Episode 29
Character Dining: Unlocking the Secrets of Magical Meals
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
Transcript
Foreigns and Wishes podcast.
Speaker A:Glad you could be joining us as we talk to you about Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and your theme park adventures.
Speaker A:Lauren Mallet, of all the magic travel, joining me.
Speaker A:I'm Tony Desiri and we got a very fun topic today.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:This is character dining.
Speaker A:Now, a lot of people know what character dining is.
Speaker A:It's dining with characters.
Speaker A:But if you're a young person with kids and you're thinking, well, what do I have to do?
Speaker A:What characters are available?
Speaker A:How does this whole process work?
Speaker A:What are the rules, if there are any?
Speaker A:This is the podcast you want to listen to because there's a lot that goes into character dining.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It may seem simple enough.
Speaker A:You're going to have a meal and characters are going to show up, but what characters are going to show up, what the meal is?
Speaker A:There's all sorts of what do you want breakfast?
Speaker A:Do you want lunch?
Speaker A:What are the prices?
Speaker A:So we're going to go into that in this podcast.
Speaker A:And this was a lot of fun to look back on because I've had some memories.
Speaker A:I know you do too.
Speaker A:Some character dining with the kids.
Speaker A:It's changed a lot.
Speaker A:I still have, you know, pictures of my, my, my parents house and me and my little brother at a character dining years ago.
Speaker A:There's a lot of options here for people.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, I think sometimes people think that there is only one character meal at Disney.
Speaker B:They'll say, I want to do the character meal or I want to do the character breakfast.
Speaker B:And they always are thinking of something like Chef Mickey's, which is what I remember most from my childhood because that was the main one.
Speaker B:And I remember going there and I have pictures like you do as well of me at Chef Mickey's.
Speaker B:But characters you want to meet almost, you can find them at a character meal.
Speaker B:And so it's a really great way to meet the characters without standing in line at the park.
Speaker A:And I think the first question I would, I would want to ask if I was kind of new to this process, is all right, which, you know, what are my kids favorite characters and where do I go to get those?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because you don't want to end up at Winnie the Pooh and Friends if your son or daughter is a big Lilo and Stitch fan.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:That kind of thing.
Speaker A:So you do want to make sure that you're going to the right place.
Speaker A:But the other thing and I is kind of which meal do you want?
Speaker A:Do you want a buffet?
Speaker A:Do you want to sit down?
Speaker A:Do you want a family dinner?
Speaker A:Do you Want breakfast?
Speaker A:Do you want dinner?
Speaker A:So there's a lot more to consider when you can think about which, which kind of meal you're going to.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:There are so many options, and there's some hacks, too, that we'll talk about today, too, to kind of get the most bang for your buck out of those meals.
Speaker B:So where do you want to start?
Speaker A:All right, let's start at the Magic Kingdom, and let's start at.
Speaker A:Well, we can, we can start at a couple of places.
Speaker A:My.
Speaker A:I'm gonna start with the Crystal palace, because that is where Winnie the Pooh and Friends are.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And that's where I've ended up a few times, as my wife is a big Winnie the Pooh Pooh fan.
Speaker A:This is a buffet.
Speaker A:It's a, it's breakfast.
Speaker A:They have lunch and dinner.
Speaker A:This is where you're going to see Pooh, you're going to see Rabbit, you're going to see Piglet, you're going to see Eeyore.
Speaker A:They're going to come to your table.
Speaker A:We went there a couple of years ago for the dinner buffet.
Speaker A:It was, I, I thought the buffet was very good.
Speaker A:I thought it was very good.
Speaker A:And, you know, again, the characters are going to interact with you.
Speaker A:They're going to come to every single one of your tables.
Speaker A:It was for a character meal.
Speaker A:I didn't find it overly expensive.
Speaker A:I knew it was going to be.
Speaker A:They're, they're more expensive, obviously, than your standard dinner.
Speaker A:But I, I, the buffet was very well laid out.
Speaker A:A lot of different options.
Speaker A:And I, I rather enjoyed the food.
Speaker B:Yeah, I really like Crystal palace because there are not any other places in the parks.
Speaker B:Every once in a while, you'll see Pooh and Tigger meeting back by the ride in Fantasy Land, but you're not going to find Eeyore and Rabbit unless you're there for one of the special events.
