Last seating for char meals - good/bad?

[jayhjay]

Has anyone experienced the last (or at least late) seatings for character meals? I am wondering if the characters start to get burned out by the end of a long meal and if they are in a hurry to get you out of there.

We are planning a late breakfast at Chef Mickeys on our "rest day" so we would like to make it as late as possible to make it more like brunch and to give us less rush in the am. BUt I want to be sure this won't result in a more rushed or unsatisfying character experience fo rmy kids. They are small so it is not like they will sleep late anyway. So if going earlier is better, I'd prefer that than having a bad time at the meal.

Anyone have any experience in this area? Thanks! JJ

 

[Dizneydaz]

We've had several late character meals and here's how it went for us.

We had late dinners twice at Park Faire 1900-last seating. I liked it. I've heard the room can get quite noisy and both times we've been there it has been great. As far as the characters went we only saw the main ones (Cindy and Prince) one time each. However, the mice (Suzy and Perla) came around several times. You didn't ask about the food, but at PF they replenished the food right up until we left, and last time we were the last to leave.

In Jan. 05 we had late seating at Liberty Tree Tavern. Again, we liked it. This time the characters came around so many times it got to be funny. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale made many appearances while we ate. Here the food is served, so replenishing (like a buffet) didn't apply.

We also had a late lunch at Storybook Princess in Norway Sept. 05 (DD 6th birthday) and what was funny was they were actually waiting for us at the podium even though we were 15-20 minutes early. Turns out we were the last ones on the list. It was nice since the room wasn't so crowded with all the little princesses vying for the big princesses attention However, at SP the princesses only come around once, so the interaction was the same.

We like dining at odd times with the characters. I don't like feeling rushed, or crowded in. I can't speak for CM but I'm sure someone else can.

Have a great time!

 

[pennyplanner]

We did the last seating at 1900 Park Faire for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. The food was hot, plentiful and delicious! The characters visited with us but did not linger after the room emptied out. No complaints here!

--penny

 

[lucky978]

The last time we ate at Chef Mickey's (breakfast) it was almost a brunch for us. I think we went around 10:30-10:50 am or close to that. We basically had all the characters to ourselves. It was, by far, the best character meal we've ever had.

I always recommend it if you can fit it into your schedule.

 

[MinMouse]

IMO you have the best reservation possible. My DM and I took my DDs while DH and DF took a behind the scenes tour at MK they had been wanting to do for a long time. We decided we'd do something special with the girls that morning. We slept in and went over to Chef Mickey's for the last seating. THe characters are so attentive then. Mickey danced with my mom (much to Minnie's dismay) and my girls were just so excited to see Mickey dancing with GM. This went on for 10 minutes or so. It was wonderful. Have a great time!

 

[aubriee]

Last Sept we had a late dinner at Chef Mickey's and it was the best character meal we had all week. The buffet was not crowded, but was kept well stocked. The characters spent alot of time cutting up with everyone young and old. We'd been to Chef Mickey's before, but the characters never spent that much time just goofing around. It was one of the few times we've been able to get pictures of multiple characters together. At different times both Goofy and Chip sat down at our table and visited. Emtpy tables were everywhere, so the characters didn't have much to do. Even Donald came into the room and visited, since no one was outside waiting to be seated.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We had one of the last seatings for breakfast at Crystal Palace and towards the end we had the characters almost to ourselves. We loved being able to play with Pooh and friends all at the same time. If our schedules allow, we try to get the last seatings because of this.

 

[goofy4tink]

I love getting the latest lunch or breakfast seatings. I have always found the food is still good and hot, they haven't run out of anything and not replaced it. The characters have been terrific. At CP, Tigger just wouldn't leave us alone!!! We were among the last to be eating and Tigger didn't have a lot to focus on....and that makes for a very bouncy Tigger!!!

 

[Luv4Mickey]

We were with a large group of 16 (9 kids) in Feb. at about closing time for Chef Mickey's. It was the best time we have ever had! My family has eaten there a few dozen times, but for everyone else it was their first time. The characters were literally chasing the kids around the whole room! Everyone has said that when we go back next Feb. (competition every year that time) that CM is a MUST DO!

 

[jpolak]

We always do a later seating for breakfast, especially in the parks. We grab a quick bite before we leave the room and hit the parks. That way we can take advantage of the light crowds at opening. Then around 10:30 we stop for "brunch" We relax and take our time knowing we did what we wanted before we ate. Plus the later meal holds us longer and we usually skip lunch.

 

[traviesojmt]

We always do a later seating for breakfast, especially in the parks. We grab a quick bite before we leave the room and hit the parks. That way we can take advantage of the light crowds at opening. Then around 10:30 we stop for "brunch" We relax and take our time knowing we did what we wanted before we ate. Plus the later meal holds us longer and we usually skip lunch.

