May 14, 2025 • 25 mins
This podcast episode delves into the intricate world of character dining at renowned theme parks, specifically Walt Disney World. We provide a comprehensive exploration of the various character dining experiences available, elucidating the nuances of each option, including the types of characters one may encounter and the dining formats offered, from buffet to family-style meals. As we navigate through the discussion, we emphasize the importance of aligning dining choices with the preferences of young guests, ensuring that families select experiences that resonate with their children's favorite characters. Furthermore, we share invaluable insights and practical hacks to maximize the value of these dining experiences, particularly in terms of cost and time efficiency during a visit to the parks. Ultimately, this episode serves as a vital guide for families seeking to enhance their theme park adventures through memorable character dining encounters.
Takeaways:
- Character dining at Disney offers an opportunity for families to meet beloved characters in a relaxed dining environment, eliminating the need to wait in long lines at the parks.
- When planning a character dining experience, it is important to consider the favorite characters of the children to ensure a memorable and enjoyable meal for the entire family.
- Different character dining options vary in terms of meal types, such as buffets or sit-down services, which can significantly affect the dining experience and overall satisfaction.
- It is advisable to choose breakfast reservations for character dining as they are often less expensive and provide a more manageable dining experience for families with young children.
- Dining locations like Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace offer unique character interactions and themed meals, enhancing the overall character dining experience at Disney.
- Understanding the dining plan and reservations is essential, as many character meals require two dining credits, making it imperative to plan accordingly when visiting the parks.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Walt Disney World
- Universal Studios
- All the Magic Travel
- Chef Mickey's
- Cinderella's Royal Table
- Crystal Palace
- Tusker House
- Ohana
- Cape May
- Topolino's Terrace
- Garden Grill
- Hollywood and Vine
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreigns and Wishes podcast.
Glad you could be joining usas we talk to you about Walt Disney
World, Universal Studios andyour theme park adventures.
Lauren Mallet, of all themagic travel, joining me.
I'm Tony Desiri and we got avery fun topic today.
Yeah.
This is character dining.
Now, a lot of people know whatcharacter dining is.
(00:21):
It's dining with characters.
But if you're a young personwith kids and you're thinking, well,
what do I have to do?
What characters are available?
How does this whole process work?
What are the rules, if thereare any?
This is the podcast you wantto listen to because there's a lot
that goes into character dining.
Yeah.
It may seem simple enough.
You're going to have a mealand characters are going to show
(00:42):
up, but what characters aregoing to show up, what the meal is?
There's all sorts of what doyou want breakfast?
Do you want lunch?
What are the prices?
So we're going to go into thatin this podcast.
And this was a lot of fun tolook back on because I've had some
memories.
I know you do too.
Some character dining with the kids.
It's changed a lot.
I still have, you know,pictures of my, my, my parents house
(01:02):
and me and my little brotherat a character dining years ago.
There's a lot of options herefor people.
Yeah.
You know, I think sometimespeople think that there is only one
character meal at Disney.
They'll say, I want to do thecharacter meal or I want to do the
character breakfast.
And they always are thinkingof something like Chef Mickey's,
which is what I remember mostfrom my childhood because that was
(01:24):
the main one.
And I remember going there andI have pictures like you do as well
of me at Chef Mickey's.
But characters you want tomeet almost, you can find them at
a character meal.
And so it's a really great wayto meet the characters without standing
in line at the park.
And I think the first questionI would, I would want to ask if I
was kind of new to thisprocess, is all right, which, you
(01:46):
know, what are my kidsfavorite characters and where do
I go to get those?
Yeah.
Because you don't want to endup at Winnie the Pooh and Friends
if your son or daughter is abig Lilo and Stitch fan.
Right.
That kind of thing.
So you do want to make surethat you're going to the right place.
But the other thing and I iskind of which meal do you want?
Do you want a buffet?
Do you want to sit down?
(02:06):
Do you want a family dinner?
Do you Want breakfast?
Do you want dinner?
So there's a lot more toconsider when you can think about
which, which kind of mealyou're going to.
Yeah.
There are so many options, andthere's some hacks, too, that we'll
talk about today, too, to kindof get the most bang for your buck
out of those meals.
So where do you want to start?
All right, let's start at theMagic Kingdom, and let's start at.
Well, we can, we can start ata couple of places.
My.
(02:26):
I'm gonna start with theCrystal palace, because that is where
Winnie the Pooh and Friends are.
Yes.
And that's where I've ended upa few times, as my wife is a big
Winnie the Pooh Pooh fan.
This is a buffet.
It's a, it's breakfast.
They have lunch and dinner.
This is where you're going tosee Pooh, you're going to see Rabbit,
you're going to see Piglet,you're going to see Eeyore.
They're going to come to your table.
We went there a couple ofyears ago for the dinner buffet.
It was, I, I thought thebuffet was very good.
(02:49):
I thought it was very good.
And, you know, again, thecharacters are going to interact
with you.
They're going to come to everysingle one of your tables.
It was for a character meal.
I didn't find it overly expensive.
I knew it was going to be.
They're, they're moreexpensive, obviously, than your standard
dinner.
But I, I, the buffet was verywell laid out.
A lot of different options.
And I, I rather enjoyed the food.
(03:10):
Yeah, I really like Crystalpalace because there are not any
other places in the parks.
Every once in a while, you'llsee Pooh and Tigger meeting back
by the ride in Fantasy Land,but you're not going to find Eeyore
and Rabbit unless you're therefor one of the special events.
So I know that Winnie the Poohmight not be as popular for little
kids as it used to be when wewere kids, but these are classic
(03:33):
characters that in, in therestaurant itself, to me, is one
of the best ones that you'regoing to find in the parks for a
character meal.
So the other character diningthat I have yet to do, and I don't
think because my kids are outof school, I will ever do.
And we never did it with mylittle girl because she wasn't into
these characters, wasCinderella's royal table.
Yeah.
Have you done Cinderella'sroyal table?
(03:54):
So it's funny.
I am actually going there forthe Very first time next month.
All right.
I've never been.
I've booked it countless timesfor guests, but I've never been.
And so it's just one that'snever really appealed to me.
The price is really pricey.
It is very pretty for what it is.
But we're going on the diningplan next month, and so we're gonna
use two credits and go thereand see.
(04:14):
And I'm gonna report back.
Obviously, I don't know thatit'll be worth it, but I'm going
with just Cora for a couple days.
And so this is the prime timeto go.
It'll just be two of us dining.
So.
Well, we're going with somefriends, but I'll only be paying
for two to dine there, so Ifeel like maybe this is the time
to try it out.
But you're gonna go in andeat, dine inside the castle.
(04:36):
And that's intriguing forpeople for so many reasons.
And so it is not going to be a buffet.
You're going to sit down,order there.
It's a little fancier menu, soyou'll choose an.
An appetizer, an entree, and a dessert.
And another good thing aboutthis one is with the price that you're
paying, whether you're on thedining plan or whether you're paying
out of pocket, your gratuityis already included.
(04:58):
Oh, very good.
So you can think, well,that's, you know, a little bit extra
that I'm not having to pay ontop of the listed price.