Speaker B:So I know that Winnie the Pooh might not be as popular for little kids as it used to be when we were kids, but these are classic characters that in, in the restaurant itself, to me, is one of the best ones that you're going to find in the parks for a character meal.
Speaker A:So the other character dining that I have yet to do, and I don't think because my kids are out of school, I will ever do.
Speaker A:And we never did it with my little girl because she wasn't into these characters, was Cinderella's royal table.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Have you done Cinderella's royal table?
Speaker B:So it's funny.
Speaker B:I am actually going there for the Very first time next month.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:I've never been.
Speaker B:I've booked it countless times for guests, but I've never been.
Speaker B:And so it's just one that's never really appealed to me.
Speaker B:The price is really pricey.
Speaker B:It is very pretty for what it is.
Speaker B:But we're going on the dining plan next month, and so we're gonna use two credits and go there and see.
Speaker B:And I'm gonna report back.
Speaker B:Obviously, I don't know that it'll be worth it, but I'm going with just Cora for a couple days.
Speaker B:And so this is the prime time to go.
Speaker B:It'll just be two of us dining.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Well, we're going with some friends, but I'll only be paying for two to dine there, so I feel like maybe this is the time to try it out.
Speaker B:But you're gonna go in and eat, dine inside the castle.
Speaker B:And that's intriguing for people for so many reasons.
Speaker B:And so it is not going to be a buffet.
Speaker B:You're going to sit down, order there.
Speaker B:It's a little fancier menu, so you'll choose an.
Speaker B:An appetizer, an entree, and a dessert.
Speaker B:And another good thing about this one is with the price that you're paying, whether you're on the dining plan or whether you're paying out of pocket, your gratuity is already included.
Speaker A:Oh, very good.
Speaker B:So you can think, well, that's, you know, a little bit extra that I'm not having to pay on top of the listed price.
Speaker B:But you're gonna meet four to five princesses.
Speaker B:They change a little bit.
Speaker B:But typically, if I look at my cheat sheet, you're gonna find you're definitely gonna meet Cinderella, usually someone like Ariel, Aurora, sometimes Merida is even in there, and Jasmine.
Speaker B:That will kind of switch up depending on the day in there.
Speaker B:But you're going to meet four to five princesses.
Speaker A:I've gone back and forth because as a Disney fan, I want to say I've eaten in there, but I'm not a princess person.
Speaker A:My daughter wasn't as a kid.
Speaker A:So we didn't.
Speaker A:When we went with the dining plan years ago, and we could have made a reservation for it at the time when we were book, that was just out of the.
Speaker A:We were just not going to do that.
Speaker A:But the idea of being in the castle, and if you go for breakfast, you can go in before the park opens, which is a really cool trick.
Speaker A:And you get to get.
Speaker A:You get to be in there before the park opens to have to have your Breakfast.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:You can be in there late at night.
Speaker A:I mean, you can.
Speaker A:There's a lot of cool hacks for the castle.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:That you can enjoy if you book that Dining.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker A:All right, let's.
Speaker A:Well, let's stay in that area.
Speaker A:Did you want to go over to Chef Mickey's really quick?
Speaker A:Because you and I have experiences with Chef Mickey.
Speaker B:Sure, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, Chef Mickey's is a good one to do on a Magic Kingdom day if you just kind of want to pop over to the Contemporary for lunch or for dinner or.
Speaker B:One of my favorite hacks is to book the very last breakfast of the day, and then you can go into the park for a couple hours, get that rope drop done so that you get a lot of rides done that morning, then pop over for a brunch.
Speaker B:And so you're really taking care of two meals for the price of one.
Speaker B:Because again, carriage or meals, we're talking about it.
Speaker B:They're pricey.
Speaker B:Very pricey, you know, and so you want to try to get the most bang out of your buck.
Speaker B:But this one is the quintessential character meal at Disney, where you're going to meet the Fab Five.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:You're going to get Mickey.
Speaker A:You're going to get Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I remember having breakfast there, and this was 12 years ago.
Speaker A:That's the last time I was there.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I wasn't impressed with the breakfast.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I don't know if the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:If it is upped.
Speaker A:Its.
Speaker A:Upped.
Speaker A:Its.
Speaker B:I don't think it has.
Speaker B:No, I think that this is one that is.
Speaker B:You're going to have to understand you're really going for the characters here from.
Speaker B:And I haven't been in years for.
