Must eat places with toddlers

[Atrain13]

We are doing the normal dining plan (1 quick service 1 table) and I'm wondering what are the "have to eat places" for little ones. Chef Mickey, Turner House, Crystal palace, and Beirgarten are the places that we have planned. Are there any others? I know the royal castle is a must but sadly isn't possible at this time.

What are some good quick service places to hit up as well? You never hear about those so I'm not as informed about what are some good places at each park.

 

[got15]

All those are great- our toddlers loved all character meals. I would also check out Garden Grill in Epcot (they serve the food family style) so you are not running to a buffet back and forth and the characters have always spent some quality time with our kids. Additional bonus, since the restaurant is circular- if you are sitting low- you never see the characters coming and you are able to eat without distractions- and the characters are a surprise. The other one our kids have enjoyed is whispering canyon at the wilderness lodge- they played games and have stick pony races and running around during dinner time was always a hit.

 

[Marissa227]

There aren't many good reviews on here, but every single one of my friends that has taken their young kids to Disney recently said Hollywood & Vine was great. The Disney Jr. Characters are at breakfast and lunch, and then you have 5 of the classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, etc.) at Dinner. We're doing CRT and BOG (and possibly Akershus) because my 4 year old son is really into castles, and my 2 year old son is in awe of Cinderella which is just too cute. Then we're probably going to pick 2 out of Chef Mickey's, Garden Grill, H&V Dinner, and Tusker House. I'm waiting to finalize plans until they put out the Galactic Spectacular schedule and *hopefully* announce Rivers of Light.

 

[Mickeycrocs]

There aren't many good reviews on here, but every single one of my friends that has taken their young kids to Disney recently said Hollywood & Vine was great. The Disney Jr. Characters are at breakfast and lunch, and then you have 5 of the classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, etc.) at Dinner. We're doing CRT and BOG (and possibly Akershus) because my 4 year old son is really into castles, and my 2 year old son is in awe of Cinderella which is just too cute. Then we're probably going to pick 2 out of Chef Mickey's, Garden Grill, H&V Dinner, and Tusker House. I'm waiting to finalize plans until they put out the Galactic Spectacular schedule and *hopefully* announce Rivers of Light.

We were there in September and I felt the characters rushed took a picture and walked away. Whereas at other restaurants like chef mickeys and tusker house the characters came over with open arms and took time with my toddler.

 

[Mickeycrocs]

Also I vote ohanas for breakfast with lilo stitch Pluto and Mickey.

 

[Mo18moses]

I won't be staying on property. So I'm really interested in where the best quick-service meals are in Magic Kingdom for my two and four year old. All Character Breakfast were booked because I had to reschedule due to the hurricane,so I'm just making alternate plans now any help would be great.

 

[Atrain13]

Hopefully since we're going in January, it won't be as busy and the characters won't be as rushed..........that's my hope.
Also, last time the wife and I went there, O'hanas was a really bad experience for us. We waited for about 45 minutes even with our ADR simply because they forgot about us. It was decent food, but that was a very sour way to start our day.

What about quick service places? What are some that stand out?

 

[Marissa227]

We were there in September and I felt the characters rushed took a picture and walked away. Whereas at other restaurants like chef mickeys and tusker house the characters came over with open arms and took time with my toddler.

Well that is good to know because HS doesn't really fit into our schedule very well and I kind of want to skip it.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Just got back with our toddler! We had free dining so did 3 character meals - Chef Mickeys (dinner), Garden Grill (dinner), and Crystal Palace (lunch). We enjoyed all of them, but Crystal Palace lunch was our unanimous favorite for overall experience. I didn't have any complaints about Chef Mickeys, but I went in with very low expectations. My biggest tip is to try for the earliest seating of the meal so that the restaurant isn't crowded, and the buffet is fresh. I think our enjoyment of Chef Mickey's had to do with our 5:20 reservation - the restaurant was almost empty at that point, the characters made it to us quickly, and the buffet/eating areas were very clean. We also had the earliest lunch seating at Crystal Palace - 11:30, and we were literally the first people to eat from the lunch buffet.

As far as quick service, my #1 recommendation would be Be Our Guest because you can pre-order and go directly to your table - invaluable with a hot/hungry toddler. We also did La Cantina in Mexico which my son liked, maybe bc he could watch the birds? He also liked their kids meal of chicken tenders, nacho chips, and grapes. He LOVED the churros, which we were forced to order bc of the dining plan. It was a good place to go time-wise because we were done with what we wanted to do in Future World by 11, and Mexico was a quick walk from Figment.

Have fun!! I know the character meals get a lot of flack on here, but my group of 5 adults and 1 2 year old had a great time at all three that we did. On a past trip we did an 11:30 'Ohana "breakfast" on our arrival day, and that was really fun as well. I wouldn't hesitate to go back there.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

Akershus has lots of princesses in a Norwegian take on a castle if you can't get Cinderella.
Interesting food for grown ups too.
My kids also really liked the ABC commissary QS. I am not exactly sure why, but they were so jazzed to eat there.
Sunshine Seasons in Epcot is also a favorite and they have a lot of great options for everyone. My daughter devoured mac and cheese there.

 

[JonesFamilyTravels]

I would suggest Hollywood & Vine for the Disney Junior breakfast or lunch. This is so much fun for toddlers.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Our three year old loved all of the character meals we went too, especially the ones with Mickey or Pooh.

 

[eastendlights]

Cap May Café in the Beach Club has a really great character breakfast-Minnie's Beach Bash. The food is some of the best breakfast buffet food we have had in WDW and it is quite a bit calmer than the usual chaos at 'Ohana and Crystal Palace. They have a made to order crepe station that is outstanding. Also, it is a five minute walk to Epcot from the Beach Club when you are done.

 

[Atrain13]

Those sound like some good ideas I haven't thought of. Thank you!

 

[Nancyg56]

I like Crystal Palace, Garden Grill with Chip and Dale, 'Ohana with LILO and Stitch and any one of the traditional character meals. You know your toddler, so CHef Mickey is a great way to start, but it is loud and kind of chaotic. Tusker House is not as rowdy, abd the food and characters are really good. Cape May is less stressful than either of the two.

If you want Princesses, I like Akershus for breakfast.

We also enjoy 1900 PF for breakfast. I like dinner but with a toddler I would not bother.

I won't be staying on property. So I'm really interested in where the best quick-service meals are in Magic Kingdom for my two and four year old. All Character Breakfast were booked because I had to reschedule due to the hurricane,so I'm just making alternate plans now any help would be great.

 

[Disney Mom 7272]

My kids aren't toddlers anymore but some of their favorites are: (they are 7&9)
Hollywood and vine
Cape may breakfast
Chef Mickey breakfast
Tusker house breakfast
Akershus breakfast
Ohana breakfast

Just depends on their favorite character but I would definetly do character meals with toddlers. You get to see characters without standing in long lines at the parks!!