Episode 3: Mickey Waffles and Disney Dreams

Join us as we break down the different character dining options at Walt Disney World, both those in the parks and in the resorts. If meeting the characters is on the top of your list of things to do, character dining is a great technique to maximizing your day! Find out how on this episode!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Come on, everybody. Everybody goes to the water.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Welcome back to Chasing Disney Dreams, the show where we talk about all things Disney. We are your host, I'm Olivia Allward. And I'm Andrea Tolino. Today we're going to give you some food for thought. And what's considered one of the most iconic ways to spend your time and your dollars while at Disney, character dining. Whether you're dying to meet the mouse or you want to snag a selfie with your favorite Disney princess, these meals can be a massive part of your magical vacation.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

And honestly, if character meet and greets is your thing, character dining may be just the time-saving technique to meet your favorites without standing in a 90-minute or longer standby line. You'll get AC in the Florida heat, a decent meal, and the characters come right to your table for pictures and autographs. It's a win-win.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

And with that, grab your Mickey Ears and pick your spot for the 3 o'clock parade. The show is about to begin.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Kicking things off, let's explain a bit about what character dining is.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

So character dining is something that's pretty big at Walt Disney World. There's many parks that have character dining, many resorts that also have character dining. And first we just kind of need to dive deep into like what even is character dining because not many people know if you don't go to Disney often. And I think it's really important to talk about because if you have families that that's the only thing that you care about is meeting those characters. This is a very important piece of your vacation.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

And what's really cool about some of the character dining that's out there is you don't necessarily have to have a park pass. If you're going to the Orlando area just for something else and weren't planning on visiting the parks, but you need to get your Disney fix, this is a great way to do it. You can always visit the Contemporary and go to Chef Mickey's or to the Riviera and go to Topolino's or the Polynesian and see Lilo and Stitch. I mean, the possibilities are pretty great to get your fill of Disney magic without actually being in the park.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

So character dining is really important because, again, like we said, if you have kids and they're young, it can be one of the best ways to meet your favorite characters while being able to actually enjoy a meal. So pretty much Disney has multiple restaurants where they have the characters come in and meet families and kids. And with that being said, it can be from Minnie and Mickey to the princesses to Lilo and Stitch, and it's all over.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Character dining is also different from meeting the characters in the park because usually you're seeing more than one character at a restaurant. Could be anywhere from four to five different characters. For instance, if you go to Chef Mickey's, you're gonna see four. If you go to somewhere like Cinderella's royal table, that's when you're gonna see five.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

And I think what's so important to also say with that is you're sitting at your table and you're enjoying your breakfast. So you're killing two birds with one stone almost. So pretty much you're sitting at your table, you're getting to eat, and then those characters come right to your table, so you're not wasting any time standing in lines. So if that's so important for your family, you're not wasting 90 minutes per character, and you're actually just getting to meet them all at one breakfast, and they actually interact with you for longer than when you can just get a picture and go. I think that it's so important to also talk about how much time it saves you because you could be waiting 60 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on how popular the character is, and if that's just one character. So if you're getting to meet all of them while you're eating breakfast and getting to actually enjoy the presence of the characters and your family, it's not rush in, rush out.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Yeah, and sometimes you can see like four to five different characters in an hour and a half, sometimes less.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

They stop at every table, and we're gonna talk about later in this episode how to set up the perfect character dining, but if you're setting that up, it doesn't always have to be on a park day. So it can be on something where you're just having a relaxing morning and you just want to meet your the characters and you don't have to be in the park for that.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Yeah, and I think it's also worth noting that if you're at a character breakfast or dinner and you're afraid you're gonna be up at the buffet when the characters come around, you don't really have to worry about that. I have found that when I'm getting ready to leave, the waiters or waitresses will come over and ask, have you seen all of Mickey's friends or whoever it is that you're seeing? And they want to make sure that you didn't miss any of the friends, that you got the pictures and you got all the autographs that you wanted.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

And it's not necessarily something that's a time limit. So if you're if you and your family stay there for maybe an hour and you get to meet all the characters and you're ready to go, perfect. But if you guys stay there longer, it's not like they're pushing you out either. So you're getting to actually enjoy your time.

