Which character meal?

[Wills Mom]

We are going to WDW with DS who will be 14.5 mos old and my parents who want to do just one character meal with DS. I think he might be too small and/or get scared of some characters so I need to choose the ADR wisely! My dad is a picky eater although he loves most seafood and my mom has stomach issues so I have to take everything into consideration as well as what might suit DS the best. Could someone please recommend a meal that might just suit most of us that won't break the bank either? We're staying offsite this time so no DDP for us. Thanks in advance!

 

[JessiBelle22]

I would suggest Cape May Cafe dinner!! We've only had breakfast there, and it was great. But the reviews for dinner are really good. It's a buffet ... Clam bake dinner.

 

[jimandami]

I would suggest Cape May Cafe dinner!! We've only had breakfast there, and it was great. But the reviews for dinner are really good. It's a buffet ... Clam bake dinner.

There are no characters at Cape May dinner...only breakfast. Personally, with picky eaters, I would choose a breakfast because that is usually the easiest meal to please everyone. Plus, it is cheaper. We really like the breakfast at Ohana, but I think any of them are adequate.

 

[of2dbeach]

I always like Crystal Palace (MK) and I am sure your little one will like it just as much as my kids have. It is a all you care to eat buffet which works great for us because we have picky eaters and I have allergies. The chef even came out walked me around the buffet and told me what had onions in it and offered to make me a special plate of hash browns without onions because I told him how much I loved them They have Winnie the Pooh, EEyore,Piglet also do a little Parade inside the rest which is always a big hit with the kids. You can google it and I am sure find a video on it.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I'd do a breakfast at Crystal Palace. I've always enjoyed the food there and the Pooh characters would be a good bet for a 1yo.

 

[Missy13d69]

I'm with the PP's that a breakfast would probably be the best option. If you think the characters might be scary for your little guy, I would recommend the Supercalafragalistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. It has Alice and Mary Poppins and the Mad Hatter. Alice and Mary Poppins are women in costume, less scary.

 

[Wills Mom]

Thanks guys! A breakfast does sound the best definitely!! I would love CP but am not sure how DS would manage with Pooh et al although he would be super familiar with them as his room is Pooh themed and I'm Pooh mad!! The 1900 Park Fare is also a good option, one I hadn't even considered! If I was to reserve both at different parts of our 16 night trip how does the cancellation policy work? The reason I ask is cause we could wait til we get there to see how he reacts to meeting the faceless characters before going for either one, CP being my first choice!
Also, which characters appear at Ohana? Thanks a million for the gelp and sorry for the twenty million questions lol!

 

[Kristian]

As long as you cancel 24 hours in advance you'll be fine. So basically, if you wake up on Tuesday morning and decide that your ds didn't really take well to the characters at the MK last night and you really don't think that your Wednesday breakfast at CP is a good idea, then you can cancel it and not be penalized with a fee. Many people cancel a few ADR's once they get on vacation, so you'll be fine so long as you do it within the 24 hour time frame. I would schedule any character ADR's for a day that isn't toward the begining of your trip. This way you can figure out based on his reactions to the characters whether or not it will be worth your time/money and you'll also have plenty of time to cancel if needed .

 

[JessiBelle22]

There are no characters at Cape May dinner...only breakfast. Personally, with picky eaters, I would choose a breakfast because that is usually the easiest meal to please everyone. Plus, it is cheaper. We really like the breakfast at Ohana, but I think any of them are adequate.

Yea, I remembered after thinking about it! Hehe I asked my daughter and she clarified it for me.

And I agree with you, we loved Ohana's breakfast ... That's also a great choice. My other choice would be Chef Mickeys!

 

[Wills Mom]

As long as you cancel 24 hours in advance you'll be fine. So basically, if you wake up on Tuesday morning and decide that your ds didn't really take well to the characters at the MK last night and you really don't think that your Wednesday breakfast at CP is a good idea, then you can cancel it and not be penalized with a fee. Many people cancel a few ADR's once they get on vacation, so you'll be fine so long as you do it within the 24 hour time frame. I would schedule any character ADR's for a day that isn't toward the begining of your trip. This way you can figure out based on his reactions to the characters whether or not it will be worth your time/money and you'll also have plenty of time to cancel if needed .

Thats excellent! Thank you Now just to wait til we're 180 days out!! Feels forever away!

 

[jimandami]

Ohana breakfast has Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch!

 

[of2dbeach]

This is what I would do. Take him into the park and see how he reacts to being close to the Characters. That way you will know if you should try a character Breakfast or not. CP is very laid back. They come to the table take pics do the autograph book etc. They even played around with my DD9 who was a bit shy of them so that helped her out. My dd9 still isnt crazy on being up close to them , but she likes "Seeing" them. I suggested CP because most little one know Pooh and like him but be warned he is HUGE and that might be scary. Hope it works out for you and take pics!!

 

[danceintherain]

I also recommend doing a meal with "face" characters. They tend to be a bit less scary. Your other options would be 1900 Park Fare for dinner, Akershus, or CRT.

