Oh No, I have to do a Character Meal.

[Mackey Mouse]

I know some of you do them as adults.. but once my children were grown, we just never did them anymore, always thought leave the reservations for those with families. Now....we have a grandson, and he is coming to WDW with his family for his visit... He is young to do this but for those who do not know me well, my husband is ill and he wants us all together there this December.....we are hoping he will be well enough for us to go and we want to make it special for our grandson who will be 19 months old. He only knows Nemo because he is on his diapers.. LOL

Any suggestions would be appreciated.....

 

[bellazachmom]

I think that your best bet would be:

1. Breakfast at Chef Mickeys (or any meal, really) on a non-park day. This place will have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip & Dale and Goofy.

2. Crystal Palace for breakfast on your MK day. Make the reservation for the first seating and you will get in to the park a bit early and have a leisurly stroll down an empty Main Street to the restaurant and a chance at some really wonderful family pictures. This is best done on a non-Early EMH day. This place has the Winnie-the-Pooh crew: Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore.

Hope you have a magical trip!

 

[hmdavid]

Crystal Palace is GREAT for little ones! It is Pooh and friends. We have also enjoyed Cape May for breakfast with Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and this is an easier ressie to get.

We will keep your family in our prayers during what I am sure is a difficult time.

 

[broberts]

What about play n dine at Hollywood and Vine? That one has the Little Einsteins and Jo Jo's Circus (and I think some others, but not sure). If I read correctly, there is singing and dancing with the characters.

 

[THE-ELLA'SMOM]

What about play n dine at Hollywood and Vine? QUOTE]

Please avoid this one, you won't regret it! We had a terrible experience there back in Nov. Garden Grill was great. Chip actually sat down and decorated a cupcake with my 3 year old.

 

[CamColt]

Sounds very magical for little Thomas!

While Chef Mickey's often gets mixed reviews, we have always had great meals there (2 dinners in the past few years and many breakfasts). Plus you know you will have Mickey there for some great photo ops.

 

[shocker]

We did character meals many times before we had kids but not because they offered characters but because they were the only restaurants offering all-you-can-eat Eventually the characters would just wave and pass on by our table, we had no camera, no kids, no autograph books, etc. etc. But, you all will have a great family memory and our pick for you would be Garden Grill in Epcot with a bit more adult flare and a little more privacy than a vast dining room offers and also has the Big Cheese.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Our favorite is CM, we can never figure out the bad reviews. We have gone 2 times every trip, (one breakfast, one dinner), and never been disapointed. Have we had better food, yes, but not at a buffet and certanly not at a buffet with Mickey Mouse. I don't think you would be disapointed.

Sorry about your husband, hope you have a wonderful trip with your family.

 

[Ariel on Land]

Eventually the characters would just wave and pass on by our table, we had no camera, no kids, no autograph books, etc. etc.

I'm going to my first ever character meal, just DH and I, and the characters BETTER NOT just pass by!!!!!!! I'd totally cry!!!!!

OP- I hope you have a wonderful time, I know it will be very special!!! I obviously don't have any suggestions, but I'm sure it will be very magical for your family!

 

[HappyCamper87]

I highly reccommend CP. It is my FAVORITE character meal and Pooh and Friends are so not threatening and the breakfast is GREAT!

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great trip.

But, I cannot stress enough how much I think CP is a must do.

Happy Planning.

 

[TruBlu]

We love Chef Mickey's. We always go for a late breakfast, then skip lunch. The character interaction has always been great, and it's hard to mess-up breakfast food.

I can also never resist buying the family picture behind the big plate. If you buy it, they give you a code to add the picture to your photopass account.

We also like Crystal Palace, but Mickey isn't there. I think you guys really need a picture with the Big Cheese.

 

[jenjersnap]

I think CP is the best option with one warning: we have found that 18 months-2 years is prime time for fear of the huge, furry, non-talking characters. Both my younger DSs freaked at that age though it wasn't their first exposure to them. So, my alternate suggestion would be breakfast at 1900 PF where you have face characters like Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins (who is, of course, wonderful with the little ones) and a Pooh character or two which lets you sample the furry ones.

 

[miss missy]

Change him to Huggies so he will know Pooh and Tigger

My GD is 11 mos. She watched WDW sign a long since BIRTH lol. My DD did and now GD does too. SHe knows Mickey, Minnie and them all from this DVD. I have video of her sitting on the floor, the DVD just starting and she starts rocking, getting excited... just hearing the beginning song-she knows. Then Mickey comes on and she is rocking across the room, arms up and down soooo excited. It is a hoot! She has a tigger stuffie and a Pooh stuffie, so she would know them well. She is a Disney nut already


I second Chef's Mickeys and CP for Pooh and friends. great places with the type of interaction you'll want.

 

[wilma-bride]

Another vote for Crystal Palace breakfast. It is a great option with little ones and an early ADR means you get the Magic Kingdom almost to yourself - great picture opportunities.

Another one which I would favour is 1900 Park Faire breakfast. DH and I did this as a couple and found we weren't inundated with characters - and the food was great.

 

[tinkandpan]

another vote here for crystal palace- of all the character meals their breakfast is the nicest foodwise. The characters are sweet, the atmospher is pretty. Do breakfast.
And seriously- whatver you do avoid play n dine like the plague unless your grandson is beyond infatutuated with the playhouse disney characters.

 

[SuzieN]

We love Crystal Palace too but I'm going to suggest dinner. They have a great selection and the food is fabulous!

 

[mally29]

Hands down Crystal Palace. We have done each 3 times, and if I were only doing 1 it would be CP for breakfast. The food is much better than at the CM, and the room/restaurant is so much nicer. CM is very dated, IMO. CM has the napkin swinging, but CP has a parade with the characters, which is a lot of fun. It's nice and bright in the CP, too...makes me want to go again.

 

[Verity Chambers]

We really liked Cape May breakfast, it wasn't as busy and frantic as other places and DD loved it!

 

[Tricia1972]

I think that your best bet would be:

1. Breakfast at Chef Mickeys (or any meal, really) on a non-park day. This place will have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip & Dale and Goofy.

2. Crystal Palace for breakfast on your MK day. Make the reservation for the first seating and you will get in to the park a bit early and have a leisurly stroll down an empty Main Street to the restaurant and a chance at some really wonderful family pictures. This is best done on a non-Early EMH day. This place has the Winnie-the-Pooh crew: Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore.

Hope you have a magical trip!

These are my votes as well.

The mostly empty Main St and the castle shot with just your family and not your family and 100 of your closest stranger friends would be priceless - especially now.

In fact, if I were in your shoes, I might try to fit both in. Both are very different unique experiences.

 

[liamsaunt]

I really like the breakfast at O'Hana. The tables are well spaced, it seems to be a little quieter than some of the other places (esp. Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace). The food is decent and the character interaction is good. I really like the tropical juice they serve there.

Best wishes to your family.