What's the big deal about character dining?

[wgeo]

I understand the appeal of seeing the characters while eating, thus killing two birds with one stone. But I don't see buffets as very relaxing meals in general, especially if you're trying to watch out to make sure you don't miss the characters. And I just priced Chef Mickeys for breakfast and for 2 adults and 2 kids its $120 plus tip! For eggs! That seems like highway robbery to me!

 

[krb2g]

We do one character meal a trip because it's great character interaction (even now that we're all adults). Yes, it's expensive, even compared to other Disney dining options, but that's the way it is. We budget for it ahead of time, and then don't think too much about the cost while we're there.

 

[SPOERLX3]

In August of 2009 when we paid $17.99pp for a character buffet at Tusker House Breakfast I definitely thought it was a good deal and loved the food and characters and even booked our breakfast there this year (pay OOP with QSFD) until I looked at the new prices $28.75pp (my family of 6 are all disney adults, eventhough 3 of them are 11). I immediatly canceled my ressie knowing that there is no way that anyone in my family (even DH) would eat $29 worth of food and seeing the characters did not justify the price.

I will definitely miss the TH Donalds Safari breakfast but not at a price of $200 (after tip) for my family.

 

[kjs1976]

Yes, there are better meals on property. I don't think families with little kids go to character meals to be wowed by the food and wine when having their kid get some quality time with the characters while eating mac and cheese is the goal of the night.

We have been taking DD 3 to character meals since she was 1. Best was this Spring when we went to the 'Ohana character b-fast. All of the characters interacted with us and made her day! The look on her face was priceless...in my memory forever. And when Mickey picked her to lead the character parade, not only was she on cloud 9, but we as parents could barely watch it because of the tears in our eyes. DH got to eat his fill on b-fast items, since b-fast meals are his fav, I got good coffee and mickey waffles, and DD got the whole experience. It was a splurge of our trip, but worth every penny for us.

Are the prices getting ridiculous for what you get food wise? Yes. We only will do one character meal per trip if not doing DDP. A few years ago they were $18.99 and now they are over $30...yikes. But if you have kids, it is so worth it to do at least one.

I'm guessing you made the comment because you A) don't have kids or B) have older kids who have never had a character meal experience

 

[sharonabe]

Just a further heads up for any of you that do pay OOP for character meals:

The price for ALL the character meals has gone up. For some of them it's $2-3, but others are up almost $10. Please check allearsnet.com before you make that ADR.

 

[wezee]

Never been to a character buffet and never will. If I want pics....we go to the meet and greet in Epcot!

 

[TDC Nala]

I understand the appeal of seeing the characters while eating, thus killing two birds with one stone. But I don't see buffets as very relaxing meals in general, especially if you're trying to watch out to make sure you don't miss the characters. And I just priced Chef Mickeys for breakfast and for 2 adults and 2 kids its $120 plus tip! For eggs! That seems like highway robbery to me!

Don't book these meals if you want a relaxing meal or excellent food. Book them if you want (almost - sometimes there are complaints of characters skipping tables or being rushed) guaranteed character interaction while you eat some OK food. Character meals and buffets in particular are NOT intended to be relaxing meals. And for a lot of guests the character interaction by itself is worth the inflated price. There are a few character meals that are served family style, so no getting up from the table; if that's the part you don't like, and you want a character meal, try one of those. They might not be any cheaper, though.

 

[wcpamotm]

At CRT you are not paying just to see princesses...you're paying a further premium to eat in the castle. Akershus has the princesses but no castle, so if you can get by without the castle you can save a little cash choosing it instead. If you like Cinderella in particular there's the 1900 Park Fare dinner.

Well, technically Akershus is a castle, based on a real one near Oslo at that, though admittedly not as grand or famous as Cindy's.

 

[TDC Nala]

Well, technically Akershus is a castle, based on a real one near Oslo at that, though admittedly not as grand or famous as Cindy's.

I've actually been to the one in Norway, nobody's going to pay a premium to eat there. It's a fortress, not a fairytale setting. At WDW there's castles and there's the CASTLE.

 

[The Queen Bee]

Others have pretty much covered it except for one thing that we do ...... we book the latest breakfast seating possible at Chef Mickey's (usually 10:45). There is still lots of food but people are leaving so the characters have lots of time to spend with us ..... we have a light breakfast that morning so it serves as our lunch.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Ditto to what others have said, you have to eat, the kids want to see the characters and it beats waiting in line. The only time we waited in a long line (45 minutes) to see characters was for Fairies as that was on my DD's "must do list" Everyone gets 1 per park per trip. That was her MK one.

The best place we've found to see characters without waiting too long is in Animal Kingdom by the Festival of the Lion King about 10 to 15 minutes after the show gets out. The people that flood it after the show are gone and it tends to be relatively quiet.

For character meals we have done the Breakfast at Park Fair, CRT (with the old show vs. the Princess meet and Greet) Crystal Palace mostly dinner and lunch once for breakfast, Garden Grill and Chef Mickey's for dinner.

The only meal I didn't like was breakfast at Crystal palace. I thought it was mediocre as far as quality and selection. The one thing I did like is getting into the park before official opening. We do like their lunches and dinner. Breakfast at Park Fair was very good but it's been several years since we've been there.

 

[Amy&Dan]

For us it was the obvious thing of eating and getting character photographs at one shot, but it was also just the whole setting. Where else can you have that sort of experience?

Now that they are so stupidly expensive we will not be doing them anymore (unless we get free dining) and our kids are now older anyway. So we probably just ate our last character meal in June until we have grandkids. Then I am sure we'll be doing them again.

When my kids were younger they were a lot of fun. And buffets can actually be relaxing on one level because everybody can just get what they want which for this mom used to be relaxing even in the midst of the chaos! We also always did late seatings for breakfast and dinner and believe it or not had some very unhurried relaxed meals.

 

[wcpamotm]

I've actually been to the one in Norway, nobody's going to pay a premium to eat there. It's a fortress, not a fairytale setting. At WDW there's castles and there's the CASTLE.

I concur! There are a lot of castles in Europe (most of which, let's not forget, were designed with the fortress function in mind), but few which even approach the fanciful and grand Cinderella's. And one of those was just recently built in Marne-la-Vallée.

I've only seen the real Akershus in pictures but I'd bet that even though the Epcot version doesn't look that much like a castle, it's a more appealing place to eat than the original!