Character Meals for the Boys?

[T-Dog]

I need help!

I would like to find a Character meal that would appeal to my 5 yr old boy. We've done Chef Mickey's for breakfast and Breakfastosaurus at the Animal Kingdom. I'm looking for something like the old "Villians" dinner. We need Hook and Pan or Hercules and Hades.

Any idea's?

 

[zulaya]

Warning! Warning! Be prepared for this thread to be taken to several pages with other parents like yourself (and ME) being disappointed, frustrated, and in general a little irked that Disney ignores that boys need some attention too!

The long and the short of it is that there is NOTHING for boys or even older kids.

I know search is disabled, but this subject comes up now and again, and we all gripe about it. Heck, a ton of us even wrote Disney asking for things for boys. I know I wasn't the only one who got an e-mail from some snotty paralegel at Disney saying basically don't give us your ideas because we don't solicit them.

But since it is known that Disney monitors these boards, let's give them one more look at what people REALLY want!

I want a meal that I can take both my DS and my DD to and BOTH will enjoy it. Let's have a Heroes and Heroines meal with both male and female characters:

*Mulan and Shang
*Belle & Beast
*Mickey & Minnie
*Donald & Daisy
*Robin Hood & Maid Marian
*Hercules and Megara

You get the picture. Cater to the boys & girls! And their parents too!

The girls have Cindy's...give the boys a plain Heroes Meal OR a Toy Story theme. I know, I know that there's the whole issue with Pixar, but that doesn't mean I can't wish for ti.

These characters are now appearing all over the parks and while I am glad for them to appear, why don't we see one group at just breakfast, one group at just lunch and one group at just dinner somewhere so that the actors aren't working overtime and the park visitors who don't want to eat at a character meal can still see the characters.

Sorry for the soap box rant, but this topic generally gets me going on how my DS is always disappointed that there isn't a meal for boys.

 

[zulaya]

Okay, I thought of something that might work, but it's not at a park.

Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club has a character breakfast that has the best food reviews for a character breakfast that I have ever seen here. The characters are Goofy, Chip and Dale and sometimes Minnie (they don't guarantee Minnie will appear every day). The characters appear in beach apparel and I understand it's pretty fun. This is on our to-do list for our next trip.

 

[mom2of2]

I totally agree!!!! I have Chef Mickeys and Donalds PS already and I guess we will do LTT for the boys. Not interested in Cindy's at all!!! EWWWW GIRLS!!!! My sons would love a Hero Meal or Toy Story...imagine if all the little green solders came running into the room and yelled "TEN HUT!" Please Disny PLEASE add a boy meal!!!!

 

[disnygrl00]

I just read a rumour on Mouseplanet that there may be a Buzz Lightyear character meal coming soon to the Odyssey restaurant at Epcot.
Not sure how accurate this info is but it does sound like a good idea if it is true.

 

[T-Dog]

Looks like I hit a nerve!

If I can get enough people to call the (407) wdw-dine and ask where this type of meal is, Disney may see $$$$ signs. They always seem to act when cold hard cash is involved.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[cgcw]

We did the character breakfast at Cape May in December. The characters there were Chip, Dale, Goofy and Minnie. Minnie greets her guests at the door. The others visit the tables. These were the best characters we saw at all of our character dining the last 2 trips. Even DS8 enjoyed it...partly because the characters were funny and partly because they picked on DS2. Just yesterday, DS2 asked if we could go out to eat at a character breakfast (a little far for Sunday breakfast though!).

I agree....Disney is definately missing a big opprotunity to have a character meal catering to our DS's. I wouldn't even think of going to Cindy's. I might be able to get away with it with DS2 but there is no way the DS8 would go. He'd be dragging his heals. But, if I told him it was going to be Peter Pan, The Mad Hatter, Buzz and Woody, Tarzan, etc, he'd be much more willing and would have fun.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I have a 10 yo. DS and the only character meal he has enjoyed in a few years is the 1900 PF breakfast. I know they have Mary Poppins and Alice, but he said his polite "hi" to them and that was it. The Mad Hatter on the other hand was a riot. He visited several times, and cracked my son up. Our server (sorry I don't remember his name) was also very entertaining. My DS even wants to take his dad to this one. (He missed it last time, due to a business seminar.) This is coming from a boy who usually goes out of his way to avoid the characters. When we ate at LTT the last Sun. in Dec., I had to force him to fake a smile for the camera.

While we're on the subject, I would love to see the more entertaining villians return. Unfortunately, most older boys aren't thrilled with the "cutsie" male characters any more than they are with the female characters. In my experience, they want more personality and verbal interaction. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Have a great trip, and sorry for the unsolicited side note but this seemed like a good opportunity to through it in.

 

[saturday97]

I personally would love to see a Woody's Roundup BBQ that I could take my DS to, or a Star Wars meal (yeah, yeah, I know it's a long shot!).

 

[TreeOfLife]

As a mother of two boys myself, I AGREE!
Bring on dining with characters that appeal to boys too. (And I'd take it further by requesting to bring on more assertive female characters less dependent on male figures to change their destinies but that's another thread...)

