How far in advance to book char meals and which are best?

[mangosink]

We've been to Disney several times but this time are going to do the dining plan and character meals. We are going in late Sep, when should I book our meals? Any can't miss character meals, my kids will be 3 yrs boy and 5 yrs girl.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

You can now book up to 180 days in advance

 

[kabbie]

And the 6 month mark is coming up for Late Sept visits!!!!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

As far as which character meals, it really depends on what characters your children like.
Suggest you go over to allearsnet.com....dining.... and look for the character meals section. It will list the characters normally present. You can also view the menu over there.

 

[Wendy31]

Our must-do character meals are Chef Mickey's (breakfast) at the Contemporary Resort and CRT (lunch), Crystal Palace (lunch), Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner) - all located in the MK.

The other character meals we currently have scheduled for this year are breakfast at Donald's Breakfastasauras in the AK, lunch at Garden Grill in the Land Showcase at EPCOT, and breakfast at Princess Storybook in the Akershus Restaurant in the Norway World Showcase at EPCOT.

To determine which character meals are right for you, go to allears.net. The site lists all the current character meals at WDW w/ the characters normally present at the meals & the menus of the restaurants.

Once you determine which ones you would like to try & determine your touring schedule (what parks you're going to visit on what days), then try to schedule the character meals as soon as you can. Some character meals get booked more quickly than others. And it's always better to call earlier because then you have your choice of times.

 

[Luv4Disney]

I booked character meals less than 90 days from when we're going. We're going May 10th and I made them a week ago. I got everything I wanted. CP, CRT, etc. So, you never know. But we aren't going during peak times, just "moderate."

 

[disneyfav4ever]

My favorite character meal is Crystal Palace, I'm trying Garden Grill this year.

 

[Princess Mindy]

I absolutley loved crystal palace last year and am going back again this year. 1900 park fare was also amazing. This year I'm going to try Cape May as something new.

 

[cinmell]

We really enjoy Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella's Royal Gala). We haven't had Crystal Palace in a while but from what I can remember it was pretty good.

We are finally trying Liberty Tree Tavern in May. We had PS's/ADR's for LTT for the past few trips but we always ended up cancelling them for some reason.

Enjoy!

 

[BlindTyldak]

I can't praise Garden Grill enough for a character meal. The food is excellent but not anywhere near "odd" enough to put off picky eaters, the servers are very nice as well, but the huge selling point to me is the booth setup. Especially if you request a table on the outer ring, when the characters come to see you, it really feels like they are just there for YOU as you can't see any other diners. An added perk to this setup is you can't see the characters coming until they are within a table or two, so your children pay more attention to the meal!