When did character dining become so big at Disney restaurants?

[crazy4wdw]

And this is a listing of CR dining locations from Sept 1973

 

[jemtx]

Here is a listing of CR dining locations, from July 1972

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Wow, that’s amazing. A breakfast buffet on the 15th floor. There were lobbies on the 2nd floor?!? Very cool photo.

 

[jemtx]

And this is a listing of CR dining locations from Sept 1973

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Such a great piece of history. Thanks for sharing b

 

[bdrex28]

And this is a listing of CR dining locations from Sept 1973

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Thank you for posting.

I wish they'd bring the Luau back.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Wow, that’s amazing. A breakfast buffet on the 15th floor. There were lobbies on the 2nd floor?!? Very cool photo.

In the early days of the CR, each garden wing was named - Bayshore for the north wing and Lakeside for the south wing. Each wing had its own check-in desk. There was a balcony above the check-in area on the 2nd floor of each wing that offered a continental breakfast so that you could purchase a quick breakfast and then get over to the MK without delay. .... and yes, a breakfast buffet at Top of the World. That was so enjoyable as you could eat your breakfast with a great view of the MK.

 

[jemtx]

In the early days of the CR, each garden wing was named - Bayshore for the north wing and Lakeside for the south wing. Each wing had its own check-in desk. There was a balcony above the check-in area on the 2nd floor of each wing that offered a continental breakfast so that you could purchase a quick breakfast and then get over to the MK without delay. .... and yes, a breakfast buffet at Top of the World. That was so enjoyable as you could eat your breakfast with a great view of the MK.

What? That’s so cool about the garden wings. I just knew them just as north and south. I had no clue they had check-ins and breakfast available.

 

[B-Ride]

To answer your question, while character dining was always a thing, the boom struck when the demand grew due to the DDP. The DDP in turn caused the prices to shoot up. The DDP gives character dining value and character dining gives the DDP value.

What I don't get is you go on and on (as the PP said, paragraphs would go a long way) about how character dining is booming and is always crowded and then think that Disney should lower prices? Supply and demand says, if that is the case, they should be charging more than then already do (and when prices have gone up, there hasn't been a downtick in demand). If you want them to lower prices, expect less food options at an even lower quality than most character meals already are, with less characters.

Wouldn't be a normal day on the Dis without the DDP taking the blame for something.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think the one character breakfast that seems to be more popular is Ohana because when they had the Minnie's Menehune Breakfast that's when Ohana got popular for character dining but what Ohana should do is have breakfast with Moana and you could meet Moana and her friends and it would sell big on the character dining list. But what I think Disney's Hollywood Studios should have is a The Muppets character dining experience where fans could meet Kermit Miss Piggy and all other Muppets characters and if it was made it would bring a lot of people and reservations would sell out fast. But the one restaurant that should be improved is Be Our Guest because it is odd that you only see The Beast at dinner but not interact with diners and if they added Belle to Be Our Guest fans would go really wild

 

[GatorChris]

To answer the OP's question, when did it start booming...I probably can't be perfectly accurate, but here's my educated guess.

My first trip to WDW was in 2002, honeymoon. When we got there on our first full day, I didn't call a reservation line. And there was no online booking. I walked up to the reservation window at Crystal Palace and got one. I had no idea there were characters there.

When I returned, I took advantage of the office I worked at that they had something called DSL. That was high-speed internet back then. There were only a few forums for Disney at the time (the one I used ended in -COT). Answers to questions came back in days not minutes like today. But I found out so much about WDW and dining. When we returned in February 04, we were easily able to snag by phone all the reservations we wanted, including character meals. By 2006, the character meals were the ADRs you had to make right at 6am on the phone with Disney (after being on hold for 10-20 minutes) - and then you weren't getting the times you wanted. In 2008, Disney offered the Dining Plan for free, and the character meals went unbelievably fast.

Ever since then, it's been the same. So, to answer your question. I'd say Character Meals really started booming around 2004, coinciding with the increase of high-speed internet and Disney forums. It peaked probably around 2006-2007 and hasn't let up since.

 

[Disnsyncey]

Ever since then, it's been the same. So, to answer your question. I'd say Character Meals really started booming around 2004, coinciding with the increase of high-speed internet and Disney forums. It peaked probably around 2006-2007 and hasn't let up since.

I was a CRT CM from 03-05, before we went to princesses at all meals....(at least I think so?)

We were definitely booked solid the day (was it 90 days back then? I can't remember what it was before it went to the ridiculous 180 days haha) availability was open, but you would have to call to get your PS (Priority Seating times). They also released some at all restaurants at 7am 2 days in advance a LOT.......I snagged a ton that way, I remember sitting in my kitchen in north Florida while we were packing the car to go to WDW to get another PS.....

Back then though, our first time we ate at Ohana we were in Tomorrowland and we wanted to try a resort restaurant, so we called WDW-DINE from our cell phone (before the smart ones) and got our pick of times that same evening....(I still mourn that amazing dessert of pineapple and caramel before they replaced it with the sad bread pudding)....we would frequently just up and decide to go to Ohana for any celebration on a whim....

