Only one character meal.....when and where?

[bellelab]

We will be on the free QSDP, however, we want to have one character meal so will be paying OOP. This is our first trip back in 3 years, other than a quick Disneyland trip last year, and we want it to be special. We'll be driving through the night from Indiana and plan on arriving early on Sat. morning. We don't have any plans for that Sat. other than hanging out at the resort swimming and resting, and going to DTD probably. Here are my thoughts:

1) do a character meal that Sat. night for dinner at Chef Mickey's.

2) do a character breakfast at 'Ohana Sun. morning (our first park day at MK)

3) do a character breakfast on our departure day, maybe Cape May or 'Ohana (no parks that day).

I'm leaning toward #2. DD the characters and I think she would go wild to see Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch first thing. Of course, that goes for #1 as well but I'm afraid with driving through the night we will be exhausted? Never driven through the night before though! We usually fly everywhere but we're on a tight budget. I do think it would be nice to have something to leave by on our last day too, hence choice #3. If we didn't do #1 or #2 I would want to be there at rope drop to see the opening show at MK. Let me just add that DS hates characters....at least he did last year. He wouldn't go near them. Then again, this is the kid that ran out of storytime at the library screaming last Halloween because a kid in a Spiderman mask sat down next to him and a little girl dressed as a parrot sat on his other side! He loves the rides though! Can't get enough. I'm hoping he will warm up to them or at least tolerate them. He loves sitting on Santa's lap though so go figure! Any advice is very welcome!

 

[mmay60046]

Personally I've found that we like to have to do as little as possible on departure day beyond hanging out at our resort and swimming in the pool, so if you were asking me I'd be totally against #3 for that reason. Too many other things that have to be accounted for on departure day without having to think about making it to an ADR especially if it's at a location other than your resort.

 

[minnie mouse ears]

You might want to go with Ohana then since Chef Mickeys tends to be loud. We love Chef Mickeys though as my family tends to be a loud, rambunctious bunch. I cancelled our Ohana Breakfast ADR's because of the limited menu. I don't eat eggs or pineapples or syrupy toast and that was a big part of the menu.

 

[jandersonlj]

My niece is at Disney right now and tried O'hana's b'fst. She said the food was just ok. I would definitely check the menu. Chef Mickey's is a bit loud, but the food is great. I would pick Chef Mickey's dinner!

 

[chipscamping buddy]

Food is different than standard fare at Ohana, although I really like it better. If DS has character issues, I would think the standard characters at Chef would be a better choice. We went through a stage for a bout 2 years where DD was afraid of the characters until Tigger took some extra time to draw her out at Crystal Palace. In the past, the interaction at Chef has been better and more personal for us so they might help get your DS into it.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Food at Chef Mickeys isnt very good, IMO. Very poor quality food. It was very disappointing. I definitely wouldnt be back. Characters were good, but we waited forever to see them. The atmosphere is dreadful too. We LOVE Ohana breakfast thou. Love the atmosphere of the place, the characters, and the food. The pineapple bread & lilikoi juice is AMAZING!! We got to see Mickey twice!! And the nice part is that its an all-you-can-eat family style...so you can relax and remain at your table the whole time! they do a lot of fun stuff for kids too, like a conga line...and i cant remember what else. But its a load of fun.

 

[rlahansler]

We will be on the free QSDP, however, we want to have one character meal so will be paying OOP. This is our first trip back in 3 years, other than a quick Disneyland trip last year, and we want it to be special. We'll be driving through the night from Indiana and plan on arriving early on Sat. morning. We don't have any plans for that Sat. other than hanging out at the resort swimming and resting, and going to DTD probably. Here are my thoughts:

1) do a character meal that Sat. night for dinner at Chef Mickey's.

2) do a character breakfast at 'Ohana Sun. morning (our first park day at MK)

3) do a character breakfast on our departure day, maybe Cape May or 'Ohana (no parks that day).

I'm leaning toward #2. DD the characters and I think she would go wild to see Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch first thing. Of course, that goes for #1 as well but I'm afraid with driving through the night we will be exhausted? Never driven through the night before though! We usually fly everywhere but we're on a tight budget. I do think it would be nice to have something to leave by on our last day too, hence choice #3. If we didn't do #1 or #2 I would want to be there at rope drop to see the opening show at MK. Let me just add that DS hates characters....at least he did last year. He wouldn't go near them. Then again, this is the kid that ran out of storytime at the library screaming last Halloween because a kid in a Spiderman mask sat down next to him and a little girl dressed as a parrot sat on his other side! He loves the rides though! Can't get enough. I'm hoping he will warm up to them or at least tolerate them. He loves sitting on Santa's lap though so go figure! Any advice is very welcome!

We love Chef Mickeys!!!!

 

[littledreamer7]

I would pick CM or the day your leave.

 

[OhThePain]

If we were to do only 1 character meal, it would be Chef Mickey's on our last morning. It has sort of become a tradition for my girlfriend and myself. I am not picky about the breakfasts, in most cases it is all pretty much the same. CM's can be loud but it is also the only place to see all of the fab-5 in 1 sitting. It is a great way to end the trip.

Cape May breakfast is a close second. The atmosphere is a bit more tame than at CM. I see you will be driving, so getting to Cape May won't be as much of an issue as someone depending on Disney transportation. Also, there is no Mickey and no Pluto, and if I was going to do only 1 character meal Mickey would have to be there.

I would avoid doing any character dinners OOP. The costs are pretty rediculous for the quality of food you get.

