food at 1900 Park Fare is it worth it for a character dinner?

[emomward]

We are heading to our first WDW trip as a family in 29 days. We will be there for 8 days and have the DDP. We are super excited. We have three Disney little ones, DS 6, DD 4, DS 16 months .
Question: our 4 year old DD loves the Disney princesses, and we are trying to decide if we should do a character meal. Couldn't get reservations at CRT (too expensive anyway) so we opted for 1900 Park fare Cinderella Happily ever after dinner. What are your thoughts? Is the food worth it? We also have the princess storybook breakfast book at Epcot booked (food good?), Crystal Palace breakfast ( we heard it was great both food and entertainment) and the 1900 Park Fare Supercalifragilistic Breakfast- (bc all our little ones LOVE Mary Poppins). We are debating rather or not our daughter and sons would be just as happy seeing the princesses and characters in the parks rather than do a character meal. Which ones do you recommend we go with? Pros/ Cons?
I am concerned about 1900 Park Fare bc of some of reviews I have read on the food. My husband and i are foodies, so we really want to enjoy the experience of the food as well as the experience of our kids eyes lighting up....any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[sydneysmom]

Personally, I think the character meals are a wonderful way to spend a meal. A big perk is that you can "meet" the characters and get pictures with the characters without waiting in line after line in the parks. Or trying to hunt down characters and hoping they'll be there at a certain time. That was the big draw for us. We're doing a different character breakfast each morning. That way, we will get autographs, pictures, hugs, whatever all during breakfast. Then, if there's a character that we might see in the parks, we can wait. If it's a character we've already seen, it's not a frantic rush to get a photo w/ them.

at the meals it'll still be busy because they're going table to table, but you can get pictures and autographs and hugs. ( and you're in air conditioning!! )

You picked the sames ones we picked also.......

 

[Girly_Qs]

1900 Park Fare was hands-down our favorite character meal of our entire trip (of everyone in our group, which ranged from a 2.5yo to Nana & Papa!).

I always hear mixed reviews of the food, and IME it can vary at any restaurant (especially any buffet) widely - but for our trip it was fantastic. The guys especially enjoyed the prime rib (usually too well done for their taste at most places) and mashed potatoes (parmesan? there was something 'special' about them, I don't recall exactly what offhand). I suppose it depends on what you mean by you and your dh being "foodies." It's not going to be the most memorable meal of your life, from a food standpoint. It is a buffet. But, as long as you go in with reasonable expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised. We were, and we can't wait to get back there next month!

As pleased as we were with the food, the character interaction is what makes 1900PF. It was the BEST. Cinderella spent a lot of time talking to my girls and taking pictures and signing autograph books, etc. My older dd even got to dance w/ Prince Charming himself! Something that still leaves her a bit awestruck today, lol! However, IMO, it is the stepsisters and Lady Tremaine (go ahead, call her the "wicked stepmother" I dare you!) that *made* the show. They are SO funny, and dead-on to character. Lady Tremaine might be the best 'face character' I've ever interacted with in the Parks. She was stern, but not overly scary, and very quick with a dry wit. It was the one place where *I* enjoyed the character interaction at least as much as my kids.

We haven't done Akershus breakfast yet, but will be trying it this trip. We did a dinner there last time, and while we got to see lots of princesses (decent time, but not as 'personal' an interaction as 1900 PF was for us) - none of us (again, in a large group w/ wide age/taste/interest ranges) liked the food at all. We agreed it was worth it for the girls (they enjoyed all the princesses), but that we wouldn't do that again. Now, we're all willing to give breakfast a try since it's 'just breakfast' but we won't do dinner again (or lunch for that matter).

Crystal Palace, we just found so/so. I agree the general sentiment seems to be that it's "so" much better than 1900PF. For us, that was not the case at all. In fact, while we all found it "okay" we agreed that it was the least of the character buffets we did on that trip (Chef Mickey's ranked in the middle). I guess it's just one of those "to each their own" kind of things.

If you want a "foodie experience" stick w/ V&A, California Grill, etc, etc, etc. While I love a good meal, I can get that at home (we live in a big city, so fine dining is easy to come by). What I can't get at home is a meal with the Princesses or the Fab 5!

HTH! Best of luck with your planning!

 

[3PRINCESSMOM]

These are our 2 favorite character meals! We love both of them for any meal. Character interaction and food quality are superior as compared to most other WDW buffets and character meals. We'll be doing 1900PF dinner and CP breakfast in a couple of weeks.