You could also make ADRs for two later on in your trip, and see how he responds to characters in the parks, then cancel whichever one seems less appealing.

 

[eeyorefan7]

We love crystal palace. I have been there for breakfast 5 different times and always great. We just tried lunch last year and it was very good as well. The interaction is wonderful, the characters are from pooh. I have been to chef mickeys for dinner two different times. Not im pressed with the food at all. Everything i tried i didnt like. Either it wasnt cook enough or didnt taste very good, not to mention my lil one didnt like anything. Not even the mac and cheese!lol But the character interaction from mickey and gang was good.

 

[Wills Mom]

Thanks for all the help guys I agree that the best thing to do would be to make a couple of reservations - one with "face" characters and one with maybe Mickey or Winnie and see how Will responds in the parks. I'm not sure if a character meal is the way to go, the more I read about it the more unsure I am! I mean, I would love him to go and get time with the characters but I'm not sure if he's old enough! Everyone seems to have a different opinion - some say that he's young enough not to realise he could be scared whereas others are telling me he will definitely be afraid! Its certainly different to be planning to bring a small child but even so I can't wait

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We first took my DD to WDW when she was 14 months. She loved all the characters she saw. We went back when she was 2.5yo and again, she had no fear of the characters. Then we went for a trip when she was 3.5yo, and she was scared of everyone, including the face characters. That is, until the last night we were there and we exited the Winnie the Pooh ride and she saw Tigger greeting people across the way. This was back when they still had Pooh's Playful Spot open. She wanted to meet Tigger. So we got in line and when it was her turn to meet Tigger, she was so excited she was bouncing around. I had to hold her still in a hug to so we could get a picture. That's still one of our favorite pictures of all time. She has a look of absolute glee on her face. After that, she was completely over her fear of characters.

 

[Missy13d69]

Thanks for all the help guys I agree that the best thing to do would be to make a couple of reservations - one with "face" characters and one with maybe Mickey or Winnie and see how Will responds in the parks. I'm not sure if a character meal is the way to go, the more I read about it the more unsure I am! I mean, I would love him to go and get time with the characters but I'm not sure if he's old enough! Everyone seems to have a different opinion - some say that he's young enough not to realise he could be scared whereas others are telling me he will definitely be afraid! Its certainly different to be planning to bring a small child but even so I can't wait

NEVER listen to people who say things like "he will definitely be afraid", because they have no clue. A shy, timid child may be over the moon excited over characters, or they may be shy and timid. An outgoing people loving child may scream bloody murder and freak out, or be their usual out going self. You are the only one who can judge how your child might act beforehand, but all kids are different and you never know for sure until you have them in the situation.

 

[Wills Mom]

Yeah you're right! I think with a little planning we can all have a blast! I am optimistic that he will like the characters but we'll definitely see how he handles them from afar before we do any M&G or a character meal!

 

[PosadaGirl519]

We are planning only breakfast reservations for our upcoming trip (with the exception of Be Our Guest for lunch!) We are trying to start our days with full bellies and graze sporadically for the rest of the meals. I found DD much more cooperative with earlier reservations than trying to plan everything around when she might be hungry later on.

We are shooting for:
1900 Park Fare. We did dinner a few years ago and really liked it so we are giving breakfast a shot.
Cape May. Same reasoning as above, plus we are staying at the Boardwalk.
Boma. We lllloooooovvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeee Boma!!! They have all the standard breakfast favorites and plenty of African infused breakfast options. AKL is also an awesome place to wander around for an hour or two.
Kouzzina. Again, staying at the Boardwalk. Plus the menu looks awesome!
Kona Cafe. Everyone keeps raving about Tonga Toast. I must try this!
Whispering Canyons Cafe. Just a staple for my family to eat breakfast at in WDW. Ketchup anyone?

Check out the menus at disneyworld.com to help you find a place that has something for everyone. The Biergarten is a fun one for families.

 

[eeyore29]

I highly recommend Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios. It has Disney Jr. characters for breakfast & lunch I believe. We did lunch and DD was 2.5 at the time. It was by far the best character meal we ever had. At the time DD was only familiar with Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates. There was also Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, and June from the Little Einsteins. Since it's geared toward the toddler set, the place was half-empty (or maybe that was because it was an early lunch ADR at 11:30 I think). Because it was so empty, the characters came back around at least 4-5 times and each one colored with DD in her coloring book. She loved all of them even though she only knew Jake. I think she would've ran off with Jake and married him if she knew what that meant! She was so totally smitten! Another great thing is there were 2 entertainers who sang songs from all the Disney Jr. shows. DD was in heaven! Although she kept craning her neck trying to find a TV to see where the music was coming from! And the food was good, too. Lots of different, non-typical buffet food...and I don't mean weird stuff, just stuff you don't find at buffets, like subs and pasta salad. I'm a very picky eater, and I found a lot of "normal" type food selections (hot & cold). We're hoping DD still likes Disney Jr. when we go back next year so we can do H&V again!