help with choosing

[ajmellu7]

Hi everyone,

We are coming over to America next year and are doing a week in Old Key West. We have the dining plan and are currently thinking about/ deciding which table service meals we are going to go for. We have daughters who will be 6 and 3 when we come in August. As with all Disney fanatics who are little girls, they are seriously obsessed with the princesses, in particular Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. So far, we have decided that we are going to do breakfast at Chef Mickey's and Akershus, lunch at Coral Reef and dinner at Garden Grill. I know lots of people say not to do too many character meals, but we are more than happy doing lots as it is really for our girls. However, we also want to try some other restaurants as well, but are mindful we only have 3 choices left. Are there any that people would really recommend?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Gurt]

How many days and how much time do you plan on spending in each park? also what sort of food do your family like to eat?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I don't believe that you can do TOO MANY character meals. What better way to rest your tired legs, eat AND get the characters to come to you ?

As long as you visit different locations and see different characters then you can't go wrong. My recommendations would be -

Crystal Palace at MK for a pre park opening breakfast with Pooh and friends
1900 Park Fare at GF which would incorporate a monorail ride and a meal of your choice - again breakfast is our favourite and meet Mary Poppins, Mad Hatter etc
Or
Tusker House at AK meeting Mickey and friends in safari outfits

 

[GeoDonJac34]

1900 Park Fare dinner is probably my favorite character meal. Drizella and Anastasia are so much fun. I think it is the best character interaction of all the character dining we have done.

 

[ajmellu7]

We love the Crystal Palace for breakfast. It became a bit of a tradition going there as we always used to meet up with my Aunty who had married an american and lived in Kansas so it was kind of half way meeting from England for us and Kansas for them! We always went in August and it was her birthday so we always went there on her birthday as Winnie the Pooh was her favourite. Sadly she died a few years ago and it is always bitter sweet going there. A lovely memory of better times, but also very difficult as she never met my wife or children and she would have adored them (she couldn't have children.) My eldest has said she doesn't want to do Crystal Palace as well, so whilst it is on the potentials list, it is probably quite low down at the moment.

We are staying onsite for 7 days but are on holiday for 3 weeks, but only have the dining for the first week. We will mostly be spending our time in Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom as they have the most for us to do as a family in our opinion.

 

[LeighM]

I also recommend Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. The food is really good for the adults and they have a nice buffet area for children (or adults) that are picky eaters And their Jungle Juice is really good! Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood Studios also has character meals with the Fab 5. When I was there for their seasonal dine it was Halloween themed and the food was surprisingly good. They used to have really bad reviews but they were not bad when we were there in early October.

 

[Schneewittchen]

I think character dinners are a great option, we tend to do quick service breakfasts and lunches to maximize park time, and then to character meals in the evening to chill out. We like Crystal Palace, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, Akershus and Chef Mickey's. We're trying Tusker House for the first time this spring. Character meals are a great way to avoid standing in lines to meet characters. My family would rather do something fun than stand around to just say hello to Cinderella for 2 seconds.

Other dining options to consider: San Angel Inn (generic Mexican food, but the atmosphere is so romantic), Restaurant Marrakesh (belly dancers!), Be Our Guest (it's like stepping inside the movie), Sanaa (Indian-African fusion), Flying Fish (if your kids are well-behaved, a great fine dining option), Hoop Dee Doo Revue (this is a must for any real Disnerd, classic WDW entertainment), and Artist Point (my favorite Northwest inspired fine dining).

 

[carriebeth]

Your girls would probably love a chance to get some photos taken with prince charming! 1900 Park Fare for dinner has him as well as Cinderella, the step sisters and step mother.

If your children like Disney Jr characters like Doc Mcstuffins, breakfast at Hollywood and Vine has serveral disney jr characters that children love.

The Sci Fi drive in was fun for children because its really quite unique. You eat in cars and watch a large screen like you are in a drive in movie. It would be something fun and different.

If they like dinosaurs at all TRex in Disney springs would be a choice. My children, both the boys and girls, had fun there. Same with the Rainforest Cafe. Another fun interesting experience.

 

[danyoung56]

And their Jungle Juice is really good!

Mmmmm - jungle juice!

 

[Rsj88]

What about Ohana? We are excited to try it for our first time this month. Breakfast is character but we wanted to try the yummy food at dinner. From what I've read it has a very kid friendly atmosphere. We are also trying Whispering Canyon Cafe too. For us, we needed something else close to MK and kid friendly and most people recommended WCC. I really liked the idea of taking a relaxing boat ride to get there!
We have 2 boys (7 and 1). We are also eating at Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, CRT, Sci-Fi, and San Angel Inn (for the atmosphere, my oldest wanted to eat in the pyramid). We are also doing Be Our Guest QS for lunch so we can still go and have an extra TS.

 

[tglancy]

If you are willing to use two credits, Cinderella's Royal Table is fantastic. I mean, you are eating in the castle!!

 

[TXDisney]

Try to do Be Our Guest they'd love that. I'd also try Cinderellas Royal Table as well. Both hard reservations to get, but great. Other ideas are pretty much any table service restaurant around World Showcase at Epcot.

 

[LeighM]

What about Ohana? We are excited to try it for our first time this month. Breakfast is character but we wanted to try the yummy food at dinner. From what I've read it has a very kid friendly atmosphere. We are also trying Whispering Canyon Cafe too. For us, we needed something else close to MK and kid friendly and most people recommended WCC. I really liked the idea of taking a relaxing boat ride to get there!
We have 2 boys (7 and 1). We are also eating at Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, CRT, Sci-Fi, and San Angel Inn (for the atmosphere, my oldest wanted to eat in the pyramid). We are also doing Be Our Guest QS for lunch so we can still go and have an extra TS.

We LOVE dinner at Ohana!!!! We like getting an early ADR so we don't have to wait. We enjoy Kona Cafe too but not as much as Ohana

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We will mostly be spending our time in Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom as they have the most for us to do as a family in our opinion.

DHS ????

Star Tours, Rock'N'Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Fantasmic.................. You can't go to WDW and miss these

 

[JillC LI]

Breakfast at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian. You can't beat their tonga toast and macadamia nut/pineapple pancakes! Head over the the MK at opening, make an 11am ADR here for breakfast and consider it brunch, then head back to the MK. That's what we do as this is not a must-do place for us.

 

[danyoung56]

DHS ????

Star Tours, Rock'N'Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Fantasmic.................. You can't go to WDW and miss these

I know I'm gonna come off like a curmudgeon, but if I have to miss a park it'll usually be DHS. Star Tours, Tower of Terror and Toy Story are all in Disneyland (or DCA). I don't ride RnRC, so that's no big loss. And Fantasmic! is FAR superior in Disneyland. I do like DHS for The Great Movie Ride, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, the Beauty and the Beast show, and the Indiana Jones Adventure. And now the only place to see the Muppets is in Florida.