Character Meal Question

[haydeecm]

I called today to get a ressie on my sons birthday (2/22), we have tentatively chosen Minnie and Friends. Its on a MOnday when the park opens at 10am. I was told the earliest seating was at 9.40am and the latest seating was at 10.30am. They also mentioned that you are only allowed an hour and a half in the restaurant. This is the first time I have heard this. How exactly do they get people out? I can see how some kids might want to hang out here all day. If the early people do get wheeled out, maybe the later seating is best?


Have also read that Minnies gets more crowded than the others, so I was debating whether to do instead Mickeys. I figured with it having been around a lot less time, maybe fewer people know about it (? ) and maybe its less crowded. But then again, maybe this is a moot point for a low season day.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We loved our late brunch @ Minnie's ~ I bet I had the 10:30 reservation, the restaurant was pretty empty but full of characters. Of our at least 3 breakfasts at Minnie's that one was the best as far as character interaction.

 

[Belle Ella]

I don't know how they go about getting people out once they've reached their 'time limit' but it was never an issue for us. We got to see a huge variety of characters and were still out of there in under an hour and half. I have heard the time frame posted around here often enough but it's never brought up for me once I've actually been there.

And all of my PS for Minnies were the first available.

 

[Sherry E]

The 90-minute time limit is not new for any of the character meals. Actually, it sounds like a short time when you hear it from the CM, but most folks tend to finish up within that time limit, even if they don't realize it. And because the character meals are so popular, they have to be able to funnel people in and out in a reasonable time. We are always out of Goofy's Kitchen before the 90 minutes are up, with the exception of this last December, where I thnk we may have ended up staying a few minutes past the 90 minutes (that's because the onslaught of characters did not come out for the first half of our time there, and we were in full-fledged eating mode by the time they did come out for photos, so everything got dragged out a little longer than normal). All they really do is start to come to your table and ask if you need anything else, to sort of gently hint at you to leave. I don't think an extra few minutes over the time limit will send them into a frenzy, but if you are still hitting the buffet an hour after your 90 minutes were up, they will probably bring out security!! (Just kidding, of course!!)

They told us at Goofy's in December that the Surf's Up with Mickey meals had been extremely crowded in their first week because everyone wanted a meal where Mickey was going to be, so they were all flocking to that one. That was one of the reasons I opted to not go to the Mickey meal and stick wiht Goofy's instead. But maybe things have calmed down at Mickey's by now and perhaps it is not as busy as it was in December.