Ohana dinner for toddler's first character interaction?

[Maestra99]

Howdy! Planning my son's first trip to WDW in October; he will be 14.5 months. We're thinking we will drive down on a Saturday and have dinner at a resort somewhere, then hit MK for RD early the next morning.

I've never been to Ohana, so if we're able to get an ADR for dinner Saturday evening, we are thinking that might be a fun way to kick off the trip!

My question is: do you think it would be a good first character interaction for a child that young? Is it just Lilo & Stitch for dinner? I know it depends on the child, but I've never been to any character meals, so I just don't know what the interaction and atmosphere are like. Our other option is waiting to meet characters at the parks the next day, then doing other character meals after that.

TIA!

 

[Aristocath]

'Ohana dinner is not a character meal, breakfast is. We do enjoy dinner at 'Ohana though. Have a great trip.

 

[DEA]

Lilo and Stitch are only at 'Ohana breakfast. Dinner has no characters.

 

[katieam1]

Howdy! Planning my son's first trip to WDW in October; he will be 14.5 months. We're thinking we will drive down on a Saturday and have dinner at a resort somewhere, then hit MK for RD early the next morning.

I've never been to Ohana, so if we're able to get an ADR for dinner Saturday evening, we are thinking that might be a fun way to kick off the trip!

My question is: do you think it would be a good first character interaction for a child that young? Is it just Lilo & Stitch for dinner? I know it depends on the child, but I've never been to any character meals, so I just don't know what the interaction and atmosphere are like. Our other option is waiting to meet characters at the parks the next day, then doing other character meals after that.

TIA!

Ohana is not a character meal at dinner only breakfast. It is still a great meal but not a spot to eat if you are hoping for characters.. If you want characters I would recommend Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare at GF outside a park. My kids were very young when we first started taking them to WDW. We have never had a problem with character interactions with them as long as they know the character and like them, I think that depends on the child.

 

[KristyBDJ]

O'Hana is only a character meal at breakfast, dinner is regular family style. If you want a character meal the night you get in there are other options. If you aren't going to be in the parks Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary would be a fun option. We love it there and have had many of our kids there as toddlers. It really does depend on the kids but the characters are used to reactions of all kinds and are very good around the kids. They know when to back off if needed. You aren't going to know how your little guy reacts until you try. FYI: Chef Mickey's is buffet style if that affects your decision at all. There are other character dinner options but many are in the parks. Anyway, hope that helped some.

 

[Maestra99]

Oh, no characters at dinner! Wow, how did I miss that?! Thanks for setting me straight! Good to know. Well that might be better anyway - we will still try for Ohana because I've heard such great things about it, and I love going to the Poly, but won't have to worry about characters until the park the next day. That way if DS is scared of them, we can walk away instead of being stuck in the restaurant with them.

Thank you!

 

[Maestra99]

O'Hana is only a character meal at breakfast, dinner is regular family style. If you want a character meal the night you get in there are other options. If you aren't going to be in the parks Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary would be a fun option. We love it there and have had many of our kids there as toddlers. It really does depend on the kids but the characters are used to reactions of all kinds and are very good around the kids. They know when to back off if needed. You aren't going to know how your little guy reacts until you try. FYI: Chef Mickey's is buffet style if that affects your decision at all. There are other character dinner options but many are in the parks. Anyway, hope that helped some.

Thanks for the tip KristyBDJ! That's a good point about the characters being used to reactions and knowing how to gauge how much interaction the kid can handle. Maybe DS could watch them from a distance while we eat if he needs to "warm up" to them. Perhaps I should contemplate doing a character meal vs. Ohana that night a bit longer! It's crazy how hard these decisions can become!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Another thought on a character meal ... if you do plan on doing anything in the parks ... I've found that younger kids and infants respond really well to Pooh & Friends and Mickey & Friends. If you don't do Chef Mickey's (or have space on your schedule) and plan on going into the parks to dine... Crystal Palace might be a good choice. i.e. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore are really good for little ones IMO (and grown ups like me too ). Just for whatever reason- they don't seem to be as intimidating for really young children.

 

[Maestra99]

Thank you for the tip, TiggerTrigger! We are hoping to do CP for breakfast one day so it's good to know that little ones tend to do well with those characters! I can't wait to see my DS's reaction to them!!