Akershus was the worst dining experience ever at WDW. Food, service and character interaction were dismal.

Even when the kids were young we always mixed both character buffets with regular sit-downs. Balance is key. When they are young it is challenging to have to get up and down so we would do some of the family-style places like Garden Grill and 'Ohana back then.

Good luck deciding.

 

[Shleedogg]

1900 PF is the only character meal I will not return to. Imo, it was awful. I left hungry. Now, the rest of the people in my party enjoyed it, or at least thought it was ok. They were all red meat eaters though. My red meat eating starts and stops at a cheeseburger. They all said the prime rib was excellent. Everything else I thought was gross. The rice was overcooked and sticky, the pasta bolognese was foul tasting and the meat looked like mystery meat, chicken bland, mac & cheese looked really good but lacked any cheese flavor. I don't discriminate when it comes to mac and cheese, as long as it's cheese I can appreciate it. But this one was bad! The broccoli was fine, regular cooked broccoli. The caesar salad was good and the rolls were good. That was it.

This was in Jan 09 though, so the food might have improved since then.

The character interaction was AWESOME! Cinderella was ok, nothing special. I mean, how fun can you get with a princess like Cinderella. She played the part well. Same goes for the prince. But the Tremaines were amazing!

We saw Cinderella at Akershus, but I know there's no guarantee on that one. If your Akershus reservation is before 1900 PF and she's there, then you could always cancel 1900 if you're worried about food. If she's not there, then you can keep the ADR if it's important to your daughter. The other choices are great though, your kids will love them!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We loved the food at 1900 Park Fare. The selections were better than your average buffet fare and the charecter interaction was top notch. We were very pleased and will return to 1900 Park Fare.

 

[let'sgo]

DH does not like character meals, but 1900 Park Fare had him smiling. The food was good, and the desserts were wonderful--a very good choice too. I loved the characters here. It was really top notch. Next trip I'm trying the breakfast.

 

[abbynlindsaysmom]

Last year we went and did the CRT for dinner and we got to see Cinderella, Fairy Godmother and the mice. Are the breakfast or lunch meals different with princesses AND Cinderella with the pictures? I ask this because we are not doing Epcot next year so we won't be doing Akershus (HORRIBLE food I Agree- but great with the number of princesses you see) and my two girls 4 and 6, well, the princesses is what this is all about! So, I am worried we won't see any except Cinderella at CRT when we go next year. Is there something at DHS with princesses? We plan to do Magic Kingdom and DHS next year and I want to book the 1900 Park Fare dinner one night when we are not in the parks. Is it always Cinderella, Prince, Stepsisters, Lady Tremaine at 1900 Park Fare or does it depend on the meal? Thank you!

 

[jennad4]

Cindy is not at breakfast at 1900 Park Fair-It's Mary Poppins, etc.

 

[prncess674]

I am concerned about 1900 Park Fare bc of some of reviews I have read on the food. My husband and i are foodies, so we really want to enjoy the experience of the food as well as the experience of our kids eyes lighting up....any suggestions?
Thanks

As a fellow foodie I say you will be very disappointed. Prime Rib was offered, but there wasn't a single smidge of pink visible in the prime rib. We asked for wine and were only offered the generic "red" or "white" with no offer of a wine list or further clarification. We would have gladly paid for a nice glass/bottle of wine. Also there is no bar in the waiting area so you are hanging out with the entire rest of the stroller brigade with nothing else to do.

I also didn't like the overhead speaker in the dining room. There was a definite pace to things and at certain points there would be a point where Cindy and Prince Charming would dance. We were in the annex room and couldn't see them dance. It was funny when our 10 yr old nephew was at the buffet and one of the step sisters came around, we mentioned that one of the kiddos was at the buffet that she marched over to the buffet and yelled "DOMINICK, GET BACK OVER HERE."

While I know that Chef Mickey gets a lot of bad reviews we actually liked the larger food selection and more casual atmosphere along with the bar in the waiting area.

 

[CathieArms]

I can't speak for 1900 Park Fare dinner, as I've never eaten there; BUT...I can speak for whether or not you should do character meals in general, and I CAN tell you that Akershus is AWESOME!

The #1 benefit of a character meal is that you don't have to stand in line behind a gazillion and one children in the heat of the day to see the characters, and you don't have an upset child if you simply cannot find or make it to a particular character's meet and greet.