I have seen several changes taking place in Disney in the last year, moved by the pressure of the guests. I have to honestly admit I never thought they'd bring EE back, and several messages all over the Internet discouraged guests from expecting Disney to budge on that one rather encouraging everyone to desist. Having been one who spoke personally with guest services to make the request myself, I am proud of being part of such victory.

The packages were an absurdity, and the pressure from guests who were showing Disney they didn't only love the fantasy, but also had brains to manage their wallets is making them move in a more realistic direction.

So, I believe that with plenty of requests, our Mou$e cater$ to everyone...

 

[4greatboys]

I would love to see some boy character meals too. Last time we did Tony's because they had Pooh and friends--that was for my 2 yr old. But he loves Toy Story and that would be a great character meal as he gets older (and for the baby too). Or now that Treasure Planet is out how bout a Pirate meal? How bout Lilo & Stitch?? My boys would love to see that naughty little Stitch, lol.
Yes it does seem as if Disney is missing the boat with the boys.

 

[wdwphanatic]

It's unbelievable to me how biased Disney is towards little girls whose favorite characters are the princesses... Everything seems to be geared towards "seeing your daughter's face light up the first time she sees Cinderella," etc. , etc. It's very disappointing -- and quite frankly, a bit puzzling. Why wouldn't Disney want to appeal to families with ds's only or ds's and dd's?? That's a fairly sizeable part of the population, I'm sure!!!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I agree that the character breakfast at Cape May is great. They offer delicious food, a vast selection of items and fabulous service and character interaction. Definitely the best option for families with boys or boys and girls that I've experienced.

Although my kids enjoyed Chef Mickey's character dinner, Dh and I hated it and couldn't be convinced to return... Way too much chaos and very average food for the price.

Hope you and your ds have a GREAT visit,
Sarah

 

[TreeOfLife]

Oh my, Sarah, you hit it right on the nail there! I was afraid to mention that aspect because I did not want to sound too confrontational but single parent families are families too. They should have a program or a special event dedicated to single parent families. It would be fascinating to learn what percentage of guests pick pennies here and there to give their kids the joy of visiting WDW as a single parent family trip!

But as we saw changes in the level of tolerance towards gays, multicultural guests, etc., and accomodated their differences as part of "the World". I am sure that single parent households will receive the recognition they deserve in time as well, with a special day, a weekend, an event, a dinner, don't know!

 

[MamaQuack]

I am so happy to hear from all of you - all this time I thought I was the only mother of a boy who felt slighted. My 11 year old would rather eat at Bistro de Paris than any character meal because there they treat him like "a guy". The only activity for him and older kids is something like DisneyQuest, the Boardwalk or ESPN zone. I'm definitely calling the number. Disney is missing out on lots of good $$$$ by ignoring the boys.

Mama Quack

 

[CookieGVB]

I guess that's why the Pirate Cruise is so wildly popular - it's an activity geared more towards boys than girls! Has Disney done a poll - do they think there are only female children visiting lately?? They're going to lose the boys to Universal, if this keeps up.

 

[lizzie64]

How about "Breakfast with Buzz and Pals" at Pizza Planet in MGM

 

[zulaya]

Any guesses as to how long this thread will get???

If you have boys or are just an adult wanting to see characters other than the same old-same old - do what the rest of these posters are doing and call Disney and let them know it.

This girls-only thing has gone far enough - this from a parent of a 6 yr old girl.

Case in point...they just changed 1900 Park Faire from Pooh and Friends to Cindy and friends. (That's probably not the right name but who cares?) While I agree that GF might not be the ideal place for a boys or at least less feminine meal, there is opportunity to change things at other places too. Why not add Peter Pan and some lost boys with Wendy at the GF? A little variety please?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

MamaQuack,

I can see that you understand what I'm saying. We mothers of preteens delight in the excitement of our children also. While I think the idea of a Toy Story, Pooh and friends, or similar character meal would be great for some, I don't think it will help to entertain most boys over the age of 7 or 8. They are afterall still rather juvenile. My son sounds the same as yours, and the reason he enjoyed the Mad Hatter so much was that he related to him as a little man rather than a little boy. I think the Pirate Cruise is a great concept, but wish it could be a family character experience. I want to enjoy memorable experiences with my 10 yo DS also.

 

[TreeOfLife]

Any guesses as to how long this thread will get???

Let me guess: Hopefully as long as those complaining about package prices and cancelled EE mornings before a change was brought upon!

By the way, I tried to e-mail wdw.guest.communications@wda.disney.com
but the mailer daemon returned it, saying that Disney was upgrading their e-mail system. Is anyone having any luck or does anyone have a working, direct source?

 

[pnelson]

For those of you with older boys, my son will be 10 on our next trip. At 8, he still loved all the characters. Do any of you have 10-11 year old boys that still enjoy the characters and getting autographs. I actually really enjoy character meals and don't want to avoid them, but am wondering if there are 10 year olds out there that still enjoy the characters!!!