Character Dining Opinions

[nalacat]

Hello! Taking the family in early June to WDW. DDs are 9, 13, 16. I told them they could choose one character meal and they cannot seem to make a choice. What would you choose and why? Here are the choices:
H&V early dinner (never been)
Tusker House early dinner (went last year)
Chef Mickey's Brunch (never been)
Crystal Palace late lunch (went 3 years ago)

Thank you for current opinions!

 

[holden]

The food at Chef Mickey’s isn’t great. The character interaction is.

Crystal Palace is ok. Not good, not bad.

I haven’t done H&V.

We did Tusker House many years ago. It was fine. Of your choices that would be my pick because we haven’t been there in years and the food might be a little more adventurous.

 

[willowsnn3]

We love Chef Mickey. Never had a bad meal there and character interaction is awesome.
Crystal Palace is good also, we just tired of it.
Did not care for Tusker House at all.
Hollywood & Vine was ok but characters there are geared more for the very young kids.

 

[mkla2015]

Out of your options, I'd probably pick brunch at Chef Mickey's since you've never been. I rarely recommend it but since you've never been, I do think its worth the experience and the characters are usually pretty good.

Our favorite character meal is Tusker House but we always do breakfast, never dinner.

 

[CynBeth]

We have only done breakfast at TH and CP and really enjoy we go there every trip.

 

[DCLPrincess]

Here's my ranking:
1. Tusker House
2. H&V
3. Chef Mickey's
4. Crystal Palace

 

[Castlequeen5]

My kids love Crystal Palace. We did TH last year for breakfast and it was fine. I don't know about dinner options. We're doing Chef Mickey and H&V for the first time this summer. If none of the ones you've already been to stand out, I would try Chef Mickey. Then you could have a new experience.

 

[Mmouse1588]

Here's my ranking:
1. Tusker House
2. H&V
3. Chef Mickey's
4. Crystal Palace

Have you had tusker house breakfast and lunch? Trying to decide between the two

 

[DCLPrincess]

Have you had tusker house breakfast and lunch? Trying to decide between the two

Yes and both are great. Lunch/Dinner is more Indian/African inspired foods, if you like that. I personally wasn't sure if I would but I did! My only downside to breakfast is not getting to enjoy the park early in the morning since you spend time at breakfast. FYI they have pog juice and you can get it all day (they call it jungle juice).

 

[kylenne]

Have you had tusker house breakfast and lunch? Trying to decide between the two

If you book a late breakfast you won’t have to choose because they’ll start bringing the lunch food out after you’ve had breakfast. On our last trip, we booked a 10:40am breakfast with the Rivers of Light package and had “brunch”.

I thought the breakfast offerings were better than lunch, which was only ok. But in fairness I was sick as a dog and running a fever that day so I can’t really judge the food properly. My GF enjoyed them equally.

 

[Mmouse1588]

If you book a late breakfast you won’t have to choose because they’ll start bringing the lunch food out after you’ve had breakfast. On our last trip, we booked a 10:40am breakfast with the Rivers of Light package and had “brunch”.

I thought the breakfast offerings were better than lunch, which was only ok. But in fairness I was sick as a dog and running a fever that day so I can’t really judge the food properly. My GF enjoyed them equally.

Were you charged for lunch or breakfast

 

[Toolulu22]

Okay, so its not on your list but my absolute favorite character meal and meal itself is Cape May breakfast on Epcot or HS day. We lucked out on our most recent trip and there were six or seven characters walking around instead of the usual 4. It was so fun. Good food and relaxed atmosphere. If you haven’t been and enjoy breakfast buffets, this is where I’d highly recommend going.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

The ones I would actually choose, didn't appear on your list. Tusker House used to be my favorite, but the food selections there have recently become more generic and bland, instead of exotic and adventurous. These days, my favorite character meals are Cape May Cafe, 1900 Park Fare, and Garden Grill breakfast.

 

[Marissa227]

I would choose Hollywood & Vine. You get to meet Mickey & Minnie in their summer outfits and the food is better than Chef Mickey's! We did it twice with two teenagers and two toddlers and everyone was happy

 

[kylenne]

Were you charged for lunch or breakfast

We paid the breakfast price. Was a steal with the ROL dining package.

 

[Mmouse1588]

We paid the breakfast price. Was a steal with the ROL dining package.

Do you know if you have to call for ROL dining package?

 

[kylenne]

Do you know if you have to call for ROL dining package?

We booked it through the website. Dining packages are listed on there by the name of the event rather than the restaurant. If you search for Rivers of Light Dining it should bring you to the page and then you pick Tusker House from the dropdown to search availability.