Speaker B:Because I read the reviews and I see what the food is like, and I'm like, well, I.
Speaker B:I would like to at least enjoy my meal if I'm gonna go for dinner.
Speaker A:And that's funny that you bring that up, because on a side note, one of the things that.
Speaker A:That has started to happen with social media now and especially podcasts, and is that there are more honest evaluations of the Disney product.
Speaker A:Like, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:I went to this restaurant, and you know what?
Speaker A:The food wasn't really that good.
Speaker A:And you get the feeling that sometimes Disney hears it and sometimes they don't.
Speaker A:But like.
Speaker A:Like Tony's Town Square is a perfect example.
Speaker A:That place used to get destroyed by people.
Speaker A:I mean, destroyed.
Speaker A:You go in there, you would want your money back.
Speaker A:You'd scream at People going, I can't believe I spent that much money.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's come around.
Speaker A:And they not only have come around, that has been flipped completely.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And so the.
Speaker A:The out.
Speaker A:You know, the people who have really made comments, strong comments on the quality of food was not to the expectation of what I want at a Disney park.
Speaker A:They've heard that, and they've changed.
Speaker A:They will.
Speaker A:They will change things.
Speaker A:I have seen this in the last decade of different places have gone really horrible to good.
Speaker A:So, again, I can't comment on chef mixing.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:Like I said, I haven't been there in a long time.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker A:But, boy, that's the one place that people say you get the great character interaction, but, man, you're not really paying great money for good food.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, you know, not to stay geographically close, but if we're talking about a good swap, if you're wanting those characters, I think a good swap would be Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:If you're looking for the.
Speaker B:The more mainstream characters, I think Tusker House gets much better reviews on the food.
Speaker B:If you're not as an adventurous eater, go ahead and do that late breakfast again, because you're going to get great breakfast there and really good character interaction.
Speaker A:All right, let's just kind of stay in the resort area.
Speaker A:Let's go over to Ohana.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:For breakfast.
Speaker A:I've did this a number of years ago, too.
Speaker A:This was probably one of the best breakfasts I've ever had.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I like this one because it's, again, it's not a buffet, so it's family style.
Speaker B:They'll bring you as much as you want.
Speaker B:If you're gonna get a big platter of things like eggs, bacon, sa.
Speaker B:Mickey waffles, fruit, bread, it's so much food.
Speaker B:And let's say you run out of bacon, but you don't want a whole other plate of everything else.
Speaker B:They'll just bring you a big plate of bacon.
Speaker B:And so I really like this concept of the family style, not having to get up and fix everybody's plates, because that can be a challenge, too, if you've got little kids and you're having to leave somebody at the.
Speaker B:At the table while you take another kid to fix the plates.
Speaker B:And so sometimes buffets can be a challenge for.
Speaker B:For little kids, too.
Speaker A:And you're going to get Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, you're going to get Pluto, like Hawaiian, Polynesian, Ge.
Speaker A:That's the other thing, too, I want to bring up is that sometimes these characters, you're not Just getting Mickey looking like Mickey.
Speaker A:You're going to get these characters dressed in different costumes and outfits like we just talked about.
Speaker A:Chef Mickey's.
Speaker A:They're all in chef outfits.
Speaker A:They're all like kitchen personnel.
Speaker A:And then this one is, you know, again, Hawaiian, Polynesian.
Speaker A:And you're going to get that.
Speaker A:Those outfits as well.
Speaker A:So you're going to get an opportunity to get some pictures with them.
Speaker A:Have you ever had the character dining at Cape May?
Speaker B:I have not.
Speaker B:And I have always wanted years ago.
Speaker B:I love the concept of this one because they're in their beach attire.
Speaker B:Talk about, like, the different things.
Speaker B:And I almost feel like if you go to this one, it's almost like being at a special event because you never see them in this kind of attire.
Speaker B:And so you've got.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's considered.
Speaker B:Minnie is the main one here.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So you've got.
Speaker B:Who are the ones that are at this one?
Speaker A:They got Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Mini.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And I think.
Speaker A:I think that's it.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, so this is just for breakfast.
Speaker B:So if you're booking a dinner at Cape May, and this is the same at Ohana, they only have characters at breakfast.
Speaker B:So if you want character dining, book it at breakfast.
Speaker B:But it's a super fun one.
Speaker B:I think it feels casual.
