There are several character meals in the resorts. This is important to know because people are in the Orlando area for different reasons. Most importantly, there is no park admission required for these meals unlike those in the parks. Therefore, you can enjoy a character meal on a day off from the parks, when you don’t want to use an admission day, or even when you are in Florida for other travel. Maybe you are visiting family, doing other attractions in the area, or not staying long. Perhaps there are more older children in your group that don’t want to do a whole day in Disney. You may just want a little Disney fix for your kids (or yourself) but don’t want to pay the $95+ pp admission prices for just one day. A character meal at a resort might be a good option for you. (The way park tickets work is that the prices goes down the more days you buy. It can be as low as $25 a day. More on park tickets later) We like to have a character meal in the resorts our first night. We usually don’t go into the parks the first day so its a great way to get the magic started.
Character Meals in the Resorts
Contemporary Resort This resort offers Chef Mickey’s Fun Time Buffet at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast (brunch) and dinner. This is a fun restaurant where you will get to meet Mickey and the gang in their chef costumes. We have seen Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy. Every half hour there is a celebrations where the kids can get up and dance and twirl their napkins over their heads. When you arrive they will take a special family picture with the Chef Mickey backdrop. During your meal they will drop the pictures off to you to look at. They are an additional cost and not included in your meal (it is included with memory maker). When they are taking the picture in the beginning you can ask them to take a picture with your camera as well. Both meals include traditional American items. Breakfast includes dishes such as pancakes, mickey waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Dinner includes soups, salad, fresh carved meats, fish, poultry, vegetables and potatoes. There are great desserts and a make your own ice cream bar. This meal (breakfast or dinner) counts as 1 table service meal on the meal plan. This is one of the very popular dining spots so if you definitely want to do this on a specific day then you need to call 180 days ahead or as soon as you know. Reservations can be made by calling 407-wdw-dine or the online system through My Disney Experience.
Grand Floridian Resort This resort offers 2 different character options at 1900 Park Fare. The first is the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast. At this meal you will meet Mary Poppins, Alice, The Mad Hatter, and other friends (we saw Winnie the Pooh and Piglet). Meeting the face characters (those without a costume head) is really fun for the kids because they can talk to them. For example, Mary Poppins will stay in character and ask you about your jolly holiday or discuss some other aspect from the movie. It can be really special when your child meets a face character and they have a personal conversation. The food choices at this buffet are typical breakfast items but there are some offerings that are a little nicer than some of the other buffets. This is the Grand Floridian after all. This is 1 table service credit on the dining plan.
1900 Park Fare also offers a dinner called Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner. You will see Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine (the stepmother), Anastasia, and Drisella. This group of characters is a real hoot, especially the step sisters. I enjoyed meeting this gang as much as my kids. My daughter was so proud to meet Prince Charming. Lots of little girls dress up for this meal in their princess costumes as well. Dinner includes items such as soup and salad, chicken marsala, carved beef, vegetables, and potatoes among other things. There are lots of great desserts here too. This is also 1 table service credit. (Starting to think about that dining plan right? You can get more info on that at Disney Dining Plan Explained.)
Polynesian This resort has an ‘Ohana’s Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch. In addition to Lilo and Stitch, Mickey and Pluto also make an appearance. This all you care to eat meal is served family style on the table and includes eggs, potatoes, sausage, fruit, bread, juice and milk. This meal has some special/unique items such as their juice and a special butter for the bread. It is also 1 table service option.
Yacht & Beach Club This resort offers a Beach Club Breakfast Buffet at the Cape May Cafe. You will typically find Minnie, Donald, and Goofy here dressed for the beach. The food here is again the traditional breakfast array of cereal, fruit, yogurt, eggs, mickey waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, etc. This meal is 1 table service option.
As you can see all of the character meals (except for the Beach Club Breakfast) are at resorts on the Magic Kingdom monorail. This is one of the reasons I prefer to stay in a Magic Kingdom area resort when traveling with little children. Check out my post Resort Top Picks for more information on that. If you are going to eat a meal at any of these places be sure to allow yourself plenty of time (1 – 1 1/2 hours depending on where you are coming from). Your best option is to take a Magic Kingdom bus from your resort and then take a monorail to the resort your meal is at. If you are at a Magic Kingdom area resort then you may have a boat launch to the MK or even a direct boat to the resort. Let me know if you have any specific questions about that. After breakfast it is a fast monorail ride right to the Magic Kingdom. If you want to go to another park you can use that resorts bus transportation.
If you are planning a breakfast at the Yacht & Beach Club it is a little more complicated. I would really only recommend this breakfast to someone staying at the Yacht & Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn, Swan or Dolphin. (or if you have a car to drive directly). These resorts are all walking distance to this restaraunt. If you really want to have breakfast here and are staying at another resort then you will want to take a taxi.
Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) are recommended for all of these restaraunts (really every table service on the property). You can make them by phone at 407-WDW-DINE or make dining reservations online. These can be made up to 180 days in advance for guests staying at any Walt Disney World resort.
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