Character meals with 3 yr old

[guatemom]

Hi, we are going to WDW in September and it will be my Dh's and DD's first time. Last time I went I was 18, 39 now. I am wanting to get info on what everyone liked with the character dining as I need to call and make my reservations. Can you please give me some advice?

Thanks, Susan

 

[DisneyMama27]

Susan, there are lots of great character meals, depending on your daughter's interests!

The first one we took our children too (ages 1 and 2 at the time) was a Pooh breakfast, and we all loved it. My kids still like looking at the pictures. Since then, we have done the Princess meal in Norway for my daughters (now 5 and 7), Garden Grill at Epcot (Chip & Dale, Mickey & Pluto were there), 1900 Park Fare for breakfast.

If your daughter likes JoJo, there is a new meal at MGM's Hollywood & Vine with JoJo, Goliath and Little Einsteins.

We've never been disappointed with the food, and men always love a buffet, so I would look for one that has characters your dd is into - and make sure she won't be frightened of them first (a trial run at Chuck E. Cheese might help!)

Best wishes!!

 

[shondad]

We ate at Donald's breakfastosaurus (in the Animal Kingdom park) and Chef Mickey's for breakfast (in the Contemporary resort), our kids were 2 and 6 at the time and they had a great time at both. They seem to be so interactive, esp Chef Mickey's. They do napkin twirling there and just get the kids so involved, they get so excited waiting for the characters.

 

[RyMickey]

There are character meals at every park and many of the hotels and you'll find differing opinions about all of them on these boards (welcome to the DIS, by the way!)

You'll obviously need to plan out your days before you make the reservations for whatever restaurants you choose. When doing that, make sure you look at what parks have the Extra Magic Hours (and determine if you plan on utilizing them or if you're planning to avoid them). Also, try to pick off-times to eat - like an early breakfast or late lunch/early dinner (between 3 and 5). By doing this, you'll be eating while others are busy touring the park and then when you're touring, they'll be eating.

If you're not going to have access to a car, you may want to do the meals in the parks themselves and not in the hotels as access to them is a little more difficult than access to the parks (however, the Contemporary's Chef Mickey's is just a monorail ride - or a short walk - away from MK and I agree with the above poster that Chef Mickey's is fun for little ones even if the food isn't all that great).

If you have any particular restaurants in mind, be sure to ask about them. You may want to check out the menus in the dining section of allearsnet.com and see what appeals to you and your family.

 

[Madi's Mom]

Took DD6 to Pooh's Breakfast when she was 4 - this was a big hit. We also did Resturauntasarus that year - this was just OK in our book. Perhaps we just had a bad experience as we had very early ADRs on a EMH morning and felt rushed.

Last year we did a bunch Chef Mickeys, The Garden Grill, Liberty Tree, Princess Breakfast in the Castle and at Epcot... You get the idea. We have never been disappointed in any and DD6 really enjoys them. Makes it easier to get her to stop riding and eat when she gets to eat with the characters

We haven't tried the new JoJo meal at MGM as it is a bit young for DD6 but if it is like the rest of the character experiences - I am certain that it will be well done!

 

[Madi's Mom]

Also - you might want to try Mickey's Back Yard BBQ - we did this with DD6 when she was 4 - we had a great time and she loved dancing with the characters - the food was typical BBQ (hot dogs, chips, lemonade) but the interaction was terrific

 

[Joyce Kingkade]

Don't forget the new Playhouse Disney meal at MGM at Hollywood and Vine. JoJo and Goliath from JoJo's Circus and June and Leo from Little Einsteins will be appearing beginning June 25 for breakfast and lunch only I believe. It seems very well suited to preschoolers, which Disney is trying very hard to cater to this year!

 

[Wendy31]

Last year, our DS was 3 (almost 4) and our DD was 5 1/2. We did the following character meals:

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner in the MK - this was our 1st night dinner, and it was wonderful! Characters were Minnie, Goofy, Chip, Dale, & Pluto, & the interaction was really good - perfect "intro" to the characters for our kids. DD fell in love w/ Minnie at this meal & ended up preferring Minnie to the other princesses. The food was served family-style, and everything except the mac & cheese was really good. LTT is a must-do for us!

Crystal Palace lunch in the MK - the buffet is so yummy - not your typical buffet selections, but still plenty of choices for both children & adults. The mandarin orange vinaigrette salad dressing was awesome! The characters were Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, & Eeyore - great character interaction. The restaurant is in a lovely setting too - really nice "break" from the parks.

Princess Storybook Dinner at Akershus in Norway at Epcot - we didn't prefer the menu here, but I think it's changed since last May. The restaurant itself is really nice - "country castle" decor. The character interaction was really good as well. For our dinner, we had the following princesses: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella (who's not typically there), and Jasmine.

Chef Mickey's breakfast at the Contemporary Resort - this is such a quintessential Disney meal! It's a must-do for us! The atmosphere is very fun - napkin-twirling, singalongs, etc. Plus, the monorail running above the restaurant is really cool too. The buffet consisted of typical breakfast buffet items - but the Mickey waffles were delicious, of course! And the characters (except for Mickey who was a little rushed) were really good - we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip, Dale, & Pluto.

Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast in the MK - it's the castle! We really enjoyed our breakfast, & the character interaction was just magical. Snow White kissed our DS on his cheek, and he fell in love! Our server brought pixie dust (gold confetti) to both DD & DS. Our princesses were Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Snow White, & Wendy from Peter Pan. The Fairy Godmother was in the lobby. The set-up has changed a little this year - Cinderella is in the lobby, and the other princesses circulate among the tables at breakfast & lunch.

This June, we have the following character meals scheduled:

Liberty Tree Tavern dinner
Crystal Palace lunch
Garden Grill lunch
Cinderella Royal Table lunch
Donald's Breakfastasauras
Princess Storybook breakfast
Chef Mickey's breakfast

Have fun choosing! We love character meals - so fun for the kids!! (And for us too!)

 

[Jrabbit910]

I always liked Chef Mickeys! All the kids & adults have fun there.

 

[Tam1067]

My kids love Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace. Lots of people like those places for the character interaction and, depending on your taste, the food. My husband especially liked Chef Mickey's last time we went. We're revisiting those places on our upcoming trip. As previous posters have mentioned, the characters actually do a performance of sorts.

Because DD(4) has discovered her inner princess, we're going to Akershus to see princesses on our upcoming trip.

Have a great time!