Doing a character meal sans children?

[Cin]

Dumb question... after spending 8 days in the parks and no encounters at all with my favorite Tigger, upon inquiry as to his wherabouts I was told by a cast member that the sure way to meet Tigger was dining with Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace. So... on our next trip I was thinking about getting a lunch for the hubs and I but if we are the only ones there without kids we are going to feel really out of place. And what type of attention/interaction should we be expecting to get from the characters, if any, since we don't have kids at our table? Any advice? And is the food any good? Hubby is really wary of and dislikes buffets so I will really be pushing it with the characters alone much less mediocre food. Thanks for any advice.

 

[smidgy]

I have enver eaten there myself, so can't tell you about the food.
but if you read any of Tiggerbell's trip reports, you will see plenty pictures of her with other adults at Crystal Palace, WITH tigger, eyeore, etc.

adults are allowed and encouraged to dine at the character meals. and the characters take time with you, too, (including pictures)

I have seen MANY pictures on the dis of couples with characters. cape may, 1900 park fare, chef mickeys, etc.

people who pay for a character meal get to spend time with the characters. you should go and have fun!

 

[sneha123]

Hello,,,,,,I agree that........"since we don't have kids at our table? Any advice? And is the food any good? Hubby is really wary of and dislikes buffets so I will really be pushing it with the characters alone much less mediocre food. Thanks for any advice".............. Thanks for post.........

 

[ArthurIhde]

hmmm I don't quite agree with

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm going on this trip alone, but am meeting up with fellow Disers. I'm going to Crystal Palace twice, once with a group and once alone. So I say go for it

 

[Pats Dragon]

We have dined here without children and enjoyed the food and ambiance (and yes, the characters!)

 

[smidgy]

Hello,,,,,,I agree that........"since we don't have kids at our table? Any advice? And is the food any good? Hubby is really wary of and dislikes buffets so I will really be pushing it with the characters alone much less mediocre food. Thanks for any advice".............. Thanks for post.........

hmmm I don't quite agree with

boy, I must be losing it.... I don't get either of these posts. who is agreeing (or not quite agreeing)with what?

 

[MAYNARDS99]

Went without kids over Labor Day week, just two adults.

Food was great! Mussels and clams were my favorite.

Characters will spend time with you if you want, or will walk on by if you wave them on.

Of course, there will be HOARDS of children. Most well behaved though!

While I was at the buffet the other half "dined" with Piglet. It is very scary to have a 46 year old burly guy grinning from ear to ear because a giant pink character sat down at his table and "ate" with him.

Odd what happens when someone loses themselves for a moment or two.

 

[DisneyFirefly]

boy, I must be losing it.... I don't get either of these posts. who is agreeing (or not quite agreeing)with what?

I'm not sure about the second, but I'm almost positive the first is spam.

 

[Moms]

We have done CP on several occasions ... with and without DD ... who is now all grown up. The food is pretty standard buffet fare but the quality is good. We always enjoyed our meals ... but I will love anything that someone else cooks! The characters will spend time with adults if you let them know you are interested. It is quite loud, though, and full of kids! Most are well-behaved, but there are a lot of them!

We had many tigger sightings when we were there a couple of weeks ago. We have pictures of my DD and I with Tigger and Pooh at MK and HS ... two days apart!

 

[Joolish1313]

MyDH & I do character meals once a trip - and we don't have kids. My parents also do 2-3 character meals a trip. Its a great way to get character photos without lines.
Yes Tigger is there. But read the Crystal Palace reviews so you get a wide variety of feedback. We went 2 years ago with friends & hated it. The buffet wasn't very good- lets say awful, the place was a zoo & the tables were too close together. I like family style buffets - not the traditional kind. Ohana does a much better job at it but there's no Tigger.

