Character Meals for First-timers?

[smooreo]

We are planning our first family trip to WDW in October and I'm really at a loss for planning character dining. We will be staying at CR and will be spending 4 days at the parks before heading to Port Canaveral for a cruise.

The kids will be 8.5 (boy) and 5.75 (girl) at the time of the trip. They also have no idea....but will find out a few days or a week before we leave.

They haven't had much interaction with characters of any kind (well, a bad one at a pizza place but my daughter was much younger).

We're hoping to spend 2 days at MK (and to be there for rope drop at least one day and will be staying one night (hopefully) for MNSSHP), 1 day at Epcot, and 1 day at HS.

I'm just not sure what the plan should be for dining. I've read pretty good things about Crystal Palace and not-so-great things about CRT but should we do it since it's our first time? Since we're staying at CR, would Chef Mickey's be a good choice after we check out but before we leave for the cruise?

Any other good recs? I don't want to plan too many and not have the kids like them. My daughter gets quite shy around strangers so I'm worried she'll be overwhelmed. And I'm worried the 8.5 yr old might be bored at CRT.

Ack! Any help/guidance/strategies would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jlk806]

Chef Mickeys is awesome, and a great choice since you are staying there.

CRT is good also, and magical for first timers, since you get to eat in the castle.

Crystal Palace is awesome also, kids of all ages (and adults)like the characters of Winnie The Pooh, we have done lunch and dinner there and great for both.

Hollywood & Vine is, in my opinion more for younger kids... our son was 3 and LOVED it, as it is the Disney Jr. characters (Oso, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and Ive heard Jake from Neverland Pirates now)

We also really like Garden Grill at Epcot... we liked that the food was served to us (family style) it was a nice break from running back and forth at buffets... It was Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto. The food was excellent in my opinion.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Chef Mickeys food quality has dropped a lot in the last 10 years or so...and while you get the "main characters"...the chaos, lineup out front, and chaos of the place really don't make it the right choice.

1900 park fare typically has better food..but it is crowded. the breakfast atmosphere when you get a good mad hatter is really good.

ohana is good and you get the mick...i would recommend that over chef mickeys.

cinderellas food is bad on the whole...and with the "picture pricing"...it makes it a waste of money if you don't really want to do the princess thing. It's worth it for that if somebody's really into it.

I've had some good meals at Crystal palace on recent trips...a couple of breakfasts and a dinner. trying the lunch in a few weeks. Normally we rotate every few years....but the kids like pooh and we have had good meals so we have gone more than normal...and we don't typically spend a lot of time at character places on the whole. I recommend that.

hope this helps.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I can tell you about our favorite character meals ....

Crystal Palace - we liked breakfast better than dinner but both were good both food and character interaction. The time we had dinner there it was late and we got to see the fireworks through the glass ceiling that was pretty cool.

1900 Park Fare - we've had both breakfast (Mary Poppins, Tigger, Pooh, Alice, Mad Hatter) and dinner (Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and 2 step sisters). I don't think the dinner food is "wow" it's good but not amazing however the character interaction is generally priceless. The sisters are a hoot! DD got to open the restaurant once and walk in with Prince Charming and Cinderella (major magical moment!) and she got to dance with the Prince a couple of times (loved that!). We've eaten there many times for dinner. We had breakfast there twice both times I thought the food was better than dinner but the character interaction was more hit / miss. First time we went it was quieter (both times we had a late breakfast reservation) - all of the characters were relaxed/ playful and some came around twice. The 2nd time they were running behind, everything seemed rushed and the Mad Hatter skipped our table - waiter went and got him back (he had gone into the back) but he wasn't overly pleased. So not as good an experience.

CRT - we've been twice and won't go again - food is just not good and while it's neat to eat in the castle it's not worth the price or the 2 TS.

Akershus in Norway (epcot) the princesses are basically the same as those in the castle except your greeting princess is normally Belle (although we've also had Aurora). We've had all 3 meals and by far our favorite is breakfast. If you can get an early reservation when everyone is fresh.

Tusker House - I know you didn't mention visiting AK but just in case you have Park Hoppers this is a great meal (we've only done breakfast there). Food was really really good with a large variety. Characters are very close to who you see in Chef Mickeys and loads of fun. To us this is one of the best character meals in terms of interaction and food. We've been a few times and enjoyed it every time.

Chef Mickeys - breakfast is better than dinnner IMO. Really you're paying more for the characters than the food. It's a popular place and they know it and it really seems like they (characters, wait staff) don't have to work too hard because people will just keep coming no matter what they do- that's IMO.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I can tell you about our favorite character meals ....

Crystal Palace - we liked breakfast better than dinner but both were good both food and character interaction. The time we had dinner there it was late and we got to see the fireworks through the glass ceiling that was pretty cool.

