Character Meal for Adults (Elimination help needed!)

[Minkishly]

My fiance and I will be having our first character meal experience at WDW during our honeymoon (25 Nov - 13 Dec). I've managed to score the following reservations:

- Cinderella's Royal Table (Lunch)
- Akershus (Lunch)
- 1900 Park Fare (Dinner)
- Garden Grill (Lunch)
- Tusker House (Brunch? It's a 10.30am reservation)
- Crystal Palace (Dinner)

I know it's a bit much, especially since we haven't any kids in our party. I went a little overboard because I was just thrilled to be able to catch these on such short notice.

I snagged Akershus and 1900 as "back-ups" before I managed to get our CRT reservation; now I'm wondering if it'd be repetitive to go through with those since they all mainly feature princesses? I know the characters are slightly different, especially for 1900 Park Fare; but personally, I wouldn't lose sleep over not meeting the Tremaines.

I feel like we might eliminate at least one character meal from the fur characters pool. It's a little harder to decide between these though, because all the characters and cuisine are different.

I'm hoping to make a decision soon so that I can stop hoarding these ADRs. Any help or opinions is very much appreciated!

 

[DisBuckMan]

CRT. Akershus, and 1900PF are all "princess" type ADR's The Tremaines do put on a decent show, so I'd narrow down between CRT and Akershus.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

1900 PF is such a unique character meal. I'd definitely recommend keeping it.

I would eliminate two by deciding between CRT vs Akershus as well as Garden Grill vs Tusker House.

 

[sullyfam]

If it were me, I would lose Akershus and keep CRT. And I would lose Garden Grill and keep Tusker House (10:30 a.m. will get you breakfast and lunch options). That eliminates 2 of them.

I don't think anything is spectacular about the food or ambience at 1900 Park Fare, although the Tremaines are fun. But you'll meet Cinderella at CRT and if you don't care about the Tremaines, I wouldn't go out of my way for 1900 Park Fare. Crystal Palace is a fun one with the Pooh characters and it's nice that it's right inside MK but we usually do breakfast there.

 

[Barbydoll8]

You are going to get so many conflicting answers here. First, I am childless too so we do lots of adult only character meals.
I was not a fan of either the food or the interaction at 1900 PF but the food and the interaction at Garden Grill was one of the best I've experienced in all of WDW. Tusker house is fun and food is good. I'd probably do both.
I have never done Akershus or CRT but CRT gets rave reviews for both food and interaction. Akershus does not.
Crystal Palace is unique as it is the only place to see Pooh and friends. Food was decent. It is hectic in there though as it is a large eating establishment so it can be noisey.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Actually, I've consistently seen Akershus get far better reviews for interaction than CRT. CRT usually gets dinged on interaction.

FWIW, you can see Pooh and Tigger at 1900PF brekkie.

 

[loril13]

We are also a couple with no kids. I love character meals.
For your honeymoon I'd definitely keep CRT. It is more $$ than all the others, but you're dining in the Castle. You cannot beat the romance factor there.
We've never done 1900, but I have heard the interactions are great. Plus, the GF is gorgeous. More romance for your honeymoon.
We've only done Crystal Palace for breakfast. We usually keep this one as it is the only place to see Eeyore. If he is a fave for either of you, this is a must keep.
Tusker house was meh for us. The food was good. The characters in safari outfits was cute. We felt the interactions were rushed.
Garden Grill is on our list to meet Farmer Mickey. Chip & Dale are also huge faves of mine.

 

[addiln]

I thought the meal that we had at 1900 was once of the best character meals that we had. We did CP, 1900, and Chef Mickey's and the best interaction and food was at 1900. The step-sisters were great. I have done cp with and without kids and thought the food was just ok at best. The interaction was good but nothing special.

 

[fallonkendra]

We are also a couple without children.

We both loved Garden Grill, it's a fairly small restaurant so we ended up seeing each character multiple times. The food was up my alley, and I really enjoyed it.

I wasn't feeling great the day we went to Tusker House, but I still enjoyed the food and the characters. I didn't feel it was rushed at all, but we were also there during a slower time in January so the restaurant wasn't at capacity.

We ate at Crystal Palace really late, so the food was not very fresh or great. I imagine that would change significantly based on what time your reservation is for. It was a must for me because of meeting Eeyore and Piglet (you can meet Pooh and Tigger in the park over by their ride, or at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare).

I can't comment on the others, as we have not ate there yet.

Enjoy your honeymoon!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I went with my brother to Akershus for breakfast for my birthday and we loved it! Expensive, but a great experience. I actually haven't been to CRT since I was a child, so I can't really give any advice besides saying that Akershus was beyond cool

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My fiance and I will be having our first character meal experience at WDW during our honeymoon (25 Nov - 13 Dec). I've managed to score the following reservations:

- Cinderella's Royal Table (Lunch)
- Akershus (Lunch)
- 1900 Park Fare (Dinner)
- Garden Grill (Lunch)
- Tusker House (Brunch? It's a 10.30am reservation)
- Crystal Palace (Dinner)

I know it's a bit much, especially since we haven't any kids in our party. I went a little overboard because I was just thrilled to be able to catch these on such short notice.

I snagged Akershus and 1900 as "back-ups" before I managed to get our CRT reservation; now I'm wondering if it'd be repetitive to go through with those since they all mainly feature princesses? I know the characters are slightly different, especially for 1900 Park Fare; but personally, I wouldn't lose sleep over not meeting the Tremaines.

