Do you have to pay for Character Meals ahead of time?

[MagicalMomAZ]

I did not & wondered if I was supposed to before we left.

We only have one & I made the reservations over the phone w/ all the other meals - is paying beforehand necessary?

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

I made reservations 60 days before and walked in they asked for a name and then we paid for it there.

 

[bradk]

although, unless they've changed it, you do actually pay when checking in... before you dine.

 

[Tink208]

The only reason I paid in advance for ours is because I ordered it as part of our whole vacation package. I think in the future I won't do that since I could have used my AAA card to get a discount if I had paid at the door.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just the other week we had breakfast at Storyteller's in GCH, had PSs, and did not pay until after we ate.

 

[Tink208]

Just the other week we had breakfast at Storyteller's in GCH, had PSs, and did not pay until after we ate.

Now that I think about it, the only place we had to pay in advance was Goofy's Kitchen. On a previous trip we ate dinner at Storyteller's Cafe (not a character meal) and we paid at the end of the meal. The difference might be because you can order off the menu at Storyteller's as opposed to it being all buffet, so the bill will not be the same amount for every person.

 

[bradk]

yeah, i never ate at storytellers but i was pretty sure i paid in advance at goofy's and i definitely did at minnie & friends

 

[dizzyami]

I might be misunderstanding the question - but you do not have to pay right now for the character meal. You just have to make the reservation over the phone like all the rest of the meals. The only difference is when you go to the restaurant and check your party in, you will pay for the meal in advance, vs. getting the bill at the completion of your meal.

 

[pixiewings71]

You pay when you eat, you don't pay in advance. The only time you are paid in advance is if you book it with your package and then you get vouchers instead of money. We paid up front with Goofy (with our vouchers) but paid after at Ariel's Grotto and Blue Bayou. You will be fine, you'll just pay when they ask you to.

 

[bradk]

You pay when you eat, you don't pay in advance. The only time you are paid in advance is if you book it with your package and then you get vouchers instead of money.

yeah.. that's already proven to not be 100% correct

but yes, you don't pay when making the PS.

however the buffets appear to charge you when checking-in for the PS before you eat. for whatever reason. vouchers or not.

 

[21yankees]

Okay I ate at Lilo and Stitch's breakfast last Saturday and did not pay until the end of the meal. HTH

steph

 

[bumbershoot]

Come to think of it, we had vouchers thanks to our costco package at Paradise Pier in September, but we did not give them the vouchers until after the meal, when the bill came.

And like I said, we paid after our meal at Storyteller's.

Since both of those restaurants have a menu AND a buffet (even though our PS at Storyteller's was after they stop serving from the menu and are only buffet), it totally makes sense that you don't pay up front.

 

[bradk]

okay.. so.. after all this...

minnie & goofy's might be the only to charge before the actual meal. and they do. i've read a report from earlier this year of goofy's that supports this and even the menu on allearsnet indicates this to be true

http://www.allearsnet.com/dlr/din/menu/men_goof.htm

why these 2 do it, i dunno. but i guess they're the only ones. sorry for the confusion.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

Our ressie is for Goofy's - last time I ate there was 5 yrs ago & we had already paid....but I couldn't remember why! LOL

So in my current planning I freaked out thinking, "Oh no! I didn't pay yet!" So.......thank you for all the answers - it helped!

 

[BraMax]

When we ate at Minnies Breakfast the beginning of December I had made the PS ahead of time, they gave me a time to be there. Then when we got there they gave us a slip we went into the restaurant and paid before we got seated at our table. Then we went up to the buffet to get our food.

 

[Shakthi]

You can purchase adult and child tickets to dine with the characters in advance if you wish to do so. All you need to do later is call to make the reservations. We got ours through Ares Travel because they were cheaper there and we could print them out (saving on shipping). However, we needed to go to the WILL CALL line at the front of the park to exchange the print-outs for actual vouchers. It was a 45 min wait. At Ariel's Grotto, we informed them we had vouchers. At the end of the meal, the waiter told us it included gratuity and that we were all set to leave at our convenience.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

what is the site you got these off off.? I didnt know you could buy them seprately

 

[Shakthi]

Sorry about the delay in replying, we just got back home. The site is here. I found it to be very useful and cheaper.