Walt Disney World character dining?

Walt Disney World: Which one would you recommend?

From Jennifer Tom
Posted November 9, 2010 at 6:43 PM
Which Mickey and gang character breakfast would you recommend for a morning before we go to Epcot or DHS? And let me know about parking if you know anything since we are staying off-site. And do you know if you can go up for food at the buffet as soon as you get there or do they call you by table?

From Anthony Murphy
Posted November 9, 2010 at 8:57 PM
Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club is in the EPCOT resort area. Good food and with characters.

Here are some of my favorites:

Cinderella's Royal Table (MK)-Yes, I said it!
Ohana (Polynesian Resort)
1900 Park Faire (Grand Floridian, dinner)
Crystal Palace (MK)
Chef Mickey's (Contempary Resort)
Garden Grill (EPCOT)
Tusker House (AK)

Cape May, Ohana, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House is buffet while the others are table service I believe.

From Jennifer Tom
Posted November 10, 2010 at 6:18 AM
Thanks. We loved the Royal Table and Tusker house, excellent food and my 3 1/2yo son loved them both (1 1/2yo daughter loved the Tusker house).

I am not in a huge rush to get to Epcot so this might work well for us. Anyone know if you can park at the hotel if you are not staying there but have reservations?

From Thomas Caselli
Posted November 10, 2010 at 8:58 AM
You can park anywhere in Walt Disney World that you want to. My family and I do it all the time.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted November 10, 2010 at 9:12 AM
Signs point to yes and perhaps you might want to leave your car at Beach Club and then walk though the back door of EPCOT. For the Food and Wine Festival, I was able to do this at the Boardwalk last month. However, we were staying at a Disney resort (with a parking pass)so parking in the lot or at a resort was not a real big difference (free either way), but there were a bunch of cars over the weekend so perhaps you can do it! The only resorts that have a bit of a parking restriction are the Magic Kingdom Resorts (Poly, Contemp, Floridian). Still, you can park there if you have a dining reservation (or any resort)

Either way, it sounds like Cape May Cafe is a good option because the food is great, it has characters, and is within walking distance of EPCOT.

You can make your reservation now online!

From Joe Brown
Posted November 22, 2010 at 8:15 AM
We just returned and here are the Character Dinings we did with our 3.5 yo and 9 yo sons.

Princess Lunch at Ashkerus
Ohanna breakfast
Chef Mickey's dinner
Crystal Palace dinner
Hollywood and Vine breakfast
Tusker House breakfast

Hands down favorite for both boys was Hollywood and Vine with Handy Manny, Einsteins (June and Leo), and Oso. They had a blast, even the 9 yo who was moody most of the trip. Every 15 minutes the kids got to dance and sing with the characters.

From Amanda Fry
Posted December 7, 2010 at 8:43 AM
We are heading to WDW for the first time this spring. I saw that you did a lot of character meals. Which would you recommend for breakfast? Our children are ages 9,6 & 3. We are trying to decide between Ohana, Cape May & Chef Mickey's. Thanks for your opinion.

From Joe Brown
Posted December 7, 2010 at 11:47 AM
I didn't see this post until after I responded to Amanda's email.
Out of her three I recommended Ohana. We haven't been to Cape May. My kids seemed to enjoy Ohana more than Chef Mickey though Chef Mickey has a wider variety of food.

From Cara Montgomery
Posted January 8, 2011 at 1:45 PM
When I went to Disney we went to Chef Mickey's and really enjoyed it.

It was alot of fun to go for breakfast! Food was delicious, and the atmosphere was classic Disney. ;) it's also good for a family with boys and girls, which is great as well.

Hope this helps!

From Amianne Moore
Posted January 15, 2011 at 10:37 PM
The breakfasts that offer Mickey and friends are both located near the Magic Kingdom. There is Chef Mickey's which is located on the 4th floor of the Contemporary Resort and Mickey often makes appearances at 'Ohana at The Polynesian with Stitch in the mornings. If you are interested in going to Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana, make sure to get your reservations around 3 months in advance... as both of those places fill up fast.

My suggestion, if you are going to DHS or Epcot, is to check out the breakfast at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort which is located on the lake between DHS and Epcot. The characters usually in attendance are Goofy, Minnie, Chip and Dale. The buffet is definitely one of the best, the atmosphere and service are top notch and the character interaction is fabulous. Cape May Cafe, not being near the Magic Kingdom, is usually easier to get into on less notice.

At Chef Mickeys and at The Cape May Cafe, you may go up to the buffet table right after you are seated...usually wait staff will greet you and get your drink order before hand, but you don't have to wait to be called up. The breakfast at 'Ohana is served family style to your table.

They do have parking for the restaurants in the parking lots of the resorts, but they usually have time limits, so you would need to move your car to whichever park you are going to after your breakfast. There is water transportation to and from the Yacht and Beach Club from DHS and Epcot, so if you parked at DHS, you could take the boat from there--- make sure to allow yourself at least 30 minutes to do this. It is a bit trickier from Epcot, as the park won't be open if you had an early breakfast, so you wouldn't be able to access the boat transporation which leaves from the International Gateway exit of the park, which is in the World Showcase, which doesn't open until 11 am... . SO-ooo for Epcot, I would plan on driving to The Beach Club, and then moving the car if you are planning on visiting Epcot afterwards.

Hope this helps!

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