Character lunches... where to go???

[cokegal19]

I want to take my 2 y/o DS to a character breakfeast when we go to Disney. What are some good ones to go to, and how do I reserve them? Do I have to reserve them? How much in advance do I have to reserve it? Thanks!!!!

 

[mistaroo]

You mentioned lunch in the subject then asked about breakfast so I'll tell you about both.

I took my ds to Crystal Palace for his first b-day lunch and he loved it. It was a buffet and the food was good with lots of variety. It is not too terribly big but busy there- which kept my ds amused- and the lunch characters were from Winnie the Pooh.

Dh and I have eaten at the Garden Grill and the character interaction was great (Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale) and the food was pretty good. It is served family style without all the choices of other places. We didn't take our ds there though because he is a people watcher and does best in restaurants when he can see all the activity. The Garden Grill booths are rather private, which would be great for some people.

We took ds to Chef Mickeys (dinner) and it was a wild place, loud and huge. The character interaction was the most limited there, maybe because the place is so large? I haven't been for breakfast but they do serve it there and have heard good things about the food.

We stayed concierge and they handled our dining requests when we made our room ressie. Disney dining can make all your dining arrangements but I don't know how far in advance. The hardest to get restaurants (like Cinderella's palace) require a deposit when making the PS.

Good luck deciding and have fun!

 

[sif]

I will add my vote for lunch at Crystal Palace. We ate lunch there last week with the boys (5 yrs and 3 yrs) and our 5month old daughter. There was great kids-type food (pizza, mac & cheese, chicken fingers) but what really surprised us was the quality of the "grown-up" food -- roasted chicken, salmon, tofu, red-skinned potatoes, great rice and pasta dishes, all sorts of vegetables. It was FAR better than what we would have been expecting to eat inside the park. And there was a build-it-yourself ice cream sundae bar for dessert. On top of all that, Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger were terrific with the kids, and it was easy to get time with all of them.

You won't be disappointed with the Crystal Palace. Our crew loved it.

 

[cokegal19]

Great! Thanks you guys! I think I'll make reservations for the Crystal Palace. I want to go somewhere where my DS will recognize the characters, and he LOVE'S pooh and knows him more than Chip and Dale. Thanks!!!

How do I go about making the reserv. if I'm not doing the concerige thing? I'm staying off site. Where is the Crystal Palace at?

 

[vicb]

When our DS was 3 he loved Crystal Palace, the Pooh characters are great for younger kids.

We have also done Chef Mickey (wouldn't go again), Garden Grill (we enjoyed it) and Cape May (would recommend).

CP is in the Magic Kingdom, it is a very pretty restaurant. You can make a PS 90 days out by calling WDW Dining.

 

[campingcorgi]

I see that your trip is pretty close so you may have to be flexible in your choices of where and when to eat. Here is a site that has a lot of info about eating at Disney and makine PS.

http://allearsnet.com/din/reserv.htm

Hope it helps!

 

[cokegal19]

Thanks. I checked out that website you said. I hope I can still make reservations! I got to wait until Friday, so I hope It'll be ok. Should I go for Breakfeast or lunch? Or does it matter?

 

[3boysluvndisney]

We made PS for Crystal Palace for lunch on our June trip. Really looking forward to it. My sister did the breakfast last October and they loved it. I'm sure breakfast or lunch are great. We decided on the lunch because we knew we would be eating lunch at MK anyway so why not there enjoying the characters. Have fun!!

 

[got2lovedisney]

Another thought...a late breakfast. We had 11:15am PS for Chef Mickey's and it was great! It was half empty by the time we were eating and the characters came by multiple times! And the buffet is yummy!

 

[Soupermom]

The Garden Grill in Epcot has an Ice Cream Social every afternoon around 3 pm with Mickey, Chip/Dale, and Pluto for a fraction of the cost of the other meals...plus it's yummy ice cream in the AC!!!!!!!

 

[sha_lyn]

We love crystal palace for both breakfast and lunch. another fav of our is donalds breakfastosaurus at Animal Kingdom.

 

[rschaad]

I add my vote for Crystal Palace. We had an awesome time there last year with a not quite 2 and not quite 4 year old. After a long hot morning it was great to sit in A/C. The food was good ( we made it our main meal for the day ) and the kids loved the parade with the characters( with our timing we even got to see it twice) and my daughter got to participate.

Whatever you choose, don't rush and ENJOY the moment!!