Disney Character Meal Restaurants

[zoedot]

Hi!

I am very keen to find out which Disney restaurants are good ones for Disney character meals.

I have heard that Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort is one of the best.

Any other ideas for good ones?

Thanks from me.

 

[scojos]

crystal palace at MK has pooh, thats great.
ohanas bfast with lilo and stitch is brill
tracy

 

[zoedot]

Scojos you are being very helpful.

So different restaurants have different characters too,
like different WDW resorts have different characters.

Thanks alot!

 

[scojos]

hey i try
yes, looking in the dining section.
have you considred signing up for tour guide mike?
he was a godsend for our first trip, he is a guide.
hard to explain, google him and have a look at his site.
tracy

 

[natalielongstaff]

have a look here

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/cb.htm

 

[jennytablina]

Character meals off the top of my head;

Magic Kingdom
Crystal Palace; Pooh and Friends for Breakfast and Dinner
Liberty Tavern; Mickey and friends for a patroitic roast dinner
Cinderellas Royal Table; Breakfast only but dont bother (need to book the MOMENT your day of choice opens and very few seats)

Epcot
Garden Grill (in The Land); Headlined by Chip and Dale and also includes Mickey and friends usually.
Resturant Asherkus (In Norway); Princess Breakfast Buffet (which princesses are there is random)

Hollywood Studios
Hollywood and Vine; Jojos Circus characters.

Animal Kingdom
Tusker House; Donalds Breakfast Safari

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/character_dining.cfm

 

[mattnkatsmum]

I love the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the Poly and the Mickey one at the Cape May Cafe (Beach Club).

I also recommend the 1900 Park Fare breakfast (Pooh and friends) and dinner (Cinderella characters when we were there last) at the Grand Floridian.

Of the park restaurants, I like the Crystal Palace best for food and location.

 

[Belle68]

We go to the Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom every trip, the food is good with a big variety and it is buffet style so you can eat as much as you like. DD also loves Pooh and friends so we never tire of it.

Another one we have enjoyed in the Garden Grill at Epcot, we have found the characters there really friendly with lots of interaction.

 

[Goofyish]

Not sure if you are aware of the meal reservation system at WDW - table and buffet service restaurants in the parks and resorts do get quite busy, especially character meals.

You can make a reservation though to make sure you are not dissapointed - Disney call the reservations "Advanced Dining Reservations" (or ADR). Not quite a normal reservation - you book an ADR time at a restaurant and you get the first available table for your party size.

You can book an ADR up to 180 days in advance of each ADR, (if staying onsite you are allowed to book 10 days worth of ADRs, 180 days before your arrival date).

To make an ADR you call the follow number in the US:

00 1 407 939 3463

You can check out menus for all restaurants here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

 

[Shazzie B]

Crystal Palace gets our vote too - we've done it every trip (Pooh, Piglet Tigger & Eeyore normally). We've done Chef Mickeys a couple of time too-lots of Characters. Both are buffets, which we prefer. Garden Grill gets a thumbs up too

 

[laluna]

We did four on our trip in April: Crystal Palace breakfast (fab - get an early reservation and you get to appreciate an empty Magic Kingdom!) Akershus breakfast at EPCOT (ditto an early reservation - although you obviously cant ride anything, the atmosphere is nice) Chef Mickey breakfast and our fav, the Park Faire dinner at the GF. The food was fab and we got there early to have a wonder round the hotel.

 

[wifey]

we love the Garden Grill for the great food and wonderful interaction with the characters they spent a good while with us during our meal, Chef Mickeys is good but can get hectic and you may have to wait a while for some characters. We had to wait 40 minutes for a chance to see Minnie last summer, she was swamped by little and not so little girls wanting her autograph and a photo with her. She was missed by Mickey because she took so long he went looking for her
1900 Park Fare at the GF last year was really good we managed to see Mary Poppins there with the Mad Hatter, Alice, Tigger and Pooh too

We may try a breakfast with Lilo and Stitch next year at the Poly

 

[UKDEB]

Cinderellas Royal Table; Breakfast only but dont bother (need to book the MOMENT your day of choice opens and very few seats)

