ErinsMommy
She believed she could, so she did
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2011
IMO Only bad one on that list is Hollywood & Vine.
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Am I Making a Mistake?
- Thread starter Malissa Boymom
- Start date
IMO Only bad one on that list is Hollywood & Vine.
bwifan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2012
I can't say I love those restaurants, but a four year old will find them very accessible. I don't even consider the opinions of my kids until they're much older. No matter what you pick, they'll probably end up eating nothing!
Reserve what you want! The kids will eat or not eat regardless of the ambience.
Reserve what you want! The kids will eat or not eat regardless of the ambience.
Micca
SAHG: Stay At Home Grandfather
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2000
Yeah the food pretty much sucks. I think we found one or two things that we thought were pretty good, the rest...
Lotsa characters though, if that's what you're in for it'll be fun.
Disney_Princess83
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
You know what characters your child likes the most. I would recommend Chef Mickey, Tusker House (we love the food here and it's Daisys only character meal) Garden Grill (breakfast instead of dinner. It's cheaper and we find the food much better. The characters are the same) I would skip Cape May. I have never done H&V. I would also recommend Akershus if you have a Princess fan.
When my DD is 3, we planned for mostly character breakfasts at parks (some pre-opening) since we would plan for a break right behind lunch. We liked Hollywood and Vine and Crystal Palace for breakfast.
One other one for Mickey and Friends was AK Tusker House breakfast. We chose this over Chef Mickey's due to the reviews, cost and it got us into the park early.
Buffets overall were a better choice at this age for us compared to sit-downs. Also really liked BOMA and visiting the animals at AKL.
One other one for Mickey and Friends was AK Tusker House breakfast. We chose this over Chef Mickey's due to the reviews, cost and it got us into the park early.
Buffets overall were a better choice at this age for us compared to sit-downs. Also really liked BOMA and visiting the animals at AKL.
Cape May & Chef Mickey are a bit redundant.
O'hana is different enough. So too is Hollywood - especially if Star Wars characters.
Not sure you get much with Garden Grill; Coral Reef may be better if staying inside Epcot, Biergarten not bad either.
But Sci-Fi in Hollywood Studios is very cool. And maybe I'd even recommend T-Rex and those kind of themed places for something 'different'.
But really, some folks are perfectly happy with Characters at virtually every meal. You can certainly be those people.
NileNellie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2013
Honestly I think one character meal is plenty. There are so many other options worth checking out that don't include characters.
JessRose
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2016
Just my two cents, but I actually think Tusker House was one of the best breakfasts we had on property (including several table service breakfasts). Granted, not THE best, but I personally loved the variety of unique options that you can't find anywhere else on property. Much more "adult" options in my opinion, while still having the usual things for kids.
I also think there is something extra magical about going to the Crystal Palace before park opening. That is a tradition of ours on every trip. Walking down a relatively empty Main Street is pretty awesome and we always get some great castle pictures. The food was also good and they had a great variety.
I also think there is something extra magical about going to the Crystal Palace before park opening. That is a tradition of ours on every trip. Walking down a relatively empty Main Street is pretty awesome and we always get some great castle pictures. The food was also good and they had a great variety.
ChasingLeslie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2015
Personally, I'd suggest switching Cape May for Crystal Palace. The Pooh Friends are awesome and you have plenty of Mickey Friends overlap.
Lisa F
is a very wise woman
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2000
your only mistake was posting here and expecting a straight up consensus on whether you are making a mistake or not. For everyone who hates chef mickeys there are people who loved it for the characters and found the food just fine (not sure I ever read anyone say it was the best ever but many people find it tasty and filling).
the one thing I do agree with is offloading one of your mickey based meals for a pooh one just to get a little more variety. My son is 8 and LOVES character meals... they were the highlight of our trip in 2014 and we did 3 of them... 2 prebooked ('Ohana breakfast and tusker house) and added Crystal palace dinner mid trip because he was begging for more. He has a hard time waiting and character m&g lines are the most boring and slow moving. We are going to all three of those and adding two more - H&V seasonal dine with the fab 5 in christmas costumes and garden grill. Yes there is mickey overlap but it is fab 5 with daisy subbed for pluto at H&V, mickey and pluto with chip and dale and mickey and pluto with lilo and stitch. Enough variety for us. You know your kid best but most do not ever think there are too many character meals. Some that are you are doing are the family style type which will definitely add to the relaxation factor over buffet.
