Help me decide on Character Meal

[luvseaside]

We are taking my niece, her husband, and their 2 1/2 yr old son to Disney the end of Sept. We are staying at CBR, and I need to go ahead and make ADRS for a couple of character meals soon. Since the boy loves all things Disney Jr, especially Mickey Mouse (his BFF), I initially thought of Chef Mickey's for breakfast one morning & Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine for lunch one day. However, my husband & I haven't been to CM since '97, and the reviews have not been positive, to say the least. Plus my niece & her husband are not big breakfast eaters (the boy is - he wakes saying "eat"), so I imagine breakfast most days will be pastries/fruit in the rooms/resort.

Would Tusker House (Donald's character meal) for an early lunch on an AK day be a better option? That saves us from having to deal with transportation to CR (although we will have a car) and possibly get a late start in the park one morning. I know TH is not quite as Mickey-centric, but great-nephew will be able to see Mickey, which is what matters. Plus, we can do character M&G in the parks. (FYI, we are at Disney for 5 days/nights) Have I just answered my own question? My only concern with TH is that I'm not sure how adventurous their palates will be for the food at that buffet.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance! This board has been such a great help in planning. We haven't been in quite a while and so much has changed.

 

[dpswift]

I would go with Tusker House and H and V. I have only been to the breakfast at TH. But it was great with a good mix of food.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I would opt for Tusker House as well. I've only had breakfast there, but it was wonderful. One suggestion is to get one of the latest breakfast times and then you can make it kind of a "brunch" and actually try some of the lunch things as they're brought out too. Yes, they definitely have some different foods, but plenty of the regular stuff to keep everyone happy as well. And you'll get to meet Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy. Hit rope drop, do a few rides, and then have brunch around 10:30 or so when you might be ready for a break. I would definitely choose this over Chef Mickey.

 

[collcass]

My kids all loved the TH character meal. We only did breakfast, but the character interaction was superb

 

[Dawnlight]

I would opt for Tusker House as well. I've only had breakfast there, but it was wonderful. One suggestion is to get one of the latest breakfast times and then you can make it kind of a "brunch" and actually try some of the lunch things as they're brought out too. Yes, they definitely have some different foods, but plenty of the regular stuff to keep everyone happy as well. And you'll get to meet Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy. Hit rope drop, do a few rides, and then have brunch around 10:30 or so when you might be ready for a break. I would definitely choose this over Chef Mickey.

This is what we did and it was fantastic! Hit rope drop and did Safari, Pangani Trail, and Tough to Be a Bug then went for brunch. Our fast passes started after our meal when it was busy, so we avoided lines all day (on Christmas)

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Chef Mickey's is a neat themed restaurant and its great bc the fab 5 is there, but the food is just ok. Their breakfast food is definitely better than their dinner food, but again its just ok. If you are going to Animal Kingdom then yes I would say get an ADR for Tusker House. Their food is incredible, and Daisy is at that character meal as well. The only character I can't remember is there or not is Pluto. I am not sure if Pluto is there. I know Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy were all there when we went last year, but like I said I can't remember if Pluto was there or not. If you want to do a meal with Pluto then I recommend doing 'Ohana breakfast. They have Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch. The food is pretty good and its cool theming, if you have any juice drinkers in your party their juice is awesome (this is what I hear from my husband, lol, I am not a juice drinker). Or if you don't want to do breakfast then maybe consider Garden Grill dinner at Epcot. They have Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. The chipmunks are super funny and the food is really good.

 

[kastoney]

Definitely do Tusker house. The food is leaps and bounds above the other options