Character Dining vs Character meets for a 10YO girl

[ryman471]

first off, I am not poor but I am not rich so i have to consider cost some.
I have a 10YO daughter that has never been here. It will be her first and maybe last trip before an adult, maybe. trying to get other parent's opinions on this age and how the character meets generally work. I plan on only booking a few table meals. debating whether one of those meals is worth the extra cost as a character meal or just meet charactors in lines throughout the park. I would not be using FP

Keep in mind my 10YO daughter was in love with all the princesses and Frozen from the age of 1 until about 8. Now it is almost a 180 degree thing between her and her friends. she wants to make sure she is not associated with any items or clothing frozen, she is debating if she wants to see frozen 2, and thinks the princesses are cool but knows they are all dressed up and knows all the characters are not real. that 10 year old stigma at school with friends thing, ugh.
She is interested in seeing characters as a "sure" why not while we are there thing but not crazy and a requirement like she would have been 2 years ago. Maybe she will want more of that character interaction closer we get (June) but i need to book dinners next week and back and forth whether i should do a character meal (leaning toward CRT or Artist Point) or stand in a few lines to see characters in the park.
Any insight on the 10 year old "tween" stage right now. Thanks!

 

[DrunkJam]

I prefer character meals to waiting in lines. And so do my children. The non buffet ones are better for meeting, because you don't have to worry about missing a character while you fill your plate. But, it also depends which characters you want to meet.
Also, character meals turned out to be my son's favourite aspect of the holiday, at 5, 6 and 11!

 

[LizGirl]

I'll preface my response by saying that we go to the parks a lot relative to most people so that may desensitize my kids a bit but...

I have a 12 and 10 year old and they really could not care less about meeting characters. They like meeting the Star Wars characters and high five others if they are walking by or whatever but are not interested in waiting a long time for the meet and greets. If I purchased a character meal, they would humor me and pose for photos but do not request them. They aren't embarrassed - just not really amused by it any more.

The other side of the argument is that her buddies will not be around to make her feel uncool so she may have some interest while there with you. Meeting characters is a thing most people do at Disney and she won't stand out for doing it.

If it were me, I wouldn't spend the money on an expensive meal just for characters, unless it's a place you want to go anyways.

 

[gharter]

It really depends on what characters your kids want to meet.
Some are available only at M&Gs, others only at character meals.
Personally, I would rather pick the characters we want to see in the lines and skip an average at best meal.

 

[kboo]

I would suggest 1 princess meal - Akershus or CRT or Artist Point - and leave it at that. Sometimes the lines for princesses and other characters can be long, and then you are committing time you could be doing "other" "cool" stuff to getting a picture taken with someone in a costume. But everybody's gotta eat, so doing a meal with a lot of characters (Akershus would be your best bet if you're doing dining plan, as it's only 1 credit), she'll get to see the characters, get some pictures, but still have some plausible deniability about whether she "chose" to see them. (looking for the nudge, nudge, wink wink face). Also, if you do a pre-park opening breakfast, you have the added benefit of being in the park before it opens, leading to some great pictures and possibly getting on some hard-to-get rides without waiting too long in lines. ie - find a day where the park opens at 9am, no EMH (extra magic hours), and book an 8am breakfast. Just walking around a near empty park going to your breakfast will be worth it. (and stop and take a few pictures)

 

[nursejackie]

I would get lots of ADRs then make your decision nearer to your departure date. Lots can change in 6 months in the life of a child, and what she feels now could be totally different then.

 

[sponica]

I feel like if I was going to do a character meal with a kid who might not want to be around characters, I would either do something like Bon Voyage breakfast (because the characters are different), 1900 Park Fare or Garden Grill (I like the food, and Chip n Dale don't seem little kiddy)

 

[SG131]

I MUCH prefer character meals to waiting in parks. It is especially annoying to get the princesses in Epcot because you have to time it right.

That said, with your daughters age would recommend Artists Point. We went with my friend and her 15 year old daughter and even though she rolls her eyes at most things she enjoyed the meal. If your daughter is thinking she may be too cool for princesses the dwarves are great and they’ll be pretty funny. My other recommendation would be 1900 Park Fare for dinner. The step sisters are hilarious.

I think she may be a little old to appreciate the purely princess character meal. You could always do as PP said and schedule something and cancel closer if she decides she’s not interested. But I think these meals have such good character interaction they could draw her in. It also helps if you get into it too and talk to the characters to start things off.

