Character Dining - which one to try next!?

matt_taylor1985

matt_taylor1985

Member
Each time we go to WDW, we like to try different character dining options. So far we've tried Cape May (loved it), O'Hana (loved it), and also Crystal Palace (pretty indifferent).

We really wanted to go back to Cape May, but as I mentioned, we want to try a new one. My daughter who will be 2 and a half, loves Playhouse Disney so was thinking the one at Hollywood Studios.

Any thoughts on good places to go?
 
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mickeysshoes

mickeysshoes

Well-Known Member
A good one to try would be Tucker House at Animal Kingdom!! Its with Donald..he greats you outside for pictures and then Mickey, Daisey and Goofy great you at your table. They do a fun dance around the resturant and the food it pretty good and there are some different choice from your normal breakfast buffet, which is a nice change!!!
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
We didn't do Hollywood & Vine b/c of negative reviews; however, I think character meals are less about food- so you might do it if your daughter really likes Playhouse Disney as that phase goes quickly.

While the food was sub par at our dinner at Chef Mickey's the character interaction was awesome. I'd go back solely for that reason.

Our girls (2 and 4) loved both CRT and Akershus (lunch for both) and most everyone was pretty pleased with their food at both princess meals as well as the service...not sure if your daughter is into princesses yet, but if so- I think these are worth the $$$.

1900 Park Fare was probably our favorite character breakfast- even if the Mad Hatter was in a funk and Alice was a bit awkward. Crystal Palace was a close second, but as your post indicates- you've done that.

Tusker House was the only one from this last trip that we wished we didn't do....below avg food, so so service, really bad character interaction (this was what bothered me the most), etc. That being said- Most people seem to love breakfast at Tusker House, so maybe we just went on a bad morning :shrug:
 
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tiaragirl

tiaragirl

Well-Known Member
We've done lunch at Hollywood and Vine (August '09) and really enjoyed it. The food was great, and we had a positive experience all around (weren't huge fans of Playhouse Disney as our youngest party member was 14, but still).

May of last year my friends and I went to 1900 Park Fare for breakfast - amazing. Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger (strange combo of characters, it seems) were all very good and the food was wonderful. I'd 100% go back there.

We've also done Chef Mickey's for supper, and that was another positive experience - so I think it jsut depends what kind of food you want and who you want to see!

Good luck!
 
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lbrad

lbrad

Well-Known Member
Our best character meal was at Liberty Tree Tavern...sadly the characters are no longer there :(

DD and I had breakfast in the castle...the princesses were awesome!!!
I highly recomend it. We were able to enter MK before it opened to the public...that was an added treat!

Chef Mickey's is LOUD!!!! We went for breakfast... the charcters were great...BUT I wish we had gone later in the day/evening when we were more awake!

H&V is nice. WE had dinner there to take advantage of the Fantasmic!
We did NOT go while the characters were there. I say go...esp. if your daughter likes the characters :sohappy:
 
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WDW_Emily

WDW_Emily

Well-Known Member
I'm also going to say Tusker House. We loved it here. The characters were great(Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Goofy, Donald is outside).

Second choice would be 1900 Park Fare However, with your daughter being just 2, she might not like the characters as much.
 
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Lisalyn

Lisalyn

Well-Known Member
Tusker House is a must. Did that with my daughter and we loved it!

Since your daughter is approaching 3, why not Crystal Palace at the MK? It's Pooh and friends and I thought it was wonderful!
 
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D

daria4282

New Member
Hollywood & Vine is pretty disappointing! It is only JoJo's circus and Baby Einstiens. No Manny, No Oso, and nothing else form playhouse disney!

You probably would like 1900 Park & Fare - Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter, and more. My kids loved that one (they were 18 months when they went there). Akershaus is another good one as well!
 
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M

momof three

New Member
Hollywood and vine does now have Oso and Handy Manny added along with the einstiens. I have been there before and am going back next month. I love Chef Mickeys so fun and so many characters, is my fav as character dining goes.
 
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wvdisneyfamily

wvdisneyfamily

Well-Known Member
Chef Mickey's is great. We were so upset with Donald's Safari Breakfast. You only see Donald outside for a pic. He doesn't visit in the restaurant. My DS loves Donald and cried because he didn't get to visit with him.
 
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S

ShadyLady

Member
weve done almost all of them - here's our favorites in order

Chef Mickeys - recommend for Dinner
Akershaus - recommend for Breakfast
Cinderellas Royal Table - recommend for dinner
O'Hana - breakfast
1900 Park Fare - breakfast
Crystal Palace - breakfast, great food, but characters & service not great IMO
Hollywood & Vine - lunch in 2008, maybe it was an "off" day bc it gets good dinner reviews

Weve never been able to get a reservation here, until our 2011 trip, but I read GREAT things!
Garden Grille - dinner
 
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M

mets7

Active Member
Went in April '10 and we did the following with our two girls who were 6 & 4:

Crystal Palace for breakfast - Was ok not huge fans of Winnie the pooh and friends, our kids were so so with the characters.

Chef Mickey's for dinner - character interaction was awesome. I agree with previous posts, I would go back and will go back just for that.

Garden Grill for Dinner - best meal by far that we had, even though the rotating was not working. Characters were Mickey(in farmer outfit), Pluto and Chip & Dale all were fantastic interacting with the people.

Askerhus for breakfast - My girls loved the princesses, got to see Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White. Food was so so, my sister went for dinner and said it was really good so we are going to try dinner when we go back.

Hollywood & Vine for lunch - food was ok. They had two of the einsteins and JoJo & Goliath when we went, I think Handy Manny is there now. We would have enjoyed it much better if Handy would have been there when we went. My kids did not know who Jo & Goliath were, but are crazy about Handy Manny. They did sing alongs and conga lines and interacted with the kids a lot. If your kid is a playhouse disney fan then I would say this is a definite.

1900 park fare for breakfast - Best breakfast we had by far. Were a little upset because Mary Poppins was sick and not there and my girls wanted to meet her. They sent Snow White in her place so we got to meet her for the 3rd time in one week and actually the exact same snow white for the 2nd time.
 
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LilWalt

LilWalt

Active Member
Hollywood and Vine is pretty good. My 3 year old loves it. You sing some of the playhouse disney songs and the food is ok.

Chef Mickeys is ok, the character interaction is very minimal because of the amount of people.
 
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