Character Dining Opinions! HELP!

[WDWprincessloyola]

So I know I had asked about everyone's top restuarant choices. Now I need your help again. I've seen post regarding opinions about the various character dining and they have been very helpful.

However....my parents and I (24) would like character dining with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Minne, Chip & Dale.....some sort of combination (obviously not all, because that would be Liberty Tree Tavern, which I STILL cannot believe they discontinued, so we are looking for its "replacement").

My mother wants the meal to be in the theme parks...so that narrows it down.

I know there are just a few options based upon that....and the main reason why we want this experience is for character interaction...so what are people's thoughts?

Specifically: Chef Mickey's, Garden Grill, and Donald's Safari Breakfast.

 

[vcgirl925]

We have done Chef Mickey's and the Garden Grill. I would deifnitely pick CM's over GG any day of the week. At CM's there was Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy. However Chef Mickey's is not within a theme park, it's at the contemporary hotel which is easily reachable by monorail. We found the GG's food to be inedible and the character interaction was ok. The characters we had there were Mickey, Pluto, chip and dale.

 

[NJ Mets fan]

I agree with the previous poster. The Garden Grill food was terrible. If you are interested in checking out the resort restaurants, Chef Mickey is great and so is Cape May for breakfast at the Beach Club. I'm not sure why they discontinued characters at Libery Tavern but I think Disney is missing the boat with that one. Disney is all about character interaction for the kids and as a result LTT is off my list. I others though would add it w/o all the small kids now.

 

[broberts]

I thought GG was ok. I like Chip and Dale, but the food was average at best. Have not tried CMs yet. Hope to in December when we are staying at the Contemporary.

 

[mwatson011]

I absolutely recommend tusker house for breakfast. You get Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Daisy. Character interaction is good. The food is delicious, traditional american plus touches of african tastes, it is great! It is not as loud as CM. It gets you into AK before rope drop if you make an early ressie, and it is toward the back of the park, so when you come out of breakfast you are literally steps away from the safari.

 

[Tinkerbell3014]

I loved the Tusker House! The characters were great and spent enough time with us. The food selection was good and service was excellant. We also had reservations for before park opening so when we got out, we walked right on to the Safari. What more could you ask for?

 

[Big Daddy Incredible]

For me, nothing beats Chef Mickey's for dining with the classic Disney characters. I know that you stated your Mom wants to stay in the parks. But just explain to her that riding the monorail is a must-do Disney experience in and of itself. And you really wouldn't miss too much time from Magic Kingdom if you go to Chef Mickey's.

 

[bek1758]

We enjoyed CM and the monorail ride, but absolutely adored TH. It's one of only 2 repeats for this year's trip. The food is good, the juice is divine and Daisy is there (one of the family favorite's!) Plus with an early enough ressie you have the added bonus of being right at the safari at rope drop

 

[TwistofCate]

For us, CM is a staple. If we don't eat there it's a bad trip. Haha. The food is great and it's a fun interactive atmosphere with the characters.

GG is great too. I found the food to be very fresh and good. It also has Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale... Can't go wron there!

Hpe this helps!

 

[JoePa4Ever]

Chef Mickey's wins hands down - very fun atmosphere, good buffet w/nice selection of food items & good character interaction with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Pluto. Garden Grill food is average at best & the atmosphere pales in comparison to CM. Tusker House brkfst food is good, but character interaction is very rushed there & the seating is cramped.