unknown 5:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

So when we talk about price later, that also adds into the price. Like, yes, some of the character meals might be a little bit more expensive, but you have to compare what you're really wanting for your trip. And we always say Disney is customizable, and so you have to think about what's best for you and your family versus rushing around and trying to get everything done.

unknown 5:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

You know, I don't think that they have character meet and greets on Lightning Lane anymore like they used to.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I don't think they do either. They have times posted where most likely, okay, Anna and Elsa will be here at this time and you you can see a standby line, but I don't think there's any type of lightning lane. Yeah. And I've had a couple families with my travel agency, they've come to me and said, like, hey, like, my daughter, she is only she only cares about meeting Mickey and Minnie. How can I do this? And that's when it's the best time to like, hey, maybe think about a character dining because then you're actually guaranteed to meet them. Sometimes if you're waiting in line, they have to take the break because they've been standing there for so long and it's it's not always guaranteed, is what I should say.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yeah, you could be waiting longer, and those lines get really long. I know, especially for like the harder to meet characters, which they don't usually have, at least at this point, don't usually have character meet and greets for. But I know Mickey and the crew can get a pretty lengthy line. And I also know that characters that you don't typically see except for the Halloween party or the Christmas party, but do meet and greets then, they can also get fairly lengthy lines. Like Jack and Sally, I've seen before, have like upwards of a couple hours for a meet and greet line, but they don't have a character dining opportunity and they're not out any other time of the year.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah, and I think the other thing to think about too, with you saying that Jack and Sally don't have the character dining, if characters are the only thing that you're going into Disney for and you're able to knock out a character dining where you're getting to meet four of them, then you can prioritize other characters and get to meet the ones that you haven't met because filling your day up with characters is possible, but it's not possible to meet them all.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Right. And if you're someone that really wants to see the characters in specific outfits, like at Halloween or at Christmas, you can actually do that while dining at Hollywood and Vine. They rotate out, and we'll talk about this more in a little bit, but they rotate out the outfits on the characters based on the season, which is really cool. But again, we'll dive into that a little bit more here in a few minutes. Let's pivot a little bit here and talk about where you can go for your character dining. Some restaurants only offer breakfast while others offer breakfast, brunch, and dinner. But let's jump into the different hotels to start with and what character dining options there are available there.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

So I, when we go to Disney, sometimes we do a character dining, sometimes we don't. But um, I've been to a couple of them. The two that I think I loved the best were Tapolinos. Um, I just recently went there in the past like six months, and we got to meet four of the characters. We got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. They all had their outfits on. These outfits are themed for just Tapolinos, so you can't usually see them in those outfits when you see them in the parks. We got to sit and they came to all of our tables. We got pictures with them, group pictures, single pictures. They were very patient, very happy to be there. The other one that I suggest to younger families is Chef Mickey's. You get a bigger brunch style or breakfast style, I guess you could say. And that's gonna be where you can go up and get as much food as you want and just kind of meet your characters. And that is the Fab Five, which again, if you don't know who the Fab Five are, it's gonna be Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald. And Chef Mickey's is available for breakfast and dinner. They also do a lot of fun things. So Topolino's they have like a dance around the restaurant and they play like themed music, and they again come to every table. It is gonna be a prefix menu, so everything is like completely set out for you. Whereas if you go to Chef Mickey's, they're gonna have more of the fun environment, lots of towels in the air. They always like swing your towel around and dance with the Fab Five. So, again, completely different theming, but still a great experience depending on what you and your family want.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah, and Chef Mickey's is a buffet, so you are walking through the line and can go back as many times as you want. And for breakfast, they're gonna have your standard things like eggs and bacon and sausage and Mickey waffles and fruits and pastries, that type of thing. Whereas dinner features New York strip and barbecue pork ribs, teriyaki salmon, and other dinner types of options.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

And then again, like we said with tapolinos. So when we went, they do give you like a breakfast like bread basket almost, and that has like the best chocolate chip muffins I've ever had in my entire life. But they also have a couple other things like croissants and stuff like that. And then you get the food, and I think I got like a I think it was like French toast, maybe or something like that. They have like special menu for their restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

