Character Dining w/Older Kids

[my06ds]

I was wondering which character dining would you suggest for those of us with older children. There will be 2 adults, a 17 year old girl and 10 year old boy. I would like to do a character dinner, but I don't want to do something that is geared more for small children. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Melissa

 

[DisneyGigi]

I have a teen and a 10 year old and they still love all the character dining except the princesses. Their favorites are Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree Tavern (sadly not to be a character experience after Jan. 09) and even Crystal Palace with Pooh & Friends. We are taking in all of these plus Garden Grill next month.
I must also say I love the character meals as much as they do!

 

[fauna]

I would suggest the Garden Grill in The Land. The food is good, and we found it to be quieter. You'll meet Farmer Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. This restaurant revolves and partially overlooks LWtL.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

DD was 17 and she requested the Princess Dining - we did Chef Mickey's for me.......

 

[happymom52003]

Another vote for Chef Mickey's

 

[Ausdaddy]

Chef Mickey's is a good choice. Also, I may be in the minority, you can't go wrong with eating in the castle.

 

[HoneyMnShawnee]

My hubby and I did the Garden Grill at Epcot last year and had a blast just the two of us.. When we went back for a trip later in the year with his family and young nieces and nephew, all adults and children loved it.. The food is great by the way..

 

[tigsmom]

My kids are 14 and 20 and they enjoy Chef Mickey's and the Liberty Tree Tavern. We did the Princess Dinner at Epcot's Akershus 2 years ago and they enjoyed that as well (but not the food :lookaroun ).

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Mine will be 19 and 16 when we go this Christmas - we're eating at Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, Cafe Cape May, Donalds Safari Breakfast and 1900 Park Fare. Age isn't a factor at WDW

 

[coltow]

Any character meal makes everyone feel like a kid again. Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's and Ohana would be my choices.

 

[New2WDW]

I would agree with Chef Mickey's - fun for all!

Liberty Tree Tavern and Garden Grille will both stop character meals here at the end of the year but I can not remember the exact dates.

 

[fauna]

I believe Liberty Tree Tavern will no longer have character meals starting 1/09. The Garden Grill will no longer have a character lunch starting sometime this fall (I think). As far as I know, it will still have a character dinner.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I'm 29 and I LOVE character dining! :sohappy::sohappy:

I would suggest LTT or Chef Mickey's

 

[Erin_Akey]

My kids range from 8-16 and all still love the character dining as do my hubby and I! Chef Mickey's is their favorite, followed by Garden Grill. The laast time we were at Garden Grill last year, Mickey and Dale got into a fight over my son and rolled his chair all the way around the restaurant which was so cute and made for a great video of the "chase scene".



We find that Crystal Palace is a bit young with the Pooh characters. The food there is not as good as the ones above either in my opinion. You will also see a clientele of mostly REALLY young kids.

But truthfully, any character experience is a blast.

 

[mouselvrmom]

I don't think any of the character meals are really geared toward young children. there are always plents of adults only that go to them too. The characters might just act differently with young children than they do with older kids or adults.

That being said, i think that any characters that your kids particularily like would make a great meal to go to. If they like mickey there is chef mickeys, garden grill, etc. We really like Crystal Palace. My 14 year old still has a fondness for pooh and friends. I think if you ask your kids and make them part of the planning process they will probably end up enjoying it more. You can look at the menus and see which characters are there.

Whatever you choose, have a wonderful trip!

 

[SchultzFamily]

We took our oldest son for his high school graduation 4 years ago and his girlfriend (so he was 18 and she was 17) and we did Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends for breakfast and Chef Mickey's for dinner. They had a great time at both and really got into the towel waving at CM's. And, I take my 55 year old "kid" to at least one character meal every year--he'd pout if I didn't. This year I'm taking that 55 year old to Crystal Palace and Cape May Cafe.

 

[tazbear]

I agree with the others on Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace. In my opinion, Mickey's backyard BBQ was more for younger kids. My daughter liked the music, but did not want to get up with the crowd of younger kids.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

May I suggest the crystall Palace:slurp:. They have the characters and an awesome buffet that any 10/17 YO would love...

PS Make reservations in advance!!!!!

Hey enjoyed your stay in the Orlando area...
(sorry heard that too many times when I asked for advice in FL) :lookaroun