Last year we did the following character meals:

Cape May Cafe - AWESOME! Wonderful breakfast and great character interaction.
Garden Grill - Meh - it was okay. The food was just okay, but the character interaction was quite good. I just wasn't all that thrilled with the hoe-down clothing of the characters, and the food - though not bad - wasn't anything to write home about.
Akershus - AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!! This was our favorite character meal. DS was almost 5 and DD was 13 and they both loved this meal and the character interaction was THE BEST!
Crystal Palace - WONDERFUL! Great breakfast and wonderful character interaction. A bit longer than or other character meals, but definitely one I'd do again.

Our next trip will include all of the above except Garden Grill, and then following:

1900 Park Fare - Breakfast
1900 Park Fare - Dinner
Cinderella's Royal Table - Dinner (did this one 10 years ago, but it's changed).
Donald's Breakfast at Tusker House
Chef Mickey's - Breakfast (did this one 10 years ago)

 

[JerseyJanice]

We ate breakfast there in 2008 and really enjoyed it. Characters were Alice, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Pooh and Tigger. The strawberry soup really is fabulous, and we liked the omelets-to-order.

We returned for dinner in 2009 and had a horrible experience. It started with the rudest CM we have ever encountered as the Hostess from Hades. The carving station did not have prime rib; it served another roast beef with the texture of shoe leather. The "knives" they supplied to cut through it wouldn't cut through butter.

Characters were Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters, and Prince Charming and Cinderella herself although those two never stepped foot in the outer room where we were seated next to the kitchen door. Apparently, the CMs were POed at us for not taking a photo in front of their nifty wallpaper castle, and we were "rewarded" with the worst table in the place. When I dared to complain, the hostess screamed at me.

On the plus side, they did have the awesome strawberry soup, and the dessert miniatures were really good. Oh, and the butter was decent.

We won't ever go back for dinner. Good luck to you.

 

[ahill004]

Characters were cute at 1900 for dinner but none of us really liked the food compared to other buffets at Disney. We've also done the breakfast and it was a bit better food wise but of course no princesses! The Norway meal is the only princess meal everyone consistently likes each trip!

 

[TheDizMom]

We have always loved 1900. I have never left hungry and have been quite happy with the food, but then again I am not what you would consider a major foodie. I enjoy really good food, have eaten in restaurants all over the world, and love to cook and bake myself, so I would also not consider myself a meat and potatoes kind of girl either. For me the atmosphere here for the kids is what makes it worth it. It is a great character meal that my kids, a boy and a girl, have always loved. So for the ability to see great characters without having to wait in a line (Where you could stand in line a long time and have them pull the character or a personnel change before you get to see them, which has happened to me before!) it's worth it. The food may not be 5 star, but it is good, and I think totally worth it for the experience your kids will have. Keep in mind too that the characters usually come to your table more then once, something that would never happen while you wait in a line at the parks. It's great if you didn't quite get that shot the first time.

 

[Shleedogg]

As a fellow foodie I say you will be very disappointed. Prime Rib was offered, but there wasn't a single smidge of pink visible in the prime rib. We asked for wine and were only offered the generic "red" or "white" with no offer of a wine list or further clarification. We would have gladly paid for a nice glass/bottle of wine. Also there is no bar in the waiting area so you are hanging out with the entire rest of the stroller brigade with nothing else to do.

I also didn't like the overhead speaker in the dining room. There was a definite pace to things and at certain points there would be a point where Cindy and Prince Charming would dance. We were in the annex room and couldn't see them dance. It was funny when our 10 yr old nephew was at the buffet and one of the step sisters came around, we mentioned that one of the kiddos was at the buffet that she marched over to the buffet and yelled "DOMINICK, GET BACK OVER HERE."

While I know that Chef Mickey gets a lot of bad reviews we actually liked the larger food selection and more casual atmosphere along with the bar in the waiting area.

Us too. I've read so many bad reviews of CM dinner. We all liked it. Much larger food selection that doesn't try to be fancy. I think that's the big problem for me w/ 1900 pf. They have fancy food offerings but just don't pull them off well. I mean, really, how can you pull off fancy dishes on a buffet?

 

[princessmom29]

We really enjoyed 1900. The food isn't "fine dining", but we thought it was pretty good for being a buffet. It was one of the best character meals we had in terms of character interaction.