And while Chef Mickey's has breakfast and dinner served as character dining, Topolino's only serves breakfast for character dining. So that's important to know if you really want to see those characters at Topolino's.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

And again, like some people are breakfast eaters, some people are dinner eaters. So that's also gonna base your opinion on if you want to go for breakfast or dinner.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Aside from those two restaurants and hotels, you can also meet Minnie, Goofy, Daisy and Donald at Minnie's Beach Bash, which is at the Beach Club at Cape May. It is another buffet style restaurant, and they do only serve breakfast for character dining. Breakfast starts at 7:30 and it goes until 11 a.m. And we'll talk a little bit more about pricing later, but breakfast does tend to be a little bit cheaper if you are looking at character dining.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

So, what are your two favorites if you had to pick a character dining breakfast or dinner?

SPEAKER_00 11:31

You know, the one that I really enjoyed, actually, so other dining options that you have, before I jump into that story, other dining options in the resorts. You have 1900 Park Fair, which is at the Grand Floridian, and they serve breakfast and dinner, and they have characters like Aladdin and Cinderella and Mirabel and Princess Tiana. When we were there this past November, we didn't see Mirabel. We did, however, see Snow White instead. And Princess Tiana was not in her dress, she was in her new outfit for the ride that they just came out. Correct, which was super fun. Yeah. And then storybook dining, which is at Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. They also have a prefix menu, and their character dining is only for dinner, and that's from 4 p.m. to 9 15 p.m. The characters that you meet there are Snow White, Grumpy, Dopey, and the Wicked Queen.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

And these ones are all at the resorts. So we'll get into a little bit of the park ones, but they don't have as many options as what the resorts do.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

And like we said, if you are going to the Orlando area but don't plan on going to the parks, but find that you need your Disney fix, this is a great way to get it.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

You don't even have to be staying at a Disney World resort to be able to book there. They do have the window that opens and it's 60 days, which we will get into a little bit later. But you can book this and you could be staying at off-property, or you could even maybe you live in Florida and you're listening to this and you just want to get a little Disney in for your day and have a breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Back to your initial question. My favorite character dining that I've been to, especially here recently, and I'm kind of shocked by what I'm going to say here because I would have for sure thought that I'd say a Mickey and Minnie character breakfast, but I probably had the best experience at 1900 Park Fair when we went to Disney World in November. And that first night of our vacation, we went to the Grand Floridian to eat at 1900 Park Fair. And the characters that came around and met us were great. They stayed in character. My daughter absolutely loved them. The food was delicious. The service was great. It was just all around a really great experience. And those characters are human characters, they are not characters in costume. So it is definitely an option for kids that maybe don't have that same love.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

There is a lot of kids out there that are scared of characters, and I think that there is such a difference between characters and princesses. So you can even base it off of that when you go to like, okay, could we do a character dining? And if your kid maybe is petrified of mask, go with the princesses and just see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Yeah, and that was my first time ever going to 1900 Park Fair. We just had a great time. It was my husband, myself, and my almost three-year-old daughter. And it was just, yeah, it was just amazing. It was just a great time. We loved it.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

For 1900 Park Fair, is it a prefix menu? And what did you think about the actual dining? Because that's a big part of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

It was a buffet and the food was fantastic. It was, it was just delicious. It was hot, it was good. The whole experience was good. I think I already mentioned that they do the character dining for breakfast and dinner. It is one of the more expensive breakfast character dining options. It's usually about $60 a person, if not more for adults. And breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to noon, and dinner is served from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. And we went for dinner. And like I said, it was just it was good. We just had a great time and really enjoyed it. We definitely go back there. And then how many characters did you say you met, probably? We met four. We met Aladdin and Cinderella and Tiana and Snow White. Usually it is Maribel there instead of Snow White. However, she must not have been available that day. And something I'd like to just kind of slide right on in here is if you haven't been to our TikTok or our Instagram, jump on over there and search for us, Chasing Disney Dreams, because we've got a video that we just posted about our experiences meeting these characters in these different restaurants. So you'll see some pictures on TikTok or on Instagram of my little one just living her best life, meeting these characters, and having a great time doing it.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

