Which character meal would you recommend?

[DisneyAubs]

Tusker House is an nice choice. It is broken up into several smaller rooms, so it doesn't seem as chaotic or noisy as some other character meals. Here you will find Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy in Safari outfits.

Garden Grill would be another fantastic choice. The meal is served family style, which is a real plus when you have kids that young. The character interaction has always been top notch for us here too. you will have farmer Mickey plus Pluto, Chip, and Dale.

The least expensive character meal on property, last I compared prices, is breakfast at Cape May Cafe. It is a buffet at Beach Club Resort. You will meet Minnie, Goofy, and Donald in their beach gear. The obvious disadvantage here is the absence of Mickey.

We've done all three of these and I wouldn't hesitate to book any of them again.

 

[ELG13]

Cape May for breakfast! I loved seeing the characters in their beach wear! It also feels much less rushed than chef Mickey's.

 

[DarthVader]

My absolute favorite is Chef Mickey, the charachters are exactly what my kids love, even now at 12 years. The food whether its breakfast or dinner is great and the atmosphere is top notch.

We did one in the crystal palace once and it was horrible. The wait was excessive (we had reservations), the characters kept skipping us, and we were rushed out of there. I complained that my kids didn't see anyone yet to the manager and he promised to send them over, I think one came over. Very disappointed. My expereince is probably an outlier, but it was bad enough for us to never do that one again.

 

[Mainahman]

Not to steal the thread, but tell meore about 1900 park faire. I feel my wife and I would like the Alice and hatter experience

 

[Megbutnotmegan]

My family has recently had 2 great experiences at Hollywood and Vine. The first time we went because we wanted the Fantasmic package without the price of Brown Derby. We ended up enjoying the food so much that we booked it for our next trip. It was August the first time so it was a summery buffet with salads and super fresh foods and characters dressed for the beach. The next time was Nov. so we had the Christmas costumes and heavier food that felt right for the season but still fresh and delicious. The kids loved seeing the fab 5 in different outfits and the adults enjoyed the food.

 

[Tom P.]

Since you specifically mention your kids being Mickey fans, I'm trying to stay within the realm of what character meals include him.

In spite of some the other contrary opinions you've been given, I highly recommend Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. No, it isn't five star dining and, yes, it's pretty loud and crowded. But we have been there numerous times and have found the service to always be good, the food to be decent, and the character interaction (the entire Fab 5) to be good as well. For us, actually, we like the fact that it's a bit more loud and rowdy, as there's less attention paid if one of your children has a loud moment.

I would also highly recommend Garden Grill at Epcot. It is not the entire Fab 5, but you do get Mickey and Pluto as well as Chip and Dale. We like this one because, unlike most of the character meals, it is not a buffet. I've got nothing against buffets, but with five young children, they get tiring. Instead, at Garden Grill the meal is served "family style," meaning they will bring you more of anything you want. So you get the "all you can eat" like you would have at a buffet, but get to stay at your table. The character interaction here is really good, and it's a cool venue. The restaurant rotates (very slowly), so you'll get to see different views throughout your meal.

Based on what you've said, those would be my two top recommendations.

We are also big fans of 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian and Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom but, of course, neither of those has Mickey.

ETA: I don't know if you might be celebrating any special occasion while you're there, but the pastry chef at the Contemporary prepared a nice custom birthday cake to our specifications last year for our son's third birthday. We were very happy with it. Here's a picture:

 

[ELG13]

Not to steal the thread, but tell meore about 1900 park faire. I feel my wife and I would like the Alice and hatter experience

We LOVED it!! My daughter got to open the doors for the first morning seating and say the magic words with Mary Poppins (it's been a couple of year if they still do it) Mad hatter was hysterical!!

 

[Emyli Mouse]

Mickey's Backyard BBQ is our absolute favorite. It is the perfect, low-key, laid back party for my little ones. My girls are 2.5 and 4.5 and we have a blast every time we go there. Like previously mentioned, it's BBQ fare, pulled pork, corn bread, beans, cole slaw, but there are so many options in that buffet, everyone should be able to find something they like. There are coolers on either side of the buffet with AYCE ice cream bars and alcohol is included. It is costing our family of 4 $161 total and I feel like it is really affordable for an evening of food, characters, and entertainment.

The best part is that the kids eat and then they get to run around. No telling them 150 times to sit still when they are so excited to see Mickey, but he's four tables away. No telling them to sit down and eat. They just get to run around, dance, have another ice cream bar, play, dance, it's so fun!! You can make an evening of it and go see all the horses at the Tri Circle D Ranch. I highly recommend it.

 

[ELG13]

Mickey's Backyard BBQ is our absolute favorite. It is the perfect, low-key, laid back party for my little ones. My girls are 2.5 and 4.5 and we have a blast every time we go there. Like previously mentioned, it's BBQ fare, pulled pork, corn bread, beans, cole slaw, but there are so many options in that buffet, everyone should be able to find something they like. There are coolers on either side of the buffet with AYCE ice cream bars and alcohol is included. It is costing our family of 4 $161 total and I feel like it is really affordable for an evening of food, characters, and entertainment.

