How many character meals is too many???

[Wsmagee]

We are going Dec. 17-22 and it is our first trip as a family (5 & 2 yo kids). Oh, and we have the free DDP. I am thinking of these character meals as a way to get away from the craziness and not have to wait in lines to meet characters, oh and some are PPO to get early access. So, we currently have a lot of character meals booked. I know we can't do it all, so help me pair down my ADRs ...

What are the absolute *MUSTS* particularly for a 5 yo boy?

Breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Would you do more than 1 per day? We have 2 table service meals booked most days...most are character meals.

Is there such a thing as too many character meals?

 

[mstephen87]

We do one a day. More than that is just too much food for us. We have two girls so we always do the princess route, but we are doing brunch at Ohana this trip with LILO and stitch and Mickey and Pluto. (I've heard great things) Tusker house was a good character meal and so was be our guest. The beast was really cool. Either way, you can never have too many character meals, if you are up for that much food. We always do all dinner character meals (more bang for your buck) and one breakfast/brunch during our 7 day trip. (That say we don't do a dinner one) have fun!!

 

[Disney_Alli]

We are going Dec. 17-22 and it is our first trip as a family (5 & 2 yo kids). Oh, and we have the free DDP. I am thinking of these character meals as a way to get away from the craziness and not have to wait in lines to meet characters, oh and some are PPO to get early access. So, we currently have a lot of character meals booked. I know we can't do it all, so help me pair down my ADRs ...

What are the absolute *MUSTS* particularly for a 5 yo boy?

Breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Would you do more than 1 per day? We have 2 table service meals booked most days...most are character meals.

Is there such a thing as too many character meals?

While I'm not sure there is such a thing as too many character meals there is such a thing as more meals than credits. If you have 2 table service meals a day booked most days you're going to be paying for at least one a day out of pocket. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[happymommy]

I'd do maybe a couple in total for the whole vacation really, but my kids were never that into meeting characters. My DD at 2 was quite shy and not interested in getting near them actually.

I'd look more into ones where the food is brought to your table, rather than buffet, if possible. It's a bit of work going to get the food for the kids, then for myself, so when my kids were that young I didn't ever get much to eat at a buffet! It's nice if you can sit and have it brought to you - like the breakfast at 'Ohana or Garden Grill at Epcot?

That being said, I did find the food at Tusker House to be very good!

 

[Nancyg56]

I do not think that there is such a thing as too many character meals, but I do think that too many buffet meals might be. WIth a 5 YO and a 2 YO, I might think about Garden Grill, Akershus breakfast, Crystal Palace dinner and either Tusker House and Chef Mickey or Hollywood and Vine for Disney Jr characters.

When I book meals I book them not only for the kids, but for us. I would book PPO meals if your kids are early birds and you want to be in the park before RD. This is a good opportunity for your character meal, and if paying for one OOP, breakfast is geneally cheaper. Of course there are exceptions, like Akershus, but just check the prices. I also look for AYCTE meals, as a way to relax some. Otherwise someone s always up fo food while the other is keeping character watch.

I would book TS dinner, but for this one, unless I did not plan a character breakfast, I plan a normal meal. Character meals are fun, but they can be BUSY! the kids do not always eat, and they can be stimulated, so if you meal is a way to relax, the opposite can occur.

 

[Candycane83]

It's going to be our son's first trip too, we have 6 character meals planned- Akershus, Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey breakfast; Tusker House and Garden Grill and Minnie's Holiday Dine for dinner. I think it's fun and you don't have to wait in line for characters. The only thing I would be concerned about is if my son would not like to meet the characters or is afraid of them, I'd probably cancel the reservations after the first one. have a great trip!!

 

[Nancyg56]

It's going to be our son's first trip too, we have 6 character meals planned- Akershus, Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey breakfast; Tusker House and Garden Grill and Minnie's Holiday Dine for dinner. I think it's fun and you don't have to wait in line for characters. The only thing I would be concerned about is if my son would not like to meet the characters or is afraid of them, I'd probably cancel the reservations after the first one. have a great trip!!

You would be able to make sure characters do not approach too closely. They are really good at recognize how to help children enjoy the experience

 

[Candycane83]

You would be able to make sure characters do not approach too closely. They are really good at recognize how to help children enjoy the experience

Thanks @Nancyg56 nice to know they are very thoughtful of young kids!

OP, just wanted to add, you may consider themed restaurants too that I'm sure the kids will enjoy- like Coral Reef (mixed reviews though) or Sci Fi diner or 50s Prime Time or Biergarten we have a few of those planned too

 

[Nancyg56]

Thanks @Nancyg56 nice to know they are very thoughtful of young kids!

OP, just wanted to add, you may consider themed restaurants too that I'm sure the kids will enjoy- like Coral Reef (mixed reviews though) or Sci Fi diner or 50s Prime Time or Biergarten we have a few of those planned too

I agree. The themed restaurants are fun, but have none of the considerations parents need to worry about when they plan character meal. They can be hit or miss in terms of food quality, but I have found that many WDW restaurants are. We go in prepared to pay for the "experience" and the food is a bonus, for the most part.

 

[lennyd]

I do one a day and I make sure it's in the park that I'm in that day so I'm not wasting time jumping from park to park

 

[jennygirlmt]

That would be way too many for us. 3 hours of your day is dedicated to food, plus that's a lot to eat.