Speaker B:I've never been for breakfast.
Speaker B:I've been for dinner.
Speaker B:But, yeah, this is what I'd like to do.
Speaker B:And it's over at the Beach Club, which is close to Epcot.
Speaker B:You could pop out of the World Showcase and go over there real easy.
Speaker A:There is one character dining that I think is.
Speaker A:Is overlooked at times, and that's at the Wilderness Lodge and that's at the Storybook.
Speaker A:I mean, this is one that, if you're a Snow White fan, this is.
Speaker A:You can't miss this one.
Speaker A:This is Snow White.
Speaker A:You get the queen, you get dopey, you get a grumpy.
Speaker A:I mean, you get the main.
Speaker A:The two main dwarfs that are sort of the more popular dwarfs of the seven.
Speaker A:And it's got a great menu.
Speaker A:Yes, it's got a really good, complex storybook menu.
Speaker A:And the theming of it is really.
Speaker A:It's not just food.
Speaker A:It's like a story within the meal.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I think this would be a really good option.
Speaker B:This is another one that's to use two dining credits if you're on the dining plan.
Speaker B:So it's going to be on the pricier side.
Speaker B:But again, you're getting some of those characters that you are not going to see in the parks.
Speaker B:At all.
Speaker A:Topolino's Terrace.
Speaker A:I know you went here.
Speaker B:One of my favorites.
Speaker A:This is one of my favorites too.
Speaker A:This is one I, I really, really want to do because every time I see the food, this is an upscale breakfast.
Speaker A:This is up a little bit more upscale food.
Speaker A:It's not your standard, you know, buffet.
Speaker A:You can definitely get kids.
Speaker A:There's kids items there.
Speaker A:The kids should be o.
Speaker A:You know, okay.
Speaker A:If you're, if they're picky eaters.
Speaker A:But for, for adults, this is some really high end breakfast items.
Speaker A:And again, you're getting to see the more an artistic Mickey, an artistic Donald, Artistic Minnie and Daisy at Topolinos Terrace at Riviera.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm actually using my hack for my trip next month for this resort.
Speaker B:I'm planning on a day split between Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
Speaker B: ee hours, and then we have an: Speaker B:So we're going to take the Skyliner over to the Riviera.
Speaker B:We're going to do brunch there.
Speaker B:So we will not do breakfast, maybe something in the room, like a bar or something.
Speaker B:Something.
Speaker B:We won't do lunch other than Topolino.
Speaker B:So we're going to get two meals out of one.
Speaker B:And then we're going to keep taking that Skyliner over to Epcot for the afternoon.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:What a great hack that is.
Speaker A:And then, yeah, Topolino's Terrace gets a lot of good reviews.
Speaker A:The food is great.
Speaker A:And I said like, it's again, to see characters in sort of a different attire and different outfits.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's really fantastic.
Speaker A:Now, did you find that this was like, did the kids menu fit what your, your kids were looking for?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So we went there.
Speaker B:I've been there once and I took Lily and I think Cora's gonna love it.
Speaker B:What we ordered for her was like an artist palette.
Speaker B:And so it was Mickey waffles with three different dips and it comes with bacon.
Speaker B:And so they can dip it in the chocolate or the, or the whipped cream or the cherry.
Speaker B:And so it looks like a really cute artist palette.
Speaker B:And they loved it.
Speaker B:And I had something that was absolutely delicious.
Speaker B:It was like a steak and eggs.
Speaker B:And so it was very, very filling.
Speaker B:And I just, I can't say enough good things about this restaurant.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:I did want to mention one other place in Animal Kingdom, and it's, it's technically character meal, but it's not really.
Speaker A:And that is be our guest restaurant.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You're not gonna get.
Speaker A:It's only Beast.
Speaker A:He shows up to say hi.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker A:No pictures.
Speaker A:He walks through, he waves.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:But it's a meal and there's a character appearance.
Speaker A:So it.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:It fits.
Speaker A:It's sort of in limbo.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:It fits like, it's not quite character dining, because everything you expect from character dining is not there, but there is a character, and it's a rare character that shows up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's fun and the atmosphere is good.
Speaker B:And you said Animal Kingdom, but I know you meant magic.
Speaker B:But it's down in New Fantasy Land, or Newer Fantasy Land, I guess you could say.
Speaker B:But, yes, you're right.
Speaker B:You're paying a pretty pricey price to eat here, too.
