Character Meals - Best One?

[markv]

Last year we took my daughter to breakfast at Chef Mickeys.

We are going back again this year with some additional family members and would like to do another character meal. I know opinions will vary, but in your opinion, what is the best Character Meal and why?

Of course food is a factor, but the Characters take priority (as far as the kids are concerned) over that. Should we do the Chef Mickey's breakfast again?

Dinner instead?

Is there a better Mickey and Friends Character meal or something that's a little different?

Should we consider a meal with different characters?

My daughter is interested in the Princesses, but we probably will be doing Universal parks this trip with a Disney character meal at the end of our stay. Don't think we'll actually be going inside any of the Disney parks since we did so 5 months ago.

And it seems like the "A" team of Mickey and friends are always the most exciting to see, in the park or otherwise. Love Pooh, Tigger and those guys, but it's just not "Mickey & Minnie Mouse".

Personal Opinions, thoughts or feedback?

Thanks for your help!
Mark

 

[KMH1]

If you don't want to go into a park, I recommend Ohana's character breakfast at the Polynesian. You'll see Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there..

I hear Cape May is a lovely place to have breakfast.. it is at the Beach Club Hotel...

THe characters are (I believe) Minnie Mouse, Chip n' Dale & Goofy.

>>^..^<<

 

[CK1]

We have done several character meals, but all b'fasts, so on our latest trip, we said what the hey, let's do dinners. After all, the price is only like a buck or 2 more, and let's face it -- breakfast is a cheap meal to make, esp for kids (some cereal or such and they'd be good to go). OUr kids are too wound in the morning to enjoy the b'fasts, and we'd be agitated, thinking, "Now eat that golden 20 dollar pancake or else!!" Or they would get hungry before we could get to the actual breakfast, and we'd either have to starve them while waiting or give in and let 'em have a snack (afterwhich they wouldn't eat their breakfast, of course ... a viscious cycle). And it's not like you're going to carry b'fast leftovers in a doggy bag through the park all day, either... yuckee. Dinner was just easier for us to navigate.

SO ANYWAY -- we did dinner. We chose Chef Mickey's for one night (on a day when all we were doing was hanging out at the pool, so it seemed like a "treat" at the end of a relaxed day!) and ended up at The Land / Garden Grill in Epcot another night. I realize many are not fans of Chef Mickeys at dinner, but my dh declared it his favorite meal of the entire 10 day stay, possibly ever in WDW! The kids loved it too, namely because they got to pick what they wanted (and also the desserts, too!) THe Land experience was very good as well. We had 12 in our group and they were great about accommodating our crew! Mickey and his friends came SEVERAL times to visit, even stopping to color with my 2 yr old daughter, while the chipmunks were intent on "roughing up" my two sons and nephew! THe food was good; skillet-served @ table, as opposed to Chef M's buffet. Kids liked the dessert (gummy worms and cake/pudding "dirt") -- very well themed in the "garden"!

We are booking HoopDeDoo for next trip, and DH and kids have already said we gotta do Chef M's again...it's going to be our new "tradition". DD is interested in 1900 Park Fare, and maybe... maybe -- we'll try the Cape May b'fast on a day that we plan to just laze around at the pool or DTD. I just think we get more of our money's worth out of the dinners, but maybe that's just our family's perspective....

Cindy
Let's go to Chef Mickey's!

 

[disney queen]

we enjoy donald's breakfastasarous in AK. the meal is buffet and the characters in attendance are donald, of course, mickey, chipndale, and goofy. they are in safari attire. this is one of the few places to see donald.

 

[ttfn3]

Another vote for Chef Mickey's for Dinner. We LOVE the first seating available (5 p.m.). The characters are great, the food fresh, and the restaurant isn't as crowded. You can't beat Mickey and Gang. The food selection is good. My DH was impressed they actually had his favorite Louisana Hot Sauce. We like the soups, salads, carved ham, and the desserts - oh my!

 

[Harryo]

We do Chef Mickeys on every trip. We also do the character breakfast at Cape Mays.

 

[kdibattista]

Our 2 favorite meals at WDW:

Crystal Palace breakfast and Chef Mickey's breakfast!!!! YUM!!!

 

[becka]

Our favorite character meal is the Garden Grille. The character interaction here has always been the best IMHO. It is just Mickey and Chip & Dale but you get to see them a lot during an average meal.

 

[eeyore0062]

Our absolute FAVORITE character meal is 1900 Park Faire with Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Pooh and friends, and others.

The food is fantastic, the service is top notch, and not only are some of the characters those you won't easily find elsewhere, they are GREAT! Alice is fantastic, and who can resist Pooh and friends. Mary Poppins is "positively perfect". When we were there, Bert was with her, as well! Sometimes the Mad Hatter appears, too!

We love eating a leisurely breakfast here, enjoying the made to order omelettes and the huge array of delectible foods found on the buffet table... (a huge step up from what you will find at Chef Mickey's). Then we hop on the monorail to the MK and continue our "autograph search" there. It really makes for a nice leisurely day.

Hope you enjoy, no matter where you choose!

 

[DVC4US]

We do several character breakfast, lunch, & dinners everytime we go and I believe we have done just about all of them. If you want to stay away from the parks I would suggest the following:

Chef Mickeys (B or D) - you will see Mickey and friends and the food is great.

O'hana's (B) - I believe this has Mickey and friends and they are dressed up in poly style clothes. Breakfast is served family style and is pretty good.

1900 Park Fare (B or D) - The food here is excellent for either breakfast or dinner. The characters sometimes change but the last I saw was breakfast had Mary Poppins, Alice, Mad Hatter, Pooh, & Tigger. Dinner I believe is now the princesses (I don't know which one), but can sometimes be the villans. This can be different for a change of pace, but if you have little ones that are afraid of the villans it may not be a good choice.

Cape May Cafe (B) - This breakfast is hosted by Minnie and her friends (you will not see Mickey here) and they are dressed in beach attire. The food here is pretty good and we enjoy the atmosphere.

There may be more out there, but these are our favorites and we hit them everytime. I hope this helps.
LeiLani

 

[sha_lyn]

1900 Park Fare (B or D) - The food here is excellent for either breakfast or dinner. The characters sometimes change but the last I saw was breakfast had Mary Poppins, Alice, Mad Hatter, Pooh, & Tigger. Dinner I believe is now the princesses (I don't know which one), but can sometimes be the villans. This can be different for a change of pace, but if you have little ones that are afraid of the villans it may not be a good choice.

The villians haven't been at 1900 PF in almost 2 yrs. It has been a Cinderella dinner since middle of Jan. I don't care for the food at CM's at all. I've read plenty of good things about Cape Mays breakfast. we plan on doing it next trip.

 

[DVC4US]

Thanks for the infor sha_lyn. It's been about 2 years since we have been to 1900 Park Fare for dinner, so I wasn't sure if it had changed. We are going in June and I know my DD will be so excited to learn that the princesses will be there.
LeiLani

 

[sha_lyn]

you're welcome.
We really miss the villian dinner. Luckily we got to eat there 1X about a month before it ended. We weren't even visiting WDW that trip, but US/IOA instead. We wanted to hit the villian dinner before it closed so we made a PS for the ngiht we arrived in Orlando. I'm looking forward to the princess dinner there, it we get soen there before it changes again. In the 3 1/2 yrs I've been on the DIS I think 1900 PF has changed character dinners 4X.

 

[cd&kids]

Personal favorites as voted by our family of five:
Chef Mickey's for breakfast...
Liberty Tree for dinner!