Character Meal Ettiquette?

[calie_j]

Now that I have most of my ADR's made for our character meals I'm wondering what the ettiquette is at them? I know to wait for the characters to come to your table but what I don't know is what to do when they get there. Is it ok for the children to get out of their seats to talk to them and get pictures? What about the person taking the picture? Do you just snap a picture with other people in the background or what's the best way to do this?

Also I'm wondering how hard it is to "catch" the characters at buffets. Are we going to be afraid to go get food and miss them coming to our table? Anything else a 1st timer should know?

Our character meals are Chef Mickey's breakfast, PSB, hopefully CRT and maybe 1900 Park Faire.

Thanks, Calie

 

[2nd childhood]

I've been wondering some of the same questions too. Thanks for the post maybe we'll both get some great answers.

 

[ceecee]

It's a possibility. That's why I perfer the ones that they bring to your table, not where you get up and serve yourself. We missed Mickey at Chef Mickey's and they had him come back around but we ended up waiting for 30 minutes.

 

[undertheseas]

I'd like to know too, this will be our first character meals. This may be a stupid question but is it OK for the kids to kiss the face characters? We've seen some pics of it but I want to be sure before we go. DD is 7 and DS will be 5. I think the pics are so sweet but I don't want to make the girls uncomfortable either. TIA!

 

[Hanover]

We just did 6 character meals last week: Liberty Tree Tavern, The Crystal Palace,Chef Mickey's, Princess Story Book, Donald's Breakfastsaurus and the Garden Grill. My DH and I made sure to sit on the same side so we could video tape/ take pictures of our boys with the characters. We made sure that the kids were on the side of the table that would be best for the characters to easily slide by. LTT is family style, with the characters coming to each table. The food was great, as was the character interaction. The Crystal Palace was a buffet, and we did tend to wait a bit longer than we would have (watching the character's route) in between getting our plates filled just in case a character stopped by. We were told the basic route they took by our waiter, but it wasn't always followed. We ended up having to wait for a character well after we'd finished eating. At Chef Mickey's, we also had to wait longer than what we were accustomed to at other character meals to see each character. If we had been seen by one of the characters, they just gave us a wave and kept going, unlike some other places where the characters still interacted with each passing. At Princess Story Book, we were served family style, but again we were skipped by a couple princesses and were the last to leave an empty area while waiting for them to return for pictures and autographs. At Donald's breakfastsaurus, we had already eaten by the time the characters got to our table, but they each came quickly once they started in our area. The Garden Grill is also family style and the character interaction was hands-down the best of any of them.
For most of the pictures, we had our children stay in their seats.I made sure to zoom in so that the backgrounds were minimized (if people were behind them). The boys had plenty of room to hug the characters and get their autographs. A couple characters picked up our 4 year old or placed him on his chair for the picture. For some pictures, we had them stand next to the table where/when we felt they wouldn't get in the way of the wait staff or other diners.
For the most part, to play it safe, my husband and I took turns filling our plates at buffets so that one of us could video/take pictures in case a character made a stop at our table. Luckily it only happened once.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[tndisneyfan]

At most of the character meals we ate at the person seating us was very helpful. They made sure DS sat in the best seat for character interaction. They also made sure whoever was taking the picture was in the best seat for picture taking. DS stayed in his seat when the characters came. We got some very good pictures zooming in, you could see some people in the background but not enough to take away from the picture. Some kids got up when the character came around, but most stayed seated.

I also prefer the family style buffets where they bring the food to you. You never have to worry about getting up to get food and missing the characters. We missed Cinderella at 1900 PF while we were up getting food.

 

[rflorek]

We never really missed any characters. What we do is look around to see how close the characters are, and which direction they're moving. If it looks like they're close, we hang out at the table a while so we don't miss them. We've done Crystal Palace, 1900 Park Faire, and Breakfastosaurus, and we never missed a character or a second helping of food from the buffet!!!

Robyn

 

[webray]

Character buffets are great.

Yep, kids can get out of thier seats, but usually not necessary, unless you have a ton of kids with you at a large table...usually they can just move in close together, character behind, photo snapped. If the kids do get out of their seats..remember..this character has a ton of tables to visit..so a quick hug/kiss and photo and you have to let them move on. Remember, other people are just as excited for the character to come to their table.

You can not really wait for people to move from behind..the tables are full, you are going to have background people in your shots.

Your server usually states at the beginning of the meal..which patch the characters take around the dining room, who you will see, etc. So you will know after that how close they are to your table and you will be able to judge when to get up and grab some food.

 

[marathonmommy]

We just came back and had character meals at Chef Mickey's, CRT, Cape May Buffet, and Crystal Palace. We ocassionally had to wait a bit after we were done eating, but the wait wasn't too long. The servers did tell us their paths, so we were sure not to miss them. We strategically went and got our food at the buffets as well. I would just like to stress one thing. PLEASE, people, do NOT get out of your seats to go after characters or try to catch them in between tables. Even 5 year olds see the injustice of waiting patiently for the characters to come to your table only to have to wait as someone ambushes them. You can't blame the kids, but the parents of these children seem to think that their kids are more important than the ones following the rules and waiting and allow them to do this (with smiles on their faces).

