Character Meals?

QueenOfHearts83

Member
Original Poster
Since this trip to Disney world (feb 2018) will be a secret until Christmas Day, most of the planning has to be done without the kids knowing. I'm trying to figure out which character meal to schedule. Which is your favorite? They are all pretty pricey but are they worth it? Does anyone know if there are any character meals with Princess Jasmin and Princess Tiana?
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
My husband and I are adults and we enjoy the character meals. The princess lineup at Cinderella's Royal Table included Jasmine when we ate there a few years ago but don't know if she's still included. She was not one of the princesses when we ate at Akershus last year. We also enjoyed Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh characters, Tusker House with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. And surprisingly Hollywood and Vine was really good when we had dinner there last year - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy in seasonal costumes. And we love dinner at Be Our Guest and photo with the Beast. I've never seen Tiana in any of the restaurants but she does have a meet and greet in MK.

We had breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Breakfast because it was the cheapest option and we got into MK before it opened. The food was just okay but the atmosphere was great. I think 4 or 5 princesses came to our table during the course of the meal. We also had breakfast at Crystal Palace a few times and we thought the food was better than CRT. We also had a pre-park opening breakfast. Akershus is cheaper than CRT and I liked the food a lot better. I've been there for breakfast and dinner. We've done breakfast and lunch at Tusker House - I prefer the lunch/dinner menu but my husband liked their breakfast. Plus, they now have a Rivers of Light dining package that might make it worth it to you.
 
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belledream

Well-Known Member
I'd say one or two character meals are worth it...a good way to meet and interact with characters without the line...everyone is usually happy getting their own at the buffet...and the atmospheres are lively and fun! Garden Grill is my favorite (though it's more all-you-care-to-enjoy than buffet).
 

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Another shout for The Crystal Palace. Get a breakfast reservation for before park opening (try for 8am) and get some FP's for 9:30am onwards to follow. You'll only see the Winnie the Pooh gang in there but it's a great character buffet and the food is ok too.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
I would have to day breakfast at Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's Royal Table or Ohana, maybe Crystal Palace, but we've not done breakfast there. Just my opinion, dinner has gone downhill at Crystal Palace over the last 5-10 years. We had dinner there last year because of the characters, but decided that was the last time based on the quality and the price.
 

GeoDonJac34

Well-Known Member
You asked if they are worth it, that is a tough question. They are pretty pricey, but I guess it is worth it if you have never eaten there. We don't do them anymore, but one of my favorites was 1900 Park Fare for dinner. The step sisters from Cinderella are a riot.
 

Ryan H. Serowinski

Well-Known Member
but anyways my faves were Cinderella's Royal Table, Crystal Palace, Garden Grill, and 1900 Park Fare. I expect Akershus and the new character Breakfast at Boardwalk(if mom will officially give me the official word, if I'm going to there or not)
 

MacVenture

Member
With 3 kids, we have covered almost all of the character meals. We typically do an early breakfast with the characters. There are a few we repeat each time we visit: Tusker House (AK), 'Ohana, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot), and Chef Mickey's.
 

carriebeth

Well-Known Member
Tiana does an ice cream social on the riverboat for Festival of Fantasy but isn't at any other meal.

Jasmine was at our Askerhaus meal.

Worth it? Well they tend to be all you can eat experiences which made them good value money wise. It makes it easy because you don't have to worry about what your kids should pick off a menu and if they will like it or not...they can eat whatever catches their eye while they are looking at it. I like that kids are not expected to sit all meal at character meals. THey are encouraged and expected to get up and interact. Makes it fun for the kids and relaxing for the parents! Some people like it because they then don't have to wait to see the characters at the parks...however, my kids still want to remeet everyone so that doesn't buy us time!
 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
I really enjoyed breakfast at The Garden Grill in The Land. Characters are Farmer Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. Food is family style. Skillets of everything: eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, coffeecake. The whole restaurant rotates to view parts of Living with Land from above. Characters make a point to visit every table. And best of all (for you), it's not crazy like Chef Mickey's. You get the character interaction without the chaos.
 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
With 3 kids, we have covered almost all of the character meals. We typically do an early breakfast with the characters. There are a few we repeat each time we visit: Tusker House (AK), 'Ohana, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot), and Chef Mickey's.