Speaker B:So just know that going in, Belle is not there.
Speaker B:It's just the Beast.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker A:It's a three course meal.
Speaker A:We went there last year.
Speaker A:It was really great.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:The atmosphere is fantastic.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker A:It's got unbelievable theming.
Speaker A:And it's one of those.
Speaker A:For me, it was more of a curiosity because I heard people go and they liked it, and I said, you know, I.
Speaker A:I can't not go see this.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:This is fantastic.
Speaker A:All right, let's go to Epcot.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:I think this one is one I have to try because, again, more people have said, oh, the food is great.
Speaker A:It's a garden grill.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker A:Garden grill looks.
Speaker A:It's just great.
Speaker A:That's one of my destination character meals.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:This is one that I ate at for the first time in a really long time.
Speaker B:It had been years, since I was a kid until last year I went there.
Speaker B:And the food, the.
Speaker B:All the salad comes from the land where it's grown right there.
Speaker B:So you're looking over the land, and the restaurant moves at a very, very slow pace.
Speaker B:You can't.
Speaker B:Can't really feel like you're moving, but you see parts of living with the land while you're dining there.
Speaker B:And it's served family style.
Speaker B:Again, so it's not a buffet.
Speaker B:So if you have little kids, it's easier to dine and just stay at the table.
Speaker B:You meet Mickey, Pluto, Chippendale.
Speaker A:You get to see Chippendale, and you get Mickey in the farmer's outfit, which is, again, one of the many different outfits that he has.
Speaker A:Also, you can go to the Norway Pavilion.
Speaker A:That's another princess dining.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:This one's going to be a little more adventurous.
Speaker B:This one is A good option if you are on the dining plan because it's just one credit it.
Speaker B:However, the food gets mixed reviews.
Speaker B:I've never been here before.
Speaker B:The pictures and the character interaction get great reviews, but the food itself is going to be on the adventurous side.
Speaker B:But you're gonna meet.
Speaker B:Sorry, you're gonna meet a lot of the same princesses that you would meet at Cinderella's royal table here.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Hollywood Studios.
Speaker A:Hollywood and Vine.
Speaker A:Two things that you can see there.
Speaker A:You can.
Speaker A:I don't know really any of these characters.
Speaker A:My kids are too old.
Speaker A:Like Doc McStuffins.
Speaker A:I'm not really sure.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I didn't watch those.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But that is a breakfast that you can see.
Speaker A:V.
Speaker A:FANCY Nancy, Doc McStuffins.
Speaker A:If your little kids are interested in those characters.
Speaker A:And then lunch and dinner.
Speaker A:This is another one that gets sort of these reviews of food and character interactions.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think that this is another one that has started to come around a little.
Speaker A:I agree with you.
Speaker B:People are starting to say that the food is better.
Speaker B:It used to be one that I would never book for somebody.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But now it's really come around and I think it's one of the better options in Hollywood Studios, honestly.
Speaker A:Yeah, we.
Speaker A:We were just looking around and this is another one where you can get.
Speaker A:Get theming characters.
Speaker A:They have a great Christmas themed.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Character dining.
Speaker A:Halloween.
Speaker A:Halloween, Christmas dining with.
Speaker A:With the parties.
Speaker A:So Hollywood and Vine is where you want to go for that.
Speaker A:Now let's.
Speaker A:You mentioned Tusker House at Animal Kingdom.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think that is one of the premier ones.
Speaker A:I mean, people really love the food and the character interactions are fantastic.
Speaker B:I agree.
Speaker B:And they're obviously themed as safari care safari guides, which I think is really cool and just kind of gives you that.
Speaker B:That extra bit of fun over there at Animal Kingdom.
Speaker A:All right, so now let's get into some of the expectations.
Speaker A:So if young.
Speaker A:Young kid and.
Speaker A:And you're taking a character dining.
Speaker A:Some kids love this and some kids kind of get freaked out.
Speaker A:Mickey's like five foot tall.
Speaker A:Like, it's like, how do you manage those expectations with.
Speaker A:We really want to do this for the family, but I might have one of the three kids or two kids or four kids that may be just a little off on this one.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Sometimes I actually suggest character.
Speaker B:A character meal on your arrival day at Disney just to kind of gauge how they're going to do before you stand in line for a character in the park.
