Which Character Meals are a must do in WDW?

[sara969]

When we went to Disneyland Paris last year we did a character meal (dinner) in Cafe Mickey and a Birthday cake for my 3yr old (at the time) little girl.
It was good fun.

We also did a Toy Story tea party which was fab, it was a buffet of cakes and pastries and drinks with characters from Toy Story. My daughter loved it!!

What Character meals would you reccomend doing in WDW???
My daughter will be 4yrs old at the time and her cousin will be coming too and he will be 12yrs old.

If there are any that u reccomend, do u have details of costs and should it be booked before we travel???

Thanks soooooooooo much for your help everyone, your all fab

 

[Sapper383]

I have a 4 year old and it will be her first time in Disney ( it will be my 3rd). We have booked 1900 park fare for dinner, Its a character meal, with Cinderella,Stepsisters, stepmother and prince charming.
Some say the food is not the best but the entertainment is good. You will definatly need to make reservations before you go.

We are also going to the Crystal Palace MK for breakfast with Pooh and friends. We have booked for 8am so that we can get into the park before it officialy opens. Cant wait to walk down main street with no crowds!!!

We are also doing the Rainforest Cafe, T-rex, Garden Grill at epcot with chip and dale, planet hollywood, Prime time diner and 50's prime time cafe.

You can check out reviews at WDW info.

We have made reservations for all of the above!

hope this helps

Sam x

 

[DISWolves]

Chef Mickeys at Contemporary, but seating position can be a bit hit & miss.
Also recommend Akershus in EPCOT

 

[gemmybear83]

They all get great reviews - i would go with whatever characters are your favourites Breakfasts are cheaper than lunch and dinner

 

[doverfox]

chip and dale can be found at the campfire near the meadows in fort wilderness its free the is a sing along and a film. you can buy smores kits and toast marshmallows on the fire.
dave rachel and the girls.
we plan to do mickeys backyard bbq it looks like its different interaction with caracters

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

My favourite is Crystal palace at MK - you do normally need to reseve. If you can get an early breakfast you get the added bonus of walking down Main Street when it is virtually empty

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Depends on which Characters your children are into really.

We did Chef Mickeys last year was fantastic.
This year we tried Crystal palace evening meal tbh I didn't enjoy it,we was rushed from being seated..characters was at our table as soon as we sat down..maybe it was a one off..but I felt it wasn't worth the $120.
T-rex was fantastic and well worth every penny spent.Children enjoyed this one very much.
Ohana's was OK,I enjoyed it,girls did but DP didn't

I guess it's hit or miss.
I have learned not to book too many,especially with young children..But each to their own..

 

[Pegasus928]

Hi Sara
I have just finished reading your DLRP trip report and enjoyed every word of it. Your family certainly look like you have the Disney spirit and will absolutely 100% love WDW. Your daughter is gorgeous and looks as though she had a fantastic time - especially at the Toy Story Tea Party.
Like has already been said your first thoughts need to be which characters your daughter or cousin would get the biggest kick out of seeing. I had a quick look on the Disney site and couldn't see any mention of a Toy Story character meal - but I could be wrong and someone will be here shortly to correct me if that is the case.
I think the only character meal we are planning on doing this trip is Crystal Palace - purely for the opportunity to get a family photo in front of the castle with (hopefully) no-one in the background.

 

[natalielongstaff]

for a girl i would reccomend the princess storybook breakfast at EPCOT

http://allears.net/menu/menu_psb.htm

 

[grannyed]

We were there in 2006...DGdaughs aged 2and a half and 7...the youngest remembers very little - even so at the time she loved the Princess breakfast in Epcot...most of the princessess were there and they all took time to spend some time with her and her big sister. The little one sees the photos and can't wait to go back next year. We also did breakfast with Pooh - initially she was a little wary of the characters .. but she came round....they're very good and know when to back off a bit with the little ones

We also took them to Mickey's BBQ and have a fab movie of the little one dancing in front of Chip and when the music stopped he got down on one knee and opened his arms and she ran straight in and got a lovely hug.

As I say she remember vey little but we're off back next year and she's will be 6 and really looking forward to it.

Her big sister loved every single one..and alhough she'll be 11 next year and considers herself 'grown up' she's also looking forward to doing it all over again.

We'll also have an 18month old......

The food wasn't bad...but not fantastic either...but that wasn't what it was all about.

We prebooked the character meals...even so couldn't get CRP which we are hoping to do AS WELL next time.

 

[sara969]

Hi Sara
I have just finished reading your DLRP trip report and enjoyed every word of it. Your family certainly look like you have the Disney spirit and will absolutely 100% love WDW. Your daughter is gorgeous and looks as though she had a fantastic time - especially at the Toy Story Tea Party.
Like has already been said your first thoughts need to be which characters your daughter or cousin would get the biggest kick out of seeing. I had a quick look on the Disney site and couldn't see any mention of a Toy Story character meal - but I could be wrong and someone will be here shortly to correct me if that is the case.
I think the only character meal we are planning on doing this trip is Crystal Palace - purely for the opportunity to get a family photo in front of the castle with (hopefully) no-one in the background.

Awww thank you Pegasus I am glad you enjoyed my trip report.
We had a magical time and loved every minute of it
If we adored Disneyland Paris then i can not begin to imagine how much we will like WDW.
I am soooo excited!! I have definately got that Disney Bug again
My daughter is also excited but dosnt really understand the difference between DLP and WDW, i just keep telling her that we are going too a much bigger Disneyland

Regarding the Character Meals, i would probably take my Daughter to Princess type one, but i dont think her 12yr old cousin will be impressed as he is a boy
So perhaps if there was a meal with all Disney characters like: Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Donald etc.... ??
I will have to look more into it before we decide.

