Must do dinning for family of five with little kids???? Help please?

[Cmbar]

Hi I am helping plan a trip for a family that has three children. Two boys (4 and 6) and one Girl (2). They don't want to do the Cinderella castle, but other than that what Character meals should be a must do for this family. This is their first trip to Disney and they have the DDP. Any suggestions??
Thanks!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

My family likes Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. I have also read great reviews for 'Ohana with Lilo and Stitch. (We are trying it in July). And Chef Mickey's seems to be a popular choice.

 

[Alztybrn]

I agree...if you do Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's, you will have seen the "major" characters in two meals. Plus the food is fantastic at both!

 

[Cmbar]

I was definitely thinking of those, but I thought there were some new character meals out there. Any geared towards boys? My kids are really past this stage so I am not sure what is new out there. They don't travel until November 11th and I thought I saw something new in Animal Kingdom.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

You have a lot of choices. My top picks for a family with young children are:

Liberty Tree Tavern
Chef Mickeys
Ohana Breakfast
Sci-Fi
Crystal Palace
Coral Reef

Have fun planning!

 

[Christine]

Personally, I like the Cape May Breakfast Buffet over at the Beach Club Resort. The resort is lovely and the breakfast here is not so "wild" as Chef Mickey's. Of course, Mickey is not at this buffet but Goofy (in beach attire) is the "star" here (and we prefer him!!).

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

we love LTT. The food is wonderful and the characters are great as well. They will interact with your kids and get pictures as well as sign the autograph books. We were there 2 wks ago and saw: minnie, goofy, pluto, chip, and dale. We did not see mickey but we went to epcots character connection and got a pic with him there. My brother and I are 20 and 22 and love LTT but loved Chef Mickeys as kids.

 

[LadyZolt]

I also vote for Cape May Cafe with Goofy for breakfast, especially with boys. Goofy has always been the most-loved Disney character of my sons and I think your boy guests will really enjoy him. It's at the Beach Club, so you can easily take the boat to MGM Studios from there (you could walk, too) or walk to the International Gateway at EPCOT.

There are lots of choices, though, and I'm sure whatever you decide, the kids will have a magical time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[Wingedheart]

Crystal Palace is great atmosphere, very open, great food choices for all ages. Pooh characters come to you table and parade around with kids.

Chef Mickey's is fun at the Contemporary, too!

 

[numberonenole]

Robyn,
Can you please tell me why Sci-fi is good for little kids? My husband wanted to eat there but I thought we wouldn't get to sit in the cars and would have to sit at a table where we wouldn't really see anything or get the experience. Am I missing something? If so we will eat there for sure! Thanks!

 

[budbeerlady]

We loved the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the Poly: It was Stitch, Lilo, Mickey and Pluto. The food is served family style so no getting up and navigating the buffet with kids! It was good and we had mickey waffles which is always a plus!

The Princess breakfast in Norway is the princesses with Bell in the foyer for pictures. They have a cold buffet with pasteries, etc. The rest of the food is served family style at your table.

1900 Park Fare dinner was Cinderella, the mice, prince charming with the fairy godmother in the foyer. It is a buffet with LOTS of choices, we do this one every year.

LTT was an off night for us, again it is served family style. Salad, rolls with butter, ham, turkey, mac and cheese, potatoes, gravy. We saw Goofy, Minnie (so fast good thing we had a pic b/c DD didnt even remember meeting MInnie!) Pluto and maybe Mickey? (trying to remember that far back!) Maybe Chip and Dale were also here?

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Robyn,
Can you please tell me why Sci-fi is good for little kids? My husband wanted to eat there but I thought we wouldn't get to sit in the cars and would have to sit at a table where we wouldn't really see anything or get the experience. Am I missing something? If so we will eat there for sure! Thanks!

if u have the DDP you are put in a car, or at least that is how it was for us 2 wks ago. We went to check-in and they pulled out a sheet and we got a choice of car since we were on the DDP so maybe they place walk-ins at the tables in the back?? We've been going there since 1992 ( i was 7) and go every year. This past trip we went for dinner and all agreed lunch was much better so we'll switch back for lunch next time, but the atmosphere is unlike other restaurants for kids its "cool" to sit in a car at a drive-in ( just like when you go to coral reef and eat with the fish) and the milkshakes are to die for and you can get them as ur drink on the DDP. For lunch we always got wonderful sandwiches and burgers too and the desserts are equally as good as the meal. Sorry to push in but that was just our experiences there!!

