For parents of kids who love character meals, how can I get the most out of mine?

[camouseketeer]

We are Disneyland Vets, but the end of Jan is our first trip to WDW.

My DD's, 5, 4, have been to several character meals in DL, and they have enjoyed them, but we never seem to get the wonderful, raving experiences that other describe here at the DIS.

The characters come to our table, the girls get happy but shy, they pose for pictures, we get an autograph, and we're done. It's fine but not great. When I read posts about other families having "a blast" at the same meals I've been to, I wonder how we missed that.

Now both DD's are on the autistic spectrum. They are typical looking kids but they have difficulty with eye contact and some social interaction.

So I'm looking for advice. We have meals planned at Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Norway Princess Breakfast, Hollywood & Vine, and Donald's Breakfast Safari. What do you and your kids do with the characters that make the experience so special? What can I do to help make our meals at WDW "a blast" too?

TIA!

 

[CJsMom]

I think sometimes it depends on which character meal you go to and how busy it is at that time. It was my kids' first trip to DW in December so I booked a few character meals. Most fun were Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill. Not so fun, Crystal Palace and 'Ohana. Now, don't get me wrong. Crystal Palace and 'Ohana WERE fun, just not as fun as the others. At Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill the characters spent a little extra time with us. Goofy goofed around with the boys at CM and Pluto was lots of fun at GG. Also, at GG, Dale came over to the table and tried to feed green beans to the boys. When DS5 ate one, Dale "rewarded" him by serving him his dessert. It was really cute! GG was not crowded - not even full - at the time, so the characters didn't have as many tables to get to. CM's was full at the time and it was a Saturday night but they did spend more time with us. CP was packed, even though we scheduled an early lunch. The characters came and went - fun, but nothing extra. 'Ohana was packed, even though I had scheduled a late breakfast (10:40). It was a Saturday morning so that could be why - but I was disappointed that the characters didn't interact a bit more. The only character that did stay for a bit was Pluto, because my younger son had a Pluto hat on so he played with that for a bit, but we had already seen Pluto and I think the boys were really hoping for Stitch to play with them.

I do think the characters watch how the kids react as well. If the kids are shy they may be more careful with their interaction.

To sum this all up: if they have the time, they seem to play a little more. Some restaurants are better than others. I think you just have to try them out. I'd definitely schedule CM and GG again. I'd also give 'Ohana another try as the food was very good - but not schedule it on a weekend. I won't go back to CP. I wasn't impressed with the food, the lines for the buffet were really long, and my boys aren't huge Pooh fans anyway.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[TwingleMum]

Disney is very in tune to children who may be shy or have special needs. I would prepare them ahead of time ~ who they'll see, what they will do (have a picture taken, get an autograph , a hug etc..) I would talk to them about what theywould like to do - Do you want to get an autograph or would you like a beloved character to sign a special book for them as a forever souvenir?? Do they want to take a picture? What character would they like to eat with. I would also speak to the character or handler (if one is with them). I have seen them coax smiles and hugs from children who didn't want any part of them minutes before. Also if there is a apecial character they love (Mickey,Princesses, Little Einsteins) I would try to go to that meal of course and watch DVDs to get them excited. Also they might get overwhelmed and overstimulated (and possibly shut down or withdraw) if you go at a busy time I would see about a late character breakfast or an early lunch or dinner. It might help if the crowds and stimulation are not over the top. Hope this helps and I hope your trip is SUPERCALIFRAGALISTIC!! Please do a review here so we can relive it with you!!!

 

[OKWMom]

I have a daughter on the spectrum. She is non-verbal and can be shy at first with the characters. She loves them and wants to see and touch them, but it takes her a second or two to get in the groove, so to speak.

I have found that if I mention the autism and to the character handler or the character himself/herself, they will allow her an extra moment or two to get herself in the mood. Before I did this, the characters tended to misread her as being not really interested and moved on before she had a chance to warm up. It doesn't really take her long, maybe about 10 seconds or so, but that little bit extra makes all the difference in the world.

She does better in the mornings, so I book all breakfasts. Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace are her two favorites. I have found if I book CM for the OMG it's early booking, there aren't as many families there and she can sometimes see the characters multiple times. Our best results at CP have been by taking the last breakfast seating.

