Hotel character dining questions

[Jenny]

i'm interested in character dining in the hotels. from what i've read, The Kitchen, Trattoria & Islands Dining Room all have character dining on certain days.

My questions are:
do they only have dinners w/ the characters (no lunch or breakfast)?
can you order whatever you want or is there a fixed price/menu like at disney? we have shyed away from most of disney's character meals b/c we really don't want to pay for prices for "all-you-can-eat" meals. we'd prefer a-la-carte.
do you recommend reservations prior to the trip, day of, or at all? (we're going in mid-may).
how far in advance do the restaurants know which characters will be there or are they always the same? which characters are they?

thanks.

 

[Jenny]

my search option for this forum wasn't working before - now it is. i read that only character dinners are offered at the hotels. i got a list of characters but understand that they are subject to change. i'll plan on making reservations when i get there b/c it doesn't sound like these dinners get too crowded. it looks like you can order what you want but i'd still like to know one thing:

at islands, they offer a dinner buffet on sat. while the characters are there. do you have to do the buffet or can you order off the menu?
same question for Trattoria - they have a dinner buffet on friday & that is also their character night. do you have to get the buffet?

Thanks.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

At both you can order off the menu. I remember reading a post that said they offered character breakfasts at the hotel(s). Maybe it was HRH? Try a search. Closer to your dates I would call and ask to be sure.