Is a Character Meal a MUST???

I vote that you should try one!

For me, a character meal is part of the whole "Disney Experience". Being able to eat a meal and have characters come right over to your table and spend time with your family, is awesome. They'll sign autograph books and take as many pictures as you want (that has been our experience with them).

If you don't want to do a breakfast, then try a lunch or dinner! There are quite a few places to do other meals besides breakfast . We had dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern back in '04 and loved it (Thanksgiving style dinner - served family style at your table). We saw Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Chip N Dale. Loved it!

Enjoy your trip no matter what you decide about the character meal. :smickey:
 
No. They aren't a MUST. I think you will most likely have a great time without going to one. Certainly, we thoroughly enjoyed WDW for many years before they ever started them. A Disney meal is not a relaxing quiet meal, so I could certainly see how kids that are easily distracted from eating or easily over stimulated (autism) would not enjoy most of the character meals. They are not for everyone. No matter how you choose to spend your four days at WDW, you will not see everything there is to see. You will have to make choices. It might be something you want to save for your next trip to WDW.

Having said all that, we try to include one each time we go with the kids. Even the older kids seem to get a kick out of them. We usually only choose to do one.

If you want to do a meal that sort of has the flavor of a character meal, but without the characters - consider breakfast at the Whispering Canyon at WL. It's a fun meal, but you won't have to stop every five minutes for pics, it doesn't cost as much as a character meal, it is outside the parks (perfect for a last day), and you don't have to get up to get your food.
 
Just got back from 5 days at the park and didn't eat a single character breakfast. We ate cereal back at the house. I was in line with someone who went to a princess breakfast and she paid for her daughter to eat a slice of watermelon. And she said she got just as much attention in line at Toon Town as she did at the breakfast. P.S. My kids will never know the difference and we spent that money on an extra 2 days at the park.
 

Thanks so much for all your input.
As the previous poster said I dont think our kids will know the difference.
Since they have never been and arent big eatters anyway. I was figuring mickeys toon town would be the way to go to meet characters.
But will still keep all oyur tips JIK we change our minds
Thanks again
Donna
 
crisi said:
My own view is that nothing at Disney is a must for all people. I know people who have gone and never entered the main parks - too busy golfing.

Since you will be there for such a short time, if you have time on a non-park day (the evening of the day you arrive or the morning of the day you leave) you could try to fit one in then - one of the non-park meals that won't mean using a day of your hopper. Some people really enjoy Chef Mickey's on arrival day. Or Cape May on the day they leave.

I agree, but I can tell you that my family really enjoyed the characters. If three of you have not gone to one, and can fit it in, you may enjoy it very much. Your DH may also enjoy your childrens reactions if they are into the characters. Have a magical trip. :wizard:
 
kdspark said:
Thanks so much for all your input.
As the previous poster said I dont think our kids will know the difference.
Since they have never been and arent big eatters anyway. I was figuring mickeys toon town would be the way to go to meet characters.
But will still keep all oyur tips JIK we change our minds
Thanks again
Donna

If time is a consideration, don't underestimate just how much of it you might be spending waiting in line to meet those characters. I've always thought having the characters come to us while we were eating (something we would have to do anyway) was much more convenient.

I'm also kind of sentimental about our first character meal, dinner at Chef Mickey's. My kids were also 4 & 8 on their first visit. DS (the 8 yo) was too embarrassed to go up to Goofy for a picture in the waiting area, so Goofy came to him and bear hugged him almost to the floor! DD couldn't get enough of the characters from the start, her eyes lit up at the first sight of them. The real magic was the effect it had on my DH, who had sworn we were on our "once in a lifetime" trip, but was already talking of coming back by the end of the meal.

Every trip since then has started with dinner at Chef Mickey's. :mickeyjum
 
For us...they are a must. DH and I enjoy them just as much (maybe even a little more*giggles*) as our DS. Our very first character meal was during our Honeymoon. It was back in 2000 and we had received a free voucher for a character meal. We thought it was very silly at the time but hey..it was free food. So, we opted for breakfast at CP. It ended up being one of the most memorable meals of our honeymoon. The food was great and the character interaction with 2 grown adults was wonderful. NOw that we have a child we have several character meals that we make sure we attend as part of our vacation.

This is true esp if your kids have a favorite character that they just CAN'T miss. Sure..you will see lots of characters in the parks...but some of them are harder to find than others and some, once you find them, you end up waiting in HUGE lines just to see them for 2 seconds. At the meals they at least play with the kids and really interact with them and you are sitting eating a (hopefully good) meal.

What ever you decide...have a great trip!!!
 
I've been going to Disney since I was a kid, and I have always gone to a character breakfast. It is like a tradition for me. I can't wait to have children and bring them to the character breakfasts so I can see the same reaction that I see on other children there...pure enthusiasm and joy. The children are so excited when they meet the characters, especially if it is one of their favorites. The Crystal Palace is great for the little ones with the Winnie the Pooh characters, but you can check out the other restaurants (or read the discussion boards) to see which restaurant and meal have the characters that your children would enjoy. You seem deadset against the idea, but you must be somewhat open about it if you posted a message, so I would give it a try this once to see if this is an experience you would want again.
Colleen ::MickeyMo
 
My girls are 12 and 9 and we always go to at least one character meal. I would suggest to make reservations for one and see if you would like it. Pick one based on the characters that your kids like. They are a perfect age for it.
 


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