Character dinner HELP

[Kerr0173]

We have only done character breakfasts in the past, and I'd like to schedule one for lunch or dinner for our January trip. (I know I'm late, but hoping we can get in at "off" time). What is the best character BUFFET?

Thanks so much, Kerrie:mickey:

[honeebee86]

Chef Mickey's is great but I also enjoy The Garden Grill. It has Mickey, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. The food has always been fantastic when I have gone (3 times in 2 years). It is in Epcot in the Land Pavillion.

[mouseketeer mom]

Chef Mickey's is great but I also enjoy The Garden Grill. It has Mickey, Chip and Dale, and Pluto. The food has always been fantastic when I have gone (3 times in 2 years). It is in Epcot in the Land Pavillion.

I agree, Garden Grill is terrific, however it is not a buffet as you asked. It is served family style and it remains one of our favorite dining experiences in WDW. However, I do remember reading about the characters being discontinued at this location. Anyone know when this will happen? And I agree with the above poster as well that Chef Mickey's is great for dinner and you can't go wrong with that!

[jpH/keD]

I have never done the buffet at the Garden Grill but we LOVE Chef Mickey's! We also liked 1900 Park Fare at the GF. Both have nice selections for kids as well as other offerings for adults. Good luck!:thumbsup:

[joanna71985]

I LOVE Crystal Palace. The buffet is really good, and I love their mashed potatoes.

Chef Mickey's is also good.

[Georgesgirl1]

We went to 1900 Park Fare on our last trip and I thought they had a good variety of things to eat. It wasn't the best meal I have ever had at WDW, but good for a buffet. All of the characters spent a good amount of time with each table also. I was able to get a 6:30 ADR for 6 about 2 months before we went (and this was during Free Dining), so you could probably still get an ADR if you called soon.

[sandeecheeks]

We just got back and did a breakfast and a dinner at 1900 Park Fare (we stayed at the Grand Floridian so we were able to get last minute reservations). The buffet was decent at both meals and the kids really enjoyed the food and especially the make your own sundae station. The characters really did spend a considerable amount of time at the tables (and there were plenty of characters to go around) and we felt we got our fair share of their time. Breakfast had Pooh, Tigger, Alice, Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins. Dinner had Cinderella, Prince Charming, two ugly step sisters (not really ugly, but wonderfully acted characters) and the evil step mother (she really did have a mean attitude and it was wonderful). We haven't been to other character meals but found this one to be lots of fun with decent enough food for the whole family.

[Tbelle1976]

Another vote for 1900 Park Fare. The kids also have enjoyed Crystal Palace, which is also the meal my DD chose for our trip in Feb.

Overall, I think our fav is Liberty Tree Tavern, but sadly this will no longer be a character experience.:(

[GoldenDreams]

We really enjoyed Crystal Palace on our last trip. The food is great and the staff do a really nice job of making you feel special. The characters there right now are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eyeore.

I've only done Chef Mickey's for breakfast, but that place was really fun.

Awhile ago we did 1900 Park Fare for breakfast and while the food was great, I felt a bit crowded and rushed.

Hope that helps!

[Tinkerbelly84]

My favorite character dining place for dinner is 1900 Park Faire. The food is always awesome and the characters do a great job of working the room.

[beckylovestink]

by far the best interaction. Especially if you have princess fans!

[illini]

For atmostphere, Chef Mickey's can't be beat. Food is a little hit or miss but never bad-- just so-so and sometimes very good.
For food, Crystal Palace for sure. Their salad bar is fabulous. YUM!

[dtootsie42]

We always do Crystal for dinner and have never had a bad experience. We found breakfast to be a bit on the rushed side so switched to dinner and so glad we did. Food has always been great the character interaction has always been a lot of fun.

Dec. 1997---Contemporary
Dec. 1999--Poly
June 2000--Disneyland
Dec. 2001---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2003---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2005---Poly Concierge
Nov. 2007---Poly Concierge
Oct. 2008--DisneyLand

[DDuck66]

I agree, Garden Grill is terrific, however it is not a buffet as you asked. It is served family style and it remains one of our favorite dining experiences in WDW. However, I do remember reading about the characters being discontinued at this location. Anyone know when this will happen? And I agree with the above poster as well that Chef Mickey's is great for dinner and you can't go wrong with that!
Characters are being discontinued for lunches, but they will still have characters for dinner at the Garden Grill. In fact as of Oct, they discontinued lunch all together. Food was always good and we loved the character interaction. My other choice would be 1900 Park Fair.

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

For lunch or dinner I vote Crystal Palace at MK. We love Chef Mickey's for breakfast. 1900 park fare was great for characters if you have girls but my kids never eat well here they do not seem to like the food. As for adults the food is Ok and does offer some interesting variety.

[Bri]

my fiance and i did breakfast at 1900 park fare 2 years ago. we liked the food, breakfast is my favorite meal! and there were a ton of characters, we got really great pics. i would def recommend that buffet!

[gaffz70]

On our last trip we did Chef Mickey for BF, and garden grille and crystal palace for dinner. Without a doubt our favorite character meal was at Garden Grille. maybe it was b/c we didn't expect much and had heard so much about the other two...the food at Garden Grille was our best meal there, you don't see the characters coming and suddenly they're there and they spent alot of time with us. The other two were busy, crowded and a bit rushed

[Goes4FastPass]

The first question is WHERE will you be the day you are planning this lunch?

If I'm not mistaken both LTT and Garden Grill will no longer be character meals in January.

Best shot will probably be MK-Crystal Palace for an odd time like late lunch.

I'd reccomend you call 407-WDW- DINE and find out if you can get in Crystal Palace on the day you plan to visit the MK. Otherwise, you may need to change your touring plan especially if you don't have 'hopping' tickets.

You can always tell 'planning newbies' by the way they say, "after we ride Expedition Everest we're have a lunch reservation at Crystal Palace" not realizing what a journey EE to CP is.

Also, for a character buffet you may want to go to 1900 Park Fare at the GrFlo. It is NOT open for lunch but a very good character buffet both for characters and food quality.

[jonahbear2006]

Im sorry, we ate crystal palace for lunch AND breakfast and the food is gross. I think the food is better at Hometown Buffet, here in town. I won't ever eat there again. I think if you are talking quality of food, try 1900 park fare at grand floridian. we had breakfast and dinner there and all their food was great! It all tasted great and they have a great variety of different foods. The Strawberry soup is amazing!!! The characters are great, too. The mad hatter and Alice for breakfast, and The evil stepsisters for dinner were some of the funniest we met in 3 trips.

[dfamasb]

Garden Grill WILL still be a character DINNER...no more lunches. Crystal Palace is good, we've gone twice and loved it both times. We're trying Garden Grill for dinner in February and the CM confirms that it is a character meal.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

Crystal Palace for the food but Chef Mickey's for the character interaction.

Crystal Palace has Pooh & friends as character (not my favorite). The breafast buffet was excellent.

Chef Mickey's has better chartacters (Mickey & friends). The food was OK but it is really about the chartacter interaction.

[Belle_0717]

Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's are great. Remember to try to get an early seating - food is fresher and they seem to change it out more earlier on than when they are getting ready to change for the next meal - especially if you go for a breakfast.