1900 Park Fare - we've had both breakfast (Mary Poppins, Tigger, Pooh, Alice, Mad Hatter) and dinner (Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and 2 step sisters). I don't think the dinner food is "wow" it's good but not amazing however the character interaction is generally priceless. The sisters are a hoot! DD got to open the restaurant once and walk in with Prince Charming and Cinderella (major magical moment!) and she got to dance with the Prince a couple of times (loved that!). We've eaten there many times for dinner. We had breakfast there twice both times I thought the food was better than dinner but the character interaction was more hit / miss. First time we went it was quieter (both times we had a late breakfast reservation) - all of the characters were relaxed/ playful and some came around twice. The 2nd time they were running behind, everything seemed rushed and the Mad Hatter skipped our table - waiter went and got him back (he had gone into the back) but he wasn't overly pleased. So not as good an experience.

CRT - we've been twice and won't go again - food is just not good and while it's neat to eat in the castle it's not worth the price or the 2 TS.

Akershus in Norway (epcot) the princesses are basically the same as those in the castle except your greeting princess is normally Belle (although we've also had Aurora). We've had all 3 meals and by far our favorite is breakfast. If you can get an early reservation when everyone is fresh.

Tusker House - I know you didn't mention visiting AK but just in case you have Park Hoppers this is a great meal (we've only done breakfast there). Food was really really good with a large variety. Characters are very close to who you see in Chef Mickeys and loads of fun. To us this is one of the best character meals in terms of interaction and food. We've been a few times and enjoyed it every time.

Chef Mickeys - breakfast is better than dinnner IMO. Really you're paying more for the characters than the food. It's a popular place and they know it and it really seems like they (characters, wait staff) don't have to work too hard because people will just keep coming no matter what they do- that's IMO.

truer words have never been spoken.

especially about chef mickeys, tusker house, and cinderellas

nailed it

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Chef Mickey's is a MUST for us. The food is OK, but we go for the character interaction of the FAB 5.

We also do CP every trip. I always get an 8:05 ADR on a morning that the park opens at 9:00. Honestly, we go here for the food just as much as the characters. My dh LOVES the smoked salmon.

I have boys, so we do not have to worry about CRT.... which I am actually thankful for..... It doesn't get very good food reviews... especially for the high price.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I remember the same dilemma when planning my girls' first trip in 2010. I thought it would get easier on their 2nd and 3rd trips, but just still so many character meal options that I know they love (or would love).

I think Chef Mickey's is a must if it's their first trip. I would recommend breakfast over dinner. There's just something about seeing your kids meet the fab 5. DH laughed at me, but my eyes were starting to well up with tears when Mickey came to the table.

We also LOVE Crystal Palace...pre-park opening breakfast is quickly becoming a tradition for us. DD3 is a big Pooh fan, so it helps- but I think we'd do it anyway even if he wasn't at the top of her list. The service is good, the food decent, the setting pretty, and the whole pre-park opening part is magical.

We've done CRT and Akershus- dinner and lunch at each. In fact, on their first trip- I could decide...so we did them both. While I think we've decided we prefer the food and service at Akershus...we also agree that it was a must that our girls had their first princess meal at CRT. The setting is just amazing. I've seen kids of all ages have fun at both- so I think it all depends on whether or not you think the older child can get into it. My friend's 16 yr old LOVED all of these meals.

As for our other experiences...we really like 1900 PF for breakfast. The 1900 PF menu for dinner has never really appealed to me, but we may go for it next trip if Be Our Guest isn't open or I can't get an adr since the stepsisters look like fun. We had a good breakfast at 'Ohana- very good service and character interaction, but the food was sub par. We had a horrible breakfast at Tusker House- food, service and characters were all pretty bad when we went. We're hoping to try Garden Grill this coming trip since my girls have yet to meet Chip and Dale! Cape May is never convenient for us since we like staying MK area so not sure if or when we'll try it.

 

[MicheinMA]

We really enjoyed 1900 PF (Very entertaining characters), Garden Grill (fantastic character interaction), Akershus and Ohana. We've done a handful of other character meals that have all been decent and we would go back but those 4 are our favorites, I will say I would not go back to Chef Mickey's both the food and character interaction was terrible. While you do get to see the Fab 5 when we were there 2 of the character barely stopped at our table. Could have been an off night but enough to make us not want to go back.

 

[PixiePoppins]

We've tried most of the character spots. CP for as close to 8:00 as you can get is something that has become a tradition for us. The others we rotate. We just love walking down Main Street with the park nearly to ourselves. CP food is good, and characters fun.

We like Ohana atmosphere and food. Chef Mickey is good for characters, and you will be staying there, so convenient for you. We like breakfast, and the dessert table at dinner is yummy! Agree that 1900 is fun, and Mary Poppins is a fav of my DD. Like Garden Grill too. Sorry, I'm pretty positive about most places...guess it comes down to CP is our must every trip and we like to rotate the others. You can't go too wrong

 

[minpin3]

Our first Character experience was on board the Disney Magic 11 years ago. It's an experience that we will treasure for the rest of our lives!

 

[dogbert03]

Our personal favorite is the Crystal Palace breakfast. They have a really good selection (especially fond of the puffed french toast). The characters are Winnie the Pooh themed, and they come around at a good pace (plenty of time to eat in between photo opportunities).