I feel like we might eliminate at least one character meal from the fur characters pool. It's a little harder to decide between these though, because all the characters and cuisine are different.

I'm hoping to make a decision soon so that I can stop hoarding these ADRs. Any help or opinions is very much appreciated!

I would do CRT and ditch Akershus and 1900. I actually prefer the food at Akershus, but for a honeymoon, I think it would be very romantic to eat in the castle!

I would keep Tusker House and Crystal Palace and probably ditch Garden Grill. I actually like Garden Grill, but there are better places to eat in EP WS and if you are already seeing Mickey at TH, no need to see him in EP.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We are also a couple without children.

We are only doing 1900 Park Fare, breakfast. My favorite character is Pooh and my husband's is Alice. One meal hits both. All of our other meals are simply table service, not character meals.

 

[Axelskater]

We are adults only and I did not find the food at CRT to be very good at all. I like to eat at Akershus - but that is because I like Norwegian food, smoked salmon, and the Norwegian style entrees. The drinks there are good - we did shots of Aquavit. There are a great many children at character meals, which is why I limit them to only one, maybe 2 each trip. After that I want quiet relaxing restaurants. Others may love all characters all the time, but character meals are often - in my experience - more rushed than some others. I have never had anyone rush us out of Tokyo Dining, CA Grill, Citrico's or other places where there are often more adults eating. Bear in mind that there could be a more "in and out" aspect to some of these places which you mentioned due to the sheer number of people they must accommodate.

 

[Meriweather]

1900 Park breakfast was fair.....great character interaction though
Dinner was a dud......we were in a far corner and only one sister came to us. Food bad. Waited too long to get seated. Place was a mess and kids were laying all over the floor. Just our bad luck I hope, but we won't be going back for dinner.
Love Tusker House. Just there yesterday at 10:35. Great getting breakfast and lunch and love the characters.
Also loved the food.....but have only been for dinner.....at Garden Grill and the characters are great.
Been years since CRT and haven't been to Akershus since it has been characters, so no comment on those.

 

[wench]

The Tremaines at 1900 Park Fare are actually one of the best M&Gs we've ever done. They're hilarious.

 

[Minkishly]

Thanks so much for all of the feedback, guys! I think I will drop 1900 Park Fare. It'll take away from our park time and since we're both pretty shy, I think the Tremaines might be a tad overwhelming. I think we'll drop Akershus too, even though I love love love smoked salmon. We'll save it for a future trip since it might be too repetitive this time since we're already doing CRT.

I think we're definitely doing Tusker House. Still a little torn between Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. On one hand, Garden Grill is more serene and there are the chipmunks. On the other hand, Crystal Palace is so pretty and we get to meet Eeyore!

So our confirmed selection would be:
- Cinderella's Royal Table
- Tusker House

Tentative: (probably picking 1 out of the 2)
- Garden Grill
- Crystal Palace

Will make a post about dropping our ADRs for Akershus and 1900 Park Fare in the Dec thread a little later.

 

[nighttowll]

I'd pick Garden Grill over Crystal Palace. I like the food and atmosphere better at GG. It just seems like a more intimate meal, especially for a honeymoon. The revolving booths are more private and quiet. CP reminds me of eating at the Golden Correl, only with better decor. The tables are all out in the open, and it's alway so loud and crowded. I'd only do it if 1) the Pooh characters were your absolute favorite or 2) you are able to get a before park opens breakfast reservation. The benefit being getting in the park early, not the actual meal. And this plan only really works well if you can score one of the very first time slots of the morning. Otherwise, you end up finishing breakfast too late.

 

[Clarissa McDaniel]

Typically travel with all "adults" and we make sure to never miss Crystal Palace or Garden Grill. Can't say which one I would skip from your list as I haven't been to all but I can say I wouldn't skip CP or GG.

 

[Nancyg56]

Actually, I've consistently seen Akershus get far better reviews for interaction than CRT. CRT usually gets dinged on interaction.
.

I agree. CRT for ambiance..it is the Castle!!!! Akershus for interaction.

OP- I think that if you keep the four you mentioned, you will have a mice range of varied characters. I like 1900 PF and love the Tremaine family, but you have a lot of buffet or AYCTE meals here, and I would not want that all week long. Personally, I think I would keep both GG and CP. You have plenty of characters, and still have a space for a conventional TS meal.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thanks so much for all of the feedback, guys! I think I will drop 1900 Park Fare. It'll take away from our park time and since we're both pretty shy, I think the Tremaines might be a tad overwhelming. I think we'll drop Akershus too, even though I love love love smoked salmon. We'll save it for a future trip since it might be too repetitive this time since we're already doing CRT.

I think we're definitely doing Tusker House. Still a little torn between Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. On one hand, Garden Grill is more serene and there are the chipmunks. On the other hand, Crystal Palace is so pretty and we get to meet Eeyore!

So our confirmed selection would be:
- Cinderella's Royal Table
- Tusker House

Tentative: (probably picking 1 out of the 2)
- Garden Grill
- Crystal Palace

Will make a post about dropping our ADRs for Akershus and 1900 Park Fare in the Dec thread a little later.

1900 PF dinner was honestly one of the worst meals out of all the buffets i've been to. Food was below average for quality. Character interaction was good, but that was the only positive thing.

Garden Grill & Crystal Palace are both great...thats a tough one! It obviously depends on which park you're in at the moment. I like both for food and characters. Cant go wrong with either. Good luck!