We went to Tapolino's, like I said, in the past six months. And we had a great time. I mean, the characters were great. I would like to also point out Daisy was absolutely crazy. Her sass was like out of fabulous. She actually, we had okay, we went on a girls' trip. So there was I think eight of us. And there was two of the younger girls, three girls my age, and then three girls, or three women, I guess I should say, my mom's age. And Daisy sat herself between the two younger girls, threw her skirt in their faces, and like brushed her hair out of the way. And she was just throwing a fit, actually.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Daisy is just fabulous. So the other one that I really enjoy, if I'm going for Mickey and Minnie, I would also say Topolinos, but I'm gonna go somewhere different to just be different. I really liked, and we took Ev on her very first trip to Disney to Cape May. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. The characters are all in their beach attire, they are so adorable. Again, we'll have pictures on TikTok and on Instagram of that as well. And we just again just had another great time. It was just super fun. And I I think when people are are thinking of character dining, I think they typically go to special case.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

I think that also there's so many of them that people tend to forget about because not as many people rave about them, but I think it's also because not many people go there, right? They forget about it, and so that's also where you can use a travel agent. If you want to like book with somebody, they can help you with the booking of and like remind you, hey, you need to do this, and there's this type of reservation out there, or just they're helpful. So I think that that's also very important. But that being said, there's so many character dinings out there that people tend to forget about.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

They do, and I think that is a great segue then into the character dining that is available at the parks.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

Yeah, because not only going to the parks is great, but taking a little bit of time out of your day to sit and enjoy, especially in those hot months, because you're not gonna want to wait in line for the all the characters that you want to meet, but on top of that, it's a great way to actually sit and have a meal instead of going, going, and going, especially if you have kids.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Right. So, starting off in the Magic Kingdom, you've got two different options for character dining. You've got the Crystal Palace, which is at the end of Main Street USA. It is a buffet that features characters from the Hundred Acre Wood, including Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Crystal Palace does serve all three meals. Breakfast is from 8 a.m. to 1045 a.m. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 2.55 p.m. And dinner is served from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

I think the biggest thing to talk about when it comes to Crystals Palace is the fact that they have what's a Mickey Shiro waffle. So this is the only place that you can get them unless you go on a Disney cruise. And it is really good. They're covered in cinnamon sugar. So take your traditional Mickey waffle and just think times 10. And they are the best place to get them because it's the only place.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

And again, because it is a buffet, it is all you can eat. So go up there and eat all the Juro waffles. Yeah. And the other option for character dining at the Magic Kingdom is Cinderella's Royal Table, which is actually in the castle.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

And that's the biggest part about that one.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

You can have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Breakfast is from 8 a.m. to 10 15 a.m. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 2.55 p.m. And dinner is from 3 p.m. to 10 30 p.m. And pointing out that time, if you pay attention, you can actually be there when they set off the fireworks, which is just super fun. Have you ever done that?

SPEAKER_01 20:43

I have not. So with the parties, they have like dining packages where they have certain areas blocked off and you guys can sit and have like a dessert party, or you can have different different parties depending on what's going on. We did the Mickey's um Christmas party and did the dessert party, and we got to watch the fireworks not in a crowd. So this is like a great way to watch fireworks, have a meal, and again, you're not in a crowd, so you're not getting clustered, and it's just if your family would like this better, it is a great way to do all the things in one sitting.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah, I agree. So I have been to Cinderella's royal table in the evening when the fireworks were being set off. And mind you, this was before it was character dining. It feels like it was a real long time ago. But we were actually sitting right on the window where they set off the fireworks, so much so that we had children coming and sitting at our table. At one point I had a child sitting on my lap, and it was just really a cool experience. And just like if you're on the beach at the Polynesian or you're at the top of the world lounge or the Grand Floridian, where they pipe in the music for the fireworks. They do the same thing in the restaurant for you. To watch, which is really nice. And if you're going to Cinderella's royal table, you're not going to see Mickey or Minnie or any of those characters. You're going to see the princesses. Cinderella is usually there just as you walk in. You meet her first. And then from there, usually there's four or five different princesses that will come to your table as you dine. The ones that I have heard before have been Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine, Snow White.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

