What's so great about a Character Meal?

[Lewski709]

We were thinking of a Character Meal. Then we were thinking, WHY? Well, we need to eat that is true and the lines in the parks are long sometimes to meet the characters, but what is SO great?

We have a 4.5 yr old and what will be a 1 yr old. Maybe the characters will scare the baby. My other lil guy is not overwhelmed with anyone other than Buzz.

Thoughts welcome. If any, I was thinking Crystal Palace Dinner.

Which has the best food? Do any have red wine? Beer?



To Infinity and Beyond!

 

[deb305]

Are either of them girls?If so then the princess breakfasts or Cinderella dinner at GF is worthwhile. The face characters, i.e. the princesses, can be scare in the park and the breakfasts are a great way of having a few minutes with each. I think the GF dinner may have beer/wine if ordered in addition to the buffet. Best to call and ask first.
If both are boys, skip the princesses. My 1 year old son couldn't care less about girls in funny makeup. He wasn't scared of the costumed (Mickey, Minnie etc) characters, just didn't want to be held by them. It is sort of a tradition to do a character meal with each trip. Since he'll be two next time we'll either do Pooh at Crystal Palace, or Donald at AKL. Donald is a hard to find character, we just haven't seen him walk around much. Mickey, Minnie, Goof, Chip and Dale are plentiful in all of the parks, you can barely move without tripping over one of them, so I don't recommend a Mickey meal. Maybe if WDW is listening they will introduce a Toy Story meal for the boys. They had a Villians meal a few years ago but the kids got too scared.
As far as the food it is good, not great..
Hope this helps

 

[Kate-n-sam]

Hate waiting in line!

We always plan several character meals. It's nice to have a long relaxing break and have the characters come to you.

DS was afraid at age 1 , but the characters are accustomed to that and will do their best to stay away. We situated my son so he really couldn't see them in relation to his sister.

We like the Garden Grill at EPCOT and the Crystal Palace.

The kids don't beg to see the characters out on the 'street' this way, and if there happens to be a short line, we can jump in.

My advice, plan a bunch...you can always cancel if you want.

Good Luck!

 

[castlegazer]

When I was growing up I don't think they had the character meals - or else my parents just told me they didn't, but I think they didn't have them for real. We went to several on our past trip with my one year old and I have to say I have been missing something in all my trips where I didn't do this even without a child in tow. Its a more relaxed way to really get to see the characters and to see the children get such a huge kick out of their private visits to me brings more pixie dust to my whole experience. I really enjoyed myself completely at the breakfasts. The food is wonderful, and as you said, you have to eat somewhere anyways and this way you definately don't feel like you are missing some valuable park time because you have already immersed yourself into the magic. As I was saying, when I was gowing up and going to MK, it was rare to see all of the characters and you were pretty lucky to get a picture with Donald or some of the other obscure characters and most especially Cindy. Now, you get more opportunities both in the parks and at these breakfasts and I think it is so wonderful and a welcome change that Disney made a concerted effort to implement.

It is very intimidating to stand in line for an autograph with the characters for the wee ones for a one second photo op. At the breakfasts, dinners or lunches, the characters will take the time to allow the child to warm up and will accomodate how the child is reacting - They will have the foresight to either give the child a big kiss or put their arms around them if they seem OK or they will just stand to the side to allow the parent to get a photo.

Whatever you decide you will have plenty of opportunities to see the characters - it just is how you see them that is up to you.


Oh, and by the way, Grand Floridian for Cindy and they serve alcohol - someone will come along and correct me if I am wrong and hopefully someone can shed some light on other ones that serve alcohol. But CP definately does not as it is still in MK.

 

[TandyR]

We first took our DDs to WDW when they were 4.5 years old and 13 months old. We did two Character Meals....Princess Breakfast and the Crystal Palace with Pooh for lunch. Our then 4.5 year old was scared to see the Characters in the parks, but when they came to our table that was totally different and would talk to them and was very pleased that they would spend time with her. So to us the Character Meals are well worth every cent we spend on them because of how shy our older DD is even today (she is 7 years old now).
Our younger one didn't care one way or another about the Character Meals our first trip, she slept through most of the Pooh lunch except for a very cute interaction between her and Pooh...and the Princess breakfast she just didn't get. Our second trip....DDs were 5.5 years old and 2 years 2 months....the younger DD really got into the Princess Breakfast, but once again she slept through the Pooh Lunch.
We are now planning our third trip with our girls and we are still planning on two character meals so our shy older one can have character interaction....our younger one is quite willing to walk up to any character to say hi. The funny thing is our younger DD has asked for the Pooh Lunch for her birthday lunch (she is turning four while we are on vacation)....we just hope she doesn't sleep through it the whole time this time.
So character interaction for a shy child is why my family thinks Character Meals are so great.

 

[wuv tigger]

but what is SO great?

Best part for me in the look on DD's face on the video when the real Mickey Mouse comes around the corner

Another big advantage is that I can strap DDs into a high chair and don't have to tackle them to keep them from running after characters

I find it much easier to strap everyone in, get everyone food, get the camera & camcorder ready, etc. when I am at the restaurant then when trying to catch someone in the park. There is also something to do while waiting - eat ice cream!!!

The real reason we go is because Daddy likes seeing the characters more than DDs

I would give it a try and see how it works for your family. We love it at this stage.

David

 

[Goofmeister]

My favorites are Chef Mickey's and the Crystal Palace. Not all characters are in each meal, and not all meals have characters.

Chef Mickey's has Mickey and friends.

The Crystal Palace used to be Pooh and friends.

Check out Character Dining for more details.

Warning: It can be expensive, so choose wisely.

 

[undertheradar]

The dinners are better than the breakfasts as kids will normally settle down and eat. You will find no alcohol within the Magic Kingdom, so you will have to venture to the resorts. The cost factor is much better for dinner, as most character meals are all you can eat. My family has always felt rushed at the character breakfasts.

 

[4greatboys]

We always do atleast one character meal. We just think they are lots of fun. The character interaction is always so much fun. My 2 little ones are 3.5 and 18 months. They are sometimes scared of the characters alone but if we are holding them and standing with them we can get some great pics. I normally take a ton of pictures on our trips and my very favorite picture from our whole trip was a picture of Tigger with my 16 yr old in a head lock--it is priceless. Give it try, you will have a great time.

 

[Musky]

What's so great about a character meal? Absolutely nothing. Not worth the money. Been there, done that, never again.

Musky