Character Meal

[scorp111]

If you were going to go to only one character meal during a visit, which one would you choose?

We will be Two adults and a 14 month old (so I guess it is really obvious who we are going for, :lol: )



I am not sure if I want to do a breakfast (because it will impact early morning touring). or a lunch or dinner.

I have thought of doing breakfast at the contemporary on the day that we are only going to the waterpark. I thought of breakfast at AK. I thought of trying for the Cinderellas Castles, but I figure we will have to do it in a few years anyway, when my little girl is a bit older.
I thought of lunch at either Epcot-Garden Grill or MK Crystal Palace.

Share your favorites....

 

[aimster]

For me, I never pass up a chance to eat at the Crystal Palace at MK. I love Tigger and this guarantees interaction with the "bouncy one". I swear I'm more excited than the kids when I see him! :lol:

 

[PoohB]

For me, it HAS to be Chef Mickey. That has by far the most fun atmosphere and the food isn't bad either. the characters sing and dance every around every once in a while. Great for kids! We are taking our two year old to that one in July. It will be her first trip and first time seeing the characters. She is a Disney fanatic too . We are checking in on a Sunday afternoon and that night we are havin gdinner there. What a way to start our trip for her! Of course we also have on esharacter meal planned for each day. You think it's overkill?

I think that no matter which one you pick you will love it. They are so much fun.

 

[MerHearted]

CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE!!! :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

Come on, you start your day in fantasy IN THE CASTLE!! And you get to hang with all the princesses. When I went last year, they gave us the table directly by the center window overlooking an empty Fantasyland! Plus, best breakfast I ever had! What better way to start your magical day.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Wow...hard question!

I think it would be Crystal Palace. I love their chicken nugget!

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[MerHearted]

I didn't like Crystal Palace. It seemed sooo much bigger than Chef Mickey's or Cindy's. It was hard getting to see all the characters. While I got to see everyone in Chef Mickey's and Cindy's, I only got to meet Pooh at Crystal Palace. The others characters kinda just blew me off.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Originally posted by MerHearted
I didn't like Crystal Palace. It seemed sooo much bigger than Chef Mickey's or Cindy's. It was hard getting to see all the characters. While I got to see everyone in Chef Mickey's and Cindy's, I only got to meet Pooh at Crystal Palace. The others characters kinda just blew me off.

That's sad that the characters blew you off! I've never been to Chef Mickey's or to Cindy's breakfast so I don't have an opinion on those.

Crystal Palace can be a very overwhelming place...kids every where screaming...adults everywhere screaming...:lol:

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[Raven66]

We took our daughter to Chef Mickey's. It was so much fun. The characters spent several minutes at each table, posed for pictures and signed autograph books. They have a dance they do where all the wait staff and the characters start dancing and twirling their napkins. It was very high energy and lots of fun. We did the breakfast buffet. It was a great way to start the day.

Whatever you choose have a wonderful time!!!:wave:

 

[robbyk]

Hands Down the Cinderella's Castle Breakfast. It is one of the hardest reservations to get in all WDW. Call exactly 60 days prior and get up early to call. It will be all full at 6:05 am.
Good Luck!!

 

[dixiegirl]

well i guess maybe i just got very lucky when i called for cindy's breakfast i started at 5 of 7 and got 8 am reservations... do i think it was worth it? nope big waste of money, yes it was pretty cool to be inside 'THE CASTLE" but i probably would'nt do it anytime soon, my 3 year old is a big princess nut so we went there for her 3 rd bday i kinda expected the princesses to come over and sing to her , nope just our cm , but my daughter did'nt really notice, my all time fav hands down is chef mickeys. we have such a great time there, last year goofy fed my daughter her bday cupcake and she just thought it was the most greatest thing (even though he got frosting up her nose) lol and he wiped it off like a gentleman.. we are deffinetly going back again to chef mickeys, you get to see all the charaters and spend lots of time with them and they are so willing to take pics and autograhs.. plus the meal was not a bad price and i liked the food much better here . we also in the past done crystal palace very nice , but i lovvvvve chef mickeys.. you really can't lose there. i know i can't be the only one who wast'nt crazy about cindys... am i???

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Originally posted by dixiegirl
yes it was pretty cool to be inside 'THE CASTLE" but i probably would'nt do it anytime soon, my 3 year old is a big princess nut so we went there for her 3 rd bday i kinda expected the princesses to come over and sing to her , nope just our cm

I can tell you that nearly ALL of the princesses won't sing for guests. We were taught that in character greeter training. If the guest wants the princess to sing a song, the princess could ask the child to sing the song instead. I've only ever heard a story of one princess singing to a child and I wasn't there when it happened.