I have seen the beast come in sometimes and very randomly, but since he's kind of tied into the princess group, he will come in very random.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

Huh. I've never seen him be in there, so that's pretty cool. So those are your two options for character dining at the Magic Kingdom.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

I think it's really important though, because if you think that you want to meet characters and you're meeting all the princesses at dinner, then you're able to go meet Mickey and Minnie and wait in that line for that day.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Moving on to Epcot, you've got two options there for character dining. You've got Garden Grill, which is in the Land Pavilion. It's the rotating restaurant. And there it's a family-style dining. So they bring out the different plates of food for the family to share. They'll bring out as much as you want. So it is all you can eat as well. And there you can have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Breakfast is served from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Lunch is 11:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. And dinner is 3:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. And the characters there that you will meet is Mickey, who is wearing overalls, which is super cute. And Pluto and Chip and Dale are also there.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

And I think like a little hidden Mickey, if you're on Living with the Land, you can actually see this restaurant while being on the boat. Um, and I think that it's also important because if you're in the restaurant, then you can also see Living with the Land while being on the turntable.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

And they say that the food that they serve at Garden Grill is actually food that has been grown in the greenhouses on Living with the Land.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

And I'm pretty sure that like Epcot in general, they try to use as much as possible and they try to do as much as possible, but it's really cool that they try to source their food on the ride that you can actually see through the Garden Grill.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Your other option for character dining at Epcot is Acreshush Royal Banquet Hall, which is in Norway in the World Showcase. It is a buffet style that serves American and Norwegian food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is princess dining, and the princesses there that you can meet do tend to rotate out, and you may see more of a variety there than you might see at Cinderella's royal table. However, again, you do typically get five or so of the princesses that will come to visit you while you are eating. Some of the princesses that have been seen in the past have been Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Cinderella, Tiana, really just any of the princesses could be there for you to meet. So if your child isn't a big fan of the masked characters, you can always visit Norway and see the princesses. But if they're anything like my child who has absolutely no fear, we really enjoyed going to the Garden Girl when we were there this past November.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

The next one we're moving on to is Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom does only have one character dining, and it is called Tusker House.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

And Tusker House is located in Africa. It is a buffet-style restaurant, and you can have breakfast, lunch, or dinner there. And the characters that you see, and they're all dressed in their safari outfits, which is really super stinking cute, is Donald, Mickey, Daisy, and Goofy. And I've always really enjoyed Tusker House. I've ate there numerous times. We've always had a really great experience. The characters are always high energy. The food has always been good. And funny story here, it's the one place that when I went in May of 2025, my little one, who was at the age that she recognized the characters because we watch a lot of Disney Jr., she was a little upset by, and by little I mean a lot upset by the fact that the characters didn't just stand there and watch her eat. So she would become very unhappy when they when they left. When they would walk away. And so that was fun. And they, because of that, they came back, you know, a couple different times, or every time they walk by, they would wave at her, whatever. And she just loved it. But like I said, I've always had a great experience at Tuscar House.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

I think a lot of people think that Animal Kingdom, I think that's the park that I've heard the most. Like, oh, if you're skipping a park, that's where you can skip. And I do think that Animal Kingdom does have, if you're thinking attractions, less to do. But that being said, I really love Animal Kingdom. And I think the best way to set that up is go and dine at Tusker House at any part of your day. But do that and do a safari. And you can be satisfied with doing both of those, then great. But if you need to do more, then go and walk around, see Avatar. But really, if you're setting up your day and you want to maybe do a character dining, that might be the best part to do it if you're worried about time.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

