Newbie ?'s about character meals

[hanlin]

Hi all! I' ve just made my ressies and starting to dive into the details! I def want to do character meals w/my then 6 yo twin girls. There are so many pages to the tips thread, I can't possible get through it all. Gimme the skinny if you would. 1) I can start to call for reservations at 90 days prior to desired date. We go 5/6-5/11-2006. So I can call on or about 2/6/2006, right?? Early morning is best to get through? How many should I make for a 5 night stay?
I hear a lot about bad restaurants, give me some safe places that we are likely to get a decent meal (not fancy). Okay, thanks for any veteran info you all can give me to get me started.

Sandy

 

[Kae]

First chose what Charaters they would like to see. We like to do a CM on our first nite it is a great way to get in the mood with out going into the parks Try Chef Mickey's at Contempary-mickey, Donald Goofy Chip & Dale or 1900 Park Faire Grand Floridan Cinderella & Friends.
I would do 2 maybe 3

Kae

 

[JELBoggio]

Hi all! I' ve just made my ressies and starting to dive into the details! I def want to do character meals w/my then 6 yo twin girls. There are so many pages to the tips thread, I can't possible get through it all. Gimme the skinny if you would. 1) I can start to call for reservations at 90 days prior to desired date. We go 5/6-5/11-2006. So I can call on or about 2/6/2006, right?? Early morning is best to get through? How many should I make for a 5 night stay?
I hear a lot about bad restaurants, give me some safe places that we are likely to get a decent meal (not fancy). Okay, thanks for any veteran info you all can give me to get me started.

Sandy

Most important - you make your ADR's 180 days out! I just made mine today and I arrive on May 3rd. You must make yours on Monday and yes, call first thing in the AM (7 AM EST)! Especially for the character meals. I got the characters meals I wanted and times for CM and CP - I did get CRT - but not the time I wanted. I'm happy to get in, so I don't ming a later breakfast.

I know that it will be overwhelming chosing places to eat, especially only having the weekend to figure it out! It's all subjective. I am traveling with my DH, DD (6) and DS (4) and my parents. These are the meals I chose:

Hoop-Dee-Doo Review
Chef Mickey's Breakfast
Sci-Fi Dine In
Mama Melrose's
Coral Reef
Crystal Palace
Citricos (just me and DH)
Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast

I would book dinners and/or breakfasts for your entire stay. You can always change your mind. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Good Luck!

 

[liamandcaili]

When you call really depends on what you want. If you want the Cinderella breakfast, then you definitely need to call 90 days prior to the day you want at precisely 7 AM. Look at the CRT threads to get specific details about how to call...I think the first page is all you need.

For our upcoming trip, we booked the Princess Storybook Dinner at Norway. I haven't been before, so I can't give a review, but we called well after 90 days and had no problem getting the time we wanted. They also have a breakfast and lunch there, so this may be an alternative to CRT if you want Princess dining.

There are a lot of opportunities for character dining...Pooh and Friends at Crystal Palace; Mickey and Friends, numerous places, including Chef Mickeys; the Princesses at CRT, 1900 Park Faire and Norway; Alice in Wonderland at the GF...you have to decide who you would most like to see and then plan your character dining around that. As for how many to book, it really depends on you and your DDs. For us, one character dining is enough, but I know many other people do more.

 

[hanlin]

Thanks guys. This info is so helpful. wow, I need to get moving. I didn't know I could book this far in advance. Pleae tell me what meal is a char meal at Chef Mickey and who is there? def want to to CRT so I will call first thing Monday. They are not open on the weekend right? I'm thinking I want to do CRT and the pooh characters at CP and maybe Chef Mickey. Gosh, I feel so lost planning all this. i feel like I know nothing and you all are so with it! I want this to be such a great experience for my girls but i don't want to have a mental breakdown palnning it!!!!! Thanks, anything else you want to share...I'll take it!!!

Sandy

 

[iliketoby]

As far as when you want to make the reservations, most of the internet sites and (I think) the Unofficial Guide's touringplans.com have calculators that'll tell you exactly what day to make them.


The best character meal is the Crystal Palace breakfast.

