Character Dining

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I'm sure this is a question that gets asked all the time, but I'm new to the boards, so.....
I was just wondering what everyones favorite charactor dining is. This is my first time going with my girls (they will be 2 and 3), and we really want them to have a great time. Plus, do they still have the Hoopdie Doo Review??

 

[disney fan 2013]

I think my top two would be Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill. Chef Mickey's just gets you in the Disney mood, has great food, and is good for your young daughters. I remember loving Garden Grill as a kid because the food comes right to your table (it may seem like a small thing, but as a kid, I just wanted to sit down and eat!). Although the selection at Garden Grill may not be as big as some other buffets, I think it's great for kids.

And yes, they do still have the Hoop-De-Doo Revue, although I think my parents waited till my siblings and I were a little older to go... but still a great time. Enjoy your trip - your daughters will have a great time no matter what !

 

[pumba]

I like Chef Mickeys idea and also Crystal Palace if you want a character meal that wont frighten the little kids too.......Pooh is very sweet and so is Eeyore....I also like Donalds Breakfastasaurus......I do believe it will have a new name...

 

[cara loves the poly]

Chef Mickey's the first night!!!! My kids LOVE the sundae bar!

 

[Joanna71985]

My favorites are LTT dinner, CRT lunch, and CP lunch/dinner. I eat at these every trip.

 

[Tuliplvr]

We loved Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner and Crystal Palace lunch!

 

[tinkandpan]

CP breakfast before the park opens is a must do for us every trip. It just gets us in the mood. Chef Mickey's is fun but it is really crazy so if your kids are a little gunshy of chaos- wait until they are a bit older. If they are into princesses I really like the Princess Storybook breakfast the food there is better for breakfast than the other meals, IMO. I am not a huge fan of the food at Garden Grill, but it is quiet and the character interaction is really fantastic.
If you are planning any time at MGM- i would try and fit in the Hollywood and Vine one for your age group- my little one loved it and even cool ds5 had a blast there!

 

[Mkrop]

How are your girls with characters and loud noises?

And what characters are they into?

Garden Grill is nice bc there is no buffet involved, the character interaction is great, very low key, and we really liked the food. We were pleasantly surprised after reading some bad reviews. Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale

Chef Mickey is a lot of fun but very chaotic singing, napkin twirling, Mickey, Minnie, Doanld, Goofy

Crystal Palace Buffet Lunch was good, same as CM noise wise, Pooh, Eyeroe, Tigger and Piglet

H&V Buffet, lots of singing and dancing, buffet, Leo & June Little Einsteins and Jojo and Goliath

 

[becka]

My DD (2 almost 3) had the most fun at the Akershus lunch (princesses) and the Playhouse Disney meal (Little Einsteins, Jojo & Goliath). She was just so excited for both and we all enjoyed our meals as well. I was a little nervous about the food both places but they ended up being too of our favorites.

 

[SGMCO]

Definately--O'Hanas Best Friends Breakfast--We loved both the
food and the Atmosphere! It is a Family Style-love the view of MK then when we leave we head back to either MK or Epcot by Monorail. They have Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch. There is a Kids Parade around the Resaurant with the Characters, which is Fun!

We have tried both Chef Mickey (dinner)
and Garden Grill (Lunch) didn't care for either, but must people love them.
Chef Mickey Dinner-- fish had strong odor and kids running wild were touching
everything on the buffet--so that grossed me out Cost $104.00 for 3 of us--
so glad we were on FD plan or I would have really been upset.

Garden Grill reminded me of Cafateria food similar to School Food--for the price you would think it would be a little better. That is just our take on the restaurants, you should choose what you think your family would like.

 

[exnortherner]

We just returned from our annual Christmas outing to WDW and we went to three character meals. I think the bottom line is choose the characters that interest your kids. We had six children with us...five boys and one girl. We started with dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot because the five year old girl loves the princesses. The boys all moaned about going to a 'girls' character meal, but they all enjoyed meeting the princesses and having their pictures taken with them. The next night was dinner at the Crystal Palace at MK. All the kids love the Pooh characters and the meal is one of their favorites. The next morning it was breakfast at the Playhouse Disney Play n Dine at MGM. The older kids were not really into the Playhouse characters, but the little ones loved the interactive dancing and singing with their favorites. As for the meal, it is one of the best breakfast buffets anywhere.

You really can't make a bad choice as long as you match the children to the right characters.

 

[jjk]

Chef Mickeys and liberty tree tavern are our favourites

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Thanks everyone for all your input! Were not going to the middle of December 08, but we are very excited and want to have all the info we can get to make the best educated decision possible!
I think we are 100% going to go with Chef Mickey and Playhouse Disney's Play 'n Dine, but as for any more, I'm not sure yet.
Again, thanks for all the great info, and have fun at your next Disney adventure!

 

[scarlett24]

Went to Crystal Palace last Monday for dinner and was not impressed. The food was good and the place was clean, but the service was sub-standard. The hostess and our server were just okay, no Disney spirit there. The characters seemed to be in a rush as well. As a matter of a fact, Eeyore skipped us entirely. When we informed our server that we would like to see Eeyore before we left, she told us to speak with a host, and the host really seemed to blow us off as well. We were not overly impressed. 1900 Park Fare was a great experience all the way, much more "Disney" than CP. Just my 2 cents.

 

[TunaJr]

We really enjoyed the Liberty Tree Tavern over Thanksgiving ....We thought the character interaction was the best at the Garden Grill (food was o'kay) they did not seem rushed and the characters took there time with the kids.

 

[cdotla]

Girls that age? Definitely the Princesses!

 

[Native NYer]

Cinderella's Royal Table and Garden Grill are my favs!!!! My nephew LOVED them!

 

[Tricia1972]

I also want to give props to Liberty Tree Tavern. We had great character interaction there and the food was very good too.

 

[Tigger79]

Cape May is our favorite breakfast w/characters. It isnt as loud as some of the other character meals. The food is outstanding! They serve all kinds of fresh fruit!!

 

[disgram]

While I voted the Crystal Palace because I love Eyore, I think that I would also vote for Chef Mickey's for the characters and the Princess Breakfast in Norway for my DGDs. They enjoy both these. We do Chef Mickey's for Dinner and the other two for Breakfast. The dinner is not the greatest, it is eatable and the girls like the characters. The other two are good. After all, you really cannot ruin breakfast too badly.