But you're gonna meet four tofive princesses.
They change a little bit.
But typically, if I look at mycheat sheet, you're gonna find you're
definitely gonna meetCinderella, usually someone like
Ariel, Aurora, sometimesMerida is even in there, and Jasmine.
That will kind of switch updepending on the day in there.
(05:21):
But you're going to meet fourto five princesses.
I've gone back and forthbecause as a Disney fan, I want to
say I've eaten in there, butI'm not a princess person.
My daughter wasn't as a kid.
So we didn't.
When we went with the diningplan years ago, and we could have
made a reservation for it atthe time when we were book, that
was just out of the.
We were just not going to do that.
But the idea of being in thecastle, and if you go for breakfast,
(05:43):
you can go in before the parkopens, which is a really cool trick.
And you get to get.
You get to be in there beforethe park opens to have to have your
Breakfast.
This.
You can be in there late at night.
I mean, you can.
There's a lot of cool hacksfor the castle.
Yes.
That you can enjoy if you bookthat Dining.
For sure.
All right, let's.
Well, let's stay in that area.
Did you want to go over toChef Mickey's really quick?
(06:04):
Because you and I haveexperiences with Chef Mickey.
Sure, yeah.
You know, Chef Mickey's is agood one to do on a Magic Kingdom
day if you just kind of wantto pop over to the Contemporary for
lunch or for dinner or.
One of my favorite hacks is tobook the very last breakfast of the
day, and then you can go intothe park for a couple hours, get
that rope drop done so thatyou get a lot of rides done that
(06:26):
morning, then pop over for a brunch.
And so you're really takingcare of two meals for the price of
one.
Because again, carriage ormeals, we're talking about it.
They're pricey.
Very pricey, you know, and soyou want to try to get the most bang
out of your buck.
But this one is thequintessential character meal at
Disney, where you're going tomeet the Fab Five.
That's right.
You're going to get Mickey.
You're going to get Minnie,Goofy, Donald and Pluto.
(06:49):
I.
I remember having breakfastthere, and this was 12 years ago.
That's the last time I was there.
I.
I wasn't impressed with the breakfast.
I.
I don't know if the.
The.
If it is upped.
Its.
Upped.
Its.
I don't think it has.
No, I think that this is onethat is.
You're going to have tounderstand you're really going for
the characters here from.
(07:09):
And I haven't been in years for.
Because I read the reviews andI see what the food is like, and
I'm like, well, I.
I would like to at least enjoymy meal if I'm gonna go for dinner.
And that's funny that youbring that up, because on a side
note, one of the things that.
That has started to happenwith social media now and especially
podcasts, and is that thereare more honest evaluations of the
(07:31):
Disney product.
Like, hey, you know what?
I went to this restaurant, andyou know what?
The food wasn't really that good.
And you get the feeling thatsometimes Disney hears it and sometimes
they don't.
But like.
Like Tony's Town Square is aperfect example.
That place used to getdestroyed by people.
I mean, destroyed.
You go in there, you wouldwant your money back.
You'd scream at People going,I can't believe I spent that much
(07:51):
money.
Yeah.
And it's come around.
And they not only have comearound, that has been flipped completely.
Absolutely.
And so the.
The out.
You know, the people who havereally made comments, strong comments
on the quality of food was notto the expectation of what I want
at a Disney park.
They've heard that, andthey've changed.
They will.
They will change things.
(08:11):
I have seen this in the lastdecade of different places have gone
really horrible to good.
So, again, I can't comment onchef mixing.
Like.
Like I said, I haven't beenthere in a long time.
But.
But, boy, that's the one placethat people say you get the great
character interaction, but,man, you're not really paying great
money for good food.
Yeah.
And, you know, not to staygeographically close, but if we're
talking about a good swap, ifyou're wanting those characters,
(08:35):
I think a good swap would beTusker House in Animal Kingdom.
Absolutely.
If you're looking for the.
The more mainstreamcharacters, I think Tusker House
gets much better reviews onthe food.
If you're not as anadventurous eater, go ahead and do
that late breakfast again,because you're going to get great
breakfast there and reallygood character interaction.
All right, let's just kind ofstay in the resort area.
(08:57):
Let's go over to Ohana.
Yeah.
For breakfast.
I've did this a number ofyears ago, too.
This was probably one of thebest breakfasts I've ever had.
Yeah.
I like this one because it's,again, it's not a buffet, so it's
family style.
They'll bring you as much asyou want.
If you're gonna get a bigplatter of things like eggs, bacon,
sa.
Mickey waffles, fruit, bread,it's so much food.
(09:19):
And let's say you run out ofbacon, but you don't want a whole
other plate of everything else.
They'll just bring you a bigplate of bacon.
And so I really like thisconcept of the family style, not
having to get up and fixeverybody's plates, because that
can be a challenge, too, ifyou've got little kids and you're
having to leave somebody at the.
At the table while you takeanother kid to fix the plates.
And so sometimes buffets canbe a challenge for.
(09:41):
For little kids, too.
And you're going to get Lilo,Stitch, Mickey, you're going to get
Pluto, like Hawaiian,Polynesian, Ge.
That's the other thing, too, Iwant to bring up is that sometimes
these characters, you're notJust getting Mickey looking like
Mickey.
You're going to get thesecharacters dressed in different costumes
and outfits like we justtalked about.
Chef Mickey's.
They're all in chef outfits.
They're all like kitchen personnel.
And then this one is, youknow, again, Hawaiian, Polynesian.
(10:04):
And you're going to get that.
Those outfits as well.
So you're going to get anopportunity to get some pictures
with them.
Have you ever had thecharacter dining at Cape May?
I have not.
And I have always wanted years ago.
I love the concept of this onebecause they're in their beach attire.
Talk about, like, thedifferent things.
And I almost feel like if yougo to this one, it's almost like
(10:26):
being at a special eventbecause you never see them in this
kind of attire.
And so you've got.
It's.
It's considered.
Minnie is the main one here.
Right.
So you've got.
Who are the ones that are atthis one?
They got Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Mini.
Yes.
And I think.
I think that's it.
And so, yeah, so this is justfor breakfast.
(10:46):
So if you're booking a dinnerat Cape May, and this is the same
at Ohana, they only havecharacters at breakfast.
So if you want characterdining, book it at breakfast.
But it's a super fun one.
I think it feels casual.
I've never been for breakfast.
I've been for dinner.
But, yeah, this is what I'dlike to do.
And it's over at the BeachClub, which is close to Epcot.
You could pop out of the WorldShowcase and go over there real easy.
There is one character diningthat I think is.
(11:08):
Is overlooked at times, andthat's at the Wilderness Lodge and
that's at the Storybook.
I mean, this is one that, ifyou're a Snow White fan, this is.
You can't miss this one.
This is Snow White.
You get the queen, you getdopey, you get a grumpy.
I mean, you get the main.
The two main dwarfs that aresort of the more popular dwarfs of
the seven.
And it's got a great menu.
(11:29):
Yes, it's got a really good,complex storybook menu.
And the theming of it is really.
It's not just food.
It's like a story within the meal.
Yes.
I think this would be a reallygood option.
This is another one that's touse two dining credits if you're
on the dining plan.
