Where do I start??

[snugglebug]

Thanks to the military promo, we are going to Disney!! I'm so excited, I've waited a very long time for this.

I have 4 nights booked at the All Star Music Resort. Dh, of course, gets in free and we'll buy the 4 day park hopper. I want to do at least one character meal. How do I go about deciding which one and when to reserve that. How much $ do those run?

There's so much useful info here, I'm getting overwhelmed with it all.

We'll be there Mar31 thru Apr4

Thanks!

 

[tink2dw]

Deb's Unofficial WDW Info Guide
http://www.wdwig.com/cb.htm
Has all the info about Character Meals. Youcan even find Menues there with prices!!

Also to get All the Best Deal,from tickets to discount Resort rooms it's all here.
www.MouseSavers.com

 

[Crow]

I didn't know about mouse savers, thank you!!!

 

[annemariec]

One of the first things I'd do is check out the "Restaurant Board". Lots of info on character meals and the foods served at the restaurants as a whole.

We did three character meals this past Sept., and they were all good for different reasons!

Park Faire at the Grand Floridian- We found the buffet to be very good. Nice variety of foods and desserts. Great character interaction. It was a little on the subdued side. By that, I mean kinda formal feeling. I think the adults were about $25 a person. I don't remember the kids price. My neice was with us and my sister paid for her meal. I think it was less than half of the adults.

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary- Another great buffet. Seems like that was about $25 per adult too. My neice liked it better there, because of the energy! The character interaction was great and they did a napkin twirl dance with the kids a few times. We have some terrific pictures of my 4 yr. old neice dancing with Chip. She had a ball.

Both restaurants were worth the money.

The last character meal, was really not a "meal". It was an ice cream social at the Garden Grill in Epcot. You get a huge ice cream for $6 and change. The characters came around quite a bit and were a lot of fun. I would recommend this one too.

I'll tell you something fun my neice did, that you may want to consider if you're bringing little ones too. At the Grand Floridian (you don't have to stay there to participate) they have a program called: "Grand Adventures in Cooking". I think it's $20. The kids are read a story and they make treats that are talked about in the story. My neice's group made blueberry muffins.
They also make cookies, cakes (I think), worms in dirt...etc. depending on the story of the day. They were so cute! They decorated chef hats and aprons (and got to keep them). When they are done they come out to the lobby of the Grand Floridian and give away the things they made to the guests. They were just beaming with pride. And they stayed for 2 hours! What a deal, to have your kids taken care of for 2 hours! You can have a relaxing coffee and shop or whatever you want to do while you wait.

Anyways, some things to think about. I think on the home page of this board is a section on the left side bar towards the bottom about character meals, that tells you the numbers to call and the different selections you can make.

Hope this helps!
Annemarie

 

[snugglebug]

My kiddos are 3 and 5 (she'll almost be 6). I really wanted the Cinderella breakfast, but we're not really big on breakfast to begin with. I think I'm going to try for the Crystal Palace for lunch or dinner, whatever I can get.

Is there any place I can get a detailed map of each park so I can see what's where. I've looked at so many things the past 24 hours, my mind is completely flooded and I forget what I've seen where.

~Steph

 

[busy mom]

My children loved the Crystal Palace. We booked the latest lunch time that was available, and did not need dinner that night. The lunch prices we cheaper than dinner, but I thought the quality/selection was superb!

 

[ncbyrne]

You can find the park maps right here on the DIS. Go to the Home Page. On the left hand side of the page you'll see a highlighted gray area. Look under Theme Parks, then scroll down and click on Park Maps.

 

[susy]

Okay, here I go again, but I can't help it!!!!!
The Garden Grill is a definite must do for us!!!!! I'm talking about dinner, not the ice cream social(although I'm sure that's fun, too). We did this our first night-what a way to start the trip!!!! It is located in the Land pavilion (2nd one on the right as you enter) in Epcot. You definitely need a PS. Call 1-407-wdw-dine. The food was wonderful!!! all the veggies are grown right there. Two things I really liked (besides the great food and service) were getting to see mickey, minnie, pluto, chip and dale without waiting in a line somewhere and the fact that the Garden Grill is a rotating(slowly) restaurant and your table does not face other diners. The booths are high-backed and rounded. You are over-looking the Land ride. It's all you can eat and they bring the food right to the table . No getting up! The next day we did the Crystal Palace and although the food was very good , it took forever for all the characters to make it around just once and it was very noisy.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says........................................................... If you send me a private message with an address I can mail them to, I have some extra "real" maps from all the parks from the middle of November. The times may not be accurate for your trip, but they are the "real" thing!!

 

[Dagny]

Our favorite character meal is definitely Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary. We eat there usually twice during our trip. The food is great and the characters can't be beat - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale. As a previous poster said, there is a lot of energy so it is really loud, but I think it adds to the fun. Our kids (ages 10 and 2) never want to leave The cost if about $25 for adults and $15 for kids. Well worth it in my opinion.

We have also done the Ice Cream Social. The day we went, it wasn't very crowded so the kids got lots of character attention. The ice cream is spectacular and the cost is minimal.

For lunch, we always go to Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace features Winnie the Pooh characters - we saw Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. The food is awesome. Lunch runs $15 for adults and $10 for kids.

Here is link to the DIS Menu Database.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/search.cfm


Also, here is a list of the character meals currently available..... you can book most character meals 60 days in advance...although some Priority Seatings are available 120 in advance (ie Resort Restaurants, AK for breakfast, all Epcot restaurants, and MGM for breakfast and Lunch).

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/character_dining.cfm

Enjoy! Happy Planning

 

[scanmom]

I am giving 2 thumbs up to the garden grille also! Not the social---lunch! If you go at lunch you save about $5.00 per person over the dinner price and the food is the exact same menu.....and delicious!!! Plus, it is one of few character meals with Mickey and is alot calmer than Chef Mickeys.

 

[SandraC]

If you are not into breakfasts, I suggest Crystal Palace too. The nice thing about CP, is that, although PS are highly recommended, we got in NO PROB during last trip. I got PS for a Thrus night, but we happened by CP the Wed night before, so we just got in the line and waited about 15 minutes for a table! I love it there, your kids are a great age for CP. The food is kid friendly and Pooh, Piglet, Eeyor and Tigger are there! The restaurant is pretty inside and out. We've been there twice. The first time we timed it great! Right after dinner, we walked outside, sat down on a bench and watched the Light Parade! Excellent seats! GOOD LUCK!

 

[jaret]

Last time we went we asked everyone what characters they wanted to see the most and went from there.It was a time saver as we did not have to find these characters in the park!Also the kids had autograph books for the characters to sign .We purchased these in the hotel gift shop while my husband checked in.This Feb. the request was for Winnie The Pooh,last time it was Mickey and Cinderella.Hope this helps.