Exactly how we always plan it too. I always request the latest ADR possible for a Character breakfast. We treat it like "brunch" too. I have never felt that the food was any less up to standard because we were the last ones there. We usually have a snack in the afternoon and then holdout until dinner.

 

[DisneyMim]

When my kids were little we always did this. In fact it was one of our best kept secrets!! I can't comment on how it is now because my kids are older and we don't do many character meals anymore and even when we do we really don't have much interaction with the characters. Also they are tons more people in the parks and in the restaurants than years ago so maybe now the characters get burned out, BUT years ago it was awesome!! My kids spent soooo much time with all the characters. At the end of the night there were never many people around so the characters would just stay at our table. A lot of them got to know us. I would love it when they would all get together for a picture. I always made a point of thanking them and asking them how they felt after so much work that day! I think they appreciated this as a lot of them would write stuff in my kids auto books about how kind and nice my kids were to them. I hope that this is still the case for you with your kids and I wish that everyone could have the same magic that my kids had way back when.

ENJOY!!

 

[Fishy&2guppies]

We have had the earliest seating at Chef Mickeys, the characters came around about 4 times, not very many people were there. We also had the earliest seating at 1900 PF, there were only 3 families there and we were all seated very close together, so the characters stayed right in that section the whole time. Alice was with us so much that we ran out of things to say to her. The characters took our 2 DD's and the other two families children and played hide and seek with them to help pass the time. We have also had the latest dinner seating at 1900 PF also. Cinderella came by once, but Prince Charming and the two mice came by a lot. There was one thing, Cinderella finally came by our table and briefly stopped to talk to my DD. Then moved on to the next table and sat down and was quietly having a conversation with the couple sitting there. They were friends of hers and they were talking about what they were going to do later that evening when she was done with work. I was kind of upset because I didn't want my DD to hear her being out of character, and I also knew that she could have spent a few more minutes with my DD instead of rushing over to her friends and finalizing her plans for the evening. At this point there were only 4 tables of families there and she could have come around again. After she talked to her friends, she just left, and no one saw her again

 

[Tiggeroo]

We often book late breakfasts. This way we skip lunch and go right to dinner. We never had a problem with items being low on the buffetts or with characters. We had alot of character time. The place wasn't crowded but we were never the only people there.

 

[mathmagic]

Not to throw in a negative vibe, but we had a very different experience. We had the last seating for 1900 PF and after each character came around once they all disappeared. It's fun to watch them hang out at other tables after they have been to yours, so you feel like you get a longer experience with the characters, but we didn't get that. In fact, it was like we weren't having a character meal at all. So I guess it just depends on your luck if the characters stick around or not.

 

[kcashner]

We love doing the late meals. The place is clearing out, and the characters really play. We've had Goofy draw pictures with DD (at Cape May), characters take DD's hand and pull her up to dance with them (Chef Mickey's and the OLD Hollywood and Vine). We find that the characters are less rushed as the restaurant is less full, and it adds up to a truly wonderful experience.

The food is kept hot and full until the very end.

 

[twinsmamma]

We ate at Chef mickey's for dinner at the last seating in december, when we got there the rest was still pretty full, but food was plentifula nd hot. the characters came around so many times it was crazy. by aobut half way through our meal the rest was pracktically empty and the characters were playing games on theose who were left and my kids both 12 had a great time.
donald kept on coming up behind me and scaring me the kids thought that this was the funniest thing they had ever saw.
When we were leaving chip and dale and goofy were near the front. Goofy stopped my son and motioned to him to get chip and he would get dale. i must add that goofy is my son's absolute favorite. All of a sudden a tickle fight breaks out between chip dale goofy and my son. it was wonderful, it made my son's trip and he made me book chef mickeys again for out trip this summer.
also had late breakfast at 1900 and the character interaction was great as well as the food hot and fresh until we left.

 

[tictoc]

I have done both the first and last seatings at Chef Mickeys, Liberty Tree Tavern, Cape May Cafe, O'Hanas and 1900 Park Fair. I always make the last seating when available. There are fewer people and the characters are always very interactive. At LTT they came by and danced with us and Goofy played cards with my kids. At CM and LTT we were able to get photos with all of the characters together. We had similar experiences at the others. The one place we had a hurried character was the 1900 Park Fair breakfast. It was Mary Poppins, but the next time we went back she was great and spent a lot of time with my termper tantrum throwing daughter.

 

[Suzanne74]

We always do late breakfasts. None of us are hungry first thing in the morning. I don't see who can wake up and eat a buffet full of food at 8am We always get the 10:25am seating and either sleep in some or preferably go to the parks first thing and work up an appetite and then skip lunch. We have had great luck at CM at last breakfast and dinner. I say go and enjoy.