 

[MickeysMommy]

I don't have kids and we do at least one character meal everytime we go. Last time it was Garden Grill for my birthday We have done Crystal Palace for dinner a few years back and it was really good. Character interaction was great and Tigger was super. I had my back to him and he came over and "jumped" to where I was...scared me! I think you'll have a good time!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I'm not a big fan of buffets either.. but we went to Crystal Palace once for dinner in 2008, twice for lunch in 2009, and going twice again in Dec. 2010. Aside from DS loving the Pooh characters...

The food is delicious. Crystal Palace and Tusker House are probably the best buffets I've ever had. Crystal Palace is not typical cheap buffet food. There's a large variety of cold salads that are fresh and very good. There's a few menu items that are a little different - with curry for example. The carved meats are delicious, though I remember more of the carved meats at dinner. The salmon is my favorite and it's at both lunch and dinner.

And we love that CP is very convenient, centrally located in MK... good food without having to leave the park.

Each time, the character interaction was the same. They came one after the other to greet us at the table sign autographs, pose for photos, interact a little bit. Didn't take long either. We could be in and out of CP in less than 45 minutes and see all the characters. Pooh leads a parade with the children weaving in and around the restaurant tables. There is an open space as you first enter CP... I thought it would be nice if the Pooh characters danced to some music with the children in that area or something since it is more open... like characters do at Hollywood and Vine (the buffet there pales in comparison to Crystal Palace).

 

[PamelaKay]

I am single and have no children, but each spring my best friend leaves her hustband and teenage daughter at home and the 2 of us go to Disney for a girls trip. CP is a must do for us on every trip. Both of are over 40, but find the character interaction at CP to be great.

We have enjoyed both breakfast and lunch there in the past and never had a bad meal.

If you really are not wanting to do a character meal, I have had great luck in meeting Pooh, Eyeore and Tigger at the toy store in the United Kingdom at Epcot's World Showcase. I am quite sure Tigger has been there everytime we go.

 

[DisneyCrazyMomma]

It's Disney! It's Magic! Do it! I love characters and I think you should go for it! Have fun!

 

[NewsiesGoil]

I would definitely go for it! My sister (22) and I (28) had an early morning ADR at Crystal Palace on our trip. All of the characters were really great, especially Tigger! He was a big flirt, kissing both of us on the cheek. Piglet was awesome too, he saw that my sister had our park map out and sat down next to her, took her pen and circled Pooh's ride and put a big star next to it! He also tried to steal her energy drink

 

[exnortherner]

DW and I visit WDW several times a year. Sometimes with the kids and grandkids and several times by ourselves. I think I have more fun at the character buffets than the little ones do. I love interacting with Pooh and the gang at CP. If the characters know you are interested, they will give you all the attention you want. If you need a Mickey fix, then the Garden Grille is probably the best place to go. Since it is not a big chaotic dining room, the charaters get to spend lots of quality time at each private booth.

Spend some adult time with the characters and you will feel like a kid again.

 

[Cin]

"It is very scary to have a 46 year old burly guy grinning from ear to ear because a giant pink character sat down at his table and "ate" with him.

Odd what happens when someone loses themselves for a moment or two."


Ha ha ha, I could totally see my DH doing that! And then he would make me promise not to post it on FB. My tough guy cracked a smile quite a few times and had a couple of "okay never tell anyone you saw this" moments too as Disney magic got him too. (I swear it wasn't the margaritas) Ever see the tv show, Becker? That is my DH, and Disney actually made him smile, gotta love Disney magic.

 

[pianoronni37]

DH and I ate at Crystal Palace for dinner on our Honeymoon Trip - and it was great! We were unsure as well, but the food was decent and the characters were so much fun! They didn't just ignore us because we were adults - they treated us like children. I had a good time. Tigger gave us a thumbs up when he saw our honeymoon buttons, and when I told Eeyore he was my favorite, during a picture, he made a kissy noise in my ear.

I loved it, I highly recommend it - you won't feel out of place, in fact, you'll probably feel more like a kid here than the actual kids!