Character Dining

wendyphant

wendyphant

Active Member
Original Poster
As we cannot upgrade our dining package (see previous thread) I have to me more select with which character dining we choose.
So where? which characters? breakfast /lunch/dinner?
We have a 9 year old boy
 
Disneydreamer23

Disneydreamer23

Well-Known Member
I will give you 3 options I think that would work. 1. Tusker House Breakfast- amazing food has Daisy, Donald ,Goofy ,Mickey,Minnie 2. Chef Mickey All day- Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and 3. Garden Grill Dinner- Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale I think it all depends on the Characters your son likes most. Have fun!
 
matt9112

matt9112

Well-Known Member
i would go with the chef mickey at the contemporary a great breakfast before hitting the MK. to me tusker house fell short on food but one of the best character interactions we had.
 
CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
If its a question about costs (trying to combine QS for a TS) then breakfast is your cheapest option, followed by lunch, with dinner being the most expensive.
Venues - we've enjoyed many a great character breakfast both in the parks and in some of the resorts.
In the parks I would recommend Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh and friends) at MK, especially if you can get a reservation before the park opens. Failing that, Tusker House at AK (as has already been mentioned).
Or if you're dining at a resort I'd recommend 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian (Alice, The Mad Hatter etc), or Cafe Cape May at The Beach Club (with Minnie and friends)
Personally, I'd avoid Chef Mickeys (Contemporary) and O'hana (Polynesian).
 
ItlngrlBella

ItlngrlBella

Well-Known Member
The Garden Grille is great for lunch or dinner - request to sit o the first level. The restaurant rotates and you see scenes of the ride. Mickey, Chip & Dale and Pluto. Healthy food. Do Living with the Land ride before - they grow and farm most of the fist and veggies that supply the restaurant.
 
CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
DisneyDukie said:
Why? O'hana is one of our favorite dining experiences. (although I'm actually scared to ask this question - I hope you havent' had an O'hana horror story!!!)
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I'm afraid so........

We (five adults) dined here (our first time) on the last day of our trip last August. We were seated late (no big deal - it happens) and the serving staff were mostly attentive.
Now I didn't know until shortly before we left the UK that the O'hana buffet breakfast was not a typical (get up and help yourself) Disney buffet. Instead, the waiting staff bring out a large platter of hot food to your table and you help yourself from there. During the course of our breakfast we had THREE platters brought to us - not because we're fat, or greedy, or that we were trying to get breakfast and lunch consumed in one sitting - because the food was at best tepid. It was like it has been served from the kitchens and then left, sat out on one of the counters for somebody to eventually to pick it up. I complained to a male member of staff who took the platter of food away and as I sit typing here today in mid February I'm still waiting for him to return !!!!
Some ten minutes later I managed to track down our original server who brought over a second platter which was exactly the same as the first. So when she came back a few minutes later with more drinks refills and asked how our breakfast was I complained again. A third platter was brought out and the five of us ate the offering (to ward off starvation) as we were that hacked off we knew it wasn't going to get any better. Very shortly afterwards a female supervisor approached me. This was a nice touch as I hadn't asked to speak with anyone in a managerial position. She listened to the issues which I raised and she seemed genuinely concerned. She asked whether there was anything that she could do (I don't know what she could do) and where else we had dined, and where we would be dining during the rest of our trip. She appeared stumped when I informed her that we were flying home that evening.
After a brief discussion we agreed on a 20% discount off the bill.
Now judging by the popularity of the place, this is not its normal standard. I have had many an enjoyable buffet breakfast at WDW (Crystal Palace, Tusker House, Boma, 1900 etc etc) and the meals have been hot - as they should be. It may well have had something to do with the time that we were seated, it was right towards the end of breakfast - but this shouldn't have affected the food quality.
I for one will not be rushing back to O'hana
 
britdaw

britdaw

Well-Known Member
Last time we went my girls were 9 and 4, and my 9 year old absolutely loved Chef Mickey's and Ohana! We all really enjoyed Mickey's Backyard Barbeque, as well.
I've also heard that Whispering Canyon is a lot of fun, too, but I've never been there. I think it really depends on what characters your son likes most, as well as the type of dining experience you're looking for. :)
 
tmitch

tmitch

Well-Known Member
I'm a big fan of crystal palace in MK for dinner. Good interaction, lots of variety in the food. My family also likes the Disney Jr character buffet for lunch at HS(the name escapes me). While it's a madhouse in there, the food is decent and the characters do make the rounds
 
DisneyFans4Life

DisneyFans4Life

Well-Known Member
I think they would love the Crystal Palace. We've eaten there quite a few times (most recently yesterday morning) and the kids absolutely love having the characters come see them at their table. Chef Mickey's is a lot of fun as well...though it's a bit more expensive than Crystal Palace.
 