So it's going to be on thepricier side.
But again, you're getting someof those characters that you are
not going to see in the parks.
At all.
Topolino's Terrace.
(11:50):
I know you went here.
One of my favorites.
This is one of my favorites too.
This is one I, I really,really want to do because every time
I see the food, this is anupscale breakfast.
This is up a little bit moreupscale food.
It's not your standard, youknow, buffet.
You can definitely get kids.
There's kids items there.
The kids should be o.
You know, okay.
If you're, if they're picky eaters.
But for, for adults, this issome really high end breakfast items.
(12:11):
And again, you're getting tosee the more an artistic Mickey,
an artistic Donald, ArtisticMinnie and Daisy at Topolinos Terrace
at Riviera.
Yeah, I'm actually using myhack for my trip next month for this
resort.
I'm planning on a day splitbetween Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
And so we're going to startour morning at Hollywood Studios,
do a few things for threehours, and then we have an 1155 brunch
(12:34):
at Topolino.
So we're going to take theSkyliner over to the Riviera.
We're going to do brunch there.
So we will not do breakfast,maybe something in the room, like
a bar or something.
Something.
We won't do lunch other than Topolino.
So we're going to get twomeals out of one.
And then we're going to keeptaking that Skyliner over to Epcot
for the afternoon.
That's great.
What a great hack that is.
And then, yeah, Topolino'sTerrace gets a lot of good reviews.
(12:54):
The food is great.
And I said like, it's again,to see characters in sort of a different
attire and different outfits.
It's.
It's really fantastic.
Now, did you find that thiswas like, did the kids menu fit what
your, your kids were looking for?
Absolutely.
So we went there.
I've been there once and Itook Lily and I think Cora's gonna
love it.
(13:14):
What we ordered for her waslike an artist palette.
And so it was Mickey waffleswith three different dips and it
comes with bacon.
And so they can dip it in thechocolate or the, or the whipped
cream or the cherry.
And so it looks like a reallycute artist palette.
And they loved it.
And I had something that wasabsolutely delicious.
It was like a steak and eggs.
And so it was very, very filling.
(13:35):
And I just, I can't say enoughgood things about this restaurant.
All right.
I did want to mention oneother place in Animal Kingdom, and
it's, it's technicallycharacter meal, but it's not really.
And that is be our guest restaurant.
Yeah.
You're not gonna get.
It's only Beast.
He shows up to say hi.
He.
No pictures.
He walks through, he waves.
Right.
That's it.
(13:55):
But it's a meal and there's acharacter appearance.
So it.
It.
It fits.
It's sort of in limbo.
It.
It fits like, it's not quitecharacter dining, because everything
you expect from characterdining is not there, but there is
a character, and it's a rarecharacter that shows up.
Yeah.
And it's fun and theatmosphere is good.
And you said Animal Kingdom,but I know you meant magic.
But it's down in New FantasyLand, or Newer Fantasy Land, I guess
(14:16):
you could say.
But, yes, you're right.
You're paying a pretty priceyprice to eat here, too.
So just know that going in,Belle is not there.
It's just the Beast.
Yeah, that's right.
It's a three course meal.
We went there last year.
It was really great.
It was.
The atmosphere is fantastic.
It's.
It's got unbelievable theming.
And it's one of those.
For me, it was more of acuriosity because I heard people
(14:36):
go and they liked it, and Isaid, you know, I.
I can't not go see this.
Right.
This is fantastic.
All right, let's go to Epcot.
And I.
I think this one is one I haveto try because, again, more people
have said, oh, the food is great.
It's a garden grill.
I love it.
Garden grill looks.
It's just great.
That's one of my destinationcharacter meals.
Yeah.
This is one that I ate at forthe first time in a really long time.
(14:58):
It had been years, since I wasa kid until last year I went there.
And the food, the.
All the salad comes from theland where it's grown right there.
So you're looking over theland, and the restaurant moves at
a very, very slow pace.
You can't.
Can't really feel like you'removing, but you see parts of living
with the land while you'redining there.
And it's served family style.
Again, so it's not a buffet.
(15:20):
So if you have little kids,it's easier to dine and just stay
at the table.
You meet Mickey, Pluto, Chippendale.
You get to see Chippendale,and you get Mickey in the farmer's
outfit, which is, again, oneof the many different outfits that
he has.
Also, you can go to the Norway Pavilion.
That's another princess dining.
Yes.
This one's going to be alittle more adventurous.
This one is A good option ifyou are on the dining plan because
it's just one credit it.
(15:41):
However, the food gets mixed reviews.
I've never been here before.
The pictures and the characterinteraction get great reviews, but
the food itself is going to beon the adventurous side.
But you're gonna meet.
Sorry, you're gonna meet a lotof the same princesses that you would
meet at Cinderella's royaltable here.
All right.
Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood and Vine.
Two things that you can see there.
(16:01):
You can.
I don't know really any ofthese characters.
My kids are too old.
Like Doc McStuffins.
I'm not really sure.
I don't.
I didn't watch those.
Yeah.
But that is a breakfast thatyou can see.
V.
FANCY Nancy, Doc McStuffins.
If your little kids areinterested in those characters.
And then lunch and dinner.
This is another one that getssort of these reviews of food and
(16:22):
character interactions.
Yeah.
And I think that this isanother one that has started to come
around a little.
I agree with you.
People are starting to saythat the food is better.
It used to be one that I wouldnever book for somebody.
Right.
But now it's really comearound and I think it's one of the
better options in HollywoodStudios, honestly.
Yeah, we.
We were just looking aroundand this is another one where you
can get.
Get theming characters.
They have a great Christmas themed.
(16:44):
Yeah.
Character dining.
Halloween.
Halloween, Christmas dining with.
With the parties.
So Hollywood and Vine is whereyou want to go for that.
Now let's.
You mentioned Tusker House atAnimal Kingdom.
Yeah, I think that is one ofthe premier ones.
I mean, people really love thefood and the character interactions
are fantastic.
I agree.
And they're obviously themedas safari care safari guides, which
I think is really cool andjust kind of gives you that.
(17:05):
That extra bit of fun overthere at Animal Kingdom.
All right, so now let's getinto some of the expectations.
So if young.
Young kid and.
And you're taking a character dining.
Some kids love this and somekids kind of get freaked out.
Mickey's like five foot tall.
Like, it's like, how do youmanage those expectations with.
We really want to do this forthe family, but I might have one
(17:27):
of the three kids or two kidsor four kids that may be just a little
off on this one.
Yeah.
Sometimes I actually suggest character.
A character meal on yourarrival day at Disney just to kind
of gauge how they're going todo before you stand in line for a
character in the park.
If you find out at a charactermeal that they absolutely characters
then that's something that youcan kind of cut out of your day in
(17:47):
the park.
Now one good thing to know isthese meals.
They're aware that some kidsare not going to want the interaction.
So let's say you do have onekid that loves characters and one
kid that absolutely hates them.
Then those characters can betold, hey, don't go around this child.
Don't, don't try to hug them.
Don't try to take their picture.
So they can really adjust tothe X or to what they see coming
(18:11):
from your children.
Yeah.
