Character Dining Choices

TinkFan74

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 30, 2011
I will be bringing my 9 yo niece to WDW in May and I would love to take her to a maximum of four character breakfasts on our trip . Which four character meals would you hit to see the greatest number of different characters that a nine year old would enjoy?
TIA
 
Classic - Tusker House for food - love safari outfits but no Mickey; Chef Mickey's for atmosphere, but my least favorite; also really enjoyed Cape May Cafe breakfast if you are staying in that area, but no Mickey. Cape May felt more intimate and relaxing.
Winnie the Pooh - Crystal Palace
Princesses- Akershus

I think that covers the basics.
 
I almost mentioned 1900 Park Fare - it has some fun characters but the space is not comfortable. Dinner has the Cinderella characters, and the stepsisters are a hoot.
 


Garden Grill in EP for intimate/quiet & Mickey, food brought to you, no multiple trips to a buffet & worried about missing a character.

Akershus or Cindy's Table for princesses with price & availability being the deciding factor.

And that's about it. After 2 I think you'll find yourself wanting to cancel other ADR's, realizing the time & money spent eating & waiting on characters will be sufficient for 2 of your mornings, unless your staying more than say 14 days.
 
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I almost mentioned 1900 Park Fare - it has some fun characters but the space is not comfortable. Dinner has the Cinderella characters, and the stepsisters are a hoot.

I agree dinner is the preferred meal here, I thought of mentioning it too & is a good option if OP would consider a dinner. Would be my preference for seeing Cindy.
 
We do Garden Grill every trip - good food, Chip & Dale, Mickey and Pluto.
Tusker House - food is okay. Chaotic but good character interactions - Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey
Akershus if she likes princesses - meet 5 here. Food is good. This one is more pricey but excellent for princesses.
Crystal Palace - Pooh characters. Food is good.
1900 PF usually has Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. Food is great
Trattoria al Forno is great food. Has Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Ariel, and Eric

Just depends on the characters you want to meet.
 


I will be bringing my 9 yo niece to WDW in May and I would love to take her to a maximum of four character breakfasts on our trip . Which four character meals would you hit to see the greatest number of different characters that a nine year old would enjoy?
TIA
Kenny the Pirate has a detailed list with (pros/cons too):
https://www.kennythepirate.com/dining/disney-world-character-meal-list/

First you have to ask yourself, "Is it about THE characters or are your choices based on THE food quality?"

For instance, Tusker House (for most folks) has better food than Chef Mickey's, but no Minnie Mouse or Pluto at Tusker.

Next question, do you think your niece prefers 'face characters' (i.e., a person with make-up) versus the 'fur characters' (i.e., a person(?) inside a Tigger suit - a 'fur character').

Then, which Princesses?

Then, does the Park matter? For instance, Akershus may be more convenient (and less expensive than) Cinderella's Castle....Magic Kingdom has the choice of Winnie the Pooh (Crystal Palace) versus Chip & Dale (Garden Grill) in Epcot. Bon Voyage is along the Boardwalk, not inside a Park....

Combinations and permutations become part of the 'personal calculus' that makes everyone's vacations unique.

In no particular order, we:
a.) enjoy Cape May breakfast because Goofy is my favorite character,
b.) prefer Tusker House for Mickey & friends (to get River of Lights tickets),
c.) enjoy Bon Voyage Breakfast (because it may be the most humane character dining experience and has Princes & Princesses),
d.) preferred Cinderella's Castle for lunch before Disney added Bon Voyage breakfast (because those are very expensive waffles at breakfast inside the Castle),
e.) prefer Beast Castle for dinner (because it's the only time & place to meet The Beast),
f.) prefer 1900 Park Fare for breakfast (because we are Alice in Wonderland fans),
*** Lady Tremain & Evil Stepsisters are a hoot at dinner @ 1900 Park Fare.
 
