Luis Rodriguez
I'd rather be at Disney
- Joined
- Sep 29, 1999
- Messages
- 461
Dining with Mickey, our last character meal of the trip.
The next morning (Friday 09/12/2008) was to be the second (and last) of our “rest” days. You must remember, of course, that in this particular trip Rest = Shopping. Also, our rental car was scheduled to be returned at mid-afternoon, so this particular day promised to be an uneventful and quiet one... (for a change
)
We got early, took our time and had our regular breakfast at the food court. Afterwards, having made most of our shopping some days before, went back to the Florida Mall and, of course, got a little lost again.
Got my bearings on and returned the family to the resort, just before driving to the Car & Care Center, and filling the gas tank at more than $3.20 per gallon! Let’s just hope we don’t see those prices again!!. The Alamo van got me back to the resort where we just rested a little before our next ADR.
Visiting Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort.
Soon it was time to another trip to the Contemporary, in this occasion by bus and monorail. Our ADR was near closing time and, in fact, I think we were one of the last families seated that night. Even so, it was quite crowded when we arrived.
As soon as we arrived to the desk we were led by a photographer, somewhat aggressively, toward a side area where he took us some photos. These photos are available, of course, at an additional price, and were shown to us later on, during our meal. This is something I knew about, having read about it on the DIS and, in fact, I wanted to have some “official” family photo of our dinner. Nevertheless, I think that the way they do this is not the most subtle one. I suspect that it is many the unwary guest that would feel forced to buy the photos after all this hassle.
As in the other character dinners, we were told about who to expect (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald), how (they are going to visit each table), what to do (have camera and autograph books ready) and what not to do (do not stand up for them until they arrive to your table, respect other people’s time with the characters, etc.)
By this time we were already old hands in this kind of dinner, and quite expert with the rules. All the same, there are always the kids that follow the characters to your table and it would be heartless to tell them anything about it. What we think about THEIR parents is, of course, anybody’s guess…
Even at that late hour the food was fresh, and the dessert selection was really nice. The character interaction was very good. It helped, of course, that this particular dinner has the most classic of Disney’s characters, having a favorite for everyone (Pluto, Donald and Minnie for Valeria, Goofy for Mercedes, Mickey for Daniel and, for me, all of them
). They took their time with kids and adults alike, even doing a little dance and show with the kids (and adults) waving their napkins.
A Very elegant chef
This guy was quite charming, giving us a lot of attention
We traveled thousands of miles in order to see our daughter enjoy moments like this… And it was worth it.
Has this place gone to the dogs? (not really)
The owner of the place…
So, having done all the character meals we had planned on this trip, how do I rate them?
Well, the purpose of character meals is, of course, having a good character experience. The food comes second. You brave crowds, noise, meal interruptions, etc. in order to have your daughter meet some strange animals. Any evaluation has to take this in account.
That being said, my winners are… (The envelope, please)
1st. Place: Liberty Tree Tavern.
3rd. Place: Crystal Palace.
4th Place: Cinderella’s at 1900 Park Fare and Chef’s Mickey (a tie).
________________________________
Properly fed and entertained we left the restaurant at about 11pm. I thought it was a good occasion to return to our hotel and rest, but the kids had their own ideas and wanted to do a couple of rides at Epcot, which happened to be that night’s EMH Park.
The best way to get to Epcot was, of course, thru the Monorail. As there weren’t almost any passengers, I asked for the chance of riding up front, which was granted. This was a great hit with the kids, who got their own copilot’s card.
Copilots!!
_________
We arrived quite late to Epcot, but the kids got their wish and rode Mission Space again. This time Mercedes rode the “Orange” side, along with Daniel. I got to ride with Valeria the milder green one.
After Mission Space we went to Test Track, which was quite crowded. It did not matter. Valeria and Daniel got the chance to ride it again, almost at the park’s closing time.
Time to go to sleep (at last!!). Just a couple of Epcot photos and we were ready to leave the park.
Yep. It sure looks a lot better without the wand.
Next: An expedition to Animal Kingdom.
The next morning (Friday 09/12/2008) was to be the second (and last) of our “rest” days. You must remember, of course, that in this particular trip Rest = Shopping. Also, our rental car was scheduled to be returned at mid-afternoon, so this particular day promised to be an uneventful and quiet one... (for a change
)We got early, took our time and had our regular breakfast at the food court. Afterwards, having made most of our shopping some days before, went back to the Florida Mall and, of course, got a little lost again.
Got my bearings on and returned the family to the resort, just before driving to the Car & Care Center, and filling the gas tank at more than $3.20 per gallon! Let’s just hope we don’t see those prices again!!. The Alamo van got me back to the resort where we just rested a little before our next ADR.