whatever you do, there are no real mistakes unless your kid FREAKS about the characters. IF that happens you can drop them easily enough and find other things to eat but you will not very likely find those character meals at ideal times if you drop them now. I would keep them and see how your trip goes.
the one thing I do agree with is offloading one of your mickey based meals for a pooh one just to get a little more variety. My son is 8 and LOVES character meals... they were the highlight of our trip in 2014 and we did 3 of them... 2 prebooked ('Ohana breakfast and tusker house) and added Crystal palace dinner mid trip because he was begging for more. He has a hard time waiting and character m&g lines are the most boring and slow moving. We are going to all three of those and adding two more - H&V seasonal dine with the fab 5 in christmas costumes and garden grill. Yes there is mickey overlap but it is fab 5 with daisy subbed for pluto at H&V, mickey and pluto with chip and dale and mickey and pluto with lilo and stitch. Enough variety for us. You know your kid best but most do not ever think there are too many character meals. Some that are you are doing are the family style type which will definitely add to the relaxation factor over buffet.
whatever you do, there are no real mistakes unless your kid FREAKS about the characters. IF that happens you can drop them easily enough and find other things to eat but you will not very likely find those character meals at ideal times if you drop them now. I would keep them and see how your trip goes.
Since you're going in September, try to plan one sit down table service meal per day in air conditioning. We just went in September and those meals in the afternoon/evening were life savers. It was so so hot and everyone was tired. It was so nice to sit and be waited on while our feet got a break.
Might also be worth considering a different experience like Hoop de doo Revue or Raglan Road.
Might also be worth considering a different experience like Hoop de doo Revue or Raglan Road.
Mousetopia
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2015
Travel between resorts is problematic and eats up a LOT of time. I would cut way down on the resorts that you are not staying at. I would suggest uber for any resort to resort travel.
Malissa Boymom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2016
Boy, this will be all of them, yes planing on the dining plan
Malissa Boymom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2016
they are not booked yet, and i was more so just looking to see what overall people thought and as they did peoples recommendations on different places
HopperFan
"It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, princess."
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2003
Character Meals are overpriced so the best time to do them is on the DDP, so that is good. As the kids get older you can cut back on them.
You have repeated the same characters in a few.
Chef Mickey, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. My LEAST favorite for food, characters, noise, cleanliness. With meeting many of the same characters I would change this to something else. Not sure where you will be that day but I would consider Crystal Palace with Pooh & friends OR 1900 Park Fare as both breakfast and lunch are fun and good for boys or girls.
O'hana, guessing breakfast so Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, Mickey. This gives you some variety and be waited on.
Garden Grill, one of our favorites, great boys, Mickey in farmer clothes, Chip, Dale
Hollywood and Vine-lunch, never done but the lunch characters sound perfect for the age
Cape May-breakfast, love the characters outfits Minnie, Goofy, Donald and enjoy the buffet
Dis703
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2010
IMO there are better character meals out there. Chef Mickey has the main characters and they are fun, but we haven't enjoyed the food there the couple times we've been. Ohana had fabulous character interaction, but goes down as the only Disney meal we'd call bad so far. Cape May Cafe breakfast is great. Food was really good and characters were a lot of fun. Hollywood and Vine is average food and fun character interactions.
If you wanted to consider some others, we've always had a good experience at Tusker House and Crystal Palace. I also wouldn't discount princess meals even though you have a boy. We really loved 1900 Park Fare and that was with 3 boys ages 7, 4 and 4 at the time. They also very much enjoyed dining with the princesses at the castle as well.
If you wanted to consider some others, we've always had a good experience at Tusker House and Crystal Palace. I also wouldn't discount princess meals even though you have a boy. We really loved 1900 Park Fare and that was with 3 boys ages 7, 4 and 4 at the time. They also very much enjoyed dining with the princesses at the castle as well.
GillianP1301
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2012
All your choices look great to me! We love character meals and usually have at least 1 per day booked on our trips. They are so much fun, especially with young children.
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