Character Meal

[Keancanuk]

Is doing a character meal worth it? How do you go about figuring out which one to do and what are the costs? We have 4 kids under 6 years.

 

[ancestry]

The costs vary depending on the restaurant and depending if your character meal is a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We try to do one or two during our trip as we find them to be fun. However, often you really don't have much time to eat in between each characters. As the characters make the rounds they each come over to your table.

I've read several reports where parents with small children ended up having to buy their children a snack shortly after the character meal because the kids were so distracted by watching the characters that they wouldn't eat very much.

If you have never done one I say give one a try. I do think your children would enjoy it.

 

[scootch]

My kids love them and even though they are pricey(we rarely do the dining plan) we always do one every year. Our favorite is Chef Mickey's as the main characters are there, the buffett is good and you get to see alot of characters which saves you time in the parks doing it. Who goes to WDW and doesn't have to see Mickey or Minnie?!?! So we usually at least do Chef Mickeys for dinner once during our trip. We have done most of the others but CM is our fav.

 

[HotdogDncrs]

One thing to keep in mind is that the characters can be quite intimidating for younger children. Let's face it they are very large! We took our 1 year old son to Chef Mickey's in August at the beginning of our trip. He was fine until the characters came to our table (as they visit each one). When they got closer he started crying and was absolutely petrified. He wasn't the only one - there was a little girl (probably around 4 at the table next to us who wasn't too impressed either!).

We are going back to Chef Mickey's in March, but this time have the meal planned towards the end of our trip. That way if DS isn't too keen on the characters we will know by then, and can easily cancel our reservation.

One thing is sure though - having a character meal beats waiting in line ups all day to meet and greet the characters!

Good luck

 

[tinkmom2]

I only went one time to WDW without the dining plan and ever since then won't go without it. Some of the character meals or meals in general are very pricey. Why spend the money there when you can spend it elsewhere?

We also experienced our first free dining this November. The character meals are absolutely worth it! The characters are very attentive and will back off if they realize your children are afraid. My youngest whom was a bit under two when she met the characters ran right up to them and hugged them. Your children's experience might be different.

Figuring which one to do depends what characters you want to see. Crystal Palace at MK has Pooh and Friends. Park Fare has Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter and sometimes Cinderella and the step sisters. Ohanna's (one of my favorites has a Hawaiian themed family style dinner, breakfast or lunch. You will see Lilo and Stitch, Pluto, Mickey and Friends. Chef Mickey's is at the Contemporary and has Mickey and friends (buffet style). Akershus in Norway in Epcot is great(see my review in the link below my signature.) It has the Princesses with a complimentary picture delivered to your table and is family style with a buffet continental breakfast.

You can check out prices on the disney.com site.

 

[msminnieears]

Is doing a character meal worth it? How do you go about figuring out which one to do and what are the costs? We have 4 kids under 6 years.

Which character meal you choose depends on your families likes and dislikes. Who are your kids favorite characters? Does your family like breakfast, lunch or dinner foods better? Which characters are at which meals can be found on the Disney website. The cost and basic menu of the meals can be found at allears.net. I can tell you from experience that the breakfast meals are cheaper and if you like breakfast foods "fabulous". Chef Mickey's is a great choice to see all of your traditional characters. On way to avoid any scary moments with young children is to set the child facing to way the characters will be coming to your table. (You'll be able to figure this out shortly after being sitted or ask your hostess.) This way the child will see the character coming and you can talk up the character. We Love Them!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Here is a link to see what character will/could appear at each character dining experience.

http://allears.net/din/cbchar.htm

As others have said, the characters can be a bit overwhelming for some kids. I think I lucked out when we went in 2007. I had a 4 year old, and a 9 month old. Both thoroughly enjoyed the characters.

 

[Chrisbeary]

We went to "Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner" at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian resort. We were on the meal plan and it only used one table service credit for each of us. It was a buffet and we all thought the food was very good. Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Stepmother and the stepsisters were all there. My 5 year old daughter loved it. However, my 10 year old son wasn't happy when Cinderella's Stepmother told him "to get up and come here". It made for a great photo though!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

We had free dining in December and did 2 character breakfasts. We actually liked Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House even better than Chef Mickey's, though we had fun at both. The food at Tusker house was a bit more creative and had a few unusual dishes/jams etc which we enjoyed. One great idea is to schedule a character breakfast early before the park opens. That way you get to stroll through a virtually empty park on the way to breakfast! And, you're already in when it opens.

 

[kimis]

It is great with or without kids. It is the best place to get character pictures and autographs. Enjoy!

