction. They also lead a conga line. They do not go table-to-table.

 

[luvmy2babies]

We also did Chef Mickey's. We enjoyed it and it was very easy to get to. We took the bus to MK and just walked right over.

 

[AirGoofy]

One of my kids favorites is Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness (dinner/show). Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale are there with a live country band. They also have a rope trick show. The characters are out on the dance floor for interaction. They also lead a conga line. They do not go table-to-table.

OP did not mention Dining Plan or not, but this one takes 2 credits. But, the adults get beer/sangria included in the price which makes it a little more tolerable.