Help! deciding character dinners for 4 yr old boy

[sazzifrazz]

DS is 4 and I want him to have a couple of character dinners on our December trip. We are on the dining plan so cost doesn't matter

We won't be doing AK at all, so I am counting tusker House out. I don't do well with caos. Why am I going to Disney you ask?! lol

Hollywood and Vine: DS loves Manny-doesn't really care about the others there. I heard the food is blah. This would be convenient though since we are spending the day at DHS and have no ADR's planned yet for that day.

Chef Mickeys-seems like the most caotic of all. Food sounds just OK.

Ohana breakfast: characters are familiar/liked by DS, doesn't seem as caotic since food is brought to you. food quality sounds just OK. doesn't get great reviews though.

CP-food sounds really good quality, atmosphere sounds nice, convenient as its can be done before park opens, but DS isn't a fan of pooh characters

All others seem too girly. What 2 would you recomend most for a 4 yr old boy? I wish they had a toy story meal!! Or one that is geared for just boys: buzz, woody, captain hook, peter pan! how cool would that be!

 

[nicki.momof3]

We love CP - food is good, building is very pretty and we like pooh and friends. This would be my #1 for a boy

Tusker house for breakfast is yummy, fun interaction, and in my opinion 100% better than CM.

CM - did it 2 times and never again. Food is boring, interaction is very rushed and boring setting

Playhouse - never done it - kids were never that into it.

Garden grill - rotating is fun, characters are cute in farm outfits, food is boring, seating is tight in booths

Norway - GREAT. Our sons love it as much as our daughter. You know the cool chair captain jack uses in the movie is there and the kids can sit in it.

CRT - Dining is the castle is great. Boys and girls love eating in a castle. Gatting a sword for a boy is a nice perk.

I know it is not a charatcer meal but my sons love 2 places at WDW. T-Rex and Sci-Fi. My boys love dinosaurs and eating in a car watching a movie (love tom and jerry) is great.

 

[JoanneMouse]

I think that Garden Grill is a good choice for a 4 year old boy. I know when my nephew was four he loved Garden Grill. He still does!

 

[brobrosmom]

We did both H&V and Ohana for breakfast in January.

DS3 loved H&V for the characters because he Leo. We thought the food was very good, the character interaction was awesome, and loved getting into HS early! They also do a little song & dance and invite the kids to join in.

DS5 asked if we can go back to Ohana's because he wants to see Mickey and Stitch. Again, we thought the food was very good and liked the fact that it was family style. They did a parade through the restaurant that DS3 really enjoyed. Stitch was very funny while the other characters were just so so.

We are planning on doing both on our next trip in May along with GG, TH, and CP.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

weve done gg twice and love it. that being said the last i read the kids menu was changed and mine wont eat chicken legs/drumsticks. chef mickeys is my 3.5 yr olds fave! we went last october and he wanted it booked for last april. it's also booked again for him for feb.

we like the food there and found the interaction just fine. in april we even did a bday cake and the characters were great once they saw it on the table. im pretty sure both trips we saw the characters atleast twice. it was never rushed for us, unlike crt. but that's for dd5 and amust as well.

 

[Totoro]

CP: Good location in the MK. Food is good too.
CM: Very busy. Food was good. This is a great place to go it you want to meet the fab characters.
Akershus: Our 4 year old DS wasn't really interested in the princesses and the food wasn't that great.
GG: Character interaction was good but the food was pretty standard in my opinion. The best part was the salad.
H&V: This one surprised us on our last trip. The food was good, interaction was great. The kids get to dance with the characters. The place was not a mob scene. Best of all, I heard they are adding Special Agent OSO.

 

[jenjersnap]

I asked my older two to rank the ones you mentioned and threw in Garden Grill as an option too.

1. Garden Grill has always been one of my oldest's favorite restaurant. "Mickey and a spinning restaurant: what's not to like?"

2. Crystal Palace "Yum!" Also, "Everyone loves a Tigger!"

3. 'Ohana. "I like Stitch" and "The juice is delish!"

4. H&V "It's ok. We mostly go because our little brother looooves Little Einsteins."

5. Chef Mickey's "It's a tradition!" and "Watching the monorail is COOL!" They like seeing the fab 5 in one spot, but even they acknowledge the food is horrible (I still can't talk them out of going though, LOL)

 

[kamikazecat]

My 4yo boy loved both CRT and Akersus. He loved getting the sword at CRT and loved meeting the princesses at both meals. He also loved Crystal Palace and Ohana. Chef Mickey's was by far his favorite.

 

[sazzifrazz]

OK tell me more about CRT. I read "sword" and decided it may be something DS would like
Whats so great about it that it requires 2 TS? Is it just the location? Is the food excellent? Interaction better than others?

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

We took our son to Disney when he just turned 2 yrs old and he'll be 5 yrs old in our December trip (it will be his 5th Disney trip). He and I are the ones that choice the places will eat. This is the following that he wants:
Hollywood and Vine (he loves this place b/c of the character interaction and sing/dance ever 15 mins and parade ever 30 mins)
Tusker House Breakfast...I do understand you guys are not going to AK (but he loves the food here and juice and the musical parade). This is the less hectic places to eat....we never had to wait on lines to get our food.
Chef Mickey (he loves the characters but we did not like our dinner) We are going here for breakfast
Crystal Palace (this is a must ever Disney trip...we eat lunch here)
Cape May (good breakfast and less hectic than CM and great character interaction...the characters came to our table 2x and Minnie 3X).
CRT - he loves eating in the Castle and when we went he got alot of attention from the princessess...he wants to go here again at night b/c he thinks its cool to eat at the castle (I have an ADR but not really happy with the new menu)
We are trying Garden Grill for first time.
We went to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast for was good but dinner food was bad but he got an amazing character interaction with Cinderella (she came to our table and asked my son to dance)