Is it Advisable to use all TS meals as Character Meals?

itsreally4mommy

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This is our first trip and we have daughters 5, and 9. I am all about the characters and sure they will be too. Do you think its wise to use all our TS meals as character meals? Is there any reason we shouldn't?

ALso, DH is unsure about us having a character meal on the night we arrive (we arrive late morn./afternoon and the morning we leave (our reserv. is at 11 and we leave late that afternoon). Do you think this will be a big deal?
 
It depends.

We prefer to go to the resturants with the best food when possible.

Our kids also tend not to eat when distracted.

We have one character meal planned out of 8 TS meals.

The rest we picked for food we like.

I would mix it up some, but that me.

OH, our DS is 7 and DD is 5
 
I think if character meals are what you want to eat then you should do that. We had six character meals scheduled our last 9 day trip, we made it to five of them. We enjoyed all of them and only skipped one because it was early in the morning and we were tired and wanted to sleep in.

It sounds like you have plenty of time for a character meal on your first night if you arrive by early afternoon. I'm not sure what time your plane leave or how you are getting back to the airport, so I'm not sure about your departing day.
 
The food tends to be....not great....at character meals. And I second the distracted, we don't FEED our kids there. In fact, you are right, its all about the characters - no one eats and we are hungry an hour later - the kids don't eat because they are so excited and DH and I don't eat much because the food is horrible. The also take a long time - sit down in general takes a long time, but character meals can be even worse. We spent an extra 20 minutes at each of ours waiting for the last character to rotate through after we were done with our food. Personally, one disadvantage to the dining plan for first timers is that I think you spend too much time eating - you can eat at home! We love to eat at Disney and do sit down every day, but we can also get everything we want to do done in half days after frequent visits.

That said, I did two of them last trip.
 

It's totally up to you. I think our family could do a character meal every day and be perfectly happy. We're never big eaters, and when we dine at WDW, our choices are often made based on the fun factor more than on the food. As others have said, some people find that they don't eat as much or as well at character meals, and if you find that to be true for your family, you might not want to do too many character meals. Think about how your family dines and what you're looking for in your WDW meals, and that should help you decide how many character meals you want to do.
 
Another thing to remember is cost effectiveness. For some, getting as much out of the dining plan is their top priority. Character breakfasts and lunches are (usually) less expensive than some of the nicer places for dinner. Some would consider using TS vouchers on a character breakfast rather than a nice dinner at Chef's de France or Le Cellier to be an inefficient use of the plan.

On the other hand, if you really want to do the characters for every single TS meal, and after crunching the numbers you will still save money on the dining plan, then go for it!
 
IMO, even with kids, I would only do one maybe two character meals a trip. I found the service and food to be mediocre at them versus the other sit down restaurants. And you can see the characters in the parks just as well. Besides, shouldn't they be a special treat? But there are some people who could do two character meals a day. So to each their own.
 
I think we have nothing but character/crazy meals for us :) The only one, Artist Point, well, that will be parents' night out :)
 
Our ADR list is as follows:
Arrival day 1: Dinner LTT
day 2: Dinner 1900 Park Fare princess:
day 3: HDDR :banana:
day 4: Fantasmic (Hollywood and Vine)
day 5: Chef Mickey's Dinner (for DS9's B-day)
day 6: Le Cellier
day 7 (last day :sad2: ): CRT breakfast :cool1:

Now as you will notice we have quite a few TS credits used. We are a family of 4 2 adults, 2 kids. We are going on the dining plan. I am watching the threads about "pooled" credits vs adult/child credits.

I would love to pay OOP for the kids at Le Cellier and H&V and maybe LTT and save the credits for use at HDDR and CRT since it will require 2 by then.

But as you can see..... character meals are us.

Kalen
 
We have a character meal scheduled every day of our 7 day trip - and there are no kids going. We aren't using our TS credits on most of them however since we will be using them for more expensive dinners.
 
i think it depends on how old the kids are. we were with our 18month old and a 9 year old. At the character meals, the baby was entertained by the characaters walking around and was nice and quiet watching and pointing at them going around to other tables. However, when dining at restaurants like lecellier, the baby was antsy and throwing food and screaming. So we definitly enjoyed our meals when it was a character meal more so! :goodvibes
 
honeymo78 said:
We have a character meal scheduled every day of our 7 day trip - and there are no kids going. We aren't using our TS credits on most of them however since we will be using them for more expensive dinners.


I think that qualifies you as a kid at heart if not by age. :wizard:
 
I am staying 7 nights, therefore I get 7 TS credits and am going to 5 character meals. If your family likes these types of meals, go for it. This is one of the best things that Disney has compared to other theme parks. I can get steak at home, but I cannot eat with Mickey here.
 
We're another family who is on the dining plan and planning multiple character meals. My husband, who is not an adventurous eater, actually prefers the character meals to most other sit-down options. Several times I asked him a sit-down vs. character meal and he just went with the character meal. At all the character meals, he's sure to find at least one thing he can/will eat. We have 7 meals planned for a 9 day trip. My kids eat fine at character meals and I don't have to worry about entertaining them while waiting for the food to arrive!
 
Having a character meal every night would be my ideal trip! However, everyone else in my family thinks they are too expensive, especially when you are serving yourself at a buffet. For my next trip (7 nights) my family limited me to 2 character meals, but I would be happy with more like 10! I say go for it!
 
I think you will have a blast at that many character meals - go for it. We did 7 in 7 days and we got so many great photos and autographs! I would also suggest Whispering Canyons at the Wilderness Lodge. My whole family loved this place -- especially my husband. Asking for Ketchup at our dinner table brings back so many great memories! Have a great trip.
 
Since you like characters and I assume don't think your youngest might be frightened by them, I say go for it. With one exception. I'd probably say have one meal at a "regular" restaurant. Pick something you really like and try that for a change of pace. Off the top of my head, California Grill at Contemporary is supposed to have good, child-friendly food. I've heard a lot of good things about Brown Derby at MGM as well. Whatever you decide, take lots of pictures! :goodvibes
 
If you like character meals, there is NO reason not to go to them! You should absolutely do what makes you happy at WDW! (Duh.) I like character breakfasts with kids and without.

I think we've done them all, except the Princess one at Akershus, and IMHO, Crystal Palace breakfast is the best! (Donald's Breakfastosaurus is worst.)

A really fun meal without characers is at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. Lunch or Dinner, doesn't matter.

Have a great trip!

:flower:
 
Its totally up to you, character meals are a blast and such fun, just be sure to bring a ton of film, lots of patience and enjoy it all!
 





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