 

[Orionreplay]

My 12 year old daughter has always abhorred the princesses and never had a princess phase. So, with that said, she thoroughly enjoys the food and interactions with Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale at Garden Grill. They come by, they pose with her and off they go.

We tried the Hollywood & Vine this last trip and she was very happy to pose with those classic characters, Donald, Mickey, etc. It's always such a quick high five and a snap of a picture.

I don't know if it's "cool" or not. But she participates every time.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS12 doesn’t want anything to do with characters at this point. That being said, if this was going to be a once and done childhood WDW trip, I would book one princess meal (I would do Akershus - bigger bang for the buck in terms of number of characters) and one Mickey meal (would recommend Tusker House or Garden Grill). You have until the day before to cancel, so why not have them booked just in case. If you can incorporate the meal into your park plans so you aren’t adding extra travel into your day - bonus. Character meals are a time efficient way to meet a lot of characters in one fell swoop.

 

[BrianL]

It sounds like characters aren't a priority, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do a character meal. I would just see where you want to eat for the food/atmosphere and go from there. I have little interest in characters, but I still eat at Tusker house and Garden Grill because I like the food at those places. To me the characters are secondary and while they can be more expensive, some non-character meals are expensive too, so, you know, I just go where the good food is.

 

[ryman471]

All some great thoughts and insight! After reading and thinking through, i think i definitely want to book one or 2 character meals, especially since can cancel without penalty! Great insight all! will be looking at the options with my daughter this weekend to get a 'feel' for what she is digging. She may be in love with it, who knows. after all, She still is amped up and believes in santa and elf on the shelf. at least one more Christmas

 

[KenHutch]

If your going to eat in the parks anyways look for character meals. Remember they come to you and you can save a couple of hours this way. And as other posters have said look at Akershus it is a ton more affordable than CRT. I have a 10 and a 19 year old girls and we still do at least one princess meal and for characters usually Tusker House, great character interaction and very good food.

 

[Alan1972]

All some great thoughts and insight! After reading and thinking through, i think i definitely want to book one or 2 character meals, especially since can cancel without penalty! Great insight all! will be looking at the options with my daughter this weekend to get a 'feel' for what she is digging. She may be in love with it, who knows. after all, She still is amped up and believes in santa and elf on the shelf. at least one more Christmas

I promise there is no way she actually still believes in Santa and Elf on the Shelf but she still wants to have fun with it which is the most important thing.

 

[mikeyg1479]

I like the meals because they give you line free photo ops built in for multiple characters depending on venue, which means time not wasted in the parks waiting in a line to see a single (maybe pair) of characters, when that can be better spent checking out attractions.

That said, character meals cost money, lines in the parks do not, so there's that, but I think its money well spent when time is your biggest commodity IMO while at Disney.

 

[Vickie1016]

See what fits into your budget - both $$ and time (depending when you go M&G lines can get long). Let her help you plan the meals (look at the menus). She might surprise you & pick a character meal, for the menu & the characters.

(Side note - My DD is now 13. We have been fortunate to take many once a year trips. DD still loves character meals (Tusker House is her favorite). She also still likes to do some meet & greets, especially the Fab 5, and Star Wars.)

Happy planning!!

 

[mdsouth]

I MUCH prefer character meals to waiting in parks. It is especially annoying to get the princesses in Epcot because you have to time it right.

That said, with your daughters age would recommend Artists Point. We went with my friend and her 15 year old daughter and even though she rolls her eyes at most things she enjoyed the meal. If your daughter is thinking she may be too cool for princesses the dwarves are great and they’ll be pretty funny. My other recommendation would be 1900 Park Fare for dinner. The step sisters are hilarious.

I think she may be a little old to appreciate the purely princess character meal. You could always do as PP said and schedule something and cancel closer if she decides she’s not interested. But I think these meals have such good character interaction they could draw her in. It also helps if you get into it too and talk to the characters to start things off.

"DJ Rex" is a re-purposed RX series pilot droid that plays music and such in Ogas. It was the original pilot for Star Tours as voiced by Paul Reubens. Think of like Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Rays - he is the only "entertainment" in Oga's as far as I know.

