Character Experience

[paris8]

We are going to Disney for the first time with our 1 and 4 year old and my parents. We are staying off Disney, but would like to do 1 character dining experience. If you could only choose one, which one would you choose???? Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Nadjalu]

There are 2 I would choose from:

Crystal Palace: I love this restaurant. The food is very good, the decor is so "mary poppins" just so cute. The characters are Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. (I am a huge eeyore fan)
You don't have to leave the park to dine here.
Those are all pluses in my book.

Next is Chef Mickey's: Again very good food. Yes it is buffet food, don't expect fining dining here, but again still good. It hits the major characters, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald.
It is close to MK (which is the park I spend most time at), so there is less time I lose at the park.

Both of these we do dinner at every trip and love them. Haven't been disappointed with food or service at either. (although CP can be slow at times).

 

[cuteduck223]

We do both of those for breakfast. We're trying chef mickeys for dinner for the first time on this trip! We love and recommend them both. Especially for younger kids--they are main characters.

In additon CP-its cool to look out windows to see the action of main street and the castle.

CM-the monorail runs overhead which is also kind of a cool thing.

 

[sharona]

We really liked Tusker House breakfast at AK. It was fun to see the characters in their safari clothes. Daisy is our favorite! The food was also good for a buffet. Also it was convenient to go early and grab FP for the safari and then head over there after eating. We had time for the kids to get their faces painted in between and the animal faces they do in that area are really cool!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Our favorite character meal is Tusker House in AK. The characters are great in their safari gear, the food has been consistently excellent ( we have been the past 3 trips) and the location is fantastic. We make an ADR before the park opens, have a wonderful breakfast, then we are steps away from the safari when it opens. We have been on the first truck of the morning the last 2 trips.

 

[duktes]

We have a 5 year old son and he did not want anything too girlie. We did breakfast at Ohana's. He got to meet Lilo and Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. The breakfast is family style so everything is brought to the table. the food was OK but we dont eat prk or beef so we jus had the eggs and potatoes. My son really enjoyed himself. The characters were great.

Also did Chef Mckeys. They had Goofy, Pluto, Daffy Duck, Minnie and Mickey mouse. The food is buffet and they have quite a variety of food and the food is OK as well. I am not a big buffet eater in any case.

I just prefered Ohana's though.

 

[paris8]

Thanks for all your suggestions!!!

 

[kwdw]

I've only done Crystal Palace and Tusker House.

The character interactions were better at Crystal Palace for us and it was a slightly (SLIGHTLY) quieter environment than Tusker House. We had a 14 mo and she is most familiar with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger anyway. Food at CP is all normal breakfast stuff on the buffet. Food was good.

Tusker House - I like the more unusual breakfast options here - and it is Daisy, Goofy, Mickey. Donald is outside for picture taking. I REALLY disliked that Donald didn't come to the table and they tried to then sell you the photo with Donald. I think that's a tacky practice. It's also more crowded - tables are closer together.

CP - characters were great with the little one. Food good, normal

TH - characters seemed more rushed, less patient. Food GREAT with some more unusual options (along with standard fare)

Getting into MK early because we had an early ADR for CP -- AWESOME - and a huge bonus. Seeing the castle and Main Stree without alot of traffic should be good for the 4 year old.......

 

[Tybalt]

I may be the odd one out here, but I LOVE Akershus princess dining! It is in Epcot, is cheaper than Cindarella's Castle, and still includes a free picture with a princess and is in a castle! All of the princesses will visit your table as you dine in this castle. Although some of the food may not be geared towards children (since it is not your typical American cuisine), I have read that they do offer American meals for children as well.

 

[jpkkld]

You didn't say whether your 4yo was a girl or boy. For a girl, I absolutely recommend breakfast at Akershus. The breakfast foods are normal fare(eggs, fruit, pastries) and it's a fantastic princess experience! I don't know if this is typical, but last time we saw both Ariel and Cinderella at this breakfast, and neither of those princesses is typically found in Epcot. Later in the day, we just happened to walk past Mulan and Jasmine at exactly the right moment. That's SEVEN princesses in one day. Can't do that at MK!

For a boy, I really can't say what's best. I do see a lot of recommendations for Crystal Palace though.