Charecter meals, how many?

[HaleyB]

We will be at WDW for 12 days, 7 nights onsite and 5 off. Two off site days at the start and 3 at the end. I was thinking it might be nice to do a Charecter meal for lunch or dinner the first day we are in the area (we are not planing to go into the parks that day at all). I am planing on taking my 5 year old daughter to one of the Princess meals (we are going to ditch the boys for that one) and then I was thinking we would all go as a family to at least one other meal, maybe two. Is that too many? Is one enough? We have 3 days we are not planing on going into the parks and I thought those would be good days to do charecter meals (obviously at the resorts)... my husband thinks it will be a waste of money because my younger son is allergic to many foods (and the meals all have fixed menus, right?) and my husband and I do not eat meat. I think it is not really about eating... but maybe he is right and one family meal (plus a princess meal with daughter) is enough...
Oh and part of my argument was it would save time in the long run, because we wouldn't need to do as much charecter hunting in the parks... do you think that is true or not?

 

[2d_star_to_the_right]

There probably isn't a really good answer- we have found that some years (like last spring) the characters were so plentiful in the parks that the lines were short. Other years we were lucky to see even 2 or3 characters in the park- those years the meals were a big help as my DH hates to stand in ToonTown Character Lines.

The advantage to the meals- is that you have to eat anyhow, you can see the characters and you don't have to stand in line for them. The disadvantage- there are only 5 characters or so at every meal and sometimes they are the same ones- like Chef Mickey, Liberty Tree Tavern, Minnie Meheune (/sp) Breakfast and Donald's Brontosaurus Breakfast so be sure you are booking with different characters so you don't get the same autographs and pics.

We tend to like lunch or dinner. My family is not huge breakfast eaters and when we do it as lunch or dinner it is the meal of the day- the rest is stuff we pack for the room. It makes it more economical. The menus are often -not always read Liberty Tree Tavern-buffet- so there are a variety of dishes- both meat and vegetarian to choose from. You can always make a bunch of reservations and if you meet lots of characters- cancel them. If you don't then you have a back -up in place.

just thoughts

 

[jcemom]

Have you thought of checking the menus to see if they have something you like?

http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

You can also see which characters are at which meals, etc.

 

[InstImpres]

One other thought - Try the ice cream social (if that meets dietary restrictions) much cheaoer than other meals and great character intereaction as it tends to be not so busy.

The Land in Epcot $6.99 per 3 & 3:30pm seatings

Enjoy
Sandy

 

[solotraveler]

I think that two character meals would be a good number-- and I like the idea of doing those one your "non-park" days.

Also, Disney is one of THE BEST places to dine when on restrictive diets (be they allergies or otherwise). By contacting the chefs a week out, they will usually be able to make adjustments to their normal menu to accomidate your son. For the buffets, I have seen many a chef walk parents and children through and show them what is and isn't in the items.

I hope this helps!
Solotraveler

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I think 2 is plenty. One of the pros of the character meals are that you , as another poster pointed out, have to eat anyway, so it's a good way to meet the characters while eating without waiting in lines in the park.

But keep in mind that some children will be so excited when they see the character in the park that you may end up waiting in line anyway, because they will want to see the character again (my DN did this)

The other thing to consider is cost. Character meals cost a little more (IMO), and fill up fast.

Good idea about doing them on non park days too

 

[HaleyB]

Thanks for all the information. This board is great! Now all I need is some priority seating luck. I am going to check the calculater site to see what wonderful day I will have to get up at 6:30am (actually I think I get to sleep in to 7:30 as I am in CT). I guess it will be more than one day... and DH already thinks I am insane.

 

[myboysmom]

Better check your time zones, when it is 7:00 am eastern, it is only 6:00 am central. Don't want you to sleep in, just to find yourself an hour late.

Have fun!