Do you like character meals?

[curbsideprophet]

I don't think we walked by that. Weird.

[ribollita]

I think they may have stopped the PP photos at some restaurants. I know we didn't have one at TH a few weeks ago but have had it there a number of times in the past.

[peggy]

Yes, I love them. The girls adore them, it keeps them distracted so we can actually eat, there is a variety of food (we prefer buffets), the character interaction is fantastic and there is no waiting in line.

[revolution]

Aug 23, 2016 18:58:28 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Aug 23, 2016 18:27:34 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

Do they have the memory maker photographers AR these meals?

Entrance of Akerhus has a photo with Belle. Entrance of Cinderella's Royal table has a picture with Cinderella. At Chef Mickey's they take a picture of you with a plate and mickey statute. 1900 Park Fare you get a picture in front of a floral wall. H&V Dinner you get a picture at the entrance with one of the characters. Ohana breakfast usually has a photographer going around with one of the characters.

I feel like there is at least 1 more meal with one of the non-character pictures that they take for you too.

You are on your own though for the characters that come around to the table though.

ETA: Oh yeah and there is a photographer with Beast in the library at Be Our Guest

Tusker House does a picture outside for you before you go in.

[ilikedonuts]

We didn't have one at Tusker House in December all the characters just came around. How weird how it varies

[jeaniebueller]

Not really. Its fun to get the pictures, but they are really stressful IMO and I don't get that chance to sit and relax and enjoy my food like I would at even a walkup restaurant. Not a big fan of buffets and hate having to juggle food for myself and my DS.  My H specifically asked that we never do one again, lol.

[spaghetticat]

We went to Chef Mickey's today and I found it kind of stressful. The waitress told us to go get food so I went up to get a plate for each of my girls and when I came back Mickey was at the table next to us. I felt nervous every time I went to get food because i was afraid I would miss something.

[mmmomof2]

I think one or two a trip are plenty. The buffet food is generally just OK and they are exorbinantly priced. It's also a fairly stressful experience - especially if your kids aren't old enough to get their own plate. Last one I was at I was like Ok Chip you can go now I'm ready to eat my Eggs Benedict.

I do have a fondness for Crystal Palace though. I think it's awesome!

[krystee]

Since buffet food is most tolerable for breakfast, I like character breakfasts a lot. Crystal Palace and Tusker House are among our usual places to go. I thought dinner at Chef Mickey's was just not good. But if I were on the dining plan and didn't have to see that I paid $100+ for barely tolerable food, I might not have felt as strongly about it. I did like the food at The Land character dinner, but it's a little harder to take pictures there.

I think character meals are great options for parents like me, who have no desire to spend any part of the day in lines waiting to meet characters. This way, J can see a whole bunch, and we can spend the rest of the time on rides.

[katrinabennett]

is there a time limit for your dining time? Do you get an hour?
Are there set dining times?
Can you make reservations for any time? 8,815? Or just on the half hours?

[curbsideprophet]

Aug 28, 2016 11:32:52 GMT -5 katrinabennett said:

is there a time limit for your dining time? Do you get an hour?
Are there set dining times?
Can you make reservations for any time? 8,815? Or just on the half hours?

Most restaurants have a variety of time options available. I think I have seen 5-10 minute increments at some. I have had reservations at 10, 20, 35 after.

I don't think there is limit but meals do have set ending times. At some places breakfast transitions into lunch. Other places have a gap in between.

I think you can take as much time as you like but the characters may not be there. We ate at 1900 PF. We had an 11:30 reservation. The listed time is until 11:50, so I assume that is the last reservation you can make. At one point someone came and asked if Pooh and Tigger had been by. They had already been to our table and they did end up leaving before us.

They typically take long enough and most people don't want to spend extra time.

[sagelily]

We just got back from Disney a week ago and for the most part I was very happy with the character meals. We intentionally did a lot of lunches and that worked out well because my youngest is 18 months and she needed a break from the heat in a place with food and AC. We did Akershus, CRT, Crystal Palace and Tusker House for lunches. The food was good but very expensive although we felt that was true for the non-character meals too. My older 2 kids really loved the character interaction and opportunity to get autographs. It took pressure off of us because they were ok skipping the lines to meet most other characters. Tusker House, Crystal Palace and Akershus all did the dance lines when the kids could join in and they liked that a lot. Some of the pictures we took aren't the best because it was hard to get up and angle the kids for good pics. The lighting wasn't great in Tusker House but we loved the theme there. Service in the restaurants was good everywhere but at Crystal Palace it was about 20-25 minutes after reservation time before we were actually seated and Akershus had a problem with their computers so there was a huge line of people waiting to check in and it took at least 15 minutes to get through that. I don't know if that happens often but it was tough dealing with a hot and hungry toddler during those waits. Tusker House was one of our favorites but unfortunately there was no photographer for Photo Pass pictures the day we were there.

[irishbride2]

Yes

But I refuse to stand in line to meet characters. So I love doing one meal a trip and then calling it a day.

[mslhb]

I am not a fan. I don't really like buffets though. My favorite was probably our late breakfast at Cindy's castle. The food was really good and the meal and princesses seemed to move along at a good pace.

[sonrisa]

We've done them twice. We do it on a day when that is the only event: breakfast the day we leave or dinner the day we arrive.

[L From The D]

We love them! The kids and I love the characters, and DH loves the food variety. I also like that we can try new foods with "no pressure."

On our last trip we had: Akershus and Tusker breakfast, Crystal Palace lunch, and 1900 PF dinner. Next year I think we'll try Garden Grill.

[missyny]

Love them for characters!

Hate the rush of getting the perfect pics plus getting food for my kids, etc. I'm usually sweating and pooped out when it's over! Not to mention...I've barely touched my own meal.

[cohmom]

Its the only way we meet the characters but they are so stressful and overpriced. Last trip we did 1900, Cinderella's, Askerhaus, Chef Mickey and Tusker house.
Of all of them I liked Askerhaus the best.

[was5]

Sept 4, 2016 14:13:01 GMT -5 cohmom said:

Its the only way we meet the characters but they are so stressful and overpriced. Last trip we did 1900, Cinderella's, Askerhaus, Chef Mickey and Tusker house.
Of all of them I liked Askerhaus the best.

What meal did you do for Askerhaus. I'm concerned about doing anything other than breakfast due to the Norwegian themed food.

[cohmom]

We did dinner. They have a buffet of Norwegian food you get a plate from and they also serve you a regular plated meal. The plated meals are "normal" enough to pass as an American take on Scandinavian food. The desert course is served family style. One of the 3 items is a tapioca pudding served Norwegian style. But the other 2 are typical us type items.
The characters take all the little Prince's and princesses on a parade. It's a nice vibe.