What character dining/restaurants are musts these days?

[excitedpaula]

I will be visiting Disney Feb. 14th for 5 nts. with my husband and 9 yr. old. We have the delux dining plan. There are so many restaurants that appeal to me. Where should I begin?

 

[cbg1027]

Is your 9 year old a boy or a girl?

Most girls love the character dining that involve Princesses.
The most popular, and hardest thing to book, is Cinderella's Royal Table, in the castle in the MK. They have an assortment of princesses at breakfast and lunch.
You can also find the princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot.
1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian has Cinderella, Prince Charming, her stepmother, and step sisters at dinner..I think it is? I thinkit's Mary Poppins and Alice etc at breakfast.

If you have a boy, he'd probably enjoy other character dining options better:
Chef Mickeys in The Contemporary Resort has Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and the gang
'Ohana in the Polynesian Resort has Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto at breakfast.
Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club Resort has Minnie, Goofy, and Donald at breakfast.
The Garden Grill in Epcot has a character dinner - not sure who is at it.
The Crystal Palace in the MK has Winnie the Pooh and friends.
Tusker House in AK has Donald and some others at breakfast.
Hollywood and Vine in DHS has Playhouse Disney characters.

All of those places serve buffet, family style, or fixed price meals.

I'm probably forgetting a few character options.

For other meals, my favorite places are Citricos and The California Grill.

 

[bleeps]

On a practical note, I recommend beginning by figuring out where you'll be each day, and taking advantages of the restaurants in that park. If you set yourselves up to run around too much to get to meals, you'll regret it.

 

[RunningthruDisney]

Garden Grill is Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. We loved it, but it is a set menu and the changes it seasonally.

Hollywood and vine is great if you have little kids who love playhouse Disney; but there are many breakfasts that are so much better: Cape May or Chef Mickey if you want to see the some of the other resorts.