I think I am agreeing with the theory about the DDP, there were always certain ones in high demand, but you could always find something...

I remember when we used to take walk ins at CRT for lunch and dinner sometimes......when our managers challenged us to get over 900 covers in a night, the lobby assignor was pushing!!! (I was usually on the other end of the radio running around getting all those extra tables ready haha) When I was randomly assigned to the Plaza from time to time, we took in walk ins frequently.....

 

[lacy1101]

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Here is a page from an old guide to the CR. Unfortunately, it is not dated. Thought I could find some more info as I stayed at the CR at least yearly from 1982 through the mid-1990's

We ate at the Contemporary's character breakfast in October 1994

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

At Disneyland you can meet characters still walking around, it is AMAZING. But at WDW for some reason Guests got a little silly with characters and now they never free roam.
This makes it harder to just "meet" a character. So character meals are great for that.
Sadly they are insane expensive now and we can't afford them. We used to do at least one a day for our 2 week vacations. Now I can't even afford do to a single one.

We've still encountered some Country Bears wandering around Frontierland from time to time.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I went to a character breakfast around 1978 at the poly. The pictures my parents have show me with Minnie, not sure who else was there. These are not new and my mom said that it wasn’t easy to get the reservation in the 1970s so I’m guessing they were always popular.

 

[keishashadow]

Got me thinking as to the ratio of character dining to tix prices. I’m still laughing

(Crediting this site’s search engine for data)

1982 price of park tix

One day ticket: $15 for Magic Kingdom or Epcot (rides now included)
Inflation-adjusted price: $47

three-day park hopper ticket cost $35,
$111 adjusted for inflation.

The Poly buffet dinner (now Ohanas) was $6.95 for adults

 

[slo]

We started doing character meals in 2001 when our oldest was 3 years old and we have done them over and over ever since. We just did 2 a few months ago with my DD21.

We started doing them because it was worth the extra money for our girls to see the characters. The pictures I have with the girls with different characters are priceless.

We didn’t take our girls to WDW starting when they were babies to ride rides - it was for them to have a magical week and part of that magic comes from the characters.

 

[Brob2132]

Going in a month and the character meals will be my almost three year olds favorite part of the trip. Just aways make sure to budget for the expense.

She is also extremely picky, so this gives us the most shots that she will actually eat. Oh, and by the way, we don’t have to wait on food to come out and she eats free under 3. Anyone that has eaten out with tiny humans knows it can be a battle.

We would still do character meals even if they were more expensive because we value the experience, which of course is why prices are so high.

 

[liquid17]

I have enjoyed many character meals over the years, but two non-character meals really stand out. Sadly, they no longer exist!

In 1987, we walked into the Crystal Palace for a beautiful, delicious, peaceful late breakfast. We've been there a few times since and the kids loved the characters...but that was my (and my husband's!) favorite meal there. We were on a late honeymoon and it was our best WDW experience that week!

In 2005, our first trip with the kids (they were 14, 12, 7, and 5), we had dinner at the Castle on our first night. Not a walk-in, as I had made ADRs. But there were no princesses at dinner that time, only the Fairy Godmother and, occasionally, Cinderella, in the lobby. We had a table near the window and they dimmed the lights for the fireworks. Absolutely the most magical way to begin our trip and completely peaceful.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

When my kids were small and wanted to meet specific characters, it was nice to kill two birds with one stone and eat while being guaranteed to see the characters as well. It was one less line to wait in. Princesses are huge with girls in the 4-8 age range. A princess meal that let my daughter meet 4 princesses in 90 minutes? A memorable experience for her and less planning for me.

Now that they are older, there are some character meals we do out of nostalgia and it’s still fun! I remember Chef Mickey’s when I was a kid in the 80’s, so I’m pretty sure character dining has been around for a while.

I remember in the 80s we had to work like crazy to get a reservation at Downtown Disney for the character breakfast on the Empress Lily. It pretty much had the Fab Four, but was great. I guess it's called Paddlefish now.

 

[Rory607]

I remember in the 80s we had to work like crazy to get a reservation at Downtown Disney for the character breakfast on the Empress Lily. It pretty much had the Fab Four, but was great. I guess it's called Paddlefish now.

I had a memory of eating somewhere at Disney as a kid that I could never figure out until recently. Finally came across something about the Empress Lily and realized that was it! It wasn’t breakfast, so no characters, but a “fancy” dinner. It at least seemed fancy to me at the time. I remember having a Shirley Temple in a real glass with cherries and feeling very grown up. Maybe we’ll try Paddlefish sometime.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I had a memory of eating somewhere at Disney as a kid that I could never figure out until recently. Finally came across something about the Empress Lily and realized that was it! It wasn’t breakfast, so no characters, but a “fancy” dinner. It at least seemed fancy to me at the time. I remember having a Shirley Temple in a real glass with cherries and feeling very grown up. Maybe we’ll try Paddlefish sometime.