Character Dining Question

[Duke07]

I can't seem to find clear answers about the status of character dining. Can anyone clarify if it's currently going on and how it works? Also, are there recommendations for character dining spots that are currently a better experience than others?

Thanks!

 

[tobikaye]

There are a few places, listed below, with character dining, but not setup the same as in the past. At most of these, the characters only walk around the restaurant, stopping in different places to let people take pictures from the tables,. They will also stay in place so you can try and line up pictures/selfies from your table with the character in the background.

Chef Mickey's
Hollywood & Vine
Topolino's Terrance
Garden Grill - On this one, I think if you are in a booth, the characters will stand behind the booth for pictures, which may appear a bit closer.

FYI: I think Cinderella Castle is also open, but I am not sure of the setup here.

You might want to check out some YouTube videos to get an idea of how these are setup. This is what I did so my sister can decide if she wants to do any when we go in June.

 

[Duke07]

There are a few places, listed below, with character dining, but not setup the same as in the past. At most of these, the characters only walk around the restaurant, stopping in different places to let people take pictures from the tables,. They will also stay in place so you can try and line up pictures/selfies from your table with the character in the background.

Chef Mickey's
Hollywood & Vine
Topolino's Terrance
Garden Grill - On this one, I think if you are in a booth, the characters will stand behind the booth for pictures, which may appear a bit closer.

FYI: I think Cinderella Castle is also open, but I am not sure of the setup here.

Thanks. All of those are showing no availability for the last week in April. Dining has been the most challenging part of these plans...in case anyone has tips to offer.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Topolino's breakfast is the only character dining I've done post-COVID and I love it. The food is fantastic (not always the case at character meals) and I think the distanced character interaction is done really well. You can't hug the characters or ask for an autograph - you do get an autograph card as a souvenir. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy are on vacation and learning various arts (painting, poetry, sculpting, dance) and their outfits reflect that. They each appear individually and then all four come out together in a little parade of sorts to music. They walk around the main aisles of the restaurant and maintain distance from each table. It feels like there's almost always a character in the room. They walk around the room and pause at a distance from every table, pose for selfies, interact via gestures. They do a nice job of interacting with every table. We tend to take a leisurely approach to breakfast and probably see all the characters at least 3 times. It's really cute.

As for tips, I'd recommend using one of the reservation finder services. You can use the Touring Plans finder for free (you do have to register so it knows where to send the alerts). Basically this service (there's at least one other for a paid subscription) alerts you when something meeting the parameters you set becomes available but it doesn't make the reservation for you or "hold" it ... it's up to you to log in and make the reservation yourself ... you have to act fast!

 

[Duke07]

Topolino's breakfast is the only character dining I've done post-COVID and I love it. The food is fantastic (not always the case at character meals) and I think the distanced character interaction is done really well. You can't hug the characters or ask for an autograph - you do get an autograph card as a souvenir. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy are on vacation and learning various arts (painting, poetry, sculpting, dance) and their outfits reflect that. They each appear individually and then all four come out together in a little parade of sorts to music. They walk around the main aisles of the restaurant and maintain distance from each table. It feels like there's almost always a character in the room. They walk around the room and pause at a distance from every table, pose for selfies, interact via gestures. They do a nice job of interacting with every table. We tend to take a leisurely approach to breakfast and probably see all the characters at least 3 times. It's really cute.

As for tips, I'd recommend using one of the reservation finder services. You can use the Touring Plans finder for free (you do have to register so it knows where to send the alerts). Basically this service (there's at least one other for a paid subscription) alerts you when something meeting the parameters you set becomes available but it doesn't make the reservation for you or "hold" it ... it's up to you to log in and make the reservation yourself ... you have to act fast!

Thanks! We're staying at the S&D, so Topolino's would be perfect since it's an easy skyliner trip there. I'm going to use Touring Plans and hope we can book something.