 

[Tam1067]

My kids really like Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's. We always do dinner and not breakfast because I prefer to use the valuable morning hours for park touring and not for eating.

We like the food at both for the most part. It's also great for the kids to see the Pooh characters and Mickey and his pals, too.

LTT is more limited in its options for food, which is why we don't go there.

 

[Cmbar]

I also vote for Cape May Cafe with Goofy for breakfast, especially with boys. Goofy has always been the most-loved Disney character of my sons and I think your boy guests will really enjoy him. It's at the Beach Club, so you can easily take the boat to MGM Studios from there (you could walk, too) or walk to the International Gateway at EPCOT.

There are lots of choices, though, and I'm sure whatever you decide, the kids will have a magical time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

Oh this is perfect! They are staying at the BWV and the mom is a GOOFY fan big time. She has been collecting Goofy's since she was a child. I have never been to this buffet so I didn't realize it was with characters. I think they will love this. They are not a morning family and prefer to stay out late at night and sleep in so a mid morning breafast should work great for them. Thank you so much for this tip!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Robyn,
Can you please tell me why Sci-fi is good for little kids? My husband wanted to eat there but I thought we wouldn't get to sit in the cars and would have to sit at a table where we wouldn't really see anything or get the experience. Am I missing something? If so we will eat there for sure! Thanks!

You can definitely sit in the cars. We've always done it, even when the kids were younger. I would sit with two of the kids and DH would take the other one. My kids definitely make Sci-Fi a "must do" every trip. They love the whole drive-in movie theme and they have great burgers and shakes!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

We are a family of 5 with kids the same ages as yours. We loved LTT because it's all you can eat like a buffet, BUT they bring the food to you family style. We hate doing buffets with 3 small kids. Just seems like a lot of running back and forth getting everyone's food before you can eat and then you might miss your child with a character.

At LTT, you don't have to worry about that and the charater interaction was wonderful! Goofey, Minnie, Pluto and Chip and Dale were all very playful with the kids and a couple of them came around twice. They spent a lot of time with the kids and posed for many pictures. They llok so cute in those colonial outfits.

We also enjoyed 'Ohana for dinner very much too. It's family style also and the food is great! The kids get to shake maracas, learn to hula and have coconut races around the restaraunt. Very fun!

We sat in a car at Sci Fi. We put our 2 older ones in front of us and then we sat with our 2 year old in between us. It was a neat place but not something we'll do again for a while. But you should try it at some point.

 

[bellelab]

Another suggestion is the Playhouse Disney breakfast/lunch at MGM. Do the kids like the shows on Playhouse Disney? The characters as of now at the meal are Jojo, Goliath, June and Leo. We took our 2.5 yo there last month and she absolutely loved it. They have dance parties about every 15 min.

 

[AStamm]

While I'm not a big fan of the food, Chef Mickey's is the place to go on your 1st WDW trip. Nothing beats the high energy of the place, with all the napkin twirling. Seeing the monorail driving overhead is really cool as well and your kids will get a kick out of it.

 

[ElizabethB]

We like the Mickey Farmer meal at The Land at The Garden Grill. The character interaction was very good, and the meal somewhat more edible than some of the other character meals we've tried. It's also not as frantic and frenetic as Chef Mickey's.

Our boys also enjoy the Lilo & Stitch breakfast at 'Ohana. Again, the character interaction is great and the food good -- especially since they serve fresh pineapple and other fresh fruits. Mickey leads a parade around the restaurant with the kids following, which is very cute. (We do not care for dinner at 'Ohana though.)