All some great thoughts and insight! After reading and thinking through, i think i definitely want to book one or 2 character meals, especially since can cancel without penalty! Great insight all! will be looking at the options with my daughter this weekend to get a 'feel' for what she is digging. She may be in love with it, who knows. after all, She still is amped up and believes in santa and elf on the shelf. at least one more Christmas

Definitely plan at least one character meal. Like others have said you have to eat and then she can have the experience of meeting characters without standing in a line to meet them instead of doing rides. I am a middle school teacher so I totally unnderstand how kids can say one thing and act around their peers and then actually think and enjoy other things when they are just with their family and not around their peers. I expect that once she is at WDW and sees everyone, including older teens and twenty-somethings enjoying meeting and interacting with characters she will realize it is not just a little kid thing and might enjoy herself too. She might even end up asking for a second meal with the characters or ask to go meet more during your trip. So, consider having the character meal on your second day of the trip. I figure give her one day to just experience Disney, see what it is about and then the next day have a character meal or meet and greet to determine if she would enjoy more of the same later in the trip.

I promise there is no way she actually still believes in Santa and Elf on the Shelf but she still wants to have fun with it which is the most important thing.

THIS! Kids often find themselves enjoying the experience and having fun with it when they realize people of all ages do too!

See what fits into your budget - both $$ and time (depending when you go M&G lines can get long). Let her help you plan the meals (look at the menus). She might surprise you & pick a character meal, for the menu & the characters.

(Side note - My DD is now 13. We have been fortunate to take many once a year trips. DD still loves character meals (Tusker House is her favorite). She also still likes to do some meet & greets, especially the Fab 5, and Star Wars.)

Happy planning!!

ENJOY your trip!

 

[Aela]

My daughter is 11, and I would also recommend artist point and trattoria el forno’s “Bon Voyage” breakfast. Flynn is fun, and most of the tweens enjoy meeting the evil queen. The food at both are good.

 

[cobright]

first off, I am not poor but I am not rich so i have to consider cost some.
...
I plan on only booking a few table meals. debating whether one of those meals is worth the extra cost as a character meal or just meet charactors in lines throughout the park. I would not be using FP
...
She is interested in seeing characters as a "sure" why not while we are there thing but not crazy and a requirement like she would have been 2 years ago. Maybe she will want more of that character interaction closer we get (June) but i need to book dinners next week and back and forth whether i should do a character meal (leaning toward CRT or Artist Point) or stand in a few lines to see characters in the park.
Any insight on the 10 year old "tween" stage right now. Thanks!

Honestly, I think a character meal is your best option. You have to eat right? But standing in a line to meet and greet a Princess that your kiddo only "meh" wants to see anyway is a downer. At a character meal, the characters come to you and will interact with you guys (or not) to a level that seems appropriate based on the kiddo's enthusiasm. And if nothing else, they'll stop buy, trade a couple of quippy lines, pose for a photo, then get on their way.

So consider my favorite character meal, Breakfast at Akershus in Epcot. You can get entry into the park before it opens. Have a great breakfast. Meet 5 fun Princesses. Enjoy a very cool Nordic themed dining hall without actually being crushed with Frozen imagery. If you're on the dining plan, it's a single table service credit vs. CRT's 2.

If you want to add an experience with some Disney classic characters, Tusker House in Animal Kingdom gets you Mickey and the gang, and Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom get you Winnie the Pooh and pals. In both cases the characters offer some great interaction for kiddos of all ages. There are a couple of other good character meals but these 3 have consistently given us the most fun for the time and money spent.

So with one or two character meals you can grab a ton of character interaction and photo opportunities. But there are still a couple of character MnG worth waiting in line for... in no particular order...

• Tinkerbell. Always one of the best character experiences.
• Ariel (Finny version). Because, when else will you get the chance to talk to a mermaid?
• Pocahontas in AK seems to have very endurable lines most of the time we've been.
• Peter Pan. Consistently great roleplay.

Then maybe head over to Galaxy's Edge and criticize (or compliment) a Stormtrooper. That will get some 1 on 1 time right there. First time through the place I told a trooper, "Thank you for your service." about 4 seconds of thoughtful consideration and E responded, "You're welcome citizen." A simple thing but really more fun than I can convey.

 

[Bjkandma]

You will even see tables of adults enjoying a character meal. Every one is a child of "child at heart" when in Disney. Our party consists of a 14 year old who still loves Stitch. Immensely enjoys the Disney movies (Not for character, but now appreciates the artists works, story lines and the "imagineers interpretation" of the story line).

Another person is 30+ and loves Piglet's rosy check. We do at least one character meal on each trip. Enjoy letting your "inner child" out!! Enjoy making many magical memories!!!