Which Character meals?

[CVTmarie23]

We are going to Disney in Jan for 4 days with our 2 year old. This will be her first time, we are FL residents, have annual passes and plan to return, but maybe not for another year or so. Our daughter has done well with characters recently, so I am hoping she will enjoy some character meals. Right now she really loves Minnie, but I also think the princesses will be a hit and less scary if she doesn't like full costume ones. She also is consistently in a good mood for breakfast so I am leaning towards those.

Right now, here are the reservations I could get:
-8:05 Crystal Palace (food looks good, but she doesn't know the characters)
-8:15 CRT (she would love the princess, but I could only get reservations on Sat which easywdw says is the 2nd busiest day we will be there)
-12:15 Tusker House Lunch
-Considering H&V dinner with Minnie

Any others I should consider? I would prefer to only do 2, which should I pick?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Tusker House is fun and has everyone in Safari gear!

1900 Park Fare dinner is Cinderella, the prince, and the stepsisters, which is fun.

One thing to consider is that CRT, akershus, Garden Grove and Ohana breakfast all have food brought to you -- they aren't buffets. With a 2YO, it is nice not to be in a buffet line.

 

[CVTmarie23]

Tusker House is fun and has everyone in Safari gear!

1900 Park Fare dinner is Cinderella, the prince, and the stepsisters, which is fun.

One thing to consider is that CRT, akershus, Garden Grove and Ohana breakfast all have food brought to you -- they aren't buffets. With a 2YO, it is nice not to be in a buffet line.

Oh thank you! I didn't think of this. I do prefer to have the food brought to us, Ill save the Crystal Palace for another trip. For some reason I thought they were all buffets.

 

[nherbert]

Not sure if on such a short trip you are going to HS But H&V breakfast have Disney junior characters which at that age she maybe into eg doc mcstuffins and Jake. It's a buffet though.

Garden grill in Epcot has Mickey and chip n dale, and the table revolves and food brought to you.

My DS was scared of the princesses because they could talk, he was ok with the others.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Oh thank you! I didn't think of this. I do prefer to have the food brought to us, Ill save the Crystal Palace for another trip. For some reason I thought they were all buffets.

The ones I cited are "all you care to eat." They will keep the food coming. Key word is coming.

Crystal Palace has a very cute child-height kid buffet, but with a 2 year old, that just means you're bending to reach.

I think the AYCTE vs. buffet is a big consideration when you have kids, because it is just so so nice not to have to do buffet plates and split up as parents to fill them while keeping an eye for the character visit. If there is a character you really want to see, like a Minnie dinner at H&V I think it's worth it, but if you're thinking more than one character SDR, balance it out with the AYCTE.

 

[401Disney]

I'm going to vote for CRT even as an adult I still thought this was fun. My wife and I did this on our honeymoon in May and had fun talking with the princesses and enjoying our meal inside the castle. The tables can get kinda close together but other than that I really enjoyed my meal there. The breakfast food was not a let down at all either.

As far as crowds are concerned depending on what time the park opens that day I think you should be fine as far as morning crowds go. I don't think that should be a major problem. The meal should only take about an hour to an hour and a half which still puts you ahead of the late arrival crowds that come in around 11-12.

 

[Kae]

I would do the Minnie's beach bash at BC. We have always liked that one.

Kae

 

[CVTmarie23]

Thanks everyone. I agree I would rather not do all buffets so I will stick with my CRT reservation. We have annual passes so if we miss anything in MK, we can always go back another day. Ill check out Minnie's beach bash and the H&V as well. Thanks!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

OUR WDW CHARACTER MEAL & BUFFET RANKINGS (*rev: August 2015*):
Results are listed from best to worst
Best Food (quality first, then variety):
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, breakfast-Lunch (moved from #1 Spot due to menu changes)
. . . Garden Grove Swan-dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Cinderella Royal Table (since new menu)
. . . Chef Mickey's
Best Character Interaction (time with guest first, then friendliness):
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Chef Mickey's
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Crystal Palace (barely enough time for a photo)
Best Atmosphere (surroundings and ambiance):
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . Chef Mickey's
.
NOTE1: Results are listed from best to worst. Overall, Tusker House wins due to best food and the length of time the characters stay at each table. A close second is 1900 Park Fare. By far, Chef Mickey's is the loser, due to mediocre character interaction and almost terrible food quality. The very distant second worst is Cinderella Royal Table, for brief time at tables by characters and the new menu.

 

[Malibustyle23]

Which parks are you definitely visiting?