opinions on the these...

[Mommyof2]

My husband and I are beginning to look into restautants for our WDW trip with DD; 3 yrs. We want to do 3 character meals, one for dinner our first night, one for breakfast our final morning before heading to the airport, and one midweek. We will most likely end up at the Princess Storybook Dinner our first night and than head to Illuminations. My question is, for our final morning, which resort character breakfast would you reccomend with a 3 yr old little girl? 'Ohana, Cape May Cafe, Chef Mickey's, or 1900 Park Fare? As for our mid-week dinner, we are considering either Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, or the Garden Grill. Do you have opionions on these also? Thank you so much, DH and I have been to WDW 3 times together, but before kids, so we have never done a character meal.

Christine

 

[krystyana]

Hi there....We absolutely love Cape May...the character interaction has always been great and the food has always suited our little guy....We like the Garden Grill and Crystal Palace alot too but I'm not sure when you are going...the grill is closed right now for refurb.....I don't think it's opening til at least June....Have fun!

 

[disyady]

I don't think you can go wrong with a breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We have never had dinner at the Crystal Palace but it is our absolute favorite for lunch (the Pooh characters, view of the castle and great variety of food and desserts). We also had a nice time at the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. It is served family style so you have to hope that what is available is to your liking but it is nice to have food brought to your table. Good luck choosing and enjoy your trip!

 

[Mommyof2]

Thanks for the responses so far! Who would have thought figuring out where to eat would be so stressful! I have never heard one negative thing about the Cape May Cafe Beach Party breakfast, so we are highly considering that one. Is the Beach Club an easy walk from Epcot? We would probably request a late check out, take the monorail to Epcot, walk to the Beach Club, than walk back to Epcot to get the monorail back to the Poly to pick up our bags and head to the airport. DH was just concerned about the time factor and rushing to get back to the Poly to get the airport shuttle. So many things to think about

Christine

 

[jenjersnap]

Which characters are you and DD most interested in seeing? Since you will be seeing the princesses, I would probably make sure you saw Pooh, etc. at one meal and Mickey and friends at the second.

Pooh and friends are always at CP and the dinner buffet is pretty good. We preferred breakfast over dinner there, just a personal preference. A couple of Pooh's friends usually appear at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and I hear it's excellent.

Everywhere else you mentioned has Mickey and friends. Of these CMs you mentioned, my 4-year-old especially liked Garden Grill (great character interaction) and LTT (character interaction wasn't so good, but he loved the American comfort food). He was blah about Chef Mickey's. It's not his favorite and he can't really articulate why. His dad and I thought it was okay but we're not going there this time.

We're trying to make the same decision for our send off breakfast on our final morning, deciding between Cape May and 1900 Park Fare - neither of which we've visited before. I think we'll probably go with Cape May, though we'd rather do 1900 Park Fare, because it's close to us (we'll be at YC) and we face the same dilemma of traveling to GF and checking out. Since late checkout is so limited, I don't think, for us, it would be wise to count on it. I am toying with *shh* keeping both PSs and waiting until that morning to decide based on what happens with checkout and our mood that day ...

Have fun planning and deciding!

 

[LAWalz23]

I highly recommend the Cape May buffet for breakfast but if you are worried about getting back, I would stick to the restaurants on the main momorail line, Ohanas, CM or Park Faire. It will probably take at least 1 hour of travel time and about 1 hour at Cape May not taking into account that you may have a short wait even with a PS and as you know late checkout is never guaranteed (even though we have never been denied). You did not say if you have a car but if you do, you can check out at the Poly then drive to the BC and take a walk on the boardwalk or a boat ride after breakfast before heading to the airport. The other thing (again it depends on what type of park tickets you have) is that since the Poly is so close to MK by monorail, my sister has always taken her kids for one or two last rides and to say goodbye to MK before heading to the airport. My niece's and nephew's, twins, 1st trip to WDW, they were 3.5 years old, is one of my most special memories.
Just to add food has been hit or miss at CP (4 dinners) but my niece and nephew always ask to go back there for dinner (I think it is because it is Pooh and friends). Have a great time!

 

[Tiger Fan]

I am thinking if you do the PSB you will see many princesses. Add CP for your mid-week thus seeing Pooh & Friends. Now for the last one I would do Chef Mickey's getting you the main Disney guys (and gal - Minnie). To me these three would give you the most variety so to speak, plus they are all three fabulous! We love Chef Mickey's and do it on every trip either for our first or last day. Have fun!
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[Mommyof2]

Tiger Fan-
Crystal Palace does seem like the only option to meet Pooh & Friends at a character meal, and DH likes that we can step right out of dinner and get a spot to watch spectromagic and wishes. =) I just liked the idea of Liberty Tree Tavern because the food was brought to you and it seemed like a cute atmosphere, but we will be back in the future so there's always then. As far as the final morning, that has been the toughest to figure out. We will most likely skip 1900 Park Fare just because my daughter has never had any real interest in the Alice In Wonderland characters, and the Cape May Cafe because of the time issue (even though it gets rave reviews!). Which leaves Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana's. Both get pretty mixed reviews. I know I am probably thinking about this to much, but I want my daughter's trip to be perfect (or as perfect as a trip to disney with a 3 yr old can be lol) Thanks for the help guys!

Christine