We just got back from a week at WDW with our now 3yo DS. A couple of little tidbits that I wanted to share:
There are some new little cars, a la Hot Wheels, called Disney Racers. They are adorable!!! Each one is designed around a character like Buzz, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, etc., or the monorail or Disney bus. They are only $4 each and a VERY cute Disney souvenir for the toddler on your list! You can find them at Once Upon a Toy, World of Disney, and many other stores at WDW.
We had free dining, so made the most of character meals. We did:
Dinner at Chef Mickey's
Dinner at Garden Grill
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
Food-wise, Garden Grill was by far the best of the three dinners! DH and I were pleasantly surprised. And it was relatively slow, so we got to see all of the characters (Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale) twice, and they spent a lot of time with DS. IMO, this was quite the little hidden gem! LTT and CM didn't do much for me for dinner.
We had a lot of character time at Chef Mickey's too, but think that was because it was early and the crowds hadn't picked up yet.
Crystal Palace had a nice spread for lunch but the characters rushed through the tables and would NOT stop a second time. I'm sure that it was the crowd factor, but DS was disappointed and we didn't help since we didn't know that they weren't stopping the second time until they blew past us (and the next table that had sat down about the same time).
Cape May Cafe was easy for breakfast since we were staying at the Beach Club but had fewer characters and less food selection (I think) than Chef Mickey's for breakfast. So I wouldn't go out of my way to do it, but it is worth hitting if you are on the dining plan and staying at the Epcot resorts.
Menus are pretty well laid out on www.allearsnet.com so I won't rehash them, but wanted to throw out the recommendation for Garden Grill - it's definitely one that we'll hit again!
There are some new little cars, a la Hot Wheels, called Disney Racers. They are adorable!!! Each one is designed around a character like Buzz, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, etc., or the monorail or Disney bus. They are only $4 each and a VERY cute Disney souvenir for the toddler on your list! You can find them at Once Upon a Toy, World of Disney, and many other stores at WDW.
We had free dining, so made the most of character meals. We did:
Dinner at Chef Mickey's
Dinner at Garden Grill
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
Food-wise, Garden Grill was by far the best of the three dinners! DH and I were pleasantly surprised. And it was relatively slow, so we got to see all of the characters (Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale) twice, and they spent a lot of time with DS. IMO, this was quite the little hidden gem! LTT and CM didn't do much for me for dinner.
We had a lot of character time at Chef Mickey's too, but think that was because it was early and the crowds hadn't picked up yet.
Crystal Palace had a nice spread for lunch but the characters rushed through the tables and would NOT stop a second time. I'm sure that it was the crowd factor, but DS was disappointed and we didn't help since we didn't know that they weren't stopping the second time until they blew past us (and the next table that had sat down about the same time).
Cape May Cafe was easy for breakfast since we were staying at the Beach Club but had fewer characters and less food selection (I think) than Chef Mickey's for breakfast. So I wouldn't go out of my way to do it, but it is worth hitting if you are on the dining plan and staying at the Epcot resorts.
Menus are pretty well laid out on www.allearsnet.com so I won't rehash them, but wanted to throw out the recommendation for Garden Grill - it's definitely one that we'll hit again!
