Character Dining
Magic Kingdom
Crystal Palace (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Characters: Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh
Price range: $26-41/adult, $16-22/child
Location: Magic Kingdom - Main Street
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Menu Links
CP - Breakfast Menu
Pros:
Winnie the Pooh and friends character meal that has the benefit of having both good food and fun character interaction.
Buffet-style and includes favorites like breakfast lasagna, puffed french toast, pineapple upside down cake, bread pudding and character waffles.
Cons:
Can be a wait, even with reservations (which you almost always have to have to get in here)
Tips: The Cast Members here are known for providing great service, including recognizing special occasions so be sure to note if you're celebrating on your reservation and mention it when you check in as well.
Cinderella's Royal Table *signature dining
(breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Characters: Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine (though she's rarely available)
Price range: $57-70/adult, $35-43/child
Location: Magic Kingdom - In the castle
Disney Dining Plan: Yes, *2 Table Service credits
Link to menus
CRT - Breakfast Menu
Pros: The experience, view, characters and some of the food is good too (like the stuffed French toast)
Cons: Expensive, waits can be long to get in even with a reservation
Tips: This reservation needs to be made 180 days in advance, particularly for 8 a.m. breakfast
Be Our Guest (dinner only)
Character: The Beast
Price range: $21-35/entree
Location: Magic Kingdom - Fantasyland
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menu
BOG - Dinner Menu
Pros:
Interesting French food options
This is the only place to meet The Beast
Cons:
Waits can be long even with a reservation
Tips: This might be the hardest dining reservation to get in all of Disney World be sure to make reservations 180 days in advance if you want to eat here for dinner.
EPCOT
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
(breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Characters: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Mary Poppins and Snow White (princesses can vary and will likely not all appear)
Price range: $44-51/adult, $25-30/child
Location: EPCOT - Norway section
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menus
Akershus - Breakfast Buffet Menu
Pros: Great use of a Table Service credit when using the Disney Dining Plan
Cons: Expensive if paying out-of-pocket, waits can be long even with a reservation
Tips: Eat breakfast here if you have picky eaters since lunch and dinner feature foods that are a bit more adventurous and not as popular for families
Garden Grill (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
Characters: Chip, Dale, Mickey Mouse and Pluto
Price range: $30-40/adult, $18-20/child
Location: EPCOT - In the Land Pavilion
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menu
GG - Breakfast Menu
Pros: This character meal is served family-style and is all-you-can-eat with the meal including various meat entrees, veggies, rolls and dessert. While you eat, the restaurant rotates slowly and Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto stop by for a visit. This is a great use of a Table Service credit when using the Disney Dining Plan.
Cons: Can be a bit tricky to get to and strollers aren't allowed after a certain point
Tips: It is often possible to get a reservation here when many others aren't available
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood and Vine (breakfast)
Characters: Breakfast and lunch feature Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Handy Manny and Jake
Price range: $28-32/adult, $16/child
Location: Hollywood Studios: Echo Lake area near the front of the park
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menus
Pros: Buffet offers lots of options that please a wide variety of people
Cons: Can be loud, not all dishes are great
Tips: Don't forget to try the sundae bar after your meal (available at lunch)
Minnie's Seasonal Dine at Hollywood and Vine (lunch, dinner)
Characters: Minnie and pals decked out in special costumes that vary based upon the current season/holiday
Price range: $47/adult, $28/child
Location: Hollywood Studios - Echo Lake area near the front of the park
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menus
Pros: Buffet offers lots of options that please a wide variety of people and the Fantasmic! Dinner Package is a available here
Cons: Can be loud, not all dishes are great
Tips: Don't forget to try the themed desserts and/or sundae bar after your meal
Animal Kingdom
Resort character meals at Disney World
Grand Floridian
1900 Park Fare (breakfast and dinner)
Characters include: Aladdin, Cinderella, Mirabel and Princess Tiana
Price range:
Breakfast: $35/child and $55/adult. Dinner: $41/child and $66/adult.
Location: Grand Floridian
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menus
1900 Park Fare - Breakfast Menu
1900 Park Fare - Dinner Menu
Pros: Fun character interactions
Cons: Fairly expensive
Tips: If you arrive by monorail, it may not be obvious where this restaurant is located. When you exit the monorail, go down to the first floor and you'll find the restaurant by the front doors.
Polynesian Resort
'Ohana (breakfast)
Characters: Lilo, Stitch, Mickey Mouse and Pluto
Price range: $30/adult, $18/child
Location: Polynesian Resort
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Breakfast menu link
'Ohana - Breakfast Buffet Menu
Pros: Food options to please most people (all-you-can-eat American breakfast), kids are included in activities during the meal
Cons: Popular spot so reservations are hard to get, check in can take a long time so maybe even consider arriving early for your reservation
Tips: Book ASAP if you are interested in eating here, breakfast hours extend until 12:00 pm which makes it a great place to grab a late breakfast
Contemporary Resort
Chef Mickey's (breakfast, brunch/lunch and dinner)
Characters: Donald Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Pluto
Price range: $38-50/adult, $21-27/child
Location: Contemporary Resort
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Link to menu
Chef Mickey's - Character Breakfast Menu
Chef Mickey's - Character Dinner Menu
Pros: Family favorite due to the fun vibe plus being able to ride the monorail right into the building, sundae bar makes a fun dessert
Cons: Food isn't particularly good but is sufficient, reservations are hard to get
Tips: Request to be in the main dining room to get the maximum amount of fun. I've always felt left out when we were in the other rooms.
