Character Dining at Disney World
 

Which restaurant at the Walt Disney Resorts has the best character dining experience? One that may not be too expensive (I dont even know if they are).

Go to the Disney World website. They're not terribly expensive (by Disney standards) but certainly not cheap.

We make an early reservation (say 8:15 a.m.) at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. You can then enter the Magic Kingdom before it opens and walk down Main Street almost by yourselves. The characters are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet. They visit every table at least once. Food is good - nice buffet breakfast. I believe the price is $18.99 per adult (children are less, of course).

Go to disboards.com - lots of good information on the Dining Thread.

Have fun!

Some are terribly expensive, even by Disney Standards. Cinderella's Royal Table, for example.

We've done about five of the character dinings with our kids over the last few years.

I'd probably suggest Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort as the best combnation of character interaction and number of characters.

If your kids are more partial to Winnie the Pooh characters than Mickey/Goofy/etc. than perhaps you might want to do the Crystal Pavilion at the Magic Kingdom.

We took our daughter to the Princess Lunch in Epcot at the Norwegian exhibit. It was not too expensive and easier to book than some in the Magic Kingdom. As an added bonus for the dads, Princess Jasmine attends.

In my opinion, the top Disney Character meal is without question Cinderella's Castle. The 2nd best is the one at Grand Floridian. I also like the ones at the Contemporary and Animal Kingdom. The one at the Animal Kingdom is good if you have done a character meal before somewhere else. It is neat to see the characters dressed up in safari outfits.

the best one is the one that has the characters your kids are most excited to see. if that is the pooh characters, then go to crystal palace. if they must see mickey and minnie, then go to chef mickeys. donald duck, the one in animal kingdom. the princesses, cinderella's castle or norway.

my recommendation is to make the very first reservation of the day/meal. we've done both crystal palace and chef mickeys a number of times. the last time we went we had a reservation at the time they opened. the experience was unparalleled. only a few tables were filled and my kids had all the time they could have ever wanted with the characters. by the time we left 45-60 min later, the tables had been filled and you only got a short photo op with each character.

We like the Cinderella's Happily Ever After dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary is very popular but I haven't been there.

Are you just wanting hotels or in the parks too?

Breakfast is generally the cheapest but not a good choice during busy times. The parks are less busy right around park opening so you want to be riding rides - not sitting in a restaurant. It is better to do a lunch during peak travel seasons because it gets you out of the crowds and gives a nice break after making the most of the morning touring time.

A great free character experience is the Campfire Sing-Along with Chip & Dale over at the Disney Ft. Wilderness Campground. You don't have to stay at the campground to participate. Here's a link with good information: http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com...-campfire.html