Speaker B:If you find out at a character meal that they absolutely characters then that's something that you can kind of cut out of your day in the park.
Speaker B:Now one good thing to know is these meals.
Speaker B:They're aware that some kids are not going to want the interaction.
Speaker B:So let's say you do have one kid that loves characters and one kid that absolutely hates them.
Speaker B:Then those characters can be told, hey, don't go around this child.
Speaker B:Don't, don't try to hug them.
Speaker B:Don't try to take their picture.
Speaker B:So they can really adjust to the X or to what they see coming from your children.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And also too when you're, when you have kids and they're really excited about it, there is sort of a thing you have to kind of keep in the back of your head is this is kind of a slow moving thing and you don't want to gobble up the character.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Like they, they're, they're going to spend time with your family, they're going to take your pictures, they're going to sign the book.
Speaker A:But they're always in the process of moving to the next table.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:Very subtly trying to get away from your family after they completely complete the tasks.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To do.
Speaker B:That's a great point.
Speaker B:Make sure to tell your kids that you are not the only ones there.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And so you're gonna get a very quick moment.
Speaker B:They can't wait for you to finish that plate of Mickey waffles.
Speaker B:You gotta go ahead and hop up, get your picture made and let them move on.
Speaker A:I, I've noticed that there is other things that I keep seeing like where people are asking the characters to do things and they're not allowed to do everything.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So you got to be really careful.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Like again, I'm not as big is on on on what the tick tock trends are.
Speaker A:But there are things like you can't have the characters do tik tok dances.
Speaker A:I'm like, I didn't know people ask the characters.
Speaker B:I didn't know that either dances.
Speaker A:But you can't do that.
Speaker A:They also can't hold your baby.
Speaker A:They also can't do birth announcements.
Speaker A:There's a lot of things that the characters can't do.
Speaker A:Listen, I, here's the thing.
Speaker A:I, I, I know that some people get really, really creative and I, I completely understand that they want these characters involved in really special moments and they can be.
Speaker A:But have an idea if, if it feels like it's out of the normal, check with somebody before you do it.
Speaker A:That's a good point because you don't want to put the character in a position to have to break character.
Speaker A:They won't.
Speaker A:But they don't want to say no.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Don't put them in a position to say no.
Speaker A:So just check in advance if you want some, them to do something like.
Speaker A:Is this allowed?
Speaker A:Is this allowed?
Speaker A:Is this allowed?
Speaker A:Because I get it.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:You just, maybe you just want a picture and an autograph.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:Maybe you want them to do something different, but there are a lot of limitations.
Speaker A:I mean, if you think about how many lawyers this company has and how many things that they're going to, they're going to make sure they're covered on.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:They, you know, they don't want to hold your baby.
Speaker A:No, they're not holding your baby.
Speaker B:No, they're not.
Speaker A:So be careful with that.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I mean it just, it, it, it.
Speaker A:I wouldn't want to character holding the baby.
Speaker A:But that, that's, that's totally different.
Speaker A:So make sure you keep a, keep an eye on that.
Speaker A:But other than that, let's get back to the idea of breakfast and, and dinner.
Speaker A:Do you find that, that for families with young kids, breakfast is a little bit more, a little easier to manage, like a little easier to do than more complicated menu on than at dinner time?
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, I think obviously the, the menu is a lot easier to please the picky eaters.
Speaker B:But I personally like if you can which you're also going to find a better price at breakfast.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So if you're looking to save a little bit of money, that's a good way to do it.
Speaker B:I do like either the late breakfast or an early dinner with kids only because that gives you those coup hours in the morning to get the rope drop things done.
Speaker B:That with little kids is really vital to get those couple hours in before it gets super busy during the day.
Speaker A:And let's talk about credits because a lot of people will be doing these on credits and most of these are two credits.
Speaker A:So you got to manage your schedule as well.
Speaker A:And the other thing too with, with dining and it goes with anything is where you're going to be eating may dictate what you're doing on for that particular day.
Speaker A:So try to, when you get these reservations, try to then figure out from that point point what you want to do.
Speaker A:If you start booking, like we're going to do Magic Kingdom first and then we're going to do Epcot second and then the third day you want to do Crystal Palace.
Speaker A:Well, now you're back at magic, right?
Speaker A:So you got to figure out when you're going to be there, what are you going to do, how you're going to go out, you're going to get the bus, how are you going to manage it?