And also too when you're, whenyou have kids and they're really
excited about it, there issort of a thing you have to kind
of keep in the back of yourhead is this is kind of a slow moving
thing and you don't want togobble up the character.
Right.
Like they, they're, they'regoing to spend time with your family,
(18:31):
they're going to take yourpictures, they're going to sign the
book.
But they're always in theprocess of moving to the next table.
That's right.
Very subtly trying to get awayfrom your family after they completely
complete the tasks.
Yeah.
To do.
That's a great point.
Make sure to tell your kidsthat you are not the only ones there.
Right.
And so you're gonna get a veryquick moment.
They can't wait for you tofinish that plate of Mickey waffles.
(18:53):
You gotta go ahead and hop up,get your picture made and let them
move on.
I, I've noticed that there isother things that I keep seeing like
where people are asking thecharacters to do things and they're
not allowed to do everything.
Right.
So you got to be really careful.
Yes.
Like again, I'm not as big ison on on what the tick tock trends
are.
But there are things like youcan't have the characters do tik
tok dances.
(19:13):
I'm like, I didn't know peopleask the characters.
I didn't know that either dances.
But you can't do that.
They also can't hold your baby.
They also can't do birth announcements.
There's a lot of things thatthe characters can't do.
Listen, I, here's the thing.
I, I, I know that some peopleget really, really creative and I,
I completely understand thatthey want these characters involved
in really special moments andthey can be.
(19:35):
But have an idea if, if itfeels like it's out of the normal,
check with somebody before youdo it.
That's a good point becauseyou don't want to put the character
in a position to have to break character.
They won't.
But they don't want to say no.
Right.
Don't put them in a positionto say no.
So just check in advance ifyou want some, them to do something
like.
Is this allowed?
Is this allowed?
Is this allowed?
(19:56):
Because I get it.
It's not.
You just, maybe you just wanta picture and an autograph.
That's great.
Maybe you want them to dosomething different, but there are
a lot of limitations.
I mean, if you think about howmany lawyers this company has and
how many things that they'regoing to, they're going to make sure
they're covered on.
That's right.
They, you know, they don'twant to hold your baby.
No, they're not holding your baby.
No, they're not.
(20:16):
So be careful with that.
I don't know.
I mean it just, it, it, it.
I wouldn't want to characterholding the baby.
But that, that's, that'stotally different.
So make sure you keep a, keepan eye on that.
But other than that, let's getback to the idea of breakfast and,
and dinner.
Do you find that, that forfamilies with young kids, breakfast
is a little bit more, a littleeasier to manage, like a little easier
to do than more complicatedmenu on than at dinner time?
(20:39):
Yeah, you know, I thinkobviously the, the menu is a lot
easier to please the picky eaters.
But I personally like if youcan which you're also going to find
a better price at breakfast.
Right.
So if you're looking to save alittle bit of money, that's a good
way to do it.
I do like either the latebreakfast or an early dinner with
kids only because that givesyou those coup hours in the morning
(21:02):
to get the rope drop things done.
That with little kids isreally vital to get those couple
hours in before it gets superbusy during the day.
And let's talk about creditsbecause a lot of people will be doing
these on credits and most ofthese are two credits.
So you got to manage yourschedule as well.
And the other thing too with,with dining and it goes with anything
is where you're going to beeating may dictate what you're doing
(21:25):
on for that particular day.
So try to, when you get thesereservations, try to then figure
out from that point point whatyou want to do.
If you start booking, likewe're going to do Magic Kingdom first
and then we're going to doEpcot second and then the third day
you want to do Crystal Palace.
Well, now you're back atmagic, right?
So you got to figure out whenyou're going to be there, what are
you going to do, how you'regoing to go out, you're going to
(21:45):
get the bus, how are you goingto manage it?
So look to see where thereservations are of what you really,
really want to do.
Like I said, if you're aWinnie the Pooh fan, if you have
a child that's a big Winniethe Pooh fan, they're only going
to be able to go to Crystal Palace.
If you can only get areservation on a Wednesday, well,
maybe book your Magic KingdomDay on the Wednesday.
Right.
That's a great point.
And don't look at the meals.
Let's say you wanted to go tothe Princess Dinner in Norway as
(22:08):
well as Garden Grill, Right?
And like you said, I mean,that's going to give you two days
at Epcot, and so make surethat your ticket allows for that.
Yeah, exactly.
Another thing too is I dorecommend this, and I know it's a
little complicated, but youcan still do this without the credits
you get if you get the quickservice, because that's more of what
you want to do for the fullweek you're there.
But you, you absolutely canjust pay out of pocket for.
(22:31):
Don't worry about not havingcredit or don't worry about the,
the having a meal with the,with the, you know, the quick service,
it, it's.
You're going to find it morelike you can still do these things.
They will take your money.
They will take your money.
And also just figure, youknow, figure out which one, which
one you know, that you wouldlike to do.
Yeah.
Any other tips and, and hacksfor character dining?
(22:51):
Yeah.
You know, I think we'vecovered most of the hacks and most
of the tips that we have.
I would say try to cover morethan one kid's interest in one meal.
That's a great point.
That way you're not.
If you're not wanting to booka character meal per child because
again, it gets so expensive.
I know we've said that so manytimes already, but these character
(23:12):
meals, when you get the bill,you're gonna want to pass out because
they're so expensive.
But again, think of it as timethat you're saving in line that you're
not having to go take time outof your day to go meet a character
in the park.
I grew up in a family where Ihave a brother that was a year younger
than me.
I had.
We have a sister that's sixyears younger than I am.
So she was a little bit morein the distance.
(23:34):
But I think if my parents wentto Cinderella's royal table when
I was 11 to appease my sisterwho at the time would be five, I
would lose my mind.
Yeah.
Like I would have, I wouldhave just gone crazy.
Absolutely.
And that's why I'm not goingto go when Graham is with us because
he would not enjoy it and Iwould be spending nearly $70 on a
meal for him that he's notgoing to enjoy.
There's.
(23:54):
So that brings me to the other point.
If you're in one of those kindof families where you have have boys
that want to go, you know,would love to do Mickey Goofy and,
and a girl or two girls thatmight want to do this.
The, the characters again,this is how you want.
Everybody's different.
Everybody family runs theirown way.
You can see these charactersin other ways.
Yes.
You don't have to see themduring a movie.
Absolutely.
(24:15):
So if you find yourself goingwell I got one kid that loves the
princesses and I got threeothers that don't see the princesses
in yeah.
Princess Fair or wherever.
Ever try to find thatcharacter meal.
You can.
There's plenty of resourceswhere all the, all the kids might
will be happy.
That's right.
And I've also had familiestake just the girls for breakfast.
(24:36):
That's right.
And while the boys are ridingsome of the rides that the girls
might not like or somethinglike that and just split up for a
couple of hours to be able toget something.
Good in for I, I totallyadvise that.
I, I, we've done that everytime when we took our kids we had
split up.
We take each one would take achild and have one on one time.
And it's really good.
(24:56):
It's really fun.
You're really focusing on thatone individual child wants and, and
what they really want to do.
And then you'll have plenty offamily time where you're riding different
rides together where one likesit more than the other.
