character dining at Disneyland? (update #10)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Would love to hear ppl s experiences/thoughts. We are going to Disneyland May 4-7, staying at the HoJo. will get 4 day park hoppers and plan to do 3.5 days there (Sun eve, Mon, Tues, Wed). Wondering if it is worth the expense etc to reserve a character meal. I am totally clueless about this type of thing so any comments/suggestions welcome!!

My DS is 4 and DD is 3. My main concern is that they are rather shy and man not really appreciate it. Especially DD. I think the big thing is that she hates feeling put on the spot and being asked questions, even by friendly people. So it's not so much she is scared of strangers, she just hates being forced to talk to them, if that makes any sense. I have heard from some that their 3yos did much better with meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy etc characters than with human characters (princesses, etc), and I can TOTALLY see that being true for my DD..bc they don't talk. Am wondering if we don't have a dining thing though if we will still have good opportunity to see Mickey, etc.

FWIW dd isn't really into the Disney princesses but she does really like Ariel. And i know they like Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, etc. And both kiddos are really into Frozen right now but i read a blog entry the other day which said the line to see Elsa and Anna was like 5 hrs at WDW (!) so i don't have much hope for that, lol.

Oh and the other thing, was the cost. In browsing online it seems like the dining experiences are like $40 per adults, $20 per kiddo. Eek. We are trying to do this trip on a major budget, so that's another thing that gives me pause. And i'd hate to drop $20 on a meal for my kids when they very likely may not eat much! However, if i think it is worth it and the kids will really enjoy it, I could see doing one. But then i'd have to figure out which one to do. LOL.

[Twoboos]

We did Minnie & friends breakfast at the Plaza (I think it is?), and it was great. It was a buffet. We were probably the first seatings (we were on East coast time so were up since 4am) and it really worked out well to get in there and basically be in before rope drop.

There were a lot of characters. Minnie, Chip & Dale, Perla (Cinderella's mouse), Rafiki, White Rabbit, Capt'n Hook, Tigger, I am forgetting even more. The place was pretty empty so they came around to us a lot, but it was filling up quite a bit when we left.

We also did the lunch w/Ariel and the princesses - Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty - which was a good way to knock out all of them at once (except Jasmine, who DD1 told us she "had to meet" 4 hours before we left! Oops!). That one was way more rushed and a system for them going through all the tables. But you can also wait to go through the Princess Line wherever they are in the Park. I think they have a specific spot but I can't remember what it's called!

I definitely thought it was worth it to "meet" all those characters in one place.

[lalasmama]

Character meals were a flop for our family, only because DD would take a bite, then had to great a character. Then another bite, and another character. It took us 60 minutes, and she ate a single Mickey waffle.

[AnnieW625]

We haven't done character dining because I would be afraid of exactly what Lalamama's said. DD1 is now almost 8 and I think she'd do better now, but DD2 is almost 4 and I can see her completely being into characters (she hasn't been since she was just shy of 2, tomorrow we are going for the first time since) and she'd be completely distracted.

[Tenasparkl]

I have heard from some that their 3yos did much better with meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy etc characters than with human characters (princesses, etc), and I can TOTALLY see that being true for my DD..bc they don't talk. Am wondering if we don't have a dining thing though if we will still have good opportunity to see Mickey, etc.


For my DD it was the opposite. She loved seeing the princesses and fairies, but HATED the costumed characters. She still doesn't really like them at 5 1/2, but since she got an autograph book is happy to go near them for the autograph and pic.

If you plan on being at both parks for a few days there'll be many chances to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto, Daisy etc. just walking around (sometimes right by the entrance, on main street and in Toon Town). In CA they have different outfits on (Mickey is an old-timey director). We did the meal with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto at CA and both kids liked it. On a hot day it was nice to sit somewhere with air conditioning and relax for a bit off of our feet. The food was OK, not great.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks for the responses everyone. i looked into this a tiny bit more. So a lot of them seem to be breakfast-only, which gives me pause as my kids are not huge breakfast eaters (unless it's rather late, like 9:30 or something). Also, as a few blog sites mentioned, mornings are usually prime time to try to go on all the must-see rides before it gets more crowded. For breakfast, we had been planning to do quick things like milk (for the kids), protein bars, fruit, cheese sticks etc in the hotel and then try to get in as soon as park opened to go on rides.

That being said, the Minnie breakfast at the Plaza sounds cool...it also seems like one of the cheaper ones. I could see us doing that one morning.

