when to schedule character meal for 1st trip

[cropper]

first time trip to WDW with DDs (23 months and 6 years)
Would you do the character meal early in the vacation (1st day) or later to let your kids get used to the characters at the parks first??

I am afraid if we do it on the first morning.....my 23 month old will be scared.

Advice please

 

[rt2dz]

A character meal is our tradition for starting our WDW vacation. Last trip we scheduled a late seating at Chef Mickey's and it worked out much better than breakfast on our first full day, what we usually do. As a bonus we were able to walk over to the MK and watch the fireworks.

 

[susykt4]

DS was 29 months our last trip. He was intimidated by the characters for about half of the first day. He then LOVED them. We had a princess lunch scheduled for our 4th day and he loved it as much as DD5. I really don't think he would have enjoyed it on our first day but we definitely could have done it any time after that.

 

[crisi]

One of the best pieces of advice I got....schedule you character meal for a few days in the trip. Then if your kid is a "screamer" you'll be able to cancel and not waste your money.

Our son wasn't a screamer, but he was NOT interested in letting characters close to him as a toddler. My daughter treated them all as big teddy bears. So we went for her, but if it had just been him, it wouldn't have been worthwhile. Its an expensive breakfast and the food isn't great. You pay for the characters.

 

[Mickey&Co]

We usually try to go to a character meal on our last day just as a treat to end our vacation. By that time you will be able to see how your your DC will react to the characters.

BTW we also loved Chef Mickey's and after dinner you can go to the outside deck of the Contemporary to see "Wishes"!

Have fun!

M&Co

 

[marathonmommy]

I would definitely do the character meal later in the trip if you are only going to do one. My DD did not like the characters "with heads" for the longest time. She didn't mind the human ones - like princesses - but anything with a fake head was scary for a while. Now, she loves almost all of them - we haven't tried any villians yet though. The reason I say to do it later is simply to get the kids "warmed up". You can have other interaction with them at the parks earlier in the trip. Don't forget to buy an autograph book before you start!

 

[disneydreamer98]

We took the opposite approach. When we took our oldest Son on his first trip he was 2 years old and the very first thing we did was take him to Crystal Palace to The Pooh and Friends character meal. It was a nice relaxed way to get him used to the characters. It is a lot better to be sitting at a table and having the characters come up to the child than to have them wait out in a line. If your child doesn't want the character interaction while at lunch or dinner then you can just ask one of the character's handlers them avoid your table. Then your child can just watch the characters from a distance. I would recommend the Crystal Palace for your first character meal as well as first character interaction. The Pooh characters are especially fuzzy and cuddly! And if your child doesn't end up liking the characters, you will still end up having a good meal in a beautiful restaurant!