I picked Hollywood and Vine, garden grill, Cinders table, and crystal palace ( all lunch) and BOG for one nights dinner. I am just going with my two girls my hubby isn't going. Breakfast will be at hotel and the rest of the dinners will be at hotel. I figured in the July heat especially since its the week of the 4th I am going. Even though its going to be expensive, knowing that we can sit in air conditioning and eat for how ever long it takes sounds good. But at the same time I totally agree with klayfish, you buy the autograph books and see characters in the park. It's quite aggravating to be over thinking this like I am lol. And I am driving my husband crazy. Cause he just says do what I want. lol So he is no help.
I am more pragmatic than most so I always look at things as does it make sense from a time standpoint, as that is really the big question. If by doing Character Dining you will be able to save some time and meet some characters you were going to wait in line for anyway, this is a good idea. We find that there is so much we want to do but not be stressed out about it, so I can do something that will kill two birds with one stone, then I am up for it.
We have probably done most of the Character Dining meals and I really think it depends on your kids. It is a great way to get autographs and pictures without having to wait in line, so if you are planning on doing a lot of autographs and pictures, then it is worth it and since you do not go often then Character Dining may be worth it for your family.
I agree with
@Oshay1 - generally the character interaction is better at character dining, plus you get to meet characters you may not be able to find in the parks. I think we have reserved 7 character meals for our upcoming trip. Some are old favorites, and only 2 (H&V and Cape May) are new to us. We tend to do breakfast instead of lunch, and kill 2 birds with 1 stone: 1) meeting characters without standing in line, and 2) we eat enough for breakfast - which is usually cheaper than lunch - so we don't eat much of a lunch. Usually a CS place or a snack for the kids, while we adults skip lunch entirely. You can book a pre-park opening breakfast and get pictures in the park before there are too many people around; alternatively, you can book a late breakfast time at some of these places and take a break, pay a lower breakfast price, and get both breakfast and lunch food.
I had no desire to do H&V, but we are doing the Fantasmic package so that's the bonus. If you were considering dropping 1, I'd drop that one first unless your kids love love love love Disney Jr. Garden Grill is very relaxed and the food is good, and the characters interaction is excellent. Also maybe the only place you see Chip and Dale. Plus if you don't have Mickey lined up for a meet and greet, he's there. Cinderella's table - to me, this was fun even as an adult. because it's IN Cinderella's castle. That said, it is $$$$$. If you wanted to save a little $ and still see a lot of princesses and eat in a castle, Akershus is a little more affordable. But the setting at CRT is pretty awesome. Crystal Palace is decent and the restaurant is pretty. BOG dinner is the only place to see the beast, and he's pretty fun. Plus the food is pretty good.
My 6yo's favorites are - CRT, Akershus, BOG dinner (not always in that order).
My and DH's favorites are: Tusker house (better food), BOG, and 1900 Park Fare. We also like CRT and Akershus because we like the food.
I went to WDW as a kid and we never did a character meal, and didn't interact a ton with the characters that were walking around the parks. My kids, on the other hand, LOVE the characters, and meeting characters is as big a part of the trip as doing the rides. As a 4yo my daughter willingly waited an hour to meet Joy and Sadness and another 20 minutes to meet Baymax. You can certainly have a great time at WDW without doing any character meals, and you can also do a WDW trip where you meet ALL the characters, and anything in between.