Does anyone else *avoid* character meals?

[yankeepenny]

I was nervous about us two adults in garden grill, we
are first timers and not until after re checking our adr's
did i realize it was a character meal. but now I think it will be fine. thanks for the reassurance.

 

[Janet-TX]

We are usually 4 adults and definitely avoid character meals....mostly because of the frequent chaos and screaming children. We did some on earlier trips many years ago and learned that we prefer quieter meals. The only exception....if they bring back a Villians character meal, we would be there in a heartbeat. I think character meals are great for those who love them.

 

[sistertrip]

Was there once a villains character meal??!! I would definitely go to one of those!

 

[madison66]

.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I happen to like the character meals, as I always travel on a tight budget and prior to the DDP this was something that we were never able to do. However, on my last trip for DD's 2nd birthday, we discovered that although she absolutely adores the characters, mealtime was not the best time or place for her to interact with them. She was much more interested in her food (see photo below) and had much better interaction with the characters in other settings.

At the CP, when DD saw Piglet (one of her favorites) across the room, she was squealing with delight like, well, a little piglet. Until she got her food. Then by the time Piglet made his way to our table, all DD could say was "Meat!" So next time, we may still hit a character meal or two (my older DD loves them) but I will not go out of my way to go to them.

 

[BethC1952]

We also don't go to character meals. Most of our meals on our upcoming trip will be eaten at various places in Epcot, because we enjoy quiet, adult dining. I love watching kids interacting with the characters, but as far as I'm concerned, the place for that is in the parks. To me, the character meals are a way to make people feel guilty if they don't pay extra to take their kids to see various characters.

My own feeling is that many kids (and grownups) would behave better in the parks, and fewer of them would have tummy problems during the day, if mealtime were a quieter experience!

 

[littleladykaty]

character meals I don't so much mind...we are doing ONE on our honeymoon...Crystal Palace...I'll get some cute pics and they'll be off to play with kids...of course when I made the ressie I didn't know it was a character meal, but it's not a biggie. I have always been a Pooh and Pals fan, so this should be okay...I did stand in line for almost two hours just to have my pic with Pooh...I was in college!!!

I do avoid places like WCC and 50's Prime Time...I do not want to be shouted at,lectured, mocked or have things thrown at me while I am trying eat!! Just not my thing!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I am an adult with no children. Sometimes I vacation solo, and sometimes with my DH. I may just be getting ....... older , but the character buffets are just way too much for me. They are chaotic, with yelling children everywhere! I really do prefer semi-quiet when I am eating. Cape May at the Beach Club wasn't bad, though. I wanted to go to The Crystal Palace at MK last year, and even made the PS months in advance. I loved the actual building of The Crystal Place, but the acoustics are very poor, and the screaming children were magnified ! It became a perfect set-up for indigestion. I was solo there for breakfast, but even if I had a companion with me, it would have been much too loud to even talk at all.

I still love the breakfast buffets, though. I found the Yacht Club Galley to be the best!

 

[jjatwdw]

I love Garden Grill. IMHO it is the best and most overlooked character meal at WDW. The food is great, (not buffet), it is very quite, and the character interaction is wonderful. My DS6, DD15, and DS19 all really enjoyed our meal there. We will definitely return there on future trips.

 

[sameyeyam]

As an adult traveling with another adult this time we only have booked the CP for breakfast. It is not that I don't like the character meals we just wish they would come by our table and wave and move on to an eager child. So no we don't avoid them but wish that they would move it along.

My kids enjoy the character meals & like to have their photos taken with them. But we really don't want the character to hang around our table. So I make the kids quickly hop up for photo op and then say thank you very much to the character & nearby CM, and wave & say goodbye. Gets rid of them quickly, because they then know that you don't want them to hang around longer. I too would rather have them spend more time with other children that are more excited by their presence.

 

[jsmla]

Personally, I'm thrilled that we don't do character meals now that the kids are grown! The only thing I've ever enjoyed at a character meal was the look on my kid's faces when they met their favorites. Once they were no longer interested in meeting princesses we happily dropped the character experience from our dining.