Mon and Son trip picks....

[chasenluke]

My 12 yr old and I are going on our second mom/ son trip. He never wants to stop for pics with characters so I even though we are doing QS dining I wanted to get in one breakfast and dinner.

What are best choices....
I am thinking Tuskers for Breakfast but then don't know if we should od Mickey's BBQ or another option.

We will be there Labor Day.

 

[JZCubed]

If you go to Tusker House, consider a River of Lights package to get seats for that evenings show.

Mickey's BBQ - no.

Be Our Guest for dinner - only time & place (presently) to meet The Beast. Then enjoy the fireworks into the night.

 

[mousegear]

Yay for mom and son trip. I do mom and son trip with DS13 and it will be our 4th coming up. My DS is the same way with characters so I didn't even bother to book one for last few trips. However, he requested Tusker House breakfast this trip so I booked ROL dining package at Tusker's. I think more for the food than characters but still, it's fun thing to do while eating. We've done Mickey's BBQ when DS was really young and we didn't like the food, however dancing and singing with characters were fun.

 

[lorileahb]

From a lot of the threads I've seen, Mickey's BBQ seems to be geared towards younger kids unless your son likes to dance and parade with the characters. My fifth grade son would probably disown me - lol.

If you want to meet Mickey and Pluto (and Chip and Dale) and are going to Epcot, Garden Grill is a good breakfast with characters spending time at your table - so easy to get a picture without the insanity of one of the buffets (have also heard a lot of people say they like lunch/dinner). A non-park option is O'hana for breakfast - I've heard breakfast is good and Mickey is usually there with Lilo and Stitch.

Whenever I tried to twist my older son's arm about characters, he said if he had to pick, he would pick the Beast, Donald, Stitch and/or Goofy. So, I would also consider BOG for dinner where the Beast is... I think Tusker has Donald (we've never been - we don't go to Animal Kingdom as much, but heard good things)

I have younger kids including a daughter, too - so we also do Chef Mickey's for breakfast (don't care much for food at the other meals) because you get to meet all 5 of the big characters (mickey, minnie, donald, pluto and goofy) which makes for a good classic picture and Akershus for the princesses (if we can get a PPO reservation so we can rope drop the Frozen ride - usually both Cinderella and Belle are there).

My nephew's didn't like the princesses much, but they did like Cinderella's Royal Table because they got to go inside the castle.

 

[marryfrmtx]

Not a character meal but love the antics at Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge. They have great shakes too that should appeal to a 12 year old boy. I think Tusker House is a great place for breakfast.

Lucy

 

[mdelano4]

Skip Mickey's BBQ with a 12 year old. I would do Chef Mickey's for breakfast and pick dinner based on the characters you want to see. Garden Grill is good. If you don't want to double up on Mickey, then maybe Crystal Palace for Pooh.

I like someone else's suggestion about BOG and the Beast, but we haven't ever seen him there, so I can't comment.

 

[Hopefully]

Not a character meal but love the antics at Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge. They have great shakes too that should appeal to a 12 year old boy. I think Tusker House is a great place for breakfast.

Lucy

OP specifically stated that they are on the QS dining plan but want 2 character meals for pictures. So this doesn't really work.
I think Tusker House for breakfast is good and I would do Garden Grill in Epcot for dinner.
Have Fun

 

[eastendlights]

I agree with Garden Grill and Tusker House but I would do the breakfast at Garden Grill and dinner at Tusker.

 

[StuckinPA]

I'm totally in the same boat but at this point my son won't do character meals really either. The last one we had success with was because he likes Stitch, that was breakfast at Ohana, which is delicious and served family-style.

 

[DWillowBay]

Ohana for breakfast is nice. Lilo and Stitch are unique to that site. It depends on who he likes.

 

[disneyvoice]

I went on a mom and son trip with my son when he was about that age. He loved Chef Mickey, Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. However where he ALWAYS requests to eat is at Boma - no characters but he is all about the food!