Visiting Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort.
Soon it was time to another trip to the Contemporary, in this occasion by bus and monorail. Our ADR was near closing time and, in fact, I think we were one of the last families seated that night. Even so, it was quite crowded when we arrived.
As soon as we arrived to the desk we were led by a photographer, somewhat aggressively, toward a side area where he took us some photos. These photos are available, of course, at an additional price, and were shown to us later on, during our meal. This is something I knew about, having read about it on the DIS and, in fact, I wanted to have some “official” family photo of our dinner. Nevertheless, I think that the way they do this is not the most subtle one. I suspect that it is many the unwary guest that would feel forced to buy the photos after all this hassle.
As in the other character dinners, we were told about who to expect (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald), how (they are going to visit each table), what to do (have camera and autograph books ready) and what not to do (do not stand up for them until they arrive to your table, respect other people’s time with the characters, etc.)
By this time we were already old hands in this kind of dinner, and quite expert with the rules. All the same, there are always the kids that follow the characters to your table and it would be heartless to tell them anything about it. What we think about THEIR parents is, of course, anybody’s guess…
Even at that late hour the food was fresh, and the dessert selection was really nice. The character interaction was very good. It helped, of course, that this particular dinner has the most classic of Disney’s characters, having a favorite for everyone (Pluto, Donald and Minnie for Valeria, Goofy for Mercedes, Mickey for Daniel and, for me, all of them
). They took their time with kids and adults alike, even doing a little dance and show with the kids (and adults) waving their napkins.A Very elegant chef
This guy was quite charming, giving us a lot of attention
We traveled thousands of miles in order to see our daughter enjoy moments like this… And it was worth it.
Has this place gone to the dogs? (not really)
The owner of the place…
So, having done all the character meals we had planned on this trip, how do I rate them?
Well, the purpose of character meals is, of course, having a good character experience. The food comes second. You brave crowds, noise, meal interruptions, etc. in order to have your daughter meet some strange animals. Any evaluation has to take this in account.
That being said, my winners are… (The envelope, please)
1st. Place: Liberty Tree Tavern.
The best character interaction of all we did!! Good food (albeit a fixed meal course), nice place, wonderful CMs, etc. Unfortunately, Disney decided to suspend this character dinner as of January 2009, so I’m afraid this is not an option anymore. It will be sorely missed, though.
2nd. Place: Garden Grill.The characters were wonderful and, although the menu is also very limited, the layout of the restaurant allows you to have a good experience without the feeling of a crowded and/or noisy place.
3rd. Place: Crystal Palace.
On one hand, Valeria loves the Winnie the Pooh characters, especially Eeyore. They took their time with the kids (particularly Tigger) and made sure they had a good time. On the other hand, this place has the best food of all (at least at dinner time). The Prime Rib I ate there on our first visit was just superb, and the buffet selection was quite varied. That said, the place is a little bit crowded and, at least on our first visit, the experience was a little stressful. The next time was a lot easier, so I think that part of that stress was due to our inexperience with this kind of dinner.
4th Place: Cinderella’s at 1900 Park Fare and Chef’s Mickey (a tie).
Cinderella’s was a different kind of character meal. First, it was done with humans. Also, the villains were really funny. It gets a fourth place because the food, although good, wasn’t up to par to that of Crystal Palace.
Chef’s Mickey has, of course, the most iconic of Disney’s characters, and this alone gives it high marks. On the other hand, it was quite crowded (at least when we went there).
________________________________
Properly fed and entertained we left the restaurant at about 11pm. I thought it was a good occasion to return to our hotel and rest, but the kids had their own ideas and wanted to do a couple of rides at Epcot, which happened to be that night’s EMH Park.
The best way to get to Epcot was, of course, thru the Monorail. As there weren’t almost any passengers, I asked for the chance of riding up front, which was granted. This was a great hit with the kids, who got their own copilot’s card.
Copilots!!
_________
We arrived quite late to Epcot, but the kids got their wish and rode Mission Space again. This time Mercedes rode the “Orange” side, along with Daniel. I got to ride with Valeria the milder green one.
After Mission Space we went to Test Track, which was quite crowded. It did not matter. Valeria and Daniel got the chance to ride it again, almost at the park’s closing time.
Time to go to sleep (at last!!). Just a couple of Epcot photos and we were ready to leave the park.
Yep. It sure looks a lot better without the wand.
Next: An expedition to Animal Kingdom.
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You certainly had a nice 2nd visit to AK on that trip and some great character shots!