 

[sara969]

for a girl i would reccomend the princess storybook breakfast at EPCOT

http://allears.net/menu/menu_psb.htm

Ooooooh that does look amazing! My daughter would love that and a chance for her to wear one of her Princess dresses
But we are going with her 12yr old cousin who is a boy, im sure he wont be impressed with a breakfast with the princesses
But we could perhaps do a seperate character meal?? Will bear it in mind for sure.
Thank you

 

[Pegasus928]

So perhaps if there was a meal with all Disney characters like: Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Donald etc.... ??
I will have to look more into it before we decide.

Then you need to be at Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary.

When we went in Feb we were visited by Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. As I understand it Daisy pops in occassionaly as well.
It's a buffet style breakfast, quite reasonable I would say - though not one of the best breakfasts available - but the way I see it is you are paying for the character interaction more than you are the food.

Happy planning

 

[sara969]

We were there in 2006...DGdaughs aged 2and a half and 7...the youngest remembers very little - even so at the time she loved the Princess breakfast in Epcot...most of the princessess were there and they all took time to spend some time with her and her big sister. The little one sees the photos and can't wait to go back next year. We also did breakfast with Pooh - initially she was a little wary of the characters .. but she came round....they're very good and know when to back off a bit with the little ones

We also took them to Mickey's BBQ and have a fab movie of the little one dancing in front of Chip and when the music stopped he got down on one knee and opened his arms and she ran straight in and got a lovely hug.

As I say she remember vey little but we're off back next year and she's will be 6 and really looking forward to it.

Her big sister loved every single one..and alhough she'll be 11 next year and considers herself 'grown up' she's also looking forward to doing it all over again.

We'll also have an 18month old......

The food wasn't bad...but not fantastic either...but that wasn't what it was all about.

We prebooked the character meals...even so couldn't get CRP which we are hoping to do AS WELL next time.

WOW sounds like you all had an amazing time
The BBQ sounds fun too.

I wonder if there is a website with a list of all the character meals in WDW so i can have a sneak peak

 

[sara969]

Then you need to be at Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary.

When we went in Feb we were visited by Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. As I understand it Daisy pops in occassionaly as well.
It's a buffet style breakfast, quite reasonable I would say - though not one of the best breakfasts available - but the way I see it is you are paying for the character interaction more than you are the food.

Happy planning

Oooooh that sounds perfect
Sounds a bit like CAFE MICKEY in DLP, where my daughter had her birthday cake.

Where abouts in CHEF MICKEY, where is it near? I reallllllllllly need a map of WDW to get my bearings before i go, cus i really can not picture it yet.
How can we pre-book this before we go?
Many thanks for your help

 

[gemmybear83]

Oooooh that sounds perfect
Sounds a bit like CAFE MICKEY in DLP, where my daughter had her birthday cake.

Where abouts in CHEF MICKEY, where is it near? I reallllllllllly need a map of WDW to get my bearings before i go, cus i really can not picture it yet.
How can we pre-book this before we go?
Many thanks for your help

Look on www.allears.net for loads of info and photos of the restuarants, maps etc. I would also buy a guide book too, the brits guide to orlando is a good one to start with

You can book for restaurants 90 days before you travel on the phone or online. For character meals I would book 90 days before - dining at WDW is much more popular than Disneyland Paris

 

[Pegasus928]

Oooooh that sounds perfect
Sounds a bit like CAFE MICKEY in DLP, where my daughter had her birthday cake.

Where abouts in CHEF MICKEY, where is it near? I reallllllllllly need a map of WDW to get my bearings before i go, cus i really can not picture it yet.
How can we pre-book this before we go?
Many thanks for your help

Chef Mickeys is in the Contemporary Resort which is one of the monorail stops. If you stay onsite at another resort you could bus there in the morning - then once you have had breakfast you just walk to the monorail platform and head off to either MK or back to the TTC for Epcot.
To prebook you will need to ring up 90days before the day you want to eat - unless you are onsite where it would then be 100 days (again I am not 100% if that is the case as we have never stayed onsite - but folks on here sometimes talk about the 90+10 day rule)

 

[Pegasus928]

Just found this site but cannot vouch for its quality as it wont let me load any of the maps here (damn this middle eastern internet connection )

http://www2.disney.co.uk/usa-resorts/waltdisneyworld/VII/index.html

Let me know if it is any good so I can save it to my favourites

Another thing worth having in your favourites is the link below. It is the Disney Dining Reservations Planner and we have found it really useful. It lists all the character meals and you just put the date in you want to do them. It then calculates the date when you can call and even provides the number.
We put the dates in then print it off to put in our 'planning folder' (what do you mean you don't have of those)

Hope it helps

 

[sara969]

Just found this site but cannot vouch for its quality as it wont let me load any of the maps here (damn this middle eastern internet connection )

http://www2.disney.co.uk/usa-resorts/waltdisneyworld/VII/index.html

Let me know if it is any good so I can save it to my favourites

I know what you mean, we used to work in Kuwait which isnt far from Qatar and we used to have the same problem... connection was soooo slow!
My real father is from Qatar, still lives out there

 

[sara969]

Just found this site but cannot vouch for its quality as it wont let me load any of the maps here (damn this middle eastern internet connection )

http://www2.disney.co.uk/usa-resorts/waltdisneyworld/VII/index.html

Let me know if it is any good so I can save it to my favourites

Another thing worth having in your favourites is the link below. It is the Disney Dining Reservations PLanner and we have found it really useful. It lists all the character meals and you just put the date in you want to do them. It then calculates the date when you can call and even provides the number.
We put the dates in then print it off to put in our 'planning folder' (what do you mean you don't have of those)

Hope it helps

Thank you Maps are perfect, definately worth saving on my favourites.
Folder is a great idea, i just love planning Disney trips... so exciting!!