 

[pxefig]

I think #3 is the best idea, followed by #1. I wouldn't do #2. I personally wouldn't waste percious morning park time eating breakfast at a resort. I say doing it departure morning is the best option because it will give your kid a chance to see the characters in the parks so you can gauge what his response will be and you can cancel the ADR if he freaks out seeing Mickey on Main St.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We hated Chef Mickeys. The last time we actually ate there it was for dinner, but most of the food was barely edible. The meat was so tough I couldn't chew it! Also, having stayed at CR, I really despise the music at CR.

On our last several trips, the character emlas have had declining food quiality. Go for the fun of the characters, not the food. If you want better food, pick a non character meal. I like 'Ohana for dinner, so we've never tried breakfast there. Otherwise Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Fare are among the better ones.

Beyond that, I also wouldn't pick my arrival day for my most important dining reservation. You may arrive later than expected, or be tired that night. Much better to plan something for another day, after you get oriented and rested.

When it comes to MK, it pays to arrive early. We are not rope drop fantatics, but the mornng hours are the least crowded. It greatly pays to arrive by 9:30am. If you are going to do your ADR as breakfast on your MK day, I'd make it as late as possible. That way you can skip eating lunch. Go tothe park early, collect fastpasses - eat breakfast - then come back and go on rides while everyone else is eating lunch! I would not try for a super early breakfast - otherwise you'll have to get up at like 5am. I also would not want to be eating at 9am. It's got to be after 10:30am. Remember it will take quite a while via WDW buses to get to MK and another monorail ride to get to the Poly. (or a fifteen minute walk to CM in hte CR.)

Your third option is probably the best one. You'll likely want to pack all your belongings the night before if you pick this option. Your resort will stow your bags if you ask and allow them time to pick up your bags. The catch on your departure day is that you need to be out of your room by 11am, you also need to allow an hour of travel time each way if you are using DIsney transportation, or at least half an hour if you have your own car. If you have a car though, you could stow your luggage in the (hot) car, potentially. I'm guessing that you will need to travel TO the Contemporary and back. If you are staying AT the Contemporary, then a slow breakfast on your last morning at your home resort is a great choice.

Remember also, that an ADR is NOT a RESERVATION- it is a slot in their system to get an assigned table when it becomes available. Simply put, Disney does not in any way promise that you will be seated close to your reservation time. Typically, you are seated within 15min of your ADR, but FREQUENTLY we have been seated half an hour or more PAST our ADR time. IT may well take you TWO hours to eat breakfast, plus travel time before and after. It probably won't take four hours to do all - but it could take up to that amount of time if you need to take WDW transport and need to go back to your resort after breakfast - worst case scenario. You can also take a taxi to speed things up, but that costs $.




Considering all of the above...if I was only going to have one ADR and it was really important to me- I'd either make it at my home resort, or make it in the middle of the vacation. If you do a late breakfast inside one of the parks, then you lose no travel time. You could also do a charcter dinner or lunch when travel time is not as important.

 

[bellelab]

If we were to do only 1 character meal, it would be Chef Mickey's on our last morning. It has sort of become a tradition for my girlfriend and myself. I am not picky about the breakfasts, in most cases it is all pretty much the same. CM's can be loud but it is also the only place to see all of the fab-5 in 1 sitting. It is a great way to end the trip.

Cape May breakfast is a close second. The atmosphere is a bit more tame than at CM. I see you will be driving, so getting to Cape May won't be as much of an issue as someone depending on Disney transportation. Also, there is no Mickey and no Pluto, and if I was going to do only 1 character meal Mickey would have to be there.

I would avoid doing any character dinners OOP. The costs are pretty rediculous for the quality of food you get.

Thanks for making this point. I forgot that dinners are more expensive. Plus, my kids love breakfast food, ie. fruit, waffles, eggs, etc.

 

[bellelab]

I made an ADR for 'Ohana at 7:30 am on Sunday. I'm hoping we will be able to be done around the time MK opens. That is definitely early! I think it's our best bet though as far as days go because the kids will be well rested and probably awake anyway! Still, that's awfully early! Plus, I don't have a clue how DS will react. I like the idea a pp gave about waiting to see what his reaction will be in the parks and then decide on the meal. I do know DD will love it though so I don't want her to miss out because of his Mickey fear. I also just made an ADR for Cape May for our departure morning at 9:30am. I need to make a decision though so I can cancel one. Thanks for the advice so far, very helpful!

 

[Tgtown]

I made an ADR for 'Ohana at 7:30 am on Sunday. I'm hoping we will be able to be done around the time MK opens. That is definitely early! I think it's our best bet though as far as days go because the kids will be well rested and probably awake anyway! Still, that's awfully early! Plus, I don't have a clue how DS will react. I like the idea a pp gave about waiting to see what his reaction will be in the parks and then decide on the meal. I do know DD will love it though so I don't want her to miss out because of his Mickey fear. I also just made an ADR for Cape May for our departure morning at 9:30am. I need to make a decision though so I can cancel one. Thanks for the advice so far, very helpful!

We had a 7:30 ADR in March and were done in plenty of time for rope drop. Character interaction was good, food was good also. Although I didn't care much for the sausage links or juice (too acidic) for me, DW, DD9 and DD7 loved it.

 

[KELLY]

We are also on the QSDP for 10 days. We are doing 2 Ts meals OP one being Tukser house Breakfest. My girls requested t-rex. Out of the 2 I would pick Ohana's. I love that breakfest. I also like the fact it isn't buffet.

We are doing Tuskers mostly beacuse that is one we haven't done in a few years. We did ohana's last year and I loved it. I loved the bread and the juice. Great character interaction also.

 

[heartse]

We are huge fans of Cape May... it's a calmer breakfast than at Chef Mickeys. It's just a nicer time... although I would love to have Mickey there too.

 

[nettekay]

i vote for Ohana!! My Ds loves Stitch!! We make sure we go every visit!!!