We are also thinking of making reservation at Ariel's Grotto for lunch on one of those days. Even though it's rather pricey, i guess this one is non-buffet style which seems more elaxing..and yes as PP said sitting indoors for lunch in A/C would be a nice break in the middle of the day. And thinking about it more, i think my DS would enjoy seeing princesses as much as DD, if not more :) I guess the cool thing to is that if we are sitting there eating, DD might be more comfortable (to see princesses from a bit of a distance, visiting other tables) vs waiting in line to see them, etc. I could see DS doing all the talking and DD happy to sit back and listen :)

[truly scrumptious]

We did character meals for our first disney trip recently. While they were very expensive and not worth the $$for the food, it was nice for our LOs to have a chance to meet characters in a relatively relaxed atmosphere and not in a crowded line. When we lined up for characters we always felt more rushed. At the meals the characters chatted a bit more and one time I asked Mickey to come back when DD was warmed up a bit and he did!
In hindsight I would have skipped the Mickey one since as PPs said there are lots of chances to see him. But I'm glad we did the princess meal because the princess meet n greets were always mobbed and I can't imagine making DD wait in line to see them.

[lalasmama]

Minnie's breakfast can be done as late as 10:45 or so. We're not big on breakfast either, so we liked the later option.

[theriviera]

We did Ariel's grotto for lunch last May. We were outside on a covered veranda. My girls were just 4 and almost 2 at the time. We were 2 other family who each had one almost 4 year old boy.

My girls LOVED seeing all of the princesses. My oldest is really shy but her face still lit up every time a princess came to our table. FWIW, neither of them had seen any Disney movies before.

Lunch wasn't that bad, considering most park food is pretty sub par. I would do it, just because it's a unique experience and you need to eat lunch somewhere.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ok i managed to get an 11:20 lunch reservation for Mon May 5th at Ariel's Grotto :love-retry: didn't realize reservations could be made up to 60 days in advance!! It sounds like for this, each princess is announced and walks through from table to table..from what i heard it seems would be okay for shy kids. great points about not having to wait in line to see princesses, etc, and yes we have to eat lunch somewhere. yay! i think both kiddos would enjoy it.

eta: i still think it would be cool to do the minnie breakfast one day , just to get the mickey waffles and such...maybe wednesday can do 10:45 or something and have it be lunch. we shall see...

[lkoala]

ok i managed to get an 11:20 lunch reservation for Mon May 5th at Ariel's Grotto :love-retry: didn't realize reservations could be made up to 60 days in advance!! It sounds like for this, each princess is announced and walks through from table to table..from what i heard it seems would be okay for shy kids. great points about not having to wait in line to see princesses, etc, and yes we have to eat lunch somewhere. yay! i think both kiddos would enjoy it.


Just an fyi, you can take the food you don't eat home with you. We asked for a box for some of the desserts we were brought because there is way too much for sugar for one sitting...

Have fun and don't forget your camera!

[BayGirl2]

Just seeing this post, but we have done all of the character breakfasts/meals at DL except Surfs Up. We love them. We do sit down meals at least once a day anyway and this way we see the characters, get pics and autographs, and generally get to relax and enjoy. My kids were never afraid of either type of character, although they don't always do great with the posed pics, especially my DD with Ariel last time, I think because she loves her soooo much she was just overwhelmed.

I'd say Goofy's is my favorite and Minnie and Friends 2nd favorite. However if doing one I'd do Minnie's and we always get the later reservations at 10:30 or 10:40. We have a light breakfast then eat a big meal there and consider it lunch. We generally get a lot of time with the characters and see a good variety of the popular ones. The food is not stellar but its good enough - typical buffet food. My kids eat. They don't eat a ton, but I'm not one to worry about the quantity they eat anyway so its a non-issue for us.

The exception is if you have a kid really really into princesses, then I'd do Ariel's. We did it for lunch this time and my expectations were low but it actually was pretty decent food. It was not overwhelming IMO. We saw 4-5 of the princesses which is a pretty good mix I think. I've heard its even better if you can eat outside, its right over the water.

And yes all DL reservations can be made 60 days out except Fantasmic! dessert seating (which is awesome but not budget-friendly) If there is anywhere else you are looking to do table service, like Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle or others and its a busy time it is good to have a reservation in advance. Not always necessary, but good to have if you want to not miss out.