But just to break it up a.
Little bit and the kids willtalk about that.
Lily talks about all the timethat, the time that she went back
with Chris for a late night.
Right.
And just for a couple of hoursgot to spend that one on one time
(25:19):
with dad and just so fun.
My son is 23 now and he stilltalks about the after hours with
mom when I had to take Amberlyback for she was too tired and they
went on did stuff until 11 o' clock.
In the morning.
So that's great.
Well, if you'd like to learnmore about that, you can contact
us, Lauren, at All the MagicTravel Travel with Tony D.
@gmail.com.
please like and subscribe tothe podcast.
(25:40):
We love doing this and wewould love to have your feedback
and to some other topics ofwhat you'd like to hear us talk about
about about your Disney World vacation.
All right, that'll do it forwands and wishes.
And again, thanks for joiningus and enjoy your vacation.
Foreigns and Wishes podcast.
Glad you could be joining usas we talk to you about Walt Disney
World, Universal Studios andyour theme park adventures.
Lauren Mallet, of all themagic travel, joining me.
I'm Tony Desiri and we got avery fun topic today.
Yeah.
This is character dining.
Now, a lot of people know whatcharacter dining is.
(00:21):
It's dining with characters.
But if you're a young personwith kids and you're thinking, well,
what do I have to do?
What characters are available?
How does this whole process work?
What are the rules, if thereare any?
This is the podcast you wantto listen to because there's a lot
that goes into character dining.
Yeah.
It may seem simple enough.
You're going to have a mealand characters are going to show
(00:42):
up, but what characters aregoing to show up, what the meal is?
There's all sorts of what doyou want breakfast?
Do you want lunch?
What are the prices?
So we're going to go into thatin this podcast.
And this was a lot of fun tolook back on because I've had some
memories.
I know you do too.
Some character dining with the kids.
It's changed a lot.
I still have, you know,pictures of my, my, my parents house
(01:02):
and me and my little brotherat a character dining years ago.
There's a lot of options herefor people.
Yeah.
You know, I think sometimespeople think that there is only one
character meal at Disney.
They'll say, I want to do thecharacter meal or I want to do the
character breakfast.
And they always are thinkingof something like Chef Mickey's,
which is what I remember mostfrom my childhood because that was
(01:24):
the main one.
And I remember going there andI have pictures like you do as well
of me at Chef Mickey's.
But characters you want tomeet almost, you can find them at
a character meal.
And so it's a really great wayto meet the characters without standing
in line at the park.
And I think the first questionI would, I would want to ask if I
was kind of new to thisprocess, is all right, which, you
(01:46):
know, what are my kidsfavorite characters and where do
I go to get those?
Yeah.
Because you don't want to endup at Winnie the Pooh and Friends
if your son or daughter is abig Lilo and Stitch fan.
Right.
That kind of thing.
So you do want to make surethat you're going to the right place.
But the other thing and I iskind of which meal do you want?
Do you want a buffet?
Do you want to sit down?
(02:06):
Do you want a family dinner?
Do you Want breakfast?
Do you want dinner?
So there's a lot more toconsider when you can think about
which, which kind of mealyou're going to.
Yeah.
There are so many options, andthere's some hacks, too, that we'll
talk about today, too, to kindof get the most bang for your buck
out of those meals.
So where do you want to start?
All right, let's start at theMagic Kingdom, and let's start at.
Well, we can, we can start ata couple of places.
My.
(02:26):
I'm gonna start with theCrystal palace, because that is where
Winnie the Pooh and Friends are.
Yes.
And that's where I've ended upa few times, as my wife is a big
Winnie the Pooh Pooh fan.
This is a buffet.
It's a, it's breakfast.
They have lunch and dinner.
This is where you're going tosee Pooh, you're going to see Rabbit,
you're going to see Piglet,you're going to see Eeyore.
They're going to come to your table.
We went there a couple ofyears ago for the dinner buffet.
It was, I, I thought thebuffet was very good.
(02:49):
I thought it was very good.
And, you know, again, thecharacters are going to interact
with you.
They're going to come to everysingle one of your tables.
It was for a character meal.
I didn't find it overly expensive.
I knew it was going to be.
They're, they're moreexpensive, obviously, than your standard
dinner.
But I, I, the buffet was verywell laid out.
A lot of different options.
And I, I rather enjoyed the food.
(03:10):
Yeah, I really like Crystalpalace because there are not any
other places in the parks.
Every once in a while, you'llsee Pooh and Tigger meeting back
by the ride in Fantasy Land,but you're not going to find Eeyore
and Rabbit unless you're therefor one of the special events.
So I know that Winnie the Poohmight not be as popular for little
kids as it used to be when wewere kids, but these are classic
(03:33):
characters that in, in therestaurant itself, to me, is one
of the best ones that you'regoing to find in the parks for a
character meal.
So the other character diningthat I have yet to do, and I don't
think because my kids are outof school, I will ever do.
And we never did it with mylittle girl because she wasn't into
these characters, wasCinderella's royal table.
Yeah.
Have you done Cinderella'sroyal table?
(03:54):
So it's funny.
I am actually going there forthe Very first time next month.
All right.
I've never been.
I've booked it countless timesfor guests, but I've never been.
And so it's just one that'snever really appealed to me.
The price is really pricey.
It is very pretty for what it is.
But we're going on the diningplan next month, and so we're gonna
use two credits and go thereand see.
(04:14):
And I'm gonna report back.
Obviously, I don't know thatit'll be worth it, but I'm going
with just Cora for a couple days.
And so this is the prime timeto go.
It'll just be two of us dining.
So.
Well, we're going with somefriends, but I'll only be paying
for two to dine there, so Ifeel like maybe this is the time
to try it out.
But you're gonna go in andeat, dine inside the castle.
(04:36):
And that's intriguing forpeople for so many reasons.
And so it is not going to be a buffet.
You're going to sit down,order there.
It's a little fancier menu, soyou'll choose an.
An appetizer, an entree, and a dessert.
And another good thing aboutthis one is with the price that you're
paying, whether you're on thedining plan or whether you're paying
out of pocket, your gratuityis already included.
(04:58):
Oh, very good.
So you can think, well,that's, you know, a little bit extra
that I'm not having to pay ontop of the listed price.
But you're gonna meet four tofive princesses.
They change a little bit.
But typically, if I look at mycheat sheet, you're gonna find you're
definitely gonna meetCinderella, usually someone like
Ariel, Aurora, sometimesMerida is even in there, and Jasmine.
That will kind of switch updepending on the day in there.
(05:21):
But you're going to meet fourto five princesses.
I've gone back and forthbecause as a Disney fan, I want to
say I've eaten in there, butI'm not a princess person.
My daughter wasn't as a kid.
So we didn't.
When we went with the diningplan years ago, and we could have
made a reservation for it atthe time when we were book, that
was just out of the.
We were just not going to do that.
But the idea of being in thecastle, and if you go for breakfast,
(05:43):
you can go in before the parkopens, which is a really cool trick.
And you get to get.
You get to be in there beforethe park opens to have to have your
Breakfast.
This.
You can be in there late at night.
