Oh my gosh are character meals expensive!!!

[jodim]

I have a 7yo girl (totally princess!) and a 5yo boy (all about Mickey) so we will have to do at least 2 character breakfasts.

My older children will more than likely want to come (for sure 12yo dd, but not sure about the teenage boys, they might just want to run around the park) ~ it will cost us $320 just for Cinderella's Royal Table - yikes!

Add in Chef Mickey's and I'm talking over $500 on 2 meals.

 

[Stephandy03]

I KNOW!! This will be our first family vacation and we have a 4 year old, so planning to do CM and Ohana's. The worst part is we are going during spring break - PEAK season for meal prices and hotels, and all discounts are blacked out. Anyone know of any discounts that are valid?

 

[jodim]

We're going the 1st week in May, and I would love to know of any discount codes available too.

 

[NotUrsula]

Odds are your older ones won't want to go to a princess meal, so give them some snack money and a cell phone and turn them loose for awhile.

We don't do character breakfasts if there is an option later in the day. If I'm paying that much for the meal, I want it to have something more in it than a bit of fruit and lot of complex carbs, so we go at lunch or dinner so that we can at least get some fish or steak for the money.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

The princess character meal in Norway (Askerhaus) is much cheaper than CRT. You still get the photo package and get to see several princesses, but it is not in the castle.

Character meals are nice, but there are other ways to meet these characters that will not cost a fortune. You can find princesses:
Jasmine in Morrocco with Aladdin. Also in Magic Kingdom near their Magic Carpet ride
Snow White in Germany with Dopey
Belle in France (sometimes with Beast)
Cinderella in the Judge's tent princess line (you get to see three princesses for the one line)
Mulan in China
Ariel in her grotto at Magic Kingdom
Sleeping Beauty (maybe in the princess line--don't know where to find her for sure)

Mickey & his friends are easy to find anywhere. The shortest lines are often in either Camp Mickey/Minnie at Animal Kingdom or in the Character Connection in Epcot.

Also: If you meet the characters elsewhere, you get a much better background in your photos (no other people dining and plates of food).

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Honestly my kids weren't real fans of the character breakfast we did at Chef Mickey's, they felt that it took way too long since we had to wait for the characters to get to us, they would have much rather spent that time in the parks. And I agree with the PP about the pictures, the ones in the parks have better backgrounds.

 

[DawnM]

We did these when they were little, but we don't do them anymore. $150 for one meal is way over the top, not to mention that the kids were so over stimulated that they ate barely anything.

Dawn

 

[ferrytale]

Check into the DDP, I don't know the cost lately b/c the last 2 times we went we lucked out and got free dining, but you can do character meals with it. That is the ONLY reason we did them b/c we definitely wouldn't pay $150 for 1 meal. CRT I believe uses up 2 of the table service credits, BUT the one in Norway and Chef Mickey's is only 1 credit which means you still get a snack and a counter service meal for the day too.

 

[babyrich]

The character meals are so expensive, maybe you can ask your older children to skip them, they might appreciate having some time away on their own. You can also split up, mom take your princess to meet the princess at a meal while dad is with your prince at Chef Mickey's.

I agree with the other posts that it isnt necessary to have a meal to meet the characters. I see the princesses all over the parks. You just need to be patient and wait on the line.

Last October we were in DHS at The Magic of Disney Animation and on the way out Mickey was posing for photos in his wizard costume! The characters from "UP" were also there, Russell, Mr. Fredrickson and Dug . We were thrilled and it didnt cost us any extra $$$$$.

 

[java]

The meals have gotten crazy expensive and they are trying to get you to do the dining plan. Now if you get the dining plan for the price of $47 in Peak season(since when do they do that by the way!) you can eat at those character meals.

I refuse to do the dining plan or the character meals as per the "holiday surcharge" which I think stinks. Basically tney charge more because they can.

Last time I did do the Crystal Palace breakfast with my 4 kids but it was a treat and $$$$. I don't know if I would do it again. For that price Pooh should walk around and babysit my kids.

Or someone buys an AP and you get a Tables in wonderland card and save 20% OFF the total bill (drinks included!)