And the last character dining in the parks that we'll talk about is Hollywood Studios, and they have Hollywood and Vine. Hollywood and Vine is another buffet style that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And what's really cool about Hollywood and Vine is that the characters rotate the outfits that they wear. So in springtime, which is happening right now from March 11th to May 20th, 2026, is when the characters are wearing their springtime outfits. They will flip over to summertime on May 21st. And then once summertime has come to an end, we're going to be looking forward to Halloween. I don't know exactly the date that they will change their outfits. However, they will be changed into their Halloween costumes. And once we've moved on from Halloween, then they will change into their Christmas outfits. And that is also super fun. Goofy wears, he's like Santa Goofy, and he wears a hat, and it's just a good time. And then I don't know if they'll do this next year, but this past year at the beginning of the year, they did silver screen dine. So the characters were wearing more of their gala type outfits. And that ran from January 5th through March 10th. But again, not quite sure if that's going to be something that they will be bringing back next year, but it is something that they did right after Christmas this past year.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

So, like we said, there's character dining everywhere, and it just depends on what you're looking for, what kind of meal you're looking for. That's also important. Like lots of them are going to be buffet style, but then there's some that are not. So it depends on kind of what you're looking for. And again, completely customizable, depends on your family. But at the end of the day, there's so many options and there's so many ways that you can do it.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Yeah. And at Hollywood and Vine, in case you were interested, you do see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto there as well. Although I've seen Daisy now that I think this through, I've seen Daisy at the door when I've gone in before. I think I may actually have a picture of her hanging in my house with my family from a meal that we had at Hollywood and Vine.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

I think sometimes they just throw in characters depending on where they're at, too. So we can tell you that you're gonna see these characters and sometimes they switch it out, and that's not really anything anybody can control.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Characters are always subject to change. So yeah, while we're pointing out who you typically see at these restaurants, please remember that they can always change.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

But usually for the places that do have Mickey, I think that that's almost kind of a guarantee, like especially like Chef Mickey. Um, most of the time they know that he's the face of Walt Disney World, so other than Walt himself.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

But yeah, you can't have Mickey without Walt. Some tips and tricks as you start thinking about character dining or dining reservations in general for your upcoming vacations. Number one, you can book your dining reservations 60 days out from your arrival date. Character dining reservations tend to go really fast, especially those that are very well sought after, the more popular ones. I know the one I find very hard to get or see rarely is Cinderella's Royal Table, especially when Disney announces different promotions, for example, kids eat free promotions for certain vacation packages. So you need to be ready. If you are booking dining reservations online, you can book those as early as 6 a.m. at that 60-day window. And if you plan on calling to make your dining reservations, you cannot do that until 7 a.m. at your 60-day window. Or my little tip here that I like to share and is what I think is the best tip is to contact Olivia and have her book your dining reservations for you.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

The best option. Um, tip number two, breakfast versus dinner pricing. So breakfast is going to be the cheaper one out of the two, but your dinner is more substantial food. So it depends on kind of what you're looking for, and if you're wanting something that, okay, you can get in really early and you can get it done, and then you can have the rest of your day, or maybe you're gonna need a break later in your day. It also bases off of that.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

I think another thing to point out with this is when getting breakfast reservations, you can sometimes get breakfast reservations prior to park opening. I know that's a big thing at Magic Kingdom. If you've ever looked at any type of Facebook page or TikTok or Instagram, you'll see people will post pictures where they just have this beautiful picture of the castle and absolutely nobody in it. Typically, those tend to be when people are booking their breakfast times prior to park opening. There will be a separate section for you to enter the park if you have those dining reservations.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

And it's still controlled. It's not like they can go get on rides or anything like that, but it's just something to keep in mind.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Tip number three, be willing to eat at what some might consider an odd time. I've found that if you're willing to eat, let's say, dinner at 3.30 instead of 5.30, you might have some more options available to you. So if you can be open to that, be willing to flex a little bit, you may have a better opportunity to get some of the different, harder to get dining reservations.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

And with that, like if you're planning on eating at different times, if you're especially if you're going to like Ebcot, there's so much to eat there. So then you're able to eat at an odd time, but you're first off planning your day and like what you're eating around that, but also then maybe you can go and get a dessert after. So it's still kind of something that it's not necessarily a negative that you're eating at a weird time. Tip number four, have your camera and autograph books ready. Characters move fast. Have your phone unlocked and your autograph book open before they reach your table because they will always sign and they will always take a picture with you. And even if you're catching them on your way out and you're saying, hey, like, can we get a quick photo? They're still gonna come back and get a photo.