I mean, you can.
There's a lot of cool hacksfor the castle.
Yes.
That you can enjoy if you bookthat Dining.
For sure.
All right, let's.
Well, let's stay in that area.
Did you want to go over toChef Mickey's really quick?
(06:04):
Because you and I haveexperiences with Chef Mickey.
Sure, yeah.
You know, Chef Mickey's is agood one to do on a Magic Kingdom
day if you just kind of wantto pop over to the Contemporary for
lunch or for dinner or.
One of my favorite hacks is tobook the very last breakfast of the
day, and then you can go intothe park for a couple hours, get
that rope drop done so thatyou get a lot of rides done that
(06:26):
morning, then pop over for a brunch.
And so you're really takingcare of two meals for the price of
one.
Because again, carriage ormeals, we're talking about it.
They're pricey.
Very pricey, you know, and soyou want to try to get the most bang
out of your buck.
But this one is thequintessential character meal at
Disney, where you're going tomeet the Fab Five.
That's right.
You're going to get Mickey.
You're going to get Minnie,Goofy, Donald and Pluto.
(06:49):
I.
I remember having breakfastthere, and this was 12 years ago.
That's the last time I was there.
I.
I wasn't impressed with the breakfast.
I.
I don't know if the.
The.
If it is upped.
Its.
Upped.
Its.
I don't think it has.
No, I think that this is onethat is.
You're going to have tounderstand you're really going for
the characters here from.
(07:09):
And I haven't been in years for.
Because I read the reviews andI see what the food is like, and
I'm like, well, I.
I would like to at least enjoymy meal if I'm gonna go for dinner.
And that's funny that youbring that up, because on a side
note, one of the things that.
That has started to happenwith social media now and especially
podcasts, and is that thereare more honest evaluations of the
(07:31):
Disney product.
Like, hey, you know what?
I went to this restaurant, andyou know what?
The food wasn't really that good.
And you get the feeling thatsometimes Disney hears it and sometimes
they don't.
But like.
Like Tony's Town Square is aperfect example.
That place used to getdestroyed by people.
I mean, destroyed.
You go in there, you wouldwant your money back.
You'd scream at People going,I can't believe I spent that much
(07:51):
money.
Yeah.
And it's come around.
And they not only have comearound, that has been flipped completely.
Absolutely.
And so the.
The out.
You know, the people who havereally made comments, strong comments
on the quality of food was notto the expectation of what I want
at a Disney park.
They've heard that, andthey've changed.
They will.
They will change things.
(08:11):
I have seen this in the lastdecade of different places have gone
really horrible to good.
So, again, I can't comment onchef mixing.
Like.
Like I said, I haven't beenthere in a long time.
But.
But, boy, that's the one placethat people say you get the great
character interaction, but,man, you're not really paying great
money for good food.
Yeah.
And, you know, not to staygeographically close, but if we're
talking about a good swap, ifyou're wanting those characters,
(08:35):
I think a good swap would beTusker House in Animal Kingdom.
Absolutely.
If you're looking for the.
The more mainstreamcharacters, I think Tusker House
gets much better reviews onthe food.
If you're not as anadventurous eater, go ahead and do
that late breakfast again,because you're going to get great
breakfast there and reallygood character interaction.
All right, let's just kind ofstay in the resort area.
(08:57):
Let's go over to Ohana.
Yeah.
For breakfast.
I've did this a number ofyears ago, too.
This was probably one of thebest breakfasts I've ever had.
Yeah.
I like this one because it's,again, it's not a buffet, so it's
family style.
They'll bring you as much asyou want.
If you're gonna get a bigplatter of things like eggs, bacon,
sa.
Mickey waffles, fruit, bread,it's so much food.
(09:19):
And let's say you run out ofbacon, but you don't want a whole
other plate of everything else.
They'll just bring you a bigplate of bacon.
And so I really like thisconcept of the family style, not
having to get up and fixeverybody's plates, because that
can be a challenge, too, ifyou've got little kids and you're
having to leave somebody at the.
At the table while you takeanother kid to fix the plates.
And so sometimes buffets canbe a challenge for.
(09:41):
For little kids, too.
And you're going to get Lilo,Stitch, Mickey, you're going to get
Pluto, like Hawaiian,Polynesian, Ge.
That's the other thing, too, Iwant to bring up is that sometimes
these characters, you're notJust getting Mickey looking like
Mickey.
You're going to get thesecharacters dressed in different costumes
and outfits like we justtalked about.
Chef Mickey's.
They're all in chef outfits.
They're all like kitchen personnel.
And then this one is, youknow, again, Hawaiian, Polynesian.
(10:04):
And you're going to get that.
Those outfits as well.
So you're going to get anopportunity to get some pictures
with them.
Have you ever had thecharacter dining at Cape May?
I have not.
And I have always wanted years ago.
I love the concept of this onebecause they're in their beach attire.
Talk about, like, thedifferent things.
And I almost feel like if yougo to this one, it's almost like
(10:26):
being at a special eventbecause you never see them in this
kind of attire.
And so you've got.
It's.
It's considered.
Minnie is the main one here.
Right.
So you've got.
Who are the ones that are atthis one?
They got Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Mini.
Yes.
And I think.
I think that's it.
And so, yeah, so this is justfor breakfast.
(10:46):
So if you're booking a dinnerat Cape May, and this is the same
at Ohana, they only havecharacters at breakfast.
So if you want characterdining, book it at breakfast.
But it's a super fun one.
I think it feels casual.
I've never been for breakfast.
I've been for dinner.
But, yeah, this is what I'dlike to do.
And it's over at the BeachClub, which is close to Epcot.
You could pop out of the WorldShowcase and go over there real easy.
There is one character diningthat I think is.
(11:08):
Is overlooked at times, andthat's at the Wilderness Lodge and
that's at the Storybook.
I mean, this is one that, ifyou're a Snow White fan, this is.
You can't miss this one.
This is Snow White.
You get the queen, you getdopey, you get a grumpy.
I mean, you get the main.
The two main dwarfs that aresort of the more popular dwarfs of
the seven.
And it's got a great menu.
(11:29):
Yes, it's got a really good,complex storybook menu.
And the theming of it is really.
It's not just food.
It's like a story within the meal.
Yes.
I think this would be a reallygood option.
This is another one that's touse two dining credits if you're
on the dining plan.
So it's going to be on thepricier side.
But again, you're getting someof those characters that you are
not going to see in the parks.
At all.
Topolino's Terrace.
(11:50):
I know you went here.
One of my favorites.
This is one of my favorites too.
This is one I, I really,really want to do because every time
I see the food, this is anupscale breakfast.
This is up a little bit moreupscale food.
It's not your standard, youknow, buffet.
You can definitely get kids.
There's kids items there.
The kids should be o.
You know, okay.
If you're, if they're picky eaters.
But for, for adults, this issome really high end breakfast items.
(12:11):
And again, you're getting tosee the more an artistic Mickey,
an artistic Donald, ArtisticMinnie and Daisy at Topolinos Terrace
at Riviera.
Yeah, I'm actually using myhack for my trip next month for this
resort.