We have had one not so great experience at CP, but that was because the characters took an extraordinarily long time making the rounds. We were there for 1.25 hours and did not see ONE of the characters. She could see them parading around the restaurant and couldn't understand why they didn't come over.

CM has always been wonderful. Two trips ago, she was having a difficult morning and she didn't really want to stand for a picture. I should have let it go, but I was in Rambo Mom mode and was determined I was going to have a photo of my child with the characters just like the Moms of the typical kids. Anyway, she was standing there with Goofy and doing strange body positioning type things - stimming. Goofy began imitating her, so all of my pictures looked really normal, like they were making funny faces together. KWIM?

She loves seeing the characters and the breakfasts allow me to give her that opportunity to do so without waiting in a long line. Seeing her having such a good time is one of my favorite vacation memories each year and the character breakfasts are the first reservations I make for each trip.

 

[MyManGoofy!]

Hi! I am a former character greeter at WDW and worked in quite a few of the dining locations, especially CP.

Definitely let someone know that your child might need some time to warm up. If the greeter is not handy - do not be nervous about telling Tigger (or whoever) directly. (Just make it part of the casual conversation - don't try to whisper it to them or anything as they may not hear you very well.)

Do your dd's have a special doll or stuffed animal that can "share" the spotlight a little? Maybe introduce their doll/animal to the character and have them interact together first? Or maybe color pictures of the characters that will be at that dining location to show the character when they come around.

Or think of a silly activity or pose you can do with them. It can be a simple one that you can use for all or work on ones specific to each character. Sometimes having a fun game to do takes away some of the "There is this big weird walking stuffed animal coming at me and I don't want to go near it" heebies.

As for the dining locations - I believe that CP seats the most at one time. Because of this, they will inform you when you are seated that it can take up to 1 to 1.5 hours to see ALL the characters. They will tell you what path or rotation the characters follow. It really helps when families pay attention to this and note when a character is coming towards their table. I have seen it many times that just as someone is coming - everyone heads to the buffet or bathroom. The character will continue on and they cannot backtrack. There are different variations of this practice depending on the layout of the restaurant - so always check with you server especially at buffets.

 

[CJsMom]

Hi! I am a former character greeter at WDW and worked in quite a few of the dining locations, especially CP.

Definitely let someone know that your child might need some time to warm up. If the greeter is not handy - do not be nervous about telling Tigger (or whoever) directly. (Just make it part of the casual conversation - don't try to whisper it to them or anything as they may not hear you very well.)

Do your dd's have a special doll or stuffed animal that can "share" the spotlight a little? Maybe introduce their doll/animal to the character and have them interact together first? Or maybe color pictures of the characters that will be at that dining location to show the character when they come around.

Or think of a silly activity or pose you can do with them. It can be a simple one that you can use for all or work on ones specific to each character. Sometimes having a fun game to do takes away some of the "There is this big weird walking stuffed animal coming at me and I don't want to go near it" heebies.

As for the dining locations - I believe that CP seats the most at one time. Because of this, they will inform you when you are seated that it can take up to 1 to 1.5 hours to see ALL the characters. They will tell you what path or rotation the characters follow. It really helps when families pay attention to this and note when a character is coming towards their table. I have seen it many times that just as someone is coming - everyone heads to the buffet or bathroom. The character will continue on and they cannot backtrack. There are different variations of this practice depending on the layout of the restaurant - so always check with you server especially at buffets.

This made me think of something else to mention: our servers were very good about telling us about the rotation of the characters and when they were coming. Definitely pay attention to it. At CP, for example, the waiter pointed out that Eeyore was on his way down our row and suggested we wait for him before going up to the buffet. The kids were hungry so I went up by myself to grab a couple of plates for them so they wouldn't miss Eeyore.

 

[bopper]

Also remember that the people who post here are
A) Big Disney Fans
B) Love all things Disney
C) only posting an outstanding experience

So I am sure there are thousands of "regular" character interactions...but people only post about the outstanding ones. Therefore, you only see those types of posts on the disboards.