Also, between meals and fast passes you'll likely feel like you are running from one reservation to the next. I know we did. And with a 2 year old you might need more flexibility than that. And they might not last from open to close, so if you're making breakfast and dinner ressies the kids might decide it's time to be done. Our 2 year old started throwing her shoes out of the stroller every day at 5:30 to tell us she was donezo.

Also, I'm not sure how that would work credit wise but it'll add up fast after you use up all your dining credits (plus each meal will require a hefty tip.)

We usually did one sit down meal a day and even that was a lot. I enjoyed HS where we just did counter service, so much more time and flexibility! That time in December will be busy, I'd rather use the time touring the parks.

We only did crystal palace (good), be our guest lunch (no characters but our favorite), and Akershus (best experience hands down.)

Not sure about a boys desires, maybe Hollywood and Vine or Chef Mickeys.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I love character meals! We did four on an eight day trip: Crystal Palace, Akershus, Tusker House, and 1900 Park Fare. I also had H&V Minnie Dine booked, but cancelled it due to timing (and the fact that we had seen most of those characters at Tusker).

I loved them all, but 1900 PF was our favorite and such a standout. The food variety at Tusker was amazing, and the amount of face-time we had with the characters at CP was wonderful.

 

[crystalsmom1021]

When we went in October of 2015 this is what we did.
We loved the character meals. I did pre-plan everything around our park days so that we are not running back and forth.
I wouldn't do 2 sit down meals a day but that's just me

1900 Park Fair Dinner ( the best characters hands down ) Tuesday
Ohana Breakfast (DD Favorite it was also her Birthday) Thursday
Garden Grill Dinner (AWESOME Character Interaction) Friday
BOG Dinner (B&TB Moms Favorite) Saturday Only one that we paid out of pocket.
CRT Lunch Monday This was a one and done. Wish I could have gotten my 2nd dining credit back for BOG.
Crystal Palace Early Lunch Sunday
Tusker House Breakfast Wednesday ( Had the BEST server in all of WDW here)

Also this was our First Trip to WDW and Managed to Fit in so many great experiences. Hope you have a great time with your family

 

[crystalsmom1021]

When we went in October of 2015 this is what we did.
We loved the character meals. I did pre-plan everything around our park days so that we are not running back and forth.
I wouldn't do 2 sit down meals a day but that's just me

1900 Park Fair Dinner ( the best characters hands down ) Tuesday
Ohana Breakfast (DD Favorite it was also her Birthday) Thursday
Garden Grill Dinner (AWESOME Character Interaction) Friday
BOG Dinner (B&TB Moms Favorite) Saturday Only one that we paid out of pocket.
CRT Lunch Monday This was a one and done. Wish I could have gotten my 2nd dining credit back for BOG.
Crystal Palace Early Lunch Sunday
Tusker House Breakfast Wednesday( HAD THE BEST SERVER IN ALL of WDW here. Character interaction was GREAT )

Also this was our First Trip to WDW and Managed to Fit in so many great experiences. Hope you have a great tie with your family

See Tusker House Update!!!

 

[VillainFavs]

If you're thinking about character meals as a way to "get away from the craziness", you might rethink that! Chef Mickey in particular comes to mind. There's nothing quiet or relaxing about that place! But a lot of them are buffets so you're up and down, up and down. Lots of people walking in every which direction. Kids getting excited to see the characters. Characters leading parades and playing with the kids. Loud!

Not that they're not fun! But we also like to think about meal time as break time, so we look for something a little more low key.

 

[sandy77d]

On our 8 day trip in June, we did the following character meals: Garden Grill, CRT, Crystal Palace, Ohana breakfast, and Tusker House. We loved them all. I doubt I would do 2 character meals in one day, but we did enjoy them.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I'd do one character meal per day...but not more than that. Two in one day would be too much.

The character meals i absolutely love are as follows:

Cape May breakfast
Tusker House (I prefer breakfast, but lunch is quite popular here)
Crystal Palace (all meals are great)
Ohana breakfast

If your going to disney for 6 days, i would probably schedule only 5 character meals. Then again its your trip and if this is what you like, then go for it! you'll have a great time!

 

[minnie mum]

More than one a day would be way too much food for our family. And unless you are on the deluxe dining plan, would mean you were paying out of pocket for half of them. I also think it's too much stimulation for the kids. We like to have at least one of our meals in a quieter setting than the character meals provide, so everyone can relax and decompress a bit.

 

[Wsmagee]

More than one a day would be way too much food for our family. And unless you are on the deluxe dining plan, would mean you were paying out of pocket for half of them. I also think it's too much stimulation for the kids. We like to have at least one of our meals in a quieter setting than the character meals provide, so everyone can relax and decompress a bit.

I have heard the "too much food" comment a few times...so we typically eat 3 meals a day and from what I understand with the basic DDP it's a QS, TS and Snack. Is a snack a substantial enough meal? I had kind of thought that we'd do an ice cream or something in between meals as our snack. I have been thinking that we need 3 full meals. Please enlighten me!

 

[crystalsmom1021]

I have heard the "too much food" comment a few times...so we typically eat 3 meals a day and from what I understand with the basic DDP it's a QS, TS and Snack. Is a snack a substantial enough meal? I had kind of thought that we'd do an ice cream or something in between meals as our snack. I have been thinking that we need 3 full meals. Please enlighten me!

I think we paid oop for a quick breakfast. We don't eat alot in the AM so a late morning snack a QS lunch and a TS dinner worked out for us.
If you are hitting a buffet or AYCTE then you will be full for a while
as you can see some days we had a big lunch on others we might swap breakfast and dinner.
It was plenty of food for us, we even had a few snacks left over at the end of the trip