Character Meal Questions...

[Dakylin]

This will be our first trip to Disney. We are not doing the dining plan.
I don't want to do a lot of ADR's for our trip. We don't do well with schedules!! I think we should do one character meal for our kids. Ds is 8 and dd is 5. They really aren't obsessed with Mickey or Pooh.... DD loves the princesses and Tink, but ds obviously is a boy and doesn't care for them. If I make an ADR, I want it to be something they will both enjoy, easy to find and at a good time. (We are staying at Music)

So my questions are: What would be a good character meal to do? Will it be difficult to get there? How do I get there and how long does it take to get there? How does calling for an ADR work? Do I prepay with a CC? And is it 90 days out that I call? I really know nothing about this...

 

[MickeyNicki]

We went last month with a 6 and 12.5 year old nieces...TS breakfasts worked out best for us because the girls love breakfasts foods and ate alot, the price was cheaper, we got into the parks earlier.

 

[d1sneyf4n]

How about Ohana's for breakfast with Lilo and Stich or 1900 Park Fare for breakfast with the Mad Hatter, Alice, and Mary Poppins. I have never been to either but we are doing both in Aug. I have heard that the Mad Hatter is very funny. It should not be a problem for you to get to either the GF or the Poly. You would just get a early bus to the MK and then ride over to either one on the monorail. The ADR is 90 days out so you will have to wait for that and I would not think you would have to give a credit card for either of them. I do have to tell you that CRT for breakfast is my favorite and that you would have to hold with a credit card. I know you said your son would not be so thrilled with the princess but he would get a sword.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

we've done all character breakfasts except Cape May a few times and they're all great. Our least fav was Ohana's just b/c of the limited variety since they bring it to you. CM had the least amount of pastries, if any! -unless we missed this, but i couldnt find anything besides croissants and bagels.
1900 has the best lobster eggs benedict, Tusker House has these amazing cheese blintzes, and Crystal Palace has great puffed french toast and huge fresh strawberries. You cant really go wrong-they're all good.

have a great trip!

 

[TxRabbit]

To make an ADR, you call Disney Dining 407-WDW-DINE.

You will call 90 days prior to your arrival date. The rule is that onsite guests may call 90 days prior to their arrival date and they can book ADRs for that date plus the following 10 days. This rule allows you to make ADRs for your entire stay with one phone call and not have to keep calling back for each day of your trip. You may have read people referring to the 90+10 day rule. That's what this refers to.

Because you are not on the DDP doing a character BREAKFAST really is the most cost effective character meal.

The character meals that are located in the parks generally begin serving one hour prior to official park opening. It is a popular notion to get an early ADR on one of these days so that you will already be in the park prior to rope drop.

Also, people like the time allowed to get certain pictures (like the castle) without crowds of people also in the picture.

Crystal Palace (featuring Pooh and friends) and Cinderella's Royal Table (princesses) are popular choices for MK.
Tusker House (Donald and friends) for AK.
Akershus (princesses) in Epcot.
Hollywood & Vine (JoJo and Little Einstein) in DHS.

These MIGHT be the easiest to get to transporation wise, because they are at the parks.

Otherwise, there are more options at the monorail resorts and Beach Club.

The first character meal that we did was Crystal Palace for lunch. The restaurant is beautiful, the food was very good. The characters were a hoot. We had a really good time.

I had selected this lunch because I prefered to eat a larger meal later in the day. Facing a big breakfast first thing in the morning was rough, and later in the morning, I felt like I was missing prime ride time, because so few people can get up early on vacation.

I picked one of the first lunch seatings Crystal Palace on a morning Extra Magic Hour day. We were there for all of EMH and then some. By the time our lunch ADR was there, we were so ready to sit and eat. We ALL thought that it was great fun to get to eat somewhere special inside the park.

I hope this helps!

 

[summermac]

Tusker House has a nice mix of characters, I think. Never been there just learned about it here.

 

[TxRabbit]

You do not prepay with a credit card when you make ADRs.

There are a couple exceptions to that rule. CRT may be one of them and I think the dinner shows are also a prepay, if you are not on the dining plan.