Six ADR's for Character Meals - is it too much?

[iminla]

we will be at WDW for 9 days - i have 6 ADR's for characters meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) - my daughters are 7 years old (twins) and it is our first trip.

Do you think it is too much??? overdose of characters (lol)???

ADR's

CRT (lunch)
1900 Park Fare (dinner)
Tusker House (breakfast)
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (breakfast)
Crystal Palace (dinner)
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)

 

[Granfan]

Seems a lot to me, but if they're on different days or at least not back to back your girls will probably enjoy them. Be prepared for the check-in/waiting times for these popular meals, though. Even with ADR's I usually wait longer than for busy restaurants at home. Congratulations on your first trip! You all will love it and you're so blessed to have the twins!!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I think 3 princess meals is overkill.

 

[3pletprincesses]

We do a character meal every day since we have children. You will see pretty much the same princesses at CRT and Akershus but who cares we do both. I don't think it's too much but that's just me.

 

[mcd2745]

Since it's your first visit, I don't think it's too much. In future visits maybe, but not for the kids first time.

 

[Kim1964]

We're doing two for our 9 day trip this year, but this is our 10th trip. The most we ever did was 4 in a 9 day trip, and it was too much for us (the kids were burnt out and didn't even want to go to the last one). It was kind of like the character interaction stopped being special when they had it over and over, especially when it was the same characters. We still do a couple because we enjoy the characters (this year we're doing CP and CM to get two different groups of characters), but two is plenty for us.

 

[pinkxray]

We Did most of those a few weeks ago.instead of park fare we had ohana and cape may breakfast. we enjoyed them all and we knew since we won't be back for awhile it will be the last time dd is interested in doing them. Its not something I would do every trip,but it was great this time

 

[mom2rtk]

I think 3 princess meals is overkill.

I don't.

We enjoy them all. Every trip.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

I don't think it's too much at all, but we love character meals and do at least one, usually two, every day at WDW. We tend to repeat our favourites a couple of times in one trip. It just depends what you like.

 

[realhousewife]

I think with kids that age, one per day is perfect! And, your princess meals are breakfast, lunch, and a dinner, so there will be a variety - its not like you have the same exact meal each day.

We try to do a character meal every day of our trip, with one day being a more grown up type place instead.

We love to dine with the characters! Have a great trip!

 

[MSLRAC]

We do one character meal per day and it is fine. In fact, it worked great last trip because the kids saw all of the main characters on their bucket lists at meals so we skipped most of the meet and greet lines.

 

[LisaTC]

It is my DD's first trip, too, and she is also 7. I've only made 1 character ADR and was hesitant to do that. I know you all think I'm cooky...You just never know how they are going to react around the characters. She's watched the video, I've shown her the pix and asked her if it was something she wanted to do and she was ambivalent at best. Every child is different and only you know your twins. You just don't know how they will react to all that is WDW once they are there.

My DD has all the princess stuff...princess dresses, dolls, mini figurine sets, comforter set, the list goes on... HOWEVER, you just never know how they will react. There seems to be so much at Disney, that I didn't want the meals to be more "overload," if you will. Besides, character meals seem to be all buffets - translation: a boat load of food. I can't eat like that for 6 days in a row! So, you obviously have that expense. I got great advice from friends who visit about 2x/year with similar age daughters and after about the 3rd day - eating becomes a chore if you overdo the buffets. There's many opportunities for character interactions that I just chose, for us, not to inundate us at meal times, as well. Just another take on it, FWIW.

Have fun!!!! That's the most important thing. Be flexible and willing to cancel if they seem to enjoy other things and don't want to take the time for a sit down. That's my plan anyway.

 

[OhThePain]

I also don't think it is too much, especially for a first trip. My girlfriend and I (without kids) have gone to as many as 7 or 8 on a 9 day trip. We are cutting that back quite a bit this time around, but still managed to fit in a couple of character breakfasts.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

I think it will be overkill. Your only non-buffet is CRT.

I would do one (maybe 2) princess. CRT b/c of the experience of eating in the castle and then either Akershus or 1900 Park Faire.

I would also choose between Tusker and Chef Mickey since the characters are so similar.

 

[brandycaviness]

This year is our first trip too with our 5 year old twin girls. I say no. We are doing 3 character meals in 5 days. Have fun!

 

[iminla]

Thanks everyone for you input.

Another reason to do buffets is that we are vegetarians so it is easy for us to find stuff to eat - I checked out menus at other TS restaurants and most of them do not appeal to us. I did make 2 reservations at italian restaurants for dinner.

Plus I don't know when again we will visit WDW - girls are 7 and next time we go they might not want to do any character meals ))

Another question: If Cindrella appears at 2 diff. meals - I assume they are diff. people (since they are face characters) - do your kids ever ask why Cindrella looks different everytime they see her?????

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks everyone for you input.

Another reason to do buffets is that we are vegetarians so it is easy for us to find stuff to eat - I checked out menus at other TS restaurants and most of them do not appeal to us. I did make 2 reservations at italian restaurants for dinner.

Plus I don't know when again we will visit WDW - girls are 7 and next time we go they might not want to do any character meals ))

Another question: If Cindrella appears at 2 diff. meals - I assume they are diff. people (since they are face characters) - do your kids ever ask why Cindrella looks different everytime they see her?????

Yes, she'll be different. But by age 7 aren't they starting to understand? The fun part is when Cinderella from yesterday turns up as Ariel today. That will be far too subtle for a 7 year old to get, but it's fun when they play with it a little. We had Ariel comment on how much her friend Cinderella enjoyed seeing us at CRT the day before. Even I was a little lost. She said Cinderella was a good friend. I had to look back closely at the photos to get it myself!

 

[iminla]

LOL - at cindrella one day and ariel the next )

Yeah - they are starting to understand but I think they still believe that there are "princesses" in real world - just the other day we were talking and my daughter said would it be cool to meet one of them? ) I said but they live so far away in a castle )

I haven't told them about the trip yet - i want to keep it a surprise.

 

[mom2rtk]

Have a great time. Enjoy this stage and soak it for all the fun you can. It goes far too fast.

For some, being tied to ADR's very often is very frustrating. But if you plan it properly, it can add much to your day: a good meal out of the elements, a chance to get off your feet when you need to, a chance to meet characters without the hassle of long lines in the parks. We like to have them mid-day in the park we'll be at for a chance to rest, regroup and get off our feet.

Only you will know if it adds or detracts from your experience. There are decent arguments for both sides.

 

[crabbie1]

I too have cut down on character visits. My DD is 8 now and I am wondering if I should be booking more.I Have booked tusker house as never done this one and crystal palace bfast and dinner on different days of course. I do wonder if I should book more as always do chef mickeys,ohana and garden grill. DD not into princesses. Thought about cape may though as never been there