 

[KimDis]

I have to agree with Kimis (and not cuz our names are so similar, lol)

We tend to visit during the pain and misery (i.e. heat and humidity) that is July. I have to admit that on a good day (with no pain/misery) I'm not the most patient person in the world. That means I'm not waiting in line for anything more than 20 or so minutes. So I use touring plans, I get into (and out of) the parks early and I'll do almost anything to avoid long waits. And yet I really like character interactions and taking pics with them. This makes character meals such a great option for me.

Now this luxury does not come cheap and I may be a slightly bigger fan of character breakfasts/lunches as a result, lol. But to us it's completely worth spending the extra money because, for our family, these meals provide a way to spend quality time with some of our favorite characters in a more relaxed and blessedly air-conditioned environment.

I also now have the some lovely pics with friends and family through the years at places like the Crystal Palace (our absolute favorite) and look forward to adding a new dining experience each time we go. Last year Tigger grabbed the "cool girls" (my tweens) and made them join the party line that danced through the restaurant. Of course they were completely horrified.

And then later that day asked if we could go back for dinner on our last night in Disney. Thankfully my prayers were answered and an ADR was available.

This year it will be Garden Grill - I can't wait to meet Farmer Mickey!

 

[MichaelH]

I will say that the character meals are pricey. However, we have two that are 7 and 9 and it is money well spent. I had rather them come to my table and pay the extra. We have always enjoyed all the ones we have done. We like Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.

 

[mommyoftwinz]

I think one of the best ones for the money is at the Crystal Palace, they have Pooh, tigger, eyeore and piglet. It's a buffet style so you get your money's worth and I think the characters appeal to most kids. It is in the MK and you can go early before the park opens (8am) have breakfast and be in the park when the rides open.

 

[Speedo1]

I second the Crystal Palace. The kids loved it and the food was great.

 

[starsweeper]

My kids LOVED the Crystal Palace last year (they were 2.5 years old). We had an 8:30 ressie and the park opened at 9:00, so we were able to get in early (7:45) and take pics of Main Street and the Castle before park opening--really neat! The food at CP was very good and the people/characters were great because there were so few guests at opening. My kids ate well because we seated them with their backs to the main floor (allows you to take pics from across the table when characters visit, and keeps them from being too distracted to eat). If you have any kids under 3, they do eat free if you bring your own mats and have them eat food taken from your plates on the mats. My kids still talk about eating with Pooh and the other characters, and have asked to do it again on an upcoming trip. I've already got 8:30 ressie for May to repeat the experience.

We also tied Tusker House in AK, but had a VERY bad experience. The people were all in bad moods that day, service was slow and inaccurate (they tried to charge us for 4 meals, but DS and DD ate off our plates on mats, DH and I got 1 plate we shared with DC, took 25 min to correct bill ), character interaction was less and restaurant is much more crowded for interaction. My kids didn't enjoy it much at all and never talk about eating with Mickey and Donald because they saw them so little.

 

[Motocross Tink]

I think the Garden Grill in Epcot is one of the best character meals. My family and I love it! The food is really good, and the characters include Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale.

 

[graceesmom]

With 4 children eligible for the kids price dining plan, you will probably come out ahead. The cost of the kids regular dining plan is $11.99 per day for regular season 12.99 high season. That is far less than the cost of 1 character meal. Plus it gets them a Counter Service meal and a snack.

If you are planning to do any character or table service meals with your family, and you are staying on site you should consider the dining plan.

We usually do at least 1 princess meal and 1 meal with Mickey and friends during our vacations. We love Chef Mickey and Akershus for the Storybook Princess Meal.

 

[cinderella crazy]

This year it will be Garden Grill - I can't wait to meet Farmer Mickey!

I have to say, he was very nice and very cute looking in his overalls.

 

[happyjen]

Great info! We are planning our first trip to Disney, and have a 4 yr. old son. We are trying to pick which character meals to do. What time do the character breakfasts usually start and end? My little guy is not in the best of moods if he is woken up, though I imagine being at WDW he may not sleep at all

 

[AirGoofy]

Great info! We are planning our first trip to Disney, and have a 4 yr. old son. We are trying to pick which character meals to do. What time do the character breakfasts usually start and end? My little guy is not in the best of moods if he is woken up, though I imagine being at WDW he may not sleep at all

Most of the theme park character dining places open before the park opens, so try to pick a time that works for you and your family. Remember, you can make reservations 180 days out, and you need to do that for a character meal. As for sleeping, don't be surprised if your child collapses at Disney. At that age, mine got so excited that she did not last nearly as long and needed a nap.