Beach Club Resort
Cape May Cafe (breakfast)
Characters: Donald Duck, Goofy and Minnie Mouse
Price range: $28/adult, $16/child
Location: Beach Club Resort
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Breakfast menu
Cape May Cafe - Breakfast Character Dining
Pros: Nice variety of foods to choose from, characters are dressed in beach attire, often easier to find a reservation here than other character dining locations
Cons: Only 3 characters here, fairly expensive for breakfast food
Tips: Be sure to try the yogurt bar which has lots of great toppings
Boardwalk Resort
Bon Voyage Breakfast
Characters: Beloved Disney characters including Rapunzel & Flynn Rider and Ariel & Prince Eric
Price range: $34/adult, $20/child
Location: Tattoria al Forna at Disney's Boardwalk
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Pros: Unique experience to see the princesses and princes together
Cons:
Tips:
Grand Floridian Resort
Wonderland Tea Party
Characters: Alice and Mad Hatter
Price range: $40 per person
Location: Grand Floridian
Disney Dining Plan: No
Pros: 1 hour tea party from 2-3 p.m. for kids age 4-10 where kids to get to make and eat cupcakes, hear a story, have tea (juice) with the characters and make flower bouquets
Cons: Only available Monday - Friday
Tips: Kids do this event without parents so parents should plan to do something nearby like stroll the beach, order a drink, explore the resort, etc.
Perfectly Princess Tea Party
Characters: Aurora and Rose Petal
Price range: $333.64 for 1 adult and 1 child (additional children age 3-9 are $234.98, additional adults age 10+ are $98.66, and upgrading a child over 9 to get the full package is $136.22)
Location: Grand Floridian
Disney Dining Plan: No
Pros: A whole event rather than just a meal that includes each girl receiving a doll, tiara, bracelet, rose, scrapbook plus food and entertainment (boys receive a crown and plush bear)
Cons: Only available Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10:30am-12:00pm
Tips: Kids are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character for this event
Riviera Resort
Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends
Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck
Price range: $35 to $59.99 pp
Location: Riviera Resort - Topolino's
Disney Dining Plan: Yes
Start your morning with breakfast on this beautiful indoor rooftop terrace offering exclusive Disney Character Dining experiences. The prix fixe menu offers delicious choices to please everyone in the family.
While enjoying breakfast and the bird’s eye views, meet some of your favorite Disney Friends for a perfect photo and autograph opportunity! You may find yourself mingling with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck—stylishly dressed from head to toe in outfits unique to Topolino’s Terrace!
Wilderness Lodge
Story Book Dining At Artist Point
Location: Wilderness Lodge
Character meals available: dinner
Available: daily
Average Price: Adult $60 / Child $39
On the Disney Dining Plan? Yes, 1 Table Service credit
Buffet?: No
Link to menus
Characters (can vary): Snow White, Evil Queen, Dopey, and Grumpy
Pros: This is one of the newest character meals offered and it pairs delicious food with a chance to mingle with a villain. One of the best values of a Disney Dining Plan credit.
Cons: The menu may not appeal to everybody and only having 1 meal service/day can make reservations tough to get
Tips: The specialty mocktails and cocktails here are fun and very well themed
Transportation to early morning character meals at Disney World
The only time I ever recommend breakfast is if it's before the parks open (if you eat any later, you end up eating during prime park touring time) but it's confusing to understand how to get to the dining reservations.
Although Disney will often tell you that transportation begins 1 hour before the parks open, there are earlier options for people with early dining reservations.
Here's what's available:
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Skyliner for Hollywood Studios and Epcot will start running at 7-7:15 a.m. daily
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Skyliner for the Hollywood Studios and the Epcot-area resorts will start running at 7-7:15 a.m. daily
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Buses for the Magic Kingdom and Magic Kingdom resort area start running at 6:30 a.m. daily
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Buses for Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge start running at 7-7:15 a.m. daily
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Buses for the Hollywood Studios and the Epcot-area resorts will start running at 7-7:15 a.m. daily
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Buses for Epcot start running at 7-7:15 a.m. daily
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The ferry from the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) to Magic Kingdom begins running 1 hour before Magic Kingdom opens
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The express monorail (that goes from the TTC to MK) begins 30 minutes before MK opens
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The resort monorail (which will go from TTC to The Polynesian to The Grand Floridian and then to MK) begins at 7 a.m.
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The Epcot monorail usually begins operating at 8 a.m.
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The boats that service the Epcot-area resorts and go to Epcot and Hollywood Studios start running at 8:30 a.m. daily