Speaker A:So look to see where the reservations are of what you really, really want to do.
Speaker A:Like I said, if you're a Winnie the Pooh fan, if you have a child that's a big Winnie the Pooh fan, they're only going to be able to go to Crystal Palace.
Speaker A:If you can only get a reservation on a Wednesday, well, maybe book your Magic Kingdom Day on the Wednesday.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That's a great point.
Speaker B:And don't look at the meals.
Speaker B:Let's say you wanted to go to the Princess Dinner in Norway as well as Garden Grill, Right?
Speaker B:And like you said, I mean, that's going to give you two days at Epcot, and so make sure that your ticket allows for that.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Another thing too is I do recommend this, and I know it's a little complicated, but you can still do this without the credits you get if you get the quick service, because that's more of what you want to do for the full week you're there.
Speaker A:But you, you absolutely can just pay out of pocket for.
Speaker A:Don't worry about not having credit or don't worry about the, the having a meal with the, with the, you know, the quick service, it, it's.
Speaker A:You're going to find it more like you can still do these things.
Speaker B:They will take your money.
Speaker A:They will take your money.
Speaker A:And also just figure, you know, figure out which one, which one you know, that you would like to do.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Any other tips and, and hacks for character dining?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, I think we've covered most of the hacks and most of the tips that we have.
Speaker B:I would say try to cover more than one kid's interest in one meal.
Speaker A:That's a great point.
Speaker B:That way you're not.
Speaker B:If you're not wanting to book a character meal per child because again, it gets so expensive.
Speaker B:I know we've said that so many times already, but these character meals, when you get the bill, you're gonna want to pass out because they're so expensive.
Speaker B:But again, think of it as time that you're saving in line that you're not having to go take time out of your day to go meet a character in the park.
Speaker A:I grew up in a family where I have a brother that was a year younger than me.
Speaker A:I had.
Speaker A:We have a sister that's six years younger than I am.
Speaker A:So she was a little bit more in the distance.
Speaker A:But I think if my parents went to Cinderella's royal table when I was 11 to appease my sister who at the time would be five, I would lose my mind.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like I would have, I would have just gone crazy.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And that's why I'm not going to go when Graham is with us because he would not enjoy it and I would be spending nearly $70 on a meal for him that he's not going to enjoy.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:So that brings me to the other point.
Speaker A:If you're in one of those kind of 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 that might want to do this.
Speaker A:The, the characters again, this is how you want.
Speaker A:Everybody's different.
Speaker A:Everybody family runs their own way.
Speaker A:You can see these characters in other ways.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:You don't have to see them during a movie.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So if you find yourself going well I got one kid that loves the princesses and I got three others that don't see the princesses in yeah.
Speaker A:Princess Fair or wherever.
Speaker A:Ever try to find that character meal.
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker A:There's plenty of resources where all the, all the kids might will be happy.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:And I've also had families take just the girls for breakfast.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker B:And while the boys are riding some of the rides that the girls might not like or something like that and just split up for a couple of hours to be able to get something.
Speaker A:Good in for I, I totally advise that.
Speaker A:I, I, we've done that every time when we took our kids we had split up.
Speaker A:We take each one would take a child and have one on one time.
Speaker A:And it's really good.
Speaker A:It's really fun.
Speaker A:You're really focusing on that one individual child wants and, and what they really want to do.
Speaker A:And then you'll have plenty of family time where you're riding different rides together where one likes it more than the other.
Speaker A:But just to break it up a.
Speaker B:Little bit and the kids will talk about that.
Speaker B:Lily talks about all the time that, the time that she went back with Chris for a late night.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And just for a couple of hours got to spend that one on one time with dad and just so fun.
Speaker A:My son is 23 now and he still talks about the after hours with mom when I had to take Amberly back for she was too tired and they went on did stuff until 11 o' clock.
Speaker A:In the morning.
Speaker A:So that's great.
Speaker A:Well, if you'd like to learn more about that, you can contact us, Lauren, at All the Magic Travel Travel with Tony D.
Speaker A:@gmail.com.
Speaker A:please like and subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker A:We love doing this and we would love to have your feedback and to some other topics of what you'd like to hear us talk about about about your Disney World vacation.
Speaker A:All right, that'll do it for wands and wishes.
Speaker A:And again, thanks for joining us and enjoy your vacation.
