What's the Best Character Meal at Walt Disney World?
Emma Martin
June 20, 2009
With 13 restaurants to choose from for character meals at Disney World, the big question isn't really what's the best character meal? For the most part the food served is quite similar. The big difference are the characters themselves. So it is best to pick your character dining experience based upon you or your children's favorite Disney characters.
One of the most popular choices is to dine with the Disney princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table. Located in Cinderella's castle inside Fantasyland, Cinderella's Table offers a prix fixe menu. So you will be served your meal at the table. You can book reservations for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the princesses come to visit at your table. Breakfast is by far the most desired reservation at Cinderella's table as you will be sitting down to enjoy your breakfast before the Magic Kingdom even opens.
Either Cinderella's Royal Table or the Princess Storybook Dining buffet at the Norwegian restaurant in Epcot may be the best choices if you have little girls who just love the Disney princesses, but if you have little boys or older children who think princesses are for baby (so says my 8 year old niece!), then they might not be the best character meal for you.
You will find Winnie the Pooh and his friends at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. Donald Duck will be at Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom. Mickey Mouse and Goofy hold court at either the Cape May Cafe in Disney's Beach Club Resort, or you can find them at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort.
Chip & Dale usually show up at Chef Mickey's too, but you can also find them at the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot. Love Lilo & Stitch? They host the character breakfast at the 'Ohana restaurant in the Polynesian resort.
So really, it is best to decide what Disney characters you enjoy and make plans accordingly. You might also want to take the Disney dining plan into account as well. You can use the Dining plan at all of the restaurants that have character dining, but if you use it at Cinderella's Royal Table, that choice will require two table service credits for each member of your party. So if you want to use the Disney dining plan for a character meal, you would get more out of it by using it at any of the other restaurants instead. And don't forget, your little girls can always meet the princesses in Norway at Epcot!
Your choice may also depend on what type of food you would like to eat. But for most options, this may be the easiest choice to make. Many of the Disney World character meals are served buffet style. The most common cuisine is just standard American. In fact, of the 13 restaurants that offer character dining, they all offer standard American fare. So any picky eaters in your family should be just fine. Restaurants like 'Ohana's and Tusker House serve regional cuisines (Polynesian and African, respectively) at other times of day, but for their breakfast buffets, the menu is pretty much what you would expect for breakfast.
If you want to have a character meal that goes beyond the standard American menu, your best bet may be the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Located at the Norway pavilion in Epcot, the buffet features some Norwegian specialties that will likely be new to you. And the picky folks will still have the American stuff too.
One of the most popular choices is to dine with the Disney princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table. Located in Cinderella's castle inside Fantasyland, Cinderella's Table offers a prix fixe menu. So you will be served your meal at the table. You can book reservations for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the princesses come to visit at your table. Breakfast is by far the most desired reservation at Cinderella's table as you will be sitting down to enjoy your breakfast before the Magic Kingdom even opens.
Either Cinderella's Royal Table or the Princess Storybook Dining buffet at the Norwegian restaurant in Epcot may be the best choices if you have little girls who just love the Disney princesses, but if you have little boys or older children who think princesses are for baby (so says my 8 year old niece!), then they might not be the best character meal for you.
You will find Winnie the Pooh and his friends at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. Donald Duck will be at Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom. Mickey Mouse and Goofy hold court at either the Cape May Cafe in Disney's Beach Club Resort, or you can find them at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort.
Chip & Dale usually show up at Chef Mickey's too, but you can also find them at the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot. Love Lilo & Stitch? They host the character breakfast at the 'Ohana restaurant in the Polynesian resort.
So really, it is best to decide what Disney characters you enjoy and make plans accordingly. You might also want to take the Disney dining plan into account as well. You can use the Dining plan at all of the restaurants that have character dining, but if you use it at Cinderella's Royal Table, that choice will require two table service credits for each member of your party. So if you want to use the Disney dining plan for a character meal, you would get more out of it by using it at any of the other restaurants instead. And don't forget, your little girls can always meet the princesses in Norway at Epcot!
Your choice may also depend on what type of food you would like to eat. But for most options, this may be the easiest choice to make. Many of the Disney World character meals are served buffet style. The most common cuisine is just standard American. In fact, of the 13 restaurants that offer character dining, they all offer standard American fare. So any picky eaters in your family should be just fine. Restaurants like 'Ohana's and Tusker House serve regional cuisines (Polynesian and African, respectively) at other times of day, but for their breakfast buffets, the menu is pretty much what you would expect for breakfast.
If you want to have a character meal that goes beyond the standard American menu, your best bet may be the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Located at the Norway pavilion in Epcot, the buffet features some Norwegian specialties that will likely be new to you. And the picky folks will still have the American stuff too.