I'm planning on a day splitbetween Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
And so we're going to startour morning at Hollywood Studios,
do a few things for threehours, and then we have an 1155 brunch
(12:34):
at Topolino.
So we're going to take theSkyliner over to the Riviera.
We're going to do brunch there.
So we will not do breakfast,maybe something in the room, like
a bar or something.
Something.
We won't do lunch other than Topolino.
So we're going to get twomeals out of one.
And then we're going to keeptaking that Skyliner over to Epcot
for the afternoon.
That's great.
What a great hack that is.
And then, yeah, Topolino'sTerrace gets a lot of good reviews.
(12:54):
The food is great.
And I said like, it's again,to see characters in sort of a different
attire and different outfits.
It's.
It's really fantastic.
Now, did you find that thiswas like, did the kids menu fit what
your, your kids were looking for?
Absolutely.
So we went there.
I've been there once and Itook Lily and I think Cora's gonna
love it.
(13:14):
What we ordered for her waslike an artist palette.
And so it was Mickey waffleswith three different dips and it
comes with bacon.
And so they can dip it in thechocolate or the, or the whipped
cream or the cherry.
And so it looks like a reallycute artist palette.
And they loved it.
And I had something that wasabsolutely delicious.
It was like a steak and eggs.
And so it was very, very filling.
(13:35):
And I just, I can't say enoughgood things about this restaurant.
All right.
I did want to mention oneother place in Animal Kingdom, and
it's, it's technicallycharacter meal, but it's not really.
And that is be our guest restaurant.
Yeah.
You're not gonna get.
It's only Beast.
He shows up to say hi.
He.
No pictures.
He walks through, he waves.
Right.
That's it.
(13:55):
But it's a meal and there's acharacter appearance.
So it.
It.
It fits.
It's sort of in limbo.
It.
It fits like, it's not quitecharacter dining, because everything
you expect from characterdining is not there, but there is
a character, and it's a rarecharacter that shows up.
Yeah.
And it's fun and theatmosphere is good.
And you said Animal Kingdom,but I know you meant magic.
But it's down in New FantasyLand, or Newer Fantasy Land, I guess
(14:16):
you could say.
But, yes, you're right.
You're paying a pretty priceyprice to eat here, too.
So just know that going in,Belle is not there.
It's just the Beast.
Yeah, that's right.
It's a three course meal.
We went there last year.
It was really great.
It was.
The atmosphere is fantastic.
It's.
It's got unbelievable theming.
And it's one of those.
For me, it was more of acuriosity because I heard people
(14:36):
go and they liked it, and Isaid, you know, I.
I can't not go see this.
Right.
This is fantastic.
All right, let's go to Epcot.
And I.
I think this one is one I haveto try because, again, more people
have said, oh, the food is great.
It's a garden grill.
I love it.
Garden grill looks.
It's just great.
That's one of my destinationcharacter meals.
Yeah.
This is one that I ate at forthe first time in a really long time.
(14:58):
It had been years, since I wasa kid until last year I went there.
And the food, the.
All the salad comes from theland where it's grown right there.
So you're looking over theland, and the restaurant moves at
a very, very slow pace.
You can't.
Can't really feel like you'removing, but you see parts of living
with the land while you'redining there.
And it's served family style.
Again, so it's not a buffet.
(15:20):
So if you have little kids,it's easier to dine and just stay
at the table.
You meet Mickey, Pluto, Chippendale.
You get to see Chippendale,and you get Mickey in the farmer's
outfit, which is, again, oneof the many different outfits that
he has.
Also, you can go to the Norway Pavilion.
That's another princess dining.
Yes.
This one's going to be alittle more adventurous.
This one is A good option ifyou are on the dining plan because
it's just one credit it.
(15:41):
However, the food gets mixed reviews.
I've never been here before.
The pictures and the characterinteraction get great reviews, but
the food itself is going to beon the adventurous side.
But you're gonna meet.
Sorry, you're gonna meet a lotof the same princesses that you would
meet at Cinderella's royaltable here.
All right.
Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood and Vine.
Two things that you can see there.
(16:01):
You can.
I don't know really any ofthese characters.
My kids are too old.
Like Doc McStuffins.
I'm not really sure.
I don't.
I didn't watch those.
Yeah.
But that is a breakfast thatyou can see.
V.
FANCY Nancy, Doc McStuffins.
If your little kids areinterested in those characters.
And then lunch and dinner.
This is another one that getssort of these reviews of food and
(16:22):
character interactions.
Yeah.
And I think that this isanother one that has started to come
around a little.
I agree with you.
People are starting to saythat the food is better.
It used to be one that I wouldnever book for somebody.
Right.
But now it's really comearound and I think it's one of the
better options in HollywoodStudios, honestly.
Yeah, we.
We were just looking aroundand this is another one where you
can get.
Get theming characters.
They have a great Christmas themed.
(16:44):
Yeah.
Character dining.
Halloween.
Halloween, Christmas dining with.
With the parties.
So Hollywood and Vine is whereyou want to go for that.
Now let's.
You mentioned Tusker House atAnimal Kingdom.
Yeah, I think that is one ofthe premier ones.
I mean, people really love thefood and the character interactions
are fantastic.
I agree.
And they're obviously themedas safari care safari guides, which
I think is really cool andjust kind of gives you that.
(17:05):
That extra bit of fun overthere at Animal Kingdom.
All right, so now let's getinto some of the expectations.
So if young.
Young kid and.
And you're taking a character dining.
Some kids love this and somekids kind of get freaked out.
Mickey's like five foot tall.
Like, it's like, how do youmanage those expectations with.
We really want to do this forthe family, but I might have one
(17:27):
of the three kids or two kidsor four kids that may be just a little
off on this one.
Yeah.
Sometimes I actually suggest character.
A character meal on yourarrival day at Disney just to kind
of gauge how they're going todo before you stand in line for a
character in the park.
If you find out at a charactermeal that they absolutely characters
then that's something that youcan kind of cut out of your day in
(17:47):
the park.
Now one good thing to know isthese meals.
They're aware that some kidsare not going to want the interaction.
So let's say you do have onekid that loves characters and one
kid that absolutely hates them.
Then those characters can betold, hey, don't go around this child.
Don't, don't try to hug them.
Don't try to take their picture.
So they can really adjust tothe X or to what they see coming
(18:11):
from your children.
Yeah.
And also too when you're, whenyou have kids and they're really
excited about it, there issort of a thing you have to kind
of keep in the back of yourhead is this is kind of a slow moving
thing and you don't want togobble up the character.
Right.
Like they, they're, they'regoing to spend time with your family,
(18:31):
they're going to take yourpictures, they're going to sign the
book.
But they're always in theprocess of moving to the next table.
That's right.
Very subtly trying to get awayfrom your family after they completely
complete the tasks.
Yeah.
To do.
That's a great point.
Make sure to tell your kidsthat you are not the only ones there.
Right.
And so you're gonna get a veryquick moment.
They can't wait for you tofinish that plate of Mickey waffles.
(18:53):
You gotta go ahead and hop up,get your picture made and let them
move on.
I, I've noticed that there isother things that I keep seeing like
where people are asking thecharacters to do things and they're
not allowed to do everything.