SPEAKER_00 33:43

And like we mentioned, the waiters and waitresses will check with you before they deliver your bill to your table to make sure that you have seen all of the characters that are rotating out throughout the restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

And depending on how long you're staying at the restaurant, sometimes the characters will go away and come back. They will come back, give them just a little bit, sit down, relax, and then wait until they come back, get your picture, then you can go.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

And tip number five: don't be afraid to interact with characters. Ask them questions, talk to them. Maybe ask Goofy about his recent fishing trip, or ask Belle if she's read any good books lately.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

So are you team buffet, team family style, or team prefixed menu?

SPEAKER_00 34:28

I am team family style. I think I really I'm thinking back on my favorite experiences and what some of my favorite food has been in character dining. And I think Garden Grill was just strictly in terms of food. I think I liked Garden Grill's food that was served about the best.

SPEAKER_01 34:49

Yeah, so mine was Topolino's, so that's gonna be a prefix menu, but I really do I think food at any of them is great, so it's really hard to kind of make that decision just because they do have great food at all locations.

SPEAKER_00 35:02

What character meal is a must-do for you? We kind of already covered this. Would you call it Topolino's? Yeah. Yeah, Topolino's is your must-do family meal for me. You know, that's an interesting question because while I think 1900 Park Fair has been one of my favorites to go to, I don't necessarily know if I feel like I need to go again, at least not in the next year or two. Like I can always see Mickey and Minnie and that whole crew. I'll see them every trip. I love it. Yeah. But in terms of like seeing Aladdin and Mirabel, although I didn't meet her, like I I just kind of feel like I don't necessarily see your princess. Yeah, I don't necessarily need to see them this next time. Yeah. I feel like I am a, although you've either got princesses or poo characters, there's nothing really, although you've got no white.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Yeah, I think a lot of people go for the traditional, the fab five, the traditional Disney characters, and those characters never get old. It's not necessarily that the princesses get old, but it's like, okay, I've met them, I'm good. Especially if you're not like a princess family, or if that's just not up your alley. But I think that the characters like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, those characters don't get old.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Yeah, I completely agree with that. I tend to do two character meals when I go to Disney. So I'll do a Mickey and crew, and then I'll do a second one. Sometimes I'll do Crystal Palace, sometimes I'll do Norway. I'll typically find that I'll rotate those out because, like you said, those aren't characters that I necessarily feel like I have to see every trip I take. I I love seeing Mickey, I love seeing Minnie in that crew, but in terms of seeing the princesses or Winnie the Pooh every trip, I just don't feel like I have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

I think that also when you're looking at your family, specifically for my family, when we went, my brother would not like to meet the princesses. And some some boys do, and it's like right, that's just kind of your family. But my brother would not like to meet the princesses, he would be okay if we didn't. So we met the Fab Five, and he was perfectly happy with that. So I think it also depends on that. Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Now we want to hear from you. Are you team buffet, team prefix menu, or team family style? And what character meals have been your favorite? Tag us on your socials or comment on our Instagram or TikTok. You can follow us there at Chasing Disney Dreams, or you can email us at chasing Disney Dreams2025 at gmail.com. If you are looking to get a hold of Olivia, if you've got questions about your upcoming trip, or if you need her assistance with booking the dining reservations at 60 days out, you can reach her via our Instagram and TikTok as well. And she will be sure to get back a hold of you.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

And that being said, I'm completely fee-free. There's not any type of hidden fees or anything to come along with that. I am literally just here to help out families and to help make your trip the most magical it can be. So I don't want it to come off like we're trying to sell anything by any means.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

And that wraps us up for this episode.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

Next week, we are diving deeper into lightning lanes at Walt Disney World, breaking down strategies, tips, and how to make the most out of your park day without feeling overwhelmed. If you've ever wondered whether lightning lanes are worth it, how to plan your day around them, or how to snag those hard-to-get rides, you won't want to miss it. So subscribe.

SPEAKER_00 38:38

Thank you again for listening. And until then, go out there and chase your dreams.