Disney4family

Disney4family

Well-Known Member
We have a 13 yr old daughter and an 11 year old son. For the past 10 years Chef Mickey's and The Crystal Palace have always been our two must-do b'fasts. Pick up an autograph book - they even have ones where you can put in your pictures - and your son will have a wonderful souvenir that will turn into a very special memory, especially as he gets older when the fun and excitement remains, but the "magic" changes a little.
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
For character meals, I would pick places that have characters that appeal to him the most. Why? Because character meal food and service is inconsistent...and sometimes even the characters are meh. We do tons of them because they are fun, but they are never about the food.

I remember going with 'Ohana breakfast and Tusker breakfast b/c of the raves and they are our two worst character meal experiences. We sent back our food 3x at 'Ohana due to raw eggs and sausage and never once got edible food. Tusker was the trifecta of bad...bad service, lackluster characters, and even though we had an 8:10 am...they never replenished a good 60% of the food.

Also, if you're trying to get the most bang for your buck/credit...dinners are the smartest choice since they cost more. It's unfortunate that breakfast food is usually done better at these meals, but I feel like people are throwing $ away if they use DDP credits on the cheapest meal of the day.
 
wendyphant

wendyphant

Active Member
Original Poster
brinneydee said:
Last time we went my girls were 9 and 4, and my 9 year old absolutely loved Chef Mickey's and Ohana! We all really enjoyed Mickey's Backyard Barbeque, as well.
I've also heard that Whispering Canyon is a lot of fun, too, but I've never been there. I think it really depends on what characters your son likes most, as well as the type of dining experience you're looking for. :)
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What is the Mickey bbq ?
 
wendyphant

wendyphant

Active Member
Original Poster
brinneydee said:
Mickey's Backyard Barbeque is a dinner show out at the Fort Wilderness Campground! They have a big buffet of bbq and other southern-style food, and you are entertained with a country dinner show and characters while you eat. My kids loved it, even though we didn't get to stay long 'cause I had a bad migraine.
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do the characters come around to see the kids or is it just a show xx
 
Princess Kaylee

Princess Kaylee

Well-Known Member
wendyphant said:
As we cannot upgrade our dining package (see previous thread) I have to me more select with which character dining we choose.
So where? which characters? breakfast /lunch/dinner?
We have a 9 year old boy
Click to expand...

1. Crystal Palace- Our very favorite, you get to dine in Magic Kingdom with Pooh and friends all while eating from a yummy buffet.
2.1900 Park Fare Breakfast- Alice and wonderland and friends buffet.
3. Chef Mickeys- Classic Disney Characters and an okay buffet.
4. Ohana- Lilo and Stitch and friends breakfast buffet.
 
s&k'smom

s&k'smom

Well-Known Member
We had breakfast with the princess' in November and my son is 19 and thought it was a hoot. Food was really good to, excellent server. We also went to Chef Mickey's which was good but we happened to be seated near the door where the server come in and out and it was a bit much however again server excellent and charactor interaction was awesome. Again my 19 year old had a blast with Goofy and made my 14 year old smile ear to ear.
 
Princess_AmyK

Princess_AmyK

Well-Known Member
If I could only pick one character meal in a trip, I would either pick 1900 Park Fare or Akershus.

At 1900 Park Fare for dinner, the Prince was a BLAST to talk to. We were trying to explain Super Mario to him and he stayed in character the whole time. He was very confused by a small man who travels up and down a pipe and jumps on mushrooms. It was so funny! We also messed with the evil step sisters a bit and they made it a memorable time! The buffet was typical buffet food. Nothing fancy, but filling and delicious.
At Akershus, if you are open to some different kinds of foods, it is a great alternative to Cinderella's Royal Table. CRT is so over priced and hectic. At Akershus I can meet all of the princesses (which means I don't have to hunt them down in the parks) and I have never had bad service there. The food can be a bit much for some people, but I loved my Norwegian Meatball meal that I got last time. It was different but not too out there. This is a must do for me.

Overall, I prefer character meals with face characters over ones that are in full costume. I feel that it makes the meal more exciting when you can interact with them rather than just take a picture and get an autograph.
 
Javier Antonio Nisa Avila

Javier Antonio Nisa Avila

Active Member
wendyphant said:
As we cannot upgrade our dining package (see previous thread) I have to me more select with which character dining we choose.
So where? which characters? breakfast /lunch/dinner?
We have a 9 year old boy
Click to expand...

Personally, for parks my recommendation would be:

- Magic Kingdom: Crystal Palace - with winnie the pooh and friends
Chef Mickeys - Mickey and his friends

- Epcot: Akhersus - All princesses (and just 1 Service Dining Plan)

- Hollywood Studios: Hollywwod and Vine (handy manny dining and friends) (dinner - Mickey and his friends including VIP pass fantasmic) both just 1 Service Dining Plan)

For food quality and variety, the first will be hollywood studios. After either of Magic Kingdom, that if ... the meat firewood Crystal palace ... is delicious.

There are more, but are either breakfast or remoteness of parks and times if you want to take advantage of the day is not recommended.
 

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