Too much Character Dining in one trip?

[Janetay14]

Hello all,

Thank you all who gave advice about CRT and Akershus in my previous post. I think we will go to Norway and 1900 Park Fare in place of CRT to get our princess fix.

My question is this: we are on the dining plan and we are staying 7 nights. I thought it would be easy picking 7 TS restaurants, but with a 4 year old (DD) and 2 year old (DS), it is becoming quite a challenge.

I was thinking of making ADRs at the following Character Dining spots to cover most of the characters:

Cinderella Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Princess Breakfast at Akershus
Dinner at Chef Mickeys
Pooh and Friends Breakfast at the Crystal Palace
Chip and Dale's Dinner at the Garden Grill

We will still have 2 TS meals left, but I am starting to feel like 5 character meals is a lot. DH and I never feel like we get to eat enough because we are too busy taking pictures! Do you think there is such thing as TOO many character meals in one trip? Any suggestions for other good restaurants for preschool age kids? Sci Fi is one I am considering, DH and I always loved going there, but haven't been since having kids.

Thanks a bunch for your help! :wave:

 

[nepalostparks]

For young children who like seeing and meeting the characters, I don't think you can have too many Character Dining meals.

I would say to schedule at least one meal with a slightly more adult angle, since you're on vaction too! But as long as you both are happy with eating less and taking a ton of pictures, enjoy it.

One other thing to consider: Are your children good around larger than life characters? I would hate to see you get on vaction and realize the kids scream at the mere sight of the Mouse, and then have to go through it at every table service meal for the week.

Otherwise, have a magical time!

 

[Janetay14]

They LOVE the characters, I guess Disney blood runs through their veins. We have taken them to Pooh at CP and last week on our trip we did the Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto and with the exception of Playhouse Disney Live, it was the highlight of the trip for them (and us to see their excitement!) So they are not afraid of the characters. Or fireworks. Or The Haunted Mansion or Pirates. We got really lucky!

 

[DarthKaufmann]

I leave Dec 5 for my trip and I am taking my dd6 and dd3 to Sci-fi and to 50 prime time cafe. Will be more then happy to let you know which ones they like. We are also going to Crt, Biergarten, Ohana (for diner), H and V, and Boma. Will let you know what they thought of them.:xmas::sohappy:

 

[heliumalias]

Personally I do think there is a thing such as too many Character meals. I've been going pretty much every year since I was born and my parents never took me to more than one CM per trip. It made them a whole lot more special.

Other places we enjoyed going were Sci-Fi, Teppan Edo, Tony's, Prime Time, Brown Derby, the regular buffet at Hollywood & Vine, Woop-de-doo, Polynesian Luau, living seas, ohana, and the marketplace restaurants.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I don't think you can have too many either! It's a great way to interact with the characters, and you don't have to wait in multiple lines to do it.

There are other restaurants that will help keep them entertained without characters, if that's what you dh wants. The above suggestions of Sci Fi, Living Seas, and the Luau are great examples of that.

 

[H20Babie]

We do trade-off kind of thing. Character meal day 1, regular TS day 2, character meal day 3, TS meal day 4, etc.

The kids get to spend some time time with the characters without having to wait in line, and we get to have a semi-quiet dinner without all the hullabaloo

 

[progroupie]

If your kids loved Playhouse Disney Live you should def do the Hollywood and Vine character breakfast with JoJo and the Einsteins.

 

[iitmfl2]

too much...heck no! Where else are you going to see "all the gang"? Don't forget the autograph bookies too. All the more to help make it something to even look more forward to - even for Dad :ROFLOL:

As long as the kiddys don't freak out at character overload, go for it!

Lucky ......

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

A character meal is the same as any other meal but with interuptions for visitors at your table. If the kids are ok with the characters and the food then go for it - its what Disney is all about

 

[jhastings74]

Believe it or not, my kids' favorite Character Dining was Mickey's Backyard Barbecue....because their was actual interaction (dancing) with the characters (we have great pictures of our son dancing with Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc.), a show to watch, and some of the best food (IMO) from a buffet in WDW...but they loved being able to get up and go dance with the characters, for sure...

 

[Edisto Pluto]

The kid is now 18 and a freshman in college so we haven't been to one in a while..................but I am starting to want to go again.

 

[mouselvrmom]

I agree with most others on here. I don't think you can ever get too much character dining! But there are plenty of places that you can try that don't have the characters: we love 50s prime time and le cellier.

 

[rsoxguy]

Your children's ages almost demand character dining at Disney World. I can't imagine the concept of too much character dining for them. My daughter is in her teens now, but she thoroughly enjoyed the characters coming to our table during meals when she was a kiddly. As annoying as character interruptions can be for an adult during meal times, they are pure gold to kids, and that makes it worth everything.

 

[HollyBelle]

As someone who loves meeting characters I must say that I'm undecided on whether or not you can have too many of these meals. We usually plan one each trip, but I could probably do more than that. What stops me from doing multiple ones is the desire for variety in our dining. I like the character meals for just that... the characters. In my opinion, the food rarely (if ever) compares to regular TS restaurants. That's why we mostly choose breakfast for these meals because it's standard fare. My love of good food beats out the characters (because I know I can find the characters elsewhere in wdw). Plus, when I'm paying $29+ pp for a meal, I prefer a signature dish over a standard buffet.

That being said, we weren't able to do a character meal during our last trip and I definitely missed it!

My recommendations for other fun/kid friendly restaurants would include: Ohana (the only "buffet" I love), Whispering Canyon Cafe for the loud/fun atmosphere, Sci-Fi (mentioned by many others as well), Kona Cafe for the consistently great food and convenience, and Beaches and Cream for a great burger and great ambience.

 

[kimmychad]

we have done most of the charatcer breakfasts at disney, and my absolute favorite is tusker house. my leats favorite is 1900 park fare, as the mad hatter is way way way too loud.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

I'm taking 3 newbies (my sister and her grandkids ages 6 & 9) and I really wanted to maximize their character experience without spending our entire trip standing in line - this will probably be their one and only chance to see Disney World. We doing Chef Mickeys our first night, Liberty Tree then MVMCP, Princess dinner in Norway, and Donald's Breakfast @ AK, then Hoop-De-Doo followed by Chip & Dale's campfire on our last night.

 

[rsoxguy]

we have done most of the charatcer breakfasts at disney, and my absolute favorite is tusker house. my leats favorite is 1900 park fare, as the mad hatter is way way way too loud.

I completely agree! That guy is paid to be obnoxious! I had breakfast there with my family and had thoughts of throwing a stale pancake at him like a Frisbee. :lol:

 

[erstwo]

We were at Disney with a then 4 year old and 20 month old at Easter. We were on the DDP.

Personally, I don't think there was such a thing as too much character dining for us. We had to eat anyway (you know how grumpy a hungry 4 year old can be!!) and we didn't have to waste any time standing in line to meet the characters! Two birds with one stone so to speak.

That being said, with two or three table service meals a day, we did joke that we "ate our way through Disneyworld." But I'm not sure if that's a bad thing??

We are doing at least one character meal a day in December.

 

[GrumpysWife]

Character dining is part of the immersive experience Disney provides and just watching your child's face light up at the sight of the characters is priceless - so there can never be too much!

In addition to all the wonderful suggestions provided by others, depending on how picky your children are, you may want to consider Biergarten. You have the convenience of a buffet and the band is very entertaining. My son (at 2 yrs.) was mesmerized by the band and (at 3 yrs.) joined in the dancing on the floor.