Non-Buffet Character Dining?

[RGirl]

Hello! I am very new to posting here, although I have been reading and learning for a while. I made the big decision last week that I am going to go to WDW - my first time ever! I am taking my mom and my daughter (will be 3.5 by the time we go in October).

I was hoping that you all might have some recommendations for me.

My daughter loves the princesses and Minnie Mouse. We are not going to do a lot of Disney dining, but I would just love to be able to do a princess character meal and a character meal where she could meet Minnie.

The difficulty here? I know that my mom is not going to be happy about buffet dining. (And, to be fair, I'm not a huge fan myself, although I would be happy to do it if it was the best way for my kiddo to meet her favorite characters.) So are there actually any character meals that aren't buffet???? If not, I will just drag my mom to a buffet or two.

Thanks for any tips or advice you can provide!

 

[shocker]

You may have to decide if the characters you want to meet are more or less important than the food experience you're looking for. One that will grant you both is CRT (Cinderella's Royal Table-non-buffet with Cindy) but getting ADR (reservations) is difficult and you'll want to research here on the boards your strategy for getting one. O'hana is served family style, all-you-can-eat but the food is brought to the table for dipping up yourselves (no princess and I don't believe Minnie is at this one). Akershus in Epcot has princess and the last time I was there had partial buffet (appetizer/salad type items) followed by entree's brought from kitchen to table but this has undergone extreme changes from my last visit so you'll want to seek up to date info from recent visitor's.

 

[shocker]

One more thing you may want to consider about buffets, besides the obvious pros and cons is that with character dining, the characters circle around the room in an obvious pattern. With a buffet the food will wait until you are good and ready to retrieve it. If you see characters are headed your way you can hold off awhile. If the food is coming from the kitchen it doesn't always come out at the "best" time for your character experience. Just a thought.

 

[TillyMarigold]

We did Akershus for dinner (princesses), as was mentioned above it has an appetizer/salad bar (various salads, cheeses, cold seafood like lox and peel and eat shrimp), but the entree is ordered off a menu and brought by a waiter. For dessert, a tray of three desserts is brought to your table to share all of them.

We went to Cape May for Minnie, which is a breakfast buffet, but ... I PROMISE you that buffet meals at Disney aren't like buffet meals elsewhere in the real world (usually ... there are a couple I've seen complaints about). All the food is hot (or cold, as the case may be), fresh, frequently replenished, clean, and yummy. So for example, at Cape May there was one skillet (like a regular sized skillet you'd have in your kitchen) of cheese omelet on each side--when it ran out (about every 5-10 minutes, max) there was another one brought out from the kitchen. It didn't sit there getting yucky. (And we were there at about 9:30 in the morning, so it's not like it was just clean because we were there early or anything.) I like breakfast buffets; I can decide to have fruit or cereal or a bagel or a hot meal,... or even change my mind mid-meal.

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

Garden Grill in EPCOT is family-style - don't know if that helps.

I remember Mickey, Chip, and Dale. I'm sure there were more - but it was 2 years ago.

- D

 

[Hootch]

chance with the princesses than Minnie. Off the top of my head, Minnie appears at Cape May and Chef Mickey's breakfast and both are buffets. I prefer Cape May but we go to CM more often due to family tradition.

As stated above, Askerhus, for the princesses, has buffet and table service portions to the meals. CRT also has princesses and is a sit down meal. Breakfast, especially before rope drop is difficult to get. For various reasons we have always done the lunch there and it seems easier than breakfast based on what I have read here. Also, dinner is supposed to be getting four princesses and/or leading ladies starting in early February. That might lighten the demand slightly. For both locations there is one princess (always Cinderella at her Royal Table) that greets the guests and has a picture taken. Four other move amongst the tables at the meal. The characters do rotate.

 

[graceesmom]

Also, dinner is supposed to be getting four princesses and/or leading ladies starting in early February.

I hadn't heard this. Has this been confirmed? Where can I find out more information about?

 

[TDC Nala]

I hadn't heard this. Has this been confirmed? Where can I find out more information about?

http://allears.net/din/restnews.htm

 

[RGirl]

Thanks so much for the help!! I think I will try for Akershus - if I can ever get this ADR thing figured out. And we will just hope to catch Minnie in the parks!