CRT is now also a character experience at lunch (but not dinner). Cinderella appears only in the downstairs lobby; other princesses in the upstairs dining room. You do get to have your photo taken with Cinderella as part of the package. Due to its popularity, it's one of the few dining options which requires pre-payment with credit card at the time you make your ADR (unless you're on the Dining Plan). By all accounts, because of that, it's a little easier to secure than it once was. Having not tried to book it, I don't know how true that is. It's worth remembering that ADRs get cancelled all the time and if you're really keen to get something, it's worth checking back right up until the last minute. The ADR system is specifically designed to allow for "no shows", so you could even get lucky as a walk-up. In fact, the one and only time we ate at CRT was just that.

This is the full list of currently available Character Dining. Eating at the resort restaurants is a great way of getting to see a bit more of WDW.

'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort

Lilo, Stitch and friends (usually Mickey and Pluto)

• Breakfast buffet

Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort

Goofy, Chip 'n' Dale and Minnie Mouse (Minnie was only there in a greeting capacity when we did this back in 2000)

• Breakfast buffet
• Clambake buffet in the evening (this one is popular, but I wasn't overly excited about it)

Garden Grove at the WDW Swan Resort

Goofy, Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale

• A la carte breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
• Buffet dinner on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Lion King Characters

• Buffet dinner on Monday and Friday

This one flies under the radar a bit. I guess the Swan isn't such a popular choice as the Disney parks and resorts. The dinner buffets have varying themes - The Good Old South on Tuesday and Saturday, A Taste of Italy on Wednesday, American Barbecue on Monday and Thursday, and Fishermans' Wharf on Friday and Sunday.

1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort

Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter and/or Pooh and Friends

• Breakfast buffet

Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Ugly Sisters and the Wicked Stepmother (with the Fairy Godmother in a greeting role)

• Dinner buffet

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort

Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale

• Breakfast buffet
• Dinner buffet

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Norway in Epcot's World Showcase
(Princess Storybook Dining)

Any combination of Snow White, Mulan, Mary Poppins, Belle, Jasmine, Princess Aurora, Ariel, Alice, Pocahontas and, unofficially, Cinderella

• Breakfast buffet (American)
• Lunch (Scandinavian)
• Dinner (Scandinavian)

The lunch and dinner options are a combination of buffet (Starters) and a la carte (Mains, or Entrees as they're known in the States)

Tusker House at Animal Kingdom
(Donald's Safari Breakfast)

Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy

• Breakfast buffet

Not only is this new, but it's the only place you can get to dine with Donald

Garden Grill at the Land Pavilion in Epcot's Future World

Mickey, Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale

• Lunch served Family Style
• Dinner served Family Style

Family Style means everything is brought to your table on platters from which everyone helps themselves. As long as you keep asking for more, it'll keep coming. Here, you sit in booths which are arranged around the permitter of a circular restaurant, facing outwards, with the kitchen in the middle. The restaurant revolves very slowly - almost imperceptively - so that your view changes as you eat. At some points, you get to see inside the "Living with the Land" attraction.

Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom

Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet

• Breakfast buffet
• Lunch buffet
• Dinner buffet

Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom

Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Daisy, Meeko confused3 )

• Dinner served Family Style

Hollywood & Vine at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Playhouse Disney characters

• Breakfast buffet
• Lunch buffet

Cinderella's Royal Table inside Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom

Cinderella (in the Throne Room only, with photo opportunity), Belle, Jasmine, Snow White

• Breakfast
• Lunch

Fairy Godmother (in the Throne Room)

• Dinner

Note that Dinner isn't a character dining opportunity as such.

 

[zoedot]

I hear a lot of suggestions coming through!

They are all very good and helpful!!!

Oh, and Debbie, thanks for yours too, because yours REALLY did help me!
(not to say no-one else's did!)


Thanks!

zoedot.

 

[AlanUK]

We love Chef Mickey's, Ohana, and Cape May

 

[disneyholic family]

our favorites are chef mickeys, the chrystal palace and cape may...