Ever wonder about different characters for dining experiences?

WinnieDaPooh

WinnieDaPooh

New Member
Original Poster
I'm new here and probably going to open a can of worms with this question and my opinion, and for those that may be offended that was not my intention, but there is something that has made me stop and take pause numerous times with regards to the character dining. Don't get me wrong I love it, and as someone that has an upcoming trip in December with 5 character meals (and we are only 2 adults no children) it should be apparent we love them.

But does anyone get tired of seeing many of the same characters at the meals? I know that the CRT is different and the Princess dining at World Showcase at Epcot, as is Crystal Palace, Ohana's Breakfast and Supercalifragilistic Breakfast and I think one other. However the others have the standard Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip & Dale. It is just that I would love to see the Animal Kingdom's character breakfast center on more of the Animal Kingdom aspect, with say those characters not seen that often like Rafiki, Baloo, etc., and wondered why WDW hasn't gone this route in the character breakfast they offer at the AK.

Am I the only one that has wondered about this? :)
 
Mecha Figment

Mecha Figment

New Member
actualy to be honest there are alot more character dining experiences out there then people know about. a lot of the down town disney resorts offer character dinning on certain days, and they are not really mentioned on Disneys web site. For example the Breakfast at the Hilton actualy has Brer Bear.
 
happymom52003

happymom52003

Active Member
I agree. We love character meals because we hate standing in lines for our kids to meet characters. But I agree they need more variety. I would love to see a Peter Pan character meal, and the idea of AK doing character meals with characters from Jungle Book, Lion King or Pocohantas would be great. And I am still hoping for the rumored pirate character meal in the MK....but have not heard much about that lately.
 
Greenlawler

Greenlawler

Well-Known Member
I almost hate to reply, your 100% right, we do post this a lot. I don't blame you because your right you would think it would get done one day, but it seems like very little can be done about it:hammer:
 
JimboJones123

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
Mecha Figment said:
actualy to be honest there are alot more character dining experiences out there then people know about. a lot of the down town disney resorts offer character dinning on certain days, and they are not really mentioned on Disneys web site. For example the Breakfast at the Hilton actualy has Brer Bear.
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More info on these please!!
 
F

figment3258

New Member
I think Disney tries to please everyone but these characters are timeless and their appeal is at the top for everyone. Also when the name of the meal is chefs mickeys it wouldn't be right to have other characters that don't fit in that group. I know for a lot of people also these characters may be hard to find in the parks. I think they keep it fresh by having different theme costumes with the characters. I love the character meals we have 9 books for December. 50 days to go can't wait!:xmas:
 
BRER STITCH

BRER STITCH

Well-Known Member
Hey....

I am still most surprised that they have not figured out a way to do a MUPPETS Character Dining Experience yet.

It makes so much sense that it's simply beyond explanation.

:shrug::veryconfu:confused:
 
phatcatrun

phatcatrun

New Member
I was actually just noticing the lack of variety this morning. I'm starting to look at dining options for when I take my gf on her first trip next year. Crystal Palace was an obvious choice since we are both Eeyore fans. But since neither of us care for Princesses, we are left with eating with pretty much the same characters at the other character meals.

I've heard rumors of the Toy Story character meal off and on but never heard a definite confermation.
 
kcw

kcw

Member
WinnieDaPooh said:
I'm new here and probably going to open a can of worms with this question and my opinion, and for those that may be offended that was not my intention, but there is something that has made me stop and take pause numerous times with regards to the character dining. Don't get me wrong I love it, and as someone that has an upcoming trip in December with 5 character meals (and we are only 2 adults no children) it should be apparent we love them.

But does anyone get tired of seeing many of the same characters at the meals? I know that the CRT is different and the Princess dining at World Showcase at Epcot, as is Crystal Palace, Ohana's Breakfast and Supercalifragilistic Breakfast and I think one other. However the others have the standard Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip & Dale. It is just that I would love to see the Animal Kingdom's character breakfast center on more of the Animal Kingdom aspect, with say those characters not seen that often like Rafiki, Baloo, etc., and wondered why WDW hasn't gone this route in the character breakfast they offer at the AK.

Am I the only one that has wondered about this? :)
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you have to look at it from another point of view though- take the two examples you gave- rafiki and baloo.... Rafiki is a very very old baboon, and in his age he is dealing with major hair loss ;) With how much he sheds, I personally wouldn't want him anywhere near my table and food. (although as much as I hate it, he does make appearances at the Swan hotel for dinner) And Baloo- he is a HUGE bear, and sometimes he can't always see very well ;). Look at some of the restaurants, and you'll see that with the setup of the tables, there is just no way that a large character like that can do rotations without tipping over tables and knocking food all over the place.

