Character dining advice

[MauraSF]

Hello! I am going for a 3 day trip with my 7 and 4 year old--first trip! I see a lot of excitement around character dining, but my kids aren't really all that into Mickey and friends--much more interested in the princesses and more recent characters. For that reason, I'm leaning away from spending the time and money on character dining. Any advice? I wonder if others with similar kids have gone and what their conclusions were...worth it or better to seek out characters in the parks? I've heard you can find a surprising number at Epcot? Thank you!

 

[_19disnA]

There is a recent thread asking about the various character dining options, so might also look there. A few years ago we ate at Chef Mickey's and whatever that revolving restaurant at the Land when there were some small children in our party. Generally, the characters circulate between tables, let you take a few pictures and then move on to the next table.

All of those character meals cost most since part of what you are paying for is the character interaction. If it isn't something that interests your family, you can certainly enjoy a lot of other places to eat and not feel you are missing out on anything.

 

[jtopp]

With a little research, you can find most of the characters in the parks, but it is time consuming. Each character meal offers different choices, so you can find one that meets your needs. Princess themed meals are available in the castle, which may get all your greetings at one location and save the time chasing them down thru the parks

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

My daughter was not really into the fab five before her first trip to WDW at age 3 but I booked one character meal because then I wouldn't stress about taking time in the parks to meet them and it was a more relaxing and fun way for me to enjoy a meal because then she's happy to be in a restaurant and I can actually eat AND now after one WDW trip and one DCL trip she does like the fab five....not as much as Moana still but definitely excited to watch videos of them and point them out if she sees them at a store and will talk about when we met them.

 

[CarolynFH]

much more interested in the princesses and more recent characters.

As above, the meal at CRT in MK is with princesses. So is Akershus, in Norway at Epcot, and the Elsa and Anna M&G is right next door. And the Hollywood & Vine at DHS features stars from Disney Junior at breakfast (Minnie at lunch and dinner). So there are options that don’t involve the Fab 5, if you decide to try one character meal.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

My daughter was not really into the fab five before her first trip to WDW at age 3 but I booked one character meal because then I wouldn't stress about taking time in the parks to meet them and it was a more relaxing and fun way for me to enjoy a meal because then she's happy to be in a restaurant and I can actually eat AND now after one WDW trip and one DCL trip she does like the fab five....not as much as Moana still but definitely excited to watch videos of them and point them out if she sees them at a store and will talk about when we met them.

Very cool your daughter came around! My three year old loved the busses with the characters. How did your kiddo do on the DCL? My boys have started to ask about cruises…

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Very cool your daughter came around! My three year old loved the busses with the characters. How did your kiddo do on the DCL? My boys have started to ask about cruises…

My daughter age 4 at the time loved it so so much. Everything about it from the pools and the characters (preferred the random meets and dining meets to waiting in line) and the shows and making friends and castaway cay and the ice cream and the kids clubs and BBB and hiding ducks and really all of it. She keeps asking when we can go back. But I also have a son who was about 16 months at the time and he struggled a lot. So I did book a placeholder but waiting until he's around 3.5yo to use it so hopefully he has a better time.

 

[Donna M]

Hello! I am going for a 3 day trip with my 7 and 4 year old--first trip! I see a lot of excitement around character dining, but my kids aren't really all that into Mickey and friends--much more interested in the princesses and more recent characters. For that reason, I'm leaning away from spending the time and money on character dining. Any advice? I wonder if others with similar kids have gone and what their conclusions were...worth it or better to seek out characters in the parks? I've heard you can find a surprising number at Epcot? Thank you!

I would avoid the character meals in your case. They are very expensive. My granddaughter loves Pluto and Chef Mickeyś was great for her because of the interaction. When her mother was young it would have been a waste because she was very shy.

Your kids may be just as happy to walk by the characters on the way to a ride since it is a short trip.

 

[Newsies]

I agree with PPs in that you'll probably save money and fare better on meeting who you really want to meet with a little bit of mapping out character M&Gs in the parks, but if this is the kids' first trip, I can understand wanting to do a meal with the characters.

I think Akershus breakfast in Epcot would be a good place for you to hone in on. Breakfast is cheaper than lunch/dinner and they'd typically meet Belle, Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella. Belle and Snow White have two of the longest lines re: character M&Gs in Epcot, so you'd be saving some time in your day by meeting them here versus in Germany/France. If meeting the princesses from Frozen is a must-do for them, an early morning reservation at Akershus then rope dropping Frozen Ever After and heading to meet Anna & Elsa next door is a great plan to optimize your time that day.

Thinking off the top of my head, 'Ohana is a fun one because you can meet Lilo & Stitch (Lilo really doesn't meet anywhere else in the Parks) and Crystal Palace will offer Eeyore and Piglet, both of whom don't meet anywhere else in the Park. And as others have said, Hollywood & Vine breakfast is the place you want to be if meeting any of the Disney Junior characters is important.

 

[Jpack207]

Agreed with the above. We literally ran into most of the princesses at Epcot. That was the way to go for my little girl.

 

[westie55]

When characters are in the parks, they usually have lines that can be rather long. If you definitely want to see characters, IMO a character meal is the best way to check that box. They are expensive, however, as others have mentioned. If your kids aren't that into Mickey and friends, you might want to check out a meal with alternative characters like Storybook Dining or Crystal Palace (one of my favorites). Cinderella's Royal Table has great food IMO and being in the castle is neat. The Festival of Fantasy parade in MK is also a great way to see lots of characters if getting close to them for pictures isn't a priority. My kids are 8, 6, and 1. The one-year-old is too little to know what's what, but the 8 and 6-year-old LOVE the characters despite losing interest in watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse years ago.

 

[fairytaledreamer]

Definitely do character dining I feel like it's worth the money since you don't have to wait in line to see them all and you get individual reactions! Pick based on whichever characters they're more into but we love Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal Table!

 

[kilik64]

Akershus breakfast is what I'd recommend if you want to try a character meal. It's cheaper than lunch or dinner and has normal breakfast food that your kids most likely will eat (eggs, waffles, sausage, bacon, etc). The lunch and dinner has some more adventurous food.

Its a really good character meal. The place is not very big and youll get to meet Belle in her yellow ball gown when you go in, and then there should be 4 other princesses that will come around the tables (Usually Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Tiana, and Rapunzel are in the rotation so a combo of those).