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[Disnycrazy]

:sohappy: :sohappy:

I have got to say that Chef Mickey's is my all time favorite, my husband and I have done many Character Meals over the last 2 time that we were there. Chef Mickey's is by far the most fun we have ever had at a Character Meal. The Characters all come to the tables and spend enough time for the Autograph's and pictures and trust me your daughter will not be the only one that enjoys herself. My husband and I don't have any children yet and we love the Character Meals.

 

[MerHearted]

Chef Mickey's is really fun! I actually got to meet some characters twice. The best was Minnie. I was at the breakfast alone and the cm saw I was alone and told Minnie. Minnie ran over to me, jumped right next to me, grabbed me, and gave me a bunch of kisses. It was so funny!

 

[tazhughes]

I would highly suggest Chef Mickeys for breakfast, but my all time favorite is the Garden Grill for dinner.

 

[Fievel]

I like Chef Mickey's, but I think the food at the CP is better.....the atmosphere is very similar between the two.

 

[BG Rugger]

Definately the Crystal Palace. We always get to see the characters, usually multiple times. Plus the food is good and you're in the MK

 

[aimster]

Last time I ate at the Crystal Palace (which was 3 years ago), Piglet kept taking my zebra print sun visor I had bought earlier in the day. It was pretty hilarious. Plus I got plenty of interaction with Tigger because I think he could tell he was my fave.

Another time I went, I had bought some Tigger ears (the really nice ones when they first came out, not the kinda crappy ones they sell now). I took them off while I was eating, but when Piglet came by he put them on my head and then dragged Tigger over to show him. Was a total riot. I took the ears off again after that, but every time Piglet came by he kept putting them on me! I think some kids were jealous I was getting more interaction with the characters than they were! :lol:

The Pooh characters are SO much fun. I have a group photo of me with all of them and I'm doing "bunny ears" behind Tigger! :lol:

 

[poohbear6103]

Hi, this is my first post after months of looking at the website. I final joined!
Well, I love character meals but I really think that 1900 Park Fare is the best one. They have Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. They also have Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter.
I used to love Crystal Palace but had a bad experience there when a child drank out of our water glass and then dunked his head in my boyfriend's plate. But that is besides the point. It is a little crazy there and the characters are stretched thin because of the size of the place. 1900 Park Fare has the same characters (minus Piglet) in a much smaller and calmer environment. And for some reason they seem more real and believable there. Plus the food is great! And the monorail runs at that hotel so you can get to and from MK super easy and fast.

 

[Jonathan]

A word of caution

Amid all of these wonderful suggestions and stories, I must post a word of caution as well. First, a 14-monthold might be terrified of the characters up close. My then 9-month old was terrified when she first saw Minnie Mouse at a character breakfast. When she saw the characters again just after turning 2 she was ready to approach most of them on her own, but was still afraid of some of them, especially when they got too close too her without her being ready for it. If you do decide to do a character meal, choose one that has characters your child will recognize. Cindy's is great if your child knows the princesses but if not it won't mean anything. Most kids know the Pooh gang, so the Crystal Palace is an option but it does get crazy. I haven't been to 1900 Park Fare but it sounds like a wonderful alternative that I'd like to try myself on our next trip.

Finally, if you do decide to do a character meal, the food served is really an afterthought because your child might be soooooo excited to see the characters that it will be all you can do to contain your daughter while she is waiting for the characters to come back around. At least that's been my experience!

 

[TwoTigersMom]

We did Cindy's Breakfast and Crystal Palace Breakfast. Both were great, but I'd have to say Crystal Palace was my favorite. At Cindy's Table, all the princessess came by and spoke to my 2 year old boy, but the only ones that took any special time with him was Mary Poppins and Snow White. They were both great! Snow White Left sooooooo many kisses on him. He just ate that up. Cinderella seemed a little annoyed with him because he kept telling her about the bear he saw the day before at Norway. (I'm not even going to attempt to spell the ride's name cuz I'll butcher it lol) Anyway, at Crystal Palace, all the characters spent a long time with him and posed for pictures. Eeyore noticed my Mom was wearing her Eeyore shirt and went over and hugged her and posed with her. She didn't even realize she was wearing it and since she was feeling bad it really lifted her spirits!