Character Dining....which one?

[mickeymom1976]

We would like to do a character dining experience during our June trip. Any preferences on which one would be most enjoyable for both our DS (then 4) and DD (9)? Breakfast or lunch would probably be the best times for us.

We just booked and need all the help possible. Only 2nd time at WDW and has been several years since first trip.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I would pick Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. You can do breakfast or dinner there. Garden Grill at Epcot gets good reviews, too. Me, I love Mickey so I want to make sure we see him at least once!!!

 

[loopner67]

Our family's favorite character meal is the breakfast at Ohana. We love seeing Mickey, Pluto, Lilo & Stitch. We love that the meal is served family style and not a buffet. We love visiting the Poly. We go to this breakfast every time we go to WDW.

 

[mickeymom1976]

Can you give me more info on Chef Mickey's?

 

[Wendi2000]

I think breakfast at Chef Mickey's is the classic character meal. There is a great variety on the buffet, great character interaction with the classic characters, decent food, good service, and a pretty fun atmosphere. We went on our first two trips and I didn't think my son would care or even notice not going on the third trip. He REALLY wanted to go and I had no idea... I tried to get an ADR once we were onsite and didn't have any luck so I made sure to book it for our first morning on the next trip.

 

[Disney87]

delete

 

[wilde_oscar]

Chef mickey is the classic and the original character meal. the buffet is large enough to satisfy, um most people. It is in the Contemporary Resort. They do little parades during the meal with twirling napkins. if they are both into Pooh Crystal palace... if they are both into Alice in wonderland and marry Poppins then 1900 park fare.

the new up and coming breakfast is Breakfastasouras at Tusker House in AK Has the classic characters, parade with noise makers, and a great variety of standard food, and african inspired breakfast dishes.

 

[kujoman]

We have done them all a few times. My favorites, in order and with a brief review are:

1. Ohana - This is the best food and most enjoyable atmosphere for us because I didn't feel rushed or crowded. Only go if your kids aren't scared of Stitch.
2. Crystal Palace - The food is ok, but what I really like here is that if you make your ADR earlier than the park opens, you can get there early and be virtually alone on Main Street. This was really fun and we got great pictures. Best if your kids like Winnie the Pooh.
3. Chef Mickey's - I really liked this food and having the monorail overhead is really neat. However, I felt crowded and rushed, both getting food and with the characters. I still like it though and would weigh it a close third.

KM

 

[logan115]

Went there last year with our DS (4) and he loved it. Minnie, Goofy, and Chip or Dale (not sure which it was) were there. The Little Einsteins breakfast at DHS scared him because the characters heads are soooooo large !! We doing Crystal Palace this year and have heard good things.

If you do breakfast at Cape May you can either walk to Epcot (5 min walk) or take a boat over to DHS, so depends on your plans for the day and where you're staying.

Chris

 

[themcgoos]

Chef Mickey's is our favorite by far!

 

[stlocke]

My favorite character breakfast is the Ohana one with Lilo and Stitch. I love the food there. My Daughter's favorite is the Storybook Princess breakfast at Norway in Epcot, mainly because of the character interaction. Good luck and have fun!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did lunch at Crystal Palace and loved it! The food was very good.

Tusker House at AK is great! Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Daisy.

Garden Grill was fun. DS liked that it spun. Lots of interaction with Chip n' Dale.

 

[SGMCO]

Our family's favorite character meal is the breakfast at Ohana. We love seeing Mickey, Pluto, Lilo & Stitch. We love that the meal is served family style and not a buffet. We love visiting the Poly. We go to this breakfast every time we go to WDW.

I AGREE 100%. Love the Character interaction, Kids Parade, very good food.
This is SO MUCH MORE of an Enjoyable Atmosphere compared to Chef Mickeys. Being Family Style means they bring the platers of Food to your Table and you can just relax--Plus, since it's not a Buffet your serving ware and has not been touched by anyone other than Chef and server (bring to your table). When we visited Chef Mickeys that is the one thing that really
Grossed me out is how there were so many kids touching everything on the Buffet (YUCK).
The Charcacters are: Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto (I also saw Minnie one visit).
Very Fun!!

 

[Wendy31]

W/ our kids (DD - age 8 & DS - age 6), we do the following character meals:

Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
Cinderella's Royal Table (lunch)
Crystal Palace (lunch)
Garden Grill (lunch)
Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner)

If we were only doing one character meal, I'd probaby choose Chef Mickey's. As others have said, Chef Mickey's is just the quintessentail Disney meal experience. The traditional characters are there - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, & Donald. The restaurant has a neat atmosphere - the monorail runs right above the restaurant seating area. Plus, there are fun things like napkin-twirling & parades.

We've always done breakfast because I've read mixed reviews of the dinner buffet, and I figure it's harder to mess up breakfast than it is dinner. Plus, I find that I can tolerate a buffet easier in the morning than I can at the end of the day - when I'm ready to just sit for a while & let the food come to me. (W/ younger kids, you end up getting up & down at a buffet way too many times!)

 

[mickeynut1]

We do a Chef Mickey breakfast and dinner every trip It's a fun place and the food is very good I think your kids would have a great time

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Which ever one you pick, a good time to have this meal is as a late breakfast or early lunch (or maybe late lunch). You get so much food that if you have a late breakfast you won't be hungry for lunch, and the same would be true if you had an early lunch and maybe just a snack early in the am.

 

[teach22180]

Another vote for the Crystal Palace BEFORE park opening! We've done both lunch and breakfast there; I preferred the breakfast food, but I'm sure you could find stuff to eat at either meal. The a/c break in the middle of the day for lunch was good, too. Location, location, location...

Ohana's for breakfast was yummy and fun, too. Both CP and Ohanas had the parade and lots of good character interactions. Depends on which characters you want to see! Your kids are older, bet they would enjoy Stitch!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Our absolute favorite character meal is Crystal Palace for breakfast!! It cant be beat! We have tried Chef Mickeys twice for breakfast and both times were disappointed in the food. We do Crystal Palace every trip!

 

[NancyIL]

I've had the following character meals:

-Chef Mickey's for dinner: so-so food, and no desire to return

-Crystal Palace for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: breakfast was my favorite, and it's a beautiful restaurant

-1900 Park Fare for breakfast and dinner: both were very good

-Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner: food was ok - no plans to return

-Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast: very enjoyable, but it was years ago before the price skyrocketed

I was finally able to get a breakfast reservation at Tusker House today for my birthday on April 22! They had been completely booked when I tried the past month or so - so don't give up if you cant get a reservation the first time you try.

 

[danielle782001]

Breakfast at Tusker House in the AK... Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy will all visit your table in their safari outfits... The food selection is very good and the atmoshphere is cool! My boys enjoy this one and so do we.

We do it one of two ways:
1)Get an 8:00 reservation on a day they open at 9:00...We eat then head straight for the safari ride that is very near by
2)We go on the safari ride at 8:00 on a day they open early...Then go to Everest... The we eat... We would make a ADR around 9:30 on that day.

We also enjoy Chef Mickey, Garden Grill, and Cape May