No More Character Dining

[goofyintoronto]

Can't you get that at Boma and Ohana?

Ohana, Kona, Tusker House and (i think) Boma all have the same juice. Its YUMMY!!!!

 

[Quin]

Last year we did several character meals (no small children). We are not "picture people" and generally do not even carry a camera. Characters would come to the table, interact briefly, and move on. We had fun (1900PF dinner was the BEST) but never took pics, never stood up unless we wanted to, and never "faked" anything. If we had not been happy to see the characters and have them included in our experience we would not have gone to a character meal.

Odd post, OP.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

DH and I don't have children, but I have to book the character meals so I don't have to wait in line at the parks to see the characters (DH hates waiting). This is the only time I don't mind having my picture taken.

For our trip in January, we are going to do all of the Character breakfasts, except O'hana and CRT, and we are also planning on dinner at Garden Grill.

I guess I am just a big kid. We like the food, but I am not going for the food.

Suzanne

 

[dvcdisney]

We used to go to them all the time, and like you, I didn't like the fact that we had to stop to take photos etc. But my daughter loved them. This past vacation, we "bribed" our 6 yr old daughter into into skipping the princess character dining and she said she was fine with just getting photos done at the princess greetings. She loves to get photos with all the characters and collecting their autographs. But if the line is too long, she's fine going another time.

Finally! For the whole vacation, we dined without characters coming to the table. It was great!

And we're glad we don't have to eat at those places anymore. We didn't like the food at Garden Grill or Chef Mickey or Akershus or Cinderella's Royal Table or Crystal Palace.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We used to go to them all the time, and like you, I didn't like the fact that we had to stop to take photos etc. But my daughter loved them. This past vacation, we "bribed" our 6 yr old daughter into into skipping the princess character dining and she said she was fine with just getting photos done at the princess greetings. She loves to get photos with all the characters and collecting their autographs. But if the line is too long, she's fine going another time.

Finally! For the whole vacation, we dined without characters coming to the table. It was great!

And we're glad we don't have to eat at those places anymore. We didn't like the food at Garden Grill or Chef Mickey or Akershus or Cinderella's Royal Table or Crystal Palace.

WOW! And your child was ok with this? Not one character meal the whole trip????? Koodos to you, but I couldnt do that to my child. Even if I wasnt a fan of character meals, I would still squeeze in at least one character meal. But lucky for him, im a much even bigger kid than he is! haha.

 

[KatMark]

Its a case of different strokes for different folks. Some people love the characters and some don't. And I'm talking adults here, not just the ones with kids in tow.

DH and I have been going to WDW for many years since the kids left home, but we still generally have at least one character meal each trip. Maybe we're just into our second childhood.

DH and I are with you. We always do the Crystal Palace for breakfast...I need my puffed french toast fix and my hug from Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore.

 

[walkdmc]

LOL. This thread is making me laugh. You must be a serious foodie (takes one to recognize one

 

[DisneySarah80]

LOL. This thread is making me laugh. You must be a serious foodie (takes one to recognize one

That could be true... if the food at these places were better than the food at any non-character meal.
JMO, but character meals are way more $$ than a non-character meal, and the food, for the most part, doesn't compair.

Having said all that, we have 2 scheduled for our next trip, and I'm dissapointed that we aren't going to more! Forget the kids, I need my characters! I'll just get an apple or something after we leave....

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

Ready for this?

We have two young kids and....we aren't fans of character dining.

On our two trips we have been to-

Crystal Palace (8:05am)- best part was the empty MK
Chef Mickeys (7:30am)
Tusker House (8:05am)
Cinderella's Royal Table (Noon)

Think thats it- the food was just so so, if the kids liked the character meals we would go back in a heart beat. In fact, I kind of wish they would get into them more but from what we have experienced, the interaction is much better in the park, the pictures come out better in the park (because the backgrounds are normally much nicer than random people eating behind the character), and we feel rushed to get back to the attractions or to grab food before the characters come over, grab cameras, grab autograph books, etc.

We don't find the waits for characters to be that bad at all, though we go in off season.

I may try Cape May breakfast this time- we shall see

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Booking a character meal, then complaining about character interaction is like going swimming and complaining you got wet. But that is just me...

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

My dd (10) and I have booked several character meals. She used to be a huge character kid. I would lug around a specially made autograph book and she would have outfits. But now... I know the only way I am going to get a photo of her with any character (except for Mickey) is through a character meal -- forget any type of autograph book.

The main reason I am booking them is to be sentimental. Shes being a good sport and going along for the ride.

 

[mom2val]

.

 

[burberryplaid]

It's not for everybody....but that's why they have non character dining.

Me and DH do not have kids but we love going to at least one character meal per trip.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

I just love the character meals. The food is ok- no worse than you get on any buffet back home. It is also a big plus that there is always something dd wants to eat. The characters are the huge draw for me. I love taking pics of dd with the characters. We have 4 character meals planned for our next trip: Tusker, Crystal Palace, Akurshus & Garden Grill. I wish there were more character meals in the parks. We have gone to resorts for character meals but it is sooo much easier when they are in the park.

I'm the same way. I love the characters and the character meals. They are something that you can only do at Disney World/Land. I'm sure there are non-character restaurants with better food, but I can find plenty of those here in Virginia.

 

[DisneyFive]

I agree with a lot of what the OP points out...

Of the 8 or so table service meals last year, about 1/2 character, 1/2 non-character, the food was noticeably better at non-character meals for us. My kids loved some of the character meals (akerhaus, crystal palace), so we'll be doing those again. I do really look forward to our non character meals this year, not only for improved food quality in my opinion, but also less stress of having the kids get up, get pictures, sign autographs, etc...

Dan

 

[DVCKev]

To the OP, it's you......

 

[goofyintoronto]

I'm the same way. I love the characters and the character meals. They are something that you can only do at Disney World/Land. I'm sure there are non-character restaurants with better food, but I can find plenty of those here in Virginia.

I totally agree....I love these places for the fact that theyre unique to Disney. I certainly can't get a duplicate Crystal Palace experience anywhere else back home. But yes, I can find plenty of restaurants back home that has great food. At disney its not just about great food, its about the atmosphere and characters too. I just happen to like the food at most of the character restaurants. (only character restaurants I wasnt fond of are Chef Mickeys BF and 1900 PF dinner...bleh!)