 

[oogieboogie]

just don't tackle piglet to the ground... or any characters for that matter.

 

[rgf207]

We never missed any characters and Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace. One time tigger passed by our table (I am 25 and my GF is 23) so maybe he thought we weren't interested but we told our server and she walked us right over to tigger and got a great picture. Other than that, we have had great interaction with all of the characters.

 

[puffkin]

We have never missed a character, and we have most of the character meals over the years. We just keep an eye on them, and when they get close, we stay in our seats. Usually they come pretty quickly in a row, so you don't have to wait around forever.

The best character interaction we have had is at Liberty Tree. They always seem to spend a lot of time at each table. The worst is Donald's and the Princess meals. They move pretty quick there.

 

[CinRell]

just don't tackle piglet to the ground... or any characters for that matter.

OMG I just laughed so hard my boss is likely calling the institution men to put me in a nice white jacket....

The only thing I noticed when we went.. and I went with my ex.. no children just the 2 of us... was that at breakfastsaurus (or whatever it's called).. quite a few children kept coming up and hugging them while they were at other tables. Ok not quite a few there were like.. 3.. I think from the same family.
Since we weren't with kids it was kind of cute altho it WAS our one chance getting photos with characters... I am not comfortable waiting in those character stop lines without children... and I usually don't like the mobs around free walking characters as I see guests being VERY rude literally pushing people to get their children.. or THEIR photos with the characters... so these kids were mildly annoying tho kind of cute.. if I had children with me I'd have been irrate... the parents didn't care. they'd shove in front and start talking to/hugging the characters when the characters were visiting with other tables.

So... I guess in my opinion that's the only "do not do"... I agree with the others in watching the path the characters are taking. They are pretty easy to figure out and you'll have time. If they miss you likely they'll come around again.


and yeah.. don't tackle piglet LOL!

 

[skiwee1]

We never miss the characters at the meals. If we are at a buffet then we do keep trakc of any characters heading near our table. We just wait at our table til the character gets to us and then we get up to go to the buffet. The visit from them is very quick and there is always a handler next to each character to keep them moving. Mostly the character stoops down beside the child sitting in their seat or stands behind the child for the picture. There is no time for you to stand them up and pose them and wait for the background to be clear. This is a quicky meet and greet moment, not a professional portrait. The handler with the character will make sure you don't spend more time with them then needed.

 

[allaboutmm]

Mickey and friends were great when we went to Chef Mickey(dinner) and CP(lunch buffet), as were the server's and food .Get those cameras ready! To see your childrens face lite up when they interact w/ the characters is priceless! Have a nice time !

ps) Got a good tip from a thread : if your child is questionable around characters, plan the character meal a few day into your trip so that he/she can be use to seeing them. We will be trying this w/ our (2.5), first trip for her this December.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Another quick tip, if you are wanting autographs, have the book open to a blank page and the pen ready for the characters to pick up - the same if you are in line, at a character meet and greet

 

[YesI'mObsessed]

At CRT the server told us that the princesses wouldn't come around until after we had eaten. That way our meal wouldn't be disturbed. And true to form, each came by after the meal and spend good time with our family. The girls got up out of their seats and moved to the steps for pics. The princesses actually advised us because the light from the windows sometimes ruins pictures!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm doing 5 character meals solo - CP, PSB, CRT, Donald's, and 1900 PF. Will there be someone available to take my picture?

 

[soccerchick]

I'm doing 5 character meals solo - CP, PSB, CRT, Donald's, and 1900 PF. Will there be someone available to take my picture?

No. What we did was try to find a nice family w/crazy kids like our DD sitting next to us. Dh or I would ask offer to take a group photo for them and then would they mind returning the favor? This worked well at CP. Wished I thought of it earlier. Your server MIGHT take a photo if the time you are there just happens to be slow, but like I think someone else said, they are servers, not photographers.

Also, DD was 2 when she tried to kiss Cindy at CRT. Cindy said I want a hug and handled it well. I Don't blame her for not wanting kid slobber.

 

[tink too]

We took DD3 to CRT, Donald's Breakfastosaurus and Garden Grill last December and at each meal, our servers advised us where the characters were and how long they would be (roughly) before they reached our table.
I would also say to have cameras out and autograph books open and ready for them - everyone seemed to appreciate this!

At CRT, Cinderella asked DD to stand beside her so they could show off their "matching" dresses, and at Donald's, we were just taking photos of DD at the table with characters and Mickey's handler got us all out of our seats for a family photo. Many characters including Mary Poppins, Snow White and Wendy gave DD a kiss on the cheek/forehead and some asked her for a kiss, too!

My parents took our DD to 1900 Park Fare where they had a couple of boys pestering Tigger at their table, again their parents didn't seem to think it was wrong for them to be at my folks table while they were eating. My dad did say that it was apparent that Tigger was not impressed and he noticed that they hardly got as much time with him at their own table as our DD got!