Dinner With Friends: A Guide To Disney World Character Dining

Disney World is such a magical place you can even dine with your favorite fictional characters. It’s called “character dining” in Disney-speak and it’s crazy popular with fans of all ages. You can giggle with Tigger at the beautiful Crystal Palace or greet Cinderella in her famous castle. Mickey and his pals are available at multiple restaurants in fun attire to suit the theme. With so many options, how do you choose? Today’s post covers everything you need to know about character dining at Disney World.

Let’s start with the basics.

There are currently twelve character dining options throughout Disney World.  Six of them are in the parks. The balance are located in nearby resorts. All of them feature buffet or family style meals (large bowls of food delivered to your table for sharing). All of them also participate in the Disney World Dining Plan.

The character meals located within the parks require park admission and are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The resort locations are open to everyone, but some only serve one meal per day. Every meal includes the opportunity to meet four or more characters, who visit your table individually.  A few locations also have a character host that greets you upon arrival or departure. All of the character dining options offer a ton of food and typically require an advanced dining reservation.

Here’s a look at the specific options, organized by location. Please note that characters are subject to change!

CHARACTER DINING WITHIN THE PARKS

CHARACTER DINING AT THE RESORTS

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

So what are the advantages of character dining? Well, for one, it’s pretty fun. There’s no chance of a boring meal when there are Disney characters stopping by to greet you! Second, it’s an efficient way to meet the characters. Rather than waiting in multiple lines in the parks, you can enjoy your meal and let your new pals come to you! This is particularly true if you’re interested in meeting the princesses. Third, some of the meals provide the opportunity to meet characters that aren’t available anywhere else. Examples include Lady Tremaine, the Evil Queen, Dopey, and Flynn Rider.

Character meals are also a great use of a Disney World dining credit, if you happen to be on a meal plan. All of the meals require one meal credit per person, with the notable exception of Cinderella’s Royal Table which requires two. A meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table, by the way, is the only way to see inside Magic Kingdom’s iconic castle!

There are a few downsides to Disney World character dining too. For starters, they are pretty expensive. Pricing changes seasonally, but dinners tends to average $40-60 per adult and $20-30 for kids ages 3-9. Breakfasts are slightly less. Secondly, the meals can get a little crazy. The venues tend to be large and loud and the buffet format leads to additional foot traffic around the tables. Thirdly, they can take a lot of time. Some can take 90 minutes if you stick around to meet every character. That doesn’t include travel time. Obviously timing can fluctuate, but overall the character meals are meant to be a leisurely event, not a quick meal. Sometimes that means trading off entertainment time elsewhere.

FOOD

Another topic I’m not sure to list as an advantage or a disadvantage is the food itself. I’ve eaten at the majority of the restaurants on these lists and enjoyed all of them to different degrees. I can’t really say the food is worth the hefty price tag in most instances. You’re really paying for the experience more than the food.  Some of the meals are average. Others are surprisingly great. I’ve had good and um, less-good, experiences at the same restaurant, so consistency can be an issue. It seems to depend on what time of day you are eating, where you are physically seated within the restaurant and how hungry you are!

The food is plentiful at all locations and likely to appeal to the masses, even if a few of the restaurants have theme-appropriate twists. I enjoy the African-flavored extras at Tusker House, the abundant seafood at Cape May Café and the interesting Scandinavian offerings at Akershus. Chef Mickey seems to offer the widest range of food choices overall, from sushi to brisket and everything in between. Most guests won’t have a problem finding items they like at any location. This includes younger guests that have buffet options designed just for them.

I’m not a foodie, nor do I play one online, so if you want detailed restaurant reviews or specific information on menu offerings, check out the extensive content on the Disney Food Blog. 

TIPS ON SELECTING AND BOOKING

If you’re interested in participating in a character meal at Disney World there are a few things to keep in mind. The most important one involves reservations. Disney World character dining is extremely popular. You really need to make reservations as early as you can (up to 180 days before your trip). This is particularly true for Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom and Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  If these two options are unavailable or don’t make sense for your itinerary, consider Akershus at Epcot or Tusker House at Animal Kingdom as alternatives. Both are great fun and offer comparable characters.

If you don’t have a lot of time before your trip, your best bets for late reservations are Crystal Palace, Tusker House or Hollywood & Vine. All three locations are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and accommodate a large volume of guests. You could also try 1900 Park Fare for breakfast or the Garden Grill for lunch.

Another thing to keep in mind in selecting your options is timing. I already mentioned the meals average around 90 minutes in length. Traveling to and from your restaurant location can easily take another 90 minutes, especially if you’re using Disney transportation between two resorts. This can seriously cut into your touring time.

Obviously the easiest way to minimize travel time is to pick the restaurant closest to you, such as one in the park you’re already planning to visit that day or the one located in your resort. If that’s not feasible, consider the next closest options. The Grand Floridian, Polynesian and Contemporary resorts are easily accessible from the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. You can also travel easily by boat (or foot!) to the Beach Club and Boardwalk resorts from Epcot or Hollywood Studios. Another idea is to plan your character meal on a non-park day.

BREAKFASTS IN THE PARKS

One other tip on timing relates to breakfasts. There used to be an advantage to booking early morning breakfasts within the parks. If you scheduled a breakfast before the park’s official opening time, you were allowed to enter the park up to an hour before that time and enjoy the space with minimum crowds. Although this perk is still available at times if you book a breakfast for 8:00AM or earlier, it’s becoming harder to find. All guests are permitted to enter Magic Kingdom up to an hour early now, because Disney moved the opening show from outside the gate to right in front of the castle. The abundance of early morning magic hours also diminish this benefit. If you try this strategy, just make sure to double check the park schedules close to your trip.

OTHER OPTIONS

There are a few other events available for meeting characters too. The Garden Grove at the Disney Swan offers character meals for dinner each night and breakfasts on the weekends. The Four Season’s resort also features a character breakfast a few days a week depending on the season. Neither of these two options are included on the meal plan, but they are still available to all guests regardless of where they are staying.

Another fun option that offers even more entertainment than a traditional character meal is Mickey’s Backyard BBQ at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. This all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet includes visits from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale as well as a western-themed stage show and a line-dancing party. It’s pricier than a traditional character meal ($62-72 per adult depending on seat location) and available on the Disney Dining Plan for two credits per person.

If you don’t want a full meal, there are other options too.  The Pirates & Pals Fireworks Dessert Voyage at the Contemporary offers the chance to meet Captain Hook, Mr. Smee and Peter Pan before and after a boat cruise. There’s also the fun Wonderland Tea Party at 1900 Park Fare in Disney’s Grand Floridian. Children ages 4-12 can drink “tea” (really apple juice!) with Alice and friends.

Clearly there are a lot of options for dining with the characters throughout Disney World. Hopefully this post answered some of your questions and gave you a few ideas for your next trip.

Add some magic to meal time!