Doing Tusker House for the first time in late April for a ROL VIP ticket. For $39, I felt interacting with Donald was worth it to get the VIP ticket.
 

thomas998

Well-Known Member
You need to decide which character are really high on your list to see. A lot of people are saying you can get Jasmine at CRT... but understand that is not always the case, in the past 2 experiences we've had at CRT she was never there.... The only one you can be certain of getting at CRT is Cinderella, the rest can vary.... so it is best if you don't get your kids psyched up about meeting Jasmine when she might not appear.

Frankly Hollywood and Vine was the lamest character dining experience we've every had while an earlier poster enjoyed it... That's because we all have differences in taste....

What are the ages and genders of your kids, knowing that might allow people to give you a better suggestion.... because even though my family thought Hollywood and Vine sucked because it was all Disney Jr. character I'm sure if your kids are young enough they would probably enjoy it.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
You need to decide which character are really high on your list to see. A lot of people are saying you can get Jasmine at CRT... but understand that is not always the case, in the past 2 experiences we've had at CRT she was never there.... The only one you can be certain of getting at CRT is Cinderella, the rest can vary.... so it is best if you don't get your kids psyched up about meeting Jasmine when she might not appear.

Frankly Hollywood and Vine was the lamest character dining experience we've every had while an earlier poster enjoyed it... That's because we all have differences in taste....

What are the ages and genders of your kids, knowing that might allow people to give you a better suggestion.... because even though my family thought Hollywood and Vine sucked because it was all Disney Jr. character I'm sure if your kids are young enough they would probably enjoy it.

Now if we had breakfast at Hollywood and Vine then I would totally agree with you on the lame factor being 2 adults without kids LOL. Disney Jr. isn't my thing :rolleyes: However, the characters at their seasonal dine dinner are not Disney Jr but Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy in costumes in you don't see them wear in the parks. And, for as old as I am, I liked seeing Goofy dressed up as a cowboy and Donald as an astronaut LOL. Plus the food wasn't half bad either. I loved their lobster mac and cheese. And I almost ate too much at their Halloween themed dessert buffet :)
 

thomas998

Well-Known Member
Now if we had breakfast at Hollywood and Vine then I would totally agree with you on the lame factor being 2 adults without kids LOL. Disney Jr. isn't my thing :rolleyes: However, the characters at their seasonal dine dinner are not Disney Jr but Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy in costumes in you don't see them wear in the parks. And, for as old as I am, I liked seeing Goofy dressed up as a cowboy and Donald as an astronaut LOL. Plus the food wasn't half bad either. I loved their lobster mac and cheese. And I almost ate too much at their Halloween themed dessert buffet :)

I guess we were just unlucky. In 2015 we did lunch at Hollywood and Vine and had non-Disney Jr characters... Went last year and we got stuck with Doc McStuffn and some other horrible characters that we had no clue were there.... I did see that in the website they actually warn people about the Disney Jr experience now... I guess our experience can serve as a warning... when they say characters can change they mean it because we never would have gone for the McStuffn experience if we had known.
 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Now if we had breakfast at Hollywood and Vine then I would totally agree with you on the lame factor being 2 adults without kids LOL. Disney Jr. isn't my thing :rolleyes: However, the characters at their seasonal dine dinner are not Disney Jr but Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy in costumes in you don't see them wear in the parks. And, for as old as I am, I liked seeing Goofy dressed up as a cowboy and Donald as an astronaut LOL. Plus the food wasn't half bad either. I loved their lobster mac and cheese. And I almost ate too much at their Halloween themed dessert buffet :)

I did a SW weekend breakfast there. Too bad they don't have Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, Darth Goofy, and Stormtrooper Donald anymore. The CMs really went out of their way to make sure I interacted with the characters.
 

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