The best part is that the kids eat and then they get to run around. No telling them 150 times to sit still when they are so excited to see Mickey, but he's four tables away. No telling them to sit down and eat. They just get to run around, dance, have another ice cream bar, play, dance, it's so fun!! You can make an evening of it and go see all the horses at the Tri Circle D Ranch. I highly recommend it.

We didn't make time for this when we stayed at the cabins and now Im bummed!!! You make it sound great and that price?! That's awesome considering we spent more than that at any other character meal we've done except for cape May breakfast.

 

[JD80]

Chef Mickey is a great place to go in the middle of the day when you're at the MK for a good meal and fun and a way to get off your feet.

 

[SHP]

Another vote for Chef Mickey’s at breakfast time - pretty hard to mess up your standard breakfast fare. We also had a lot of fresh fruit, hot coffee and fun desserts from the buffet. I like that everyone claps, dances and swings their napkins as the characters make their way around. Yes, it’s loud, but I think your kids will love it!

 

[Amos1784]

I think breakfast at Chef Mickey is a right of passage for kids. We used to make this a tradition on our first day there when we as the kids were all younger. Yes its loud and yes its crowded but it is just so much fun. There is a "celebration" where everyone waves their napkins, you have the monorail going by up ahead, and it is some of the best character interactions I have seen at meals. My vote would for sure be Chef Mickey for an early breakfast and then walk on over to Magic Kingdom.

 

[cbw4lsu]

Our favorite character meal has become Garden Grill at EPCOT for breakfast. The food has always been really good and the fact that it is all you can eat and they bring it to you works really well. I think it would help you with 1 and 3 year olds. We have been there on our last several trips and have almost always had the characters come around twice while we were eating. One time we even saw them 3 times! Price wise I believe it is the cheapest character meal we've done.

 

[Baldy]

Not to steal the thread, but tell meore about 1900 park faire. I feel my wife and I would like the Alice and hatter experience

We loved the character interaction here both at lunch and dinner.

The mad hatter was amazing. He had my son (then 8) throw gummies at Alice to get her attention. They both stayed completely in character. They spent a good amount of time at our table chatting with us and each other.

Dinner was great too. The stepsisters taught my neice how to curtsy, the prince danced with Grandma and lady tremaine was spot on. On another trip the step sisters argued over who would get to marry my son. Even my grumpy teen couldn’t help but smile.

 

[21stamps]

Since you specifically mention your kids being Mickey fans, I'm trying to stay within the realm of what character meals include him.

In spite of some the other contrary opinions you've been given, I highly recommend Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. No, it isn't five star dining and, yes, it's pretty loud and crowded. But we have been there numerous times and have found the service to always be good, the food to be decent, and the character interaction (the entire Fab 5) to be good as well. For us, actually, we like the fact that it's a bit more loud and rowdy, as there's less attention paid if one of your children has a loud moment.

I would also highly recommend Garden Grill at Epcot. It is not the entire Fab 5, but you do get Mickey and Pluto as well as Chip and Dale. We like this one because, unlike most of the character meals, it is not a buffet. I've got nothing against buffets, but with five young children, they get tiring. Instead, at Garden Grill the meal is served "family style," meaning they will bring you more of anything you want. So you get the "all you can eat" like you would have at a buffet, but get to stay at your table. The character interaction here is really good, and it's a cool venue. The restaurant rotates (very slowly), so you'll get to see different views throughout your meal.

Based on what you've said, those would be my two top recommendations.

We are also big fans of 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian and Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom but, of course, neither of those has Mickey.

ETA: I don't know if you might be celebrating any special occasion while you're there, but the pastry chef at the Contemporary prepared a nice custom birthday cake to our specifications last year for our son's third birthday. We were very happy with it. Here's a picture:

View attachment 270811

That cake is adorable!!!

 

[JillC LI]

Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare - delicious strawberry soup and fun with the Mad Hatter!

 

[Donal Duck]

About breakfast at 'Ohana -
Our last experience at 'Ohana left a bit to be desired. Our server pretty much disappeared for a while, it took a very long time for our food to arrive, a longer time to get refills on drinks and an even longer time to be asked if we wanted seconds on anything.

Agree 100%.
You’re better off going to 1900 Park Fare, Cape May or Crystal Palace where you can help yourself and aren’t at the mercy of your server.

 

[TXDisney]

Cape May

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Go to Tusker House for the food, Chef Mickey for the characters. At Tusker, the characters are dressed for safari (which is fine if that's what you're after). At Chef Mickey, they look how they're supposed to look, you know.

A bonus at Tusker House is that you get a FP to the evening show along with your outrageously priced meal.

 

[Survivor]

My favorites are Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh & Friends and The Garden Grill with Chip & Dale.