 

[kinntj]

We did 3 character meals last time. We went to Playhouse Disney meal, Chef Mickey, and Princess meal at Askershus. The kids didn't want to eat in the castle, so that saved us. We really enjoyed each one and the kids were 4 and 6, so it was a just right age.

Next time they don't want to do character meals, so it's a one time expense.

Good luck with your decisions.

 

[2TxAgs]

If you have $320 to spend for breakfast for your family - more power to you!

That would buy us two nights at our favorite resort and I'd much rather stay another night or two than use that money for an overpriced meal.

One thing that people seem to forget - unless you tell them, your kids have no idea that there is breakfast with Cindy in the castle. They can't miss what they don't know about....

Enjoy your trip!

TxAg

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Our dds are 10 and 14 and still love character meals. It is so expensive when they are considered adults, yet still eat like kids!!! We are doing 2 meals and the rest counter service.

 

[SandrA9810]

we never did character meals unless we were on the dining plan... I'm not about to pay full price adult for some one to eat mac and cheese and mash potatoes. (she's 26 btw)
All our table service meals were at regular places that she could order off the kids menu and pay kids price.

the only time we paid full price was for the candle light package, which no matter what, was a set price. At least the bottom tier price was almost the same price as garden grill normally, and it was worth it for chrismas day. I wouldn't hve chosen a higher tier at like canada or coral reef for her to order a 10$ kids meal.

If you would still like a buffet, go to trail's end for lunch. Cheapest one on property.

If you just look at the times guide and park map, you'll be able to find all the charcters that you could at a character meal.

If you still want the meal, go for other lesser knowns, like tusker house at animal kingdom, garden grill at epcot, ohana's at poly... It might not be the fab 5 but close enough.

 

[cheap traveler]

We have done most of the in-park character meals, and while I like them, my kids aren't thrilled by them. This year it looks like we will only be getting the quick service plan free, so I will pay OOP for the princess breakfast in Epcot. I would never spend $65 plus tax and tip for a meal at home, but it will be our one big splurge this year.

 

[The Queen Bee]

Well, we love Chef Mickey's and dine there on every trip.

What we do is book the latest breakfast seating possible - usually 10:45. We have a light breakfast on that morning and by the time we are seated and eating it's almost 11:00 and we stay until about 11:30 or 11:45. It becomes our lunch.

My boys are 10 and 7. We would rather spend the money on a Character meal and have the characters come right to us, than spend time standing in line for pictures. If they are having a Character meal, my boys have no interest in getting any other photos with characters, unless we see a short line.

 

[PixiePlanner]

If your daughter likes Cinderella, try the dinner at the Grand Floridian. We did a few character meals on our trip and that was one of the best. The step sisters were a HOOT!

The princess breakfast in Norway was very nice too. However, I felt rushed.

Tusker House had Donald, Daisy, Mickey & Goofy. The food was great.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Well, we love Chef Mickey's and dine there on every trip.

What we do is book the latest breakfast seating possible - usually 10:45. We have a light breakfast on that morning and by the time we are seated and eating it's almost 11:00 and we stay until about 11:30 or 11:45. It becomes our lunch.

We are doing the same thing - eating a light breakfast in our room and then eating at CM at 10:45.

 

[Dancemom03]

DH has health issues so it's more of a challenge for us all to eat CS - especially for two weeks or more. We find a Tables in Wonderland card is a great deal for us and have had one since DDE was first offered year ago. It offers a 20% discount off TS meals, including character dining. You have to have at least one AP to get TIW and there is an annual fee but, for our family of 5+, the card usually pays for itself on the first or second meal.

I agree with PPs as well about having character meals later in the day. We try to schedule the last lunch seating when available which usually allows us to have dinner foods at lunch prices. Lunch is typically only a few dollars more than breakfast. No way will I pay top dollar to eat eggs and mickey waffles, no matter how much we love them. We get breakfast CS, or eat a pastry & juice in the concierge lounge if we're CL, and spend the $$ on lunch or dinner which offer more food and a better selection instead.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We no longer do specific character meals but that was why we first tried the dining plan. We would not go on a trip without it. Now we use the plan and have amazing dinners and a cs lunch and a snack, worth every penny (but still love free dine which we usually are lucky enough to get in Aug). We're buying it for our june./july trip!