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I've been bringing my niece since she turned 7 and now she's 21. She still loves Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast and I know she'll love Bon Voyage. Crystal Palace is super cute, 1900 Park Fare is fun and I've heard that Cape May Cafe is great. We are not fans of Chef Mickey's or Tusker House (both are crazy chaotic) or 'Ohana and Akershus (boring menu to us). Minnie's seasonal is adorable, but the food isn't all that great.
 
My family’s faves for breakfast:
1900 with Poppins, Hatter, Tigger, and I’m forgetting someone.
Bon Voyage at Trattoria al Forno: Ariel and Eric, Rapunzel and Flynn
Ohana: lilo, stitch, and I think Pluto?
Then you could always snag somehwhere for the Mickey/Minnie and such like Cape May, Chef Mickey, Tusker House.
 
We will be arriving on a red eye flight and will be staying for 10 nights with our first day being a resort day at the Poly. I would love to do a character meal the day of arrival and would like to stay on the monorail loop, so our choices are Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare, and 'Ohana. I think I will go with Chef Mickey's as it has both Mickey and Minnie, which my niece wants to meet. I think I will also get a reservation at Akershus to see the princesses on our World Showcase day, Crystal Palace for Pooh and Piglet on the day we are focusing on Fantasyland, and 'Ohana on a sleep in day for myself and my adult daughter as we have never been and we want to try the Tonga toast. Thank you for the suggestions, all were helpful.
 
Wilderness Lodge has a new character dining meal called Storybook Dining! Snow White, Evil Queen, and Dwarves???
 
@TinkFan74 Ohana breakfast does not have the Tonga Toast. They have an all you can eat breakfast skillet with eggs, waffles, sausage, ham, potatos and biscuits. Kona Cafe and the quick service place at the Poly have the Tonga toast
 
@TinkFan74 Ohana breakfast does not have the Tonga Toast. They have an all you can eat breakfast skillet with eggs, waffles, sausage, ham, potatos and biscuits. Kona Cafe and the quick service place at the Poly have the Tonga toast
Oh no, does anybody know if they have veggie sausages? We are vegetarian and this meal wouldn't be worth it without a meat alternative. Maybe I should just book 1900 Park Fare as they have always gone out of their way to fill us up.
 
Oh no, does anybody know if they have veggie sausages? We are vegetarian and this meal wouldn't be worth it without a meat alternative. Maybe I should just book 1900 Park Fare as they have always gone out of their way to fill us up.
IMO 1900 PF is much better food and character wise than Ohana. I have a Stitch fanatic and she does not like that breakfast at all anymore.
 
WHen I took my Princesses tehy loved:

Akershus breakfast (even more than CRT dinner)

1900 PF breakfast the 8 YO manages the signature Alice curtsy for the remainder of the tip and well beyond

Chef Mickey dinner on arrival night (loved this one!)

I would add Garden Grill for the Chipmunks.

We did several more, and they enjoyed them all, however the three I listed were their favorites.
 
@TinkFan74 Not sure if there's a meat alternative at Ohana, but i believe they also serve some kind of bread and fruit before the skillet if that makes a difference. Also, I'd check out the Akershus menu before trying that as well since you're vegetarian. The family style part just serves eggs, potato casserole, sausage and bacon, and then there's a buffet appetizer selection but part of that is also meat options. I think the non-meat options are bagels, rolls, pastries, yogurt and fruit. Tusker house at Animal Kingdom would be a good option for vegetarians even though a lot of the characters overlap Chef Mickeys
 
Not a character meal, but Be our Guest is fun at breakfast to look at the magical snow outside the windows, enchanted rose, and the painting that turns from prince to beast when lighting strikes.

I think for variety and interest-level of characters, Bon Voyage at Trattoria is the best breakfast. I also might vote for Crystal Palace because the pooh characters are so adorable and the décor is really nice.
 
If your niece likes Tangled or Little Mermaid (especially Tangled), Bon Voyage breakfast is fantastic. The Flynn we were able to meet in February was the best, most fun character with the best character interaction we’ve ever seen (previous character meals have been at Ohana, Garden Grill, Cinderella’s Castle, BOG, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House). The food was great too.
 

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