I see why you would want to see a better mix of characters, but depending on their body type and build, some characters just aren't cut out to do dining- the Fab 5 and the Princesses are though....
 
WinnieDaPooh

WinnieDaPooh

New Member
Original Poster
kcw said:
Rafiki is a very very old baboon, and in his age he is dealing with major hair loss ;) With how much he sheds, I personally wouldn't want him anywhere near my table and food. (although as much as I hate it, he does make appearances at the Swan hotel for dinner) And Baloo- he is a HUGE bear, and sometimes he can't always see very well ;). Look at some of the restaurants, and you'll see that with the setup of the tables, there is just no way that a large character like that can do rotations without tipping over tables and knocking food all over the place.

I see why you would want to see a better mix of characters, but depending on their body type and build, some characters just aren't cut out to do dining- the Fab 5 and the Princesses are though....
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Actually now that I know I can find atleast a little more of a variety at say the Hilton in the DTD area and then at the Swan, I'll definitely be checking out those dining venues.

While I do understand the space restraints that some characters would encounter, as I've almost seen mishaps with Donald and even chip & Dale during appearances at restaurants before, it is doable if Disney wanted to. At Crystal Palace as with many other character dining venues there is one of the characters that will stay in the lobby or foyer area, this is an option for those characters that would be too large for mingling amongst diners. There are many other Animal Kingdom inspired characters that could be implemented in the AK Park, like Simba, Timon, even Pumbaa (though I would hope he would keep his knack for passing gas to a minimum while in the company of those trying to enjoy a meal ;)), there is even Flik, Atta or Dot from "A Bug's Life" (however I've never even scene these costumed characters anywhere in the WDW parks). I'd just like to see something more AK relevant as far as character dining in that park.

But then again I'd love to see a Pinocchio centered character meal at the MK also. Especially if it involved one of my absolute favorites, Jiminy Cricket. Or even a Peter Pan centered character meal. Those are all time classics, atleast for me, and they just aren't seen as much as they probably should be. I suppose I can always dream, afterall that is what the Disney magic is about. :)
 
A

ann0d1

Member
We saw Peter Pan at The Disneyland - Goofy's breakfast.
But yes I think they need variety, maybe have the standards and through in some surprise ones would be nice!
 
HollyBelle

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
I believe that Disney does try to make each experience somewhat different. I actually don't mind the repetition so much, simply because at each restaurant the characters are dressed in a way that matches the theme. The way we see it (also two adults with no children) is that it allows us to get new themed photos with the characters we love.

Examples: Breakfastosaurus, Garden Grill, Liberty Tree, Ohana, Cape May Cafe, and Chef Mickey's.

There is some overlap in the characters of each of these; however, they are dressed differently at each one.
 
happymom52003

happymom52003

Active Member
I really think they need to do a bit more for boys....you've got all the princess things for the girls, but the boy stuff is lacking. They have done more with the pirate theme lately (like the Pirate Tutorial which my son was chosen for and LOVED!), but there seems to be such a focus on the princesess (CRT, the Norway meal, 1900 Park Fare, and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique). I think they need at least one meal that boys would get into. A pirate meal would be great, and I still love the idea of a Peter Pan meal (which would appeal to boys and girls).
 
RussJT

RussJT

Member
For the most part, I am happy with the character meals that exist now. I wouldn't mind a few additional ones to choose from though. I agree with the previous poster who said that it would be nice to have a Pirate themed meal that would appeal to boys. My son (age 8) does not enjoy the Princess meals as much (and we are going to two different ones when we go back in March/April). My daughter 5 loves them.

We have 6 character meals planned for that trip.

Crystal Palace breakfast (Magic Kingdom)
Princess Storybook Dinner (Norway - EPCOT)
Chef Mickey's Dinner (Contemporary)
Best Friend's breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch (Polynesian)
1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom)

With that plan, we have a good variety of characters. (Pooh & friends, Princesses, Cinderella & stepsisters, Lilo & Stitch) The only real overlap is with Chef Mickey's and Liberty Tree Tavern, and the theming is quite different between the two. Plus we have those two set up a several days apart. I don't think my kids will have any complaints.

A Pirate meal, Pinocchio meal, Pixar meal... something like that would be a nice additional choice though.
 

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