Newbie-Which ONE character meal is a must

[dopeydiva]

I just registered, oh my goodness, ALL of you have sooooo much great info to share and I thank you!!!! We are going with our 4 yr old twin sons and Grandma is meeting us there-she is 65 and has NEVER been to WDW. I want this trip to be extra special. Hubby and I have been before and really enjoy character meals. My sons are MUCH better with the larger than life characters only recently. On a budget, but really want to do one character meal. Please give me a breakfast and a dinner suggestion. I'm more into the food, but I know the boys and grandma will be in awe with the characters foremost. Any help is appreciated. Again, much appreciation in advance.
Stay well,
AnnMarie

 

[Pumbaa_]

I moved this over to the Restaurant Board from the review board.

Do your kids have any favorite characters? Pooh and friends are always fun and it is a buffet so lots of food choices for everyone.

I would suggest lunch over dinner if you are on a budget. Lunch at Crystal Palace ahs the same characters as dinner (and breakfast) but less expensive.

Have fun planning!

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

My vote would be Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary for breakfast. They have soooo many food choices for kids and adults. If you get one of the last breakfast seatings, your meal will definitely hold you over for lunch. Cutting out one meal that day can save you $, too!

 

[disprincessjasmine]

Since you have boys, I'd pick Crystal Palace, for breakfast. The character interaction is good, and the food, especially the breakfast pizza, lasagna, and puffed french toast, all tastes great!

 

[Disneyaunt4]

Since you have boys, I'd pick Crystal Palace, for breakfast. The character interaction is good, and the food, especially the breakfast pizza, lasagna, and puffed french toast, all tastes great!

I'll second that. We love Crystal Palace for breakfast. We are doing two breakfasts there next month

 

[Ish&DrJones]

I second (third?) the CP breakfast. There were a lot of options (even for two vegetarians) and interacting with Pooh and friends was a lot of fun. We got pictures with each character, without ever having to leave the table! Of course, you can walk up to them as well, but they do come around and "talk" to everyone. And the atmosphere was pretty nice, if slightly crowded (but it's DW, that's expected).

 

[Tink3Belle]

Chef Mickeys! I also Like Crystal Palace if the kids are into Pooh!

 

[Joanna71985]

For dinner I love both LTT and CP. LTT has great food (that is brought to the table) and has all the VIP characters but Mickey. And they are dressed up really cute. For CP it is a buffet, and has the Pooh characters. I prefer the dinner over breakfast. For breakfast, I love CM.

 

[Hoopfamily]

Hollywood & Vine does a great Playhouse disney breakfast. Little Einsteins jojo etc. Last year our Daughter loved it and she asks all the time if we can eat with leo. It was great

 

[cinderella_mom]

Hollywood & Vine does a great Playhouse disney breakfast. Little Einsteins jojo etc. Last year our Daughter loved it and she asks all the time if we can eat with leo. It was great

We did late breakfast here and almost had the place to ourselves. The food was okay, but the character interaction was fun. Check out my review of the food and characters:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1551416

 

[MickeyNicki]

Breakfast, Cape May Buffet. The food is awesome, better than any other breakfast buffet in WDW. The characters are so cute in their bathing suits and if you go early the place is very quiet...the characters spend alot of time with you and talk to you by writing on the paper tablecloths.

Dinner, CP with Pooh and the gang. The food is delicious and the place is alot of fun

 

[dopeydiva]

I can't thank all of you enough for your input and expertise. I'm terribly sorry if I posted this in the wrong area. I'm still trying to navigate and figure out how to do all of this communicating via cyberspace. This is soooo incredibly awesome to have this info available. Keep the tips coming. I really appreciate it.
Stay well,
AnnMarie

 

[lovmy2girls]

Chef Mickeys is great fun and good food. But.....we have done almost all of the character meals, except LTT, and what I have noticed is that big places like Chef Mickeys, the characters are rushed becasue they have so many tables to visit.

The most fun best character interaction was at the smaller meals, like Lilo and Stitch at the Poly, Donalds Breakfastsarus in the AK....

but....all of them were fun, even Chef Mickeys, its a must do, just be prepared for characters to hug sign and run

 

[Fall1]

I'd say you have to go to Crystal Palace for breakfast. What a way to start a day at the MK! Have a great trip!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Breakfast, Cape May Buffet. The food is awesome, better than any other breakfast buffet in WDW. The characters are so cute in their bathing suits and if you go early the place is very quiet...the characters spend alot of time with you and talk to you by writing on the paper tablecloths.

I agree!

 

[septbaby]

I have not experienced either of these meals, but based on everything I've read on these boards, knowing my nephew and listening to him talk about our upcoming trip I booked 2 character meals, both breakfast:

Chef Mickey's because of the food, fun rowdy atmosphere and characters. I told my 5yo nephew that Mickey invited us to his place when we go to Disney. Grandma is also on the trip and she loves Mickey!

I recently added Playhouse Disney based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews on this board, his growing excitement about the characters, he loves to dance and the fact that by next trip he'd be too old to enjoy these characters, something to consider with your 4yo twins. During our visit in early Sept this meal is $4/$2 more than Chef Mickey's.

I have done the 1900 Park Fare princess dinner and it was wonderful. It would be fine for your boys if there was a little girl in the mix, but with two boys and a hubby I think you'd get out voted. Now if you and Grandma wanted to go...lol!

 

[snowwhite325]

The Garden Grill at Epcot gets my vote

 

[Schucraig]

The Garden Grill at Epcot gets my vote

Me too! We had a great meal and the characters came by a lot!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

For us it is definitely Crystal Palace-great food and wonderful characters! Tried Chef Mickey's twice and didnt care for the food.

 

[gabesmom]

We did Crystal Palace for lunch and our son, who was 6 then, really enjoyed the character interaction and the food was fine. But his favorite meal of our trip was the Lilo & Stitch Character Breakfast at Ohana (at the Polynesian Resort).

The characters were great!! He got up and joined the conga line with Mickey, Minnie, Lilo, Stitch and Pluto and loved the food, too. The food is served family-style, instead of in a buffet line, meaning it's brought to your table (scrambled eggs, mickey waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit) and replenished as you request it. The food, service and atmosphere were all great.

An added bonus was that we took the boat over from MK to the Poly for our late breakfast so getting there was even a new adventure. Whatever you decide, enjoy it!!