The 50s prime time is a great experience (kids love to see parents getting "yelled at" by servers for not eating vegetables), but food can be iffy.

If you're in the mood for dinner and a show, the Hoop-Dee-Doo can't be beat.

 

[JELBoggio]

Thanks guys. This info is so helpful. wow, I need to get moving. I didn't know I could book this far in advance. Pleae tell me what meal is a char meal at Chef Mickey and who is there? def want to to CRT so I will call first thing Monday. They are not open on the weekend right? I'm thinking I want to do CRT and the pooh characters at CP and maybe Chef Mickey. Gosh, I feel so lost planning all this. i feel like I know nothing and you all are so with it! I want this to be such a great experience for my girls but i don't want to have a mental breakdown palnning it!!!!! Thanks, anything else you want to share...I'll take it!!!

Sandy

At CM's they do a breakfast and dinner. The Characters are Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale. I know that reservations are open on Saturday, but your 180 days puts you at Monday. It doesn't hurt to call tomorrow to double check when you can call and also (you may think I'm crazy but I was going to do my best to get my DD into CRT) write down all the prompt numbers that you will need to go thru, so when you dial Monday am, you don't need to listen to the entire prompt until you get someone.

By the way, I found out about the ADR change from 90 to 180 only 4 days before I had to call. It put me in a major panic mode - but these boards, downloading menus from allearsnet.com, and the guide books really helped. On allearsnet.com, they also have the hours posted for May, so take a look at those when you are planning your meals.

The 2 character meals you mentioned, are the 3 I booked (CM, CP and CRT). I am doing a dinner at CP and breakfasts at the other too.

I also booked "My Disney Girls Perfectly Princess Tea Party" at the Grand Floridian. You can read about it on allearsnet.com and the feedback on it from these boards has been great. The major downside is the $200 for 1 adult/1 child. I only have one girl, but with your two, it would be a small fortune!

If you think of it, PM me what you get on Monday. We may be eating at the same place at the same time. I will be there from May 3rd-9th!

 

[hanlin]

Thanks everyone for your info!
JELBoggio: I will PM you with what I get. That would be so funny if we are there at the same time. The tera Party sound beautiful but I'm sure my DH woulk have a heart attack when I told what the cost was. That may have to wait or maybe I'll get my MIL or Mom to pay for it!! LOL!! YEs, I'm taking both Mom's (God help me!) Okay one more question if anyone is reading. I know I'm really going to sound like a disney virgin now....Do I need to reserve with a credit card? How does it work? What number did you call? I've seen another thread where people are calling the main number not the dinig number. What did you all do? I've treid my best to research all this but I have no time it seems now when I need it! Ive got 3 birthday parties this weekend, 2 of which I still have to get gifts for and all I want to do is sit here and soak up all this info! Oh and how do I get my ticker to show up?
I'm such a computer loser!

 

[JELBoggio]

Thanks everyone for your info!
JELBoggio: I will PM you with what I get. That would be so funny if we are there at the same time. The tera Party sound beautiful but I'm sure my DH woulk have a heart attack when I told what the cost was. That may have to wait or maybe I'll get my MIL or Mom to pay for it!! LOL!! YEs, I'm taking both Mom's (God help me!) Okay one more question if anyone is reading. I know I'm really going to sound like a disney virgin now....Do I need to reserve with a credit card? How does it work? What number did you call? I've seen another thread where people are calling the main number not the dinig number. What did you all do? I've treid my best to research all this but I have no time it seems now when I need it! Ive got 3 birthday parties this weekend, 2 of which I still have to get gifts for and all I want to do is sit here and soak up all this info! Oh and how do I get my ticker to show up?
I'm such a computer loser!

Are you on the Dining Plan? If you are on the dining plan, you do not need to secure your reservations with a credit card. Although, I may have with Citricos or maybe it was Chef Mickey's? If you are not on the dining plan, you will need a credit card for CRT, CM and any of the shows. Someone, correct me if I am mistaken. The other places, (with the exception of a few) you do not need a credit card to make your ADR's.

Call 1-407-WDW-DINE to make these reservations. Try to enjoy the planning, you'll feel much better after you make your reservations on Monday!