Right.
So you got to be really careful.
Yes.
Like again, I'm not as big ison on on what the tick tock trends
are.
But there are things like youcan't have the characters do tik
tok dances.
(19:13):
I'm like, I didn't know peopleask the characters.
I didn't know that either dances.
But you can't do that.
They also can't hold your baby.
They also can't do birth announcements.
There's a lot of things thatthe characters can't do.
Listen, I, here's the thing.
I, I, I know that some peopleget really, really creative and I,
I completely understand thatthey want these characters involved
in really special moments andthey can be.
(19:35):
But have an idea if, if itfeels like it's out of the normal,
check with somebody before youdo it.
That's a good point becauseyou don't want to put the character
in a position to have to break character.
They won't.
But they don't want to say no.
Right.
Don't put them in a positionto say no.
So just check in advance ifyou want some, them to do something
like.
Is this allowed?
Is this allowed?
Is this allowed?
(19:56):
Because I get it.
It's not.
You just, maybe you just wanta picture and an autograph.
That's great.
Maybe you want them to dosomething different, but there are
a lot of limitations.
I mean, if you think about howmany lawyers this company has and
how many things that they'regoing to, they're going to make sure
they're covered on.
That's right.
They, you know, they don'twant to hold your baby.
No, they're not holding your baby.
No, they're not.
(20:16):
So be careful with that.
I don't know.
I mean it just, it, it, it.
I wouldn't want to characterholding the baby.
But that, that's, that'stotally different.
So make sure you keep a, keepan eye on that.
But other than that, let's getback to the idea of breakfast and,
and dinner.
Do you find that, that forfamilies with young kids, breakfast
is a little bit more, a littleeasier to manage, like a little easier
to do than more complicatedmenu on than at dinner time?
(20:39):
Yeah, you know, I thinkobviously the, the menu is a lot
easier to please the picky eaters.
But I personally like if youcan which you're also going to find
a better price at breakfast.
Right.
So if you're looking to save alittle bit of money, that's a good
way to do it.
I do like either the latebreakfast or an early dinner with
kids only because that givesyou those coup hours in the morning
(21:02):
to get the rope drop things done.
That with little kids isreally vital to get those couple
hours in before it gets superbusy during the day.
And let's talk about creditsbecause a lot of people will be doing
these on credits and most ofthese are two credits.
So you got to manage yourschedule as well.
And the other thing too with,with dining and it goes with anything
is where you're going to beeating may dictate what you're doing
(21:25):
on for that particular day.
So try to, when you get thesereservations, try to then figure
out from that point point whatyou want to do.
If you start booking, likewe're going to do Magic Kingdom first
and then we're going to doEpcot second and then the third day
you want to do Crystal Palace.
Well, now you're back atmagic, right?
So you got to figure out whenyou're going to be there, what are
you going to do, how you'regoing to go out, you're going to
(21:45):
get the bus, how are you goingto manage it?
So look to see where thereservations are of what you really,
really want to do.
Like I said, if you're aWinnie the Pooh fan, if you have
a child that's a big Winniethe Pooh fan, they're only going
to be able to go to Crystal Palace.
If you can only get areservation on a Wednesday, well,
maybe book your Magic KingdomDay on the Wednesday.
Right.
That's a great point.
And don't look at the meals.
Let's say you wanted to go tothe Princess Dinner in Norway as
(22:08):
well as Garden Grill, Right?
And like you said, I mean,that's going to give you two days
at Epcot, and so make surethat your ticket allows for that.
Yeah, exactly.
Another thing too is I dorecommend this, and I know it's a
little complicated, but youcan still do this without the credits
you get if you get the quickservice, because that's more of what
you want to do for the fullweek you're there.
But you, you absolutely canjust pay out of pocket for.
(22:31):
Don't worry about not havingcredit or don't worry about the,
the having a meal with the,with the, you know, the quick service,
it, it's.
You're going to find it morelike you can still do these things.
They will take your money.
They will take your money.
And also just figure, youknow, figure out which one, which
one you know, that you wouldlike to do.
Yeah.
Any other tips and, and hacksfor character dining?
(22:51):
Yeah.
You know, I think we'vecovered most of the hacks and most
of the tips that we have.
I would say try to cover morethan one kid's interest in one meal.
That's a great point.
That way you're not.
If you're not wanting to booka character meal per child because
again, it gets so expensive.
I know we've said that so manytimes already, but these character
(23:12):
meals, when you get the bill,you're gonna want to pass out because
they're so expensive.
But again, think of it as timethat you're saving in line that you're
not having to go take time outof your day to go meet a character
in the park.
I grew up in a family where Ihave a brother that was a year younger
than me.
I had.
We have a sister that's sixyears younger than I am.
So she was a little bit morein the distance.
(23:34):
But I think if my parents wentto Cinderella's royal table when
I was 11 to appease my sisterwho at the time would be five, I
would lose my mind.
Yeah.
Like I would have, I wouldhave just gone crazy.
Absolutely.
And that's why I'm not goingto go when Graham is with us because
he would not enjoy it and Iwould be spending nearly $70 on a
meal for him that he's notgoing to enjoy.
There's.
(23:54):
So that brings me to the other point.
If you're in one of those kindof families where you have have boys
that want to go, you know,would love to do Mickey Goofy and,
and a girl or two girls thatmight want to do this.
The, the characters again,this is how you want.
Everybody's different.
Everybody family runs theirown way.
You can see these charactersin other ways.
Yes.
You don't have to see themduring a movie.
Absolutely.
(24:15):
So if you find yourself goingwell I got one kid that loves the
princesses and I got threeothers that don't see the princesses
in yeah.
Princess Fair or wherever.
Ever try to find thatcharacter meal.
You can.
There's plenty of resourceswhere all the, all the kids might
will be happy.
That's right.
And I've also had familiestake just the girls for breakfast.
(24:36):
That's right.
And while the boys are ridingsome of the rides that the girls
might not like or somethinglike that and just split up for a
couple of hours to be able toget something.
Good in for I, I totallyadvise that.
I, I, we've done that everytime when we took our kids we had
split up.
We take each one would take achild and have one on one time.
And it's really good.
(24:56):
It's really fun.
You're really focusing on thatone individual child wants and, and
what they really want to do.
And then you'll have plenty offamily time where you're riding different
rides together where one likesit more than the other.
But just to break it up a.
Little bit and the kids willtalk about that.
Lily talks about all the timethat, the time that she went back
with Chris for a late night.
Right.
And just for a couple of hoursgot to spend that one on one time
(25:19):
with dad and just so fun.
My son is 23 now and he stilltalks about the after hours with
mom when I had to take Amberlyback for she was too tired and they
went on did stuff until 11 o' clock.
In the morning.
So that's great.
Well, if you'd like to learnmore about that, you can contact
us, Lauren, at All the MagicTravel Travel with Tony D.
@gmail.com.
please like and subscribe tothe podcast.
(25:40):
We love doing this and wewould love to have your feedback
and to some other topics ofwhat you'd like to hear us talk about
about about your Disney World vacation.
All right, that'll do it forwands and wishes.
And again, thanks for joiningus and enjoy your vacation.
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