Just venting....I think we are forcing our kids to do character meals

[MHSweb79]

My DD will be turning 19 in a couple of weeks, and she still loves character meals. Alas, she doesn't love Pooh at the Crystal Palace like she used to, but there you go. They have to grow up sometime!

 

[PHXscuba]

When DS13 found out we were going to Goofy's Kitchen (the Chef Mickey equivalent at Disneyland) he rolled his eyes a little. I reminded him this was a social activity for the big group we were traveling with, and that I would want a few groups shots for our family or with his younger siblings. I also reminded him that it meant less time waiting in line for pictures in the park!

I look at the pictures from Goofy's now and he has a big, genuine smile on his face. I didn't make him take a picture with everyone, but he really got into the spirit and had a lot more fun than I thought. The all-you-could-eat food probably helped his attitude too!

Now, as to how many character meals are too many, I'd maybe let each child pick one favorite meal. If that means you only have two or three character meals, so be it. But you can remind the others that they are there for their sibling and that they got their choice too. Or maybe someone would rather do a dinner show or something like Teppan Edo for their pick?

PHXscuba

 

[tzuhouse]

Mine haven't been into Winnie the Pooh for many many years, but we love the Crystal Palace and they always request to go there, even though they don't care about the characters. I do have a request for Chef Mickey's this time because of Pluto. My 8 year old can't get enough. If Peter Pan was at a meal, my almost 11 year old would be begging to go there.

Mary

 

[ipodluvr287]

There is a 15 yr old in our party that still loves them. I think it just depends on the kid.

 

[TiggerFamily]

The day after I made our ADR for our May trip my DS 9 siad he didn't want to do any charactor meals this trip, I was crushed but it was to late I had book 4 of them already. I'm hoping once we get there he will get into it.

 

[iwrbnd]

I think the hardest age is preteen. By the time they are older teenagers they can act silly again and have fun with it. The 10/11/12 year old age need to prove they are too old for it!

 

[iwrbnd]

Hehe.. Every time I see Mickey for the first time each visit, I swear I get teary eyed. And if I happen to catch the park opening show at the MK, I have to duck my head into my husband's shoulder otherwise people would see me cry a little. The funny thing is that type of thing ONLY happens at WDW. I have no idea why, it just does.

Me too! And I'm not an emotional girl either!

 

[everythingALICE]

I'm 22 now and I love character meals.
Even if your older kids aren't as excited about it anymore, I certainly wouldn't worry about them not enjoying themselves - I mean, they're there to eat!

 

[Kurby]

i don't know how long you are going for but this might be worth a try.

we had a motor home when i was growing up and my parents always made it one day for them one for us

meaning where ever we went then chose things they were interested in then we picked for the next day - that included what we ate for dinners too.

maybe instead of you planning everything out ask them what they would like.

if your going for say 6 days let them come to an agreement for 3 dinners and 3 breakfasts.

don't forget it's their holiday too and if they are just going to hate it at cinderella's breakfast why force it.

it might be a way to try new restaurants too - instead of going to the same fav's that you've gone to for years.

 

[webcreatrix]

We've only taken our two little ones once, last year when they were 4 & 6. My daughter is now 7 and she couldn't care less about another character meal. We did CM, CRT and PF on our trip last summer. When I asked which character meal she wanted this summer, her only care is to have strawberry soup at 1900 PF. Otherwise she doesn't care. "You don't want a princess meal???". "Mom, I don't care what kind of meal I have". Now, my 4 year old son will tell me, "I want to eat them all!". So, it probably just depends on the personality of the kid. My daughter cares much more about roller coasters than princesses! She actually only wants to go to T-Rex or Ohana. And have the strawberry soup!

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I didn't schedule the Character Meals for the kids, I did it for me! They are just along for the ride.

 

[Pixiedust34]

My 13 year old ds is happy at the all-you-can-eat buffets, which are sometimes character meals. He's into the food, not the characters. He's very much looking forward to Tusker House and 1900 Park Fare on our next trip simply because he likes the buffets.

My kids also know what a Disney freak I am and that the character meals we do now are more for me than for them.

 

[Shmily1]

Well, DS20 and DD18 haven't outgrown it yet. Two years ago when they were way too cool for character meals, they were so disgusted when I told them what I had planned--three character meals in one week! (insert eye roll from the teens!) I drag them to the first one, CMC breakfast, and DS is hanging out with Goofy! DD loved it so much she wanted to know could we do it again every morning for the rest of the week!! I made her another reservation for later in the week since she loved it so much. It got to be a ritual that every morning they got up and asked what characters they would see at their meals that day! The second one was CP for dinner. They might not have liked the food a whole lot, but cutting up with Tigger was worth the money! By the time the third and fourth (the added CMC breakfast) meals rolled around, they were stalking the characters!!

 

[HunnyJar]

I didn't schedule the Character Meals for the kids, I did it for me! They are just along for the ride.

Ha! I hear that!

 

[PrincessPiperMommy]

I didn't schedule the Character Meals for the kids, I did it for me! They are just along for the ride.

Love this and so true!!!!!

 

[Planogirl]

I think that it depends a lot on the kid. DS was never much into character meals so I always only planned a few. I personally like them OK but they do take some serious time!