Help...Need opinions quick on "BEST" Character dining......

[disneygirl1977k]

experiences? I am closing in on my 90 day window here real soon and still cannot decide on any definate character dining choices......Would love some opinions from you guys on which ones that are "NOT TO BE MISSED"......It will be my DH, my 2yo DS and me? Help me decide, doesn't matter if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner? Any of them that you guys love and just "have to do" would be so greatly appreciated....TIA...Kristy

 

[SaraMc]

My favorite Character meal ever was Cindy's Royal Table for Breakfast. It was great partly I think because the characters actually talk to you. Chef Mickey's was good too. However we all went to Pleasure Island the night before and it was my bright Idea to go to CM for a 8am table. There are some VERY tired and VERY hungover people in those photo's. I belive the slogan of that day was COFFEE.. Please.. COFFEE..

So lesson learned but it was still a lot of fun.

 

[ash&abby'smom]

I vote for Chef Mickey's. We loved it. IT was alot of fun and we enjoyed the food. We had dinner there. If you are going to MK, maybe a breakfast at Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. My kids loved both. I think your son would enjoy both. We didn't do breakfast at CP, we had dinner there. I think whatever you choose will be great. Have fun.

 

[powellrj]

Another vote for chef mickey.

 

[lillygator]

Chef Mickey's is great fun!!

 

[LadyLuc361]

Crystal Palace is fun. We are also trying Chef Mickey's for breakfast this year. I have heard great things about it.

 

[fishy_mouse]

It depends on the characters and which meal that you prefer. Our recent experience was this. Chef Mickey's is probably the most crowded and loudest characater meal. The food is good (dinner) and the character interaction was best. Crystal Palace dinner has Pooh characaters. DW liked the food there best. The characters seemed a bit rushed and more interested in younger kids (mine are 12 and 15). 1900PF dinner had good food and character interaction (Cindy, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming all speak). Cape May breakfast was average (except for Krispy Kreme donuts) and so-so character interaction.

 

[Kaycee]

I think that the best character meal for a 2 year old is Crystal Palace. Little ones seem to really love the Pooh characters. Chef Mickeys is a lot of fun for any age.

My personal favorites are Garden Grill and Cape May Cafe, but I have older children (actually teens now). I still think Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's are the best choices for younger children.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We love Chef Mickeys. A must do for every trip.

 

[sandibeck]

Definitely Chef Mickey's! We've done breakfast & dinner both there and both were great experiences. Our son was 5 when we did breakfast and our son was 12 and our daughter was 6 when we did dinner (just a couple weeks ago). We like CM over Crystal Palace (we've done it twice too - same ages for the kids) - but we've only done breakfast at CP.
Good luck! I'm sure you'll have a blast whatever you decide!!

 

[pjathome]

experiences? I am closing in on my 90 day window here real soon and still cannot decide on any definate character dining choices......Would love some opinions from you guys on which ones that are "NOT TO BE MISSED"......It will be my DH, my 2yo DS and me? Help me decide, doesn't matter if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner? Any of them that you guys love and just "have to do" would be so greatly appreciated....TIA...Kristy

I vote for Chef Mickey's. We've done both breakfast and dinner. My preference is dinner. The selection is great and the food is the best. I didn't care for breakfast but i'm not a breakfast buffet fan anywhere. The characters are awesome and it just a ton of fun!!

 

[stacy6552]

I don't vote for Chef Mickey's. We go and the food is just ok and the place is always loud and crowded.

A 2 year old might not like the charactures. The cast at the Liberty Tree Tavern has always been the best place for characture interaction, imo. They were awesome the first trip when the baby wanted no part of them but our 6 yr old did. As soon as the manager saw the baby freak out, she took our older son over to meet the charactures and told them that his brother was scared. Then they all made a big production of hiding from the baby behind their hands, much to our older son's delight. A few years later, our younger son freaked out at another characture meal, but warmed right up to the cast at the LTT the next night. It totally gets my vote with a child of 2.

 

[sandy5764]

We've had breakfast at O'Hana at Polynesian which was very nice, but for us, the absolute best character dining/show is Mickey's Backyard BBQ held at Fort Wilderness. It is the best food and character interaction for the money.

 

[DemoBri1]

I'd put in a vote for Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's. If you can get CRT for breakfast that would be good to, although I think now they switched it to characters only from Cinderella (it used to be all princesses).

Crystal Palace is inside MK and has all the characters from the Book of Pooh. They do a neat little parade around the inside of the restaurant where all the kids are encouraged to join in and march with the characters. Food is a buffet with some interesting selections. They also have the standards.

I think though the King of CMs is Chef Mickey's. You'll get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale (they're everywhere and they come to your table individually), and Donald. Normally Donald is the only you'll have to go to, the rest will come to your table. Plus, if you're in the main dining area you may also catch glimpses of the monorail scooting through the lobby of the CR.

The Princess Meals at Akershus in Epcot's World Showcase weren't bad either, although the food choices are a little on the interesting side. This one may get a bit more popular since this may be the only place where you're little ones will get to see more than one princess. Plus, I believe this is the only place where you'll actually see Ariel without her fins.

Brian

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Our new favorite is Liberty Tree Tavern. We tried it for the first time in May and it was the best character meal we had the whole trip which also included CRT, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys and Breakfastosaurus.

 

[NCgrad]

Hands down Liberty Tree Tavern. Quieter than Chef Mickey's. Not as rushed as Cindy's Royal Table. Don't wait forever for characters to come around like Crystal Palace. LTT has the best character interaction. Chef Mickey's is good, but is loud and usually crowded.

 

[cristbaby]

We have an AR for Liberty Tree Tavern and it sounds awesome. We have a DGS that will be turning 7 and we plan on celebrating his birthday there. Can anyone shed some light on what type of service and character interaction we can expect?

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

We have ARs for CP and CM next week. We also have them for Donalds Breakfastasaurus...don't hear much about that one...will we be disappointed?

 

[tndisneyfan]

I vote for Ohanas for breakfast or Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. I like the meals served family style instead of buffets, you don't have to worry about missing the characters.

 

[luv2nascar]

chef mickey's is the most fun for breakfast. Food is good, hot, & plentiful. Tons of character interaction. It is fun and loud.
We tried 1900 Park Fare Dinner last week too and loved it. It was quiet and food was great (prime rib, peel and eat shrimp). Character interaction was great there also. We loved both and will go back to both.