Disney Dining Events and Shows

In order to avoid lines to see characters, our family chose to spend close to a meal a day with characters.  It was a great experience and very worth it!  Disney also gives you the option of dining while being entertained!  We chose to participate in one such adventure although there are many that are well worth it!!

If you are interested in a show, be sure to look here to find out about the Spirit of Aloha Show, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Venue, and Mickey's Backyard BBQ.

If you are interested in an "event" you will want to look here to get more information on meals that can include candlelight, fireworks, dancing, safari, and even a chance to taste test wines and different courses!

We chose to dine at Mama Melrose's in Hollywood Studios so that we could experience the Fantasmic Dining Package.  I was expecting more of a pizza joint, but the food was more Italian.  It was good and the portions were large!  There are two other restaurants in the park that include VIP seating for Fantasmic;  The Hollywood Brown Derby and Hollywood and Vine.

The Fantasmic show is an outdoor presentation that includes, fountains, fireworks, characters, music, a story line, and even some fancy projection work!  When you reserve a meal to include the Fantasmic package at one of three restaurants in Hollywood Studios that offer this package you get VIP seating for the event.  I chose to take the kids to this show over the other fireworks simply because they were scheduled to happen the soonest in the evening!

Lola and Daddy waiting for the Fantasmic Show

The characters on the boats during Fantasmic!



Jackson and Tyce clowning around~ I brought our own glow bracelets from the Dollar Store for the kids.  Big hit!!



The VIP seating was the better seating as the actions of the show tend to be centered right in front of that section.  You sit on closed bleachers (you know the kind you can't fall through) and there are concessions nearby as well as vendors going through the stands.  I don't want to say too much about the actual show so you can enjoy it for yourself!  It was rather amazing and entertaining, but it was way too scary for our little ones.  The villains in the show are literally larger then life and Lola had her face buried in my shoulder for half of the show!  I had to tell her when it was safe to look again.  The fireworks and other noises didn't bother the kids, but the villains were super scary so keep that into consideration if you decide to go to Fantasmic.

 

Many of our fondest memories of our Disney trip were linked to the special dining they offer!  Be sure to take some time to look at the options and plan some extra fun!  You have to eat somewhere anyways! :)

Disney - Character Dining

With children or adults the character dining is a fantastic choice because you are able to have a place in air conditioning to sit, have choices of fantastic food, have service like no other, and get as much time with each character as you wish without a line or crowds!

You will want to make reservations before you get to Disney for all of your dining experiences.  You can not simply walk up and be put on a waiting list.  You can make reservations online or by calling Disney (407-WDW-DINE).  Do this as soon as you know where you want to go.  You are allowed to book your reservations 180 days before and believe me people do it!!  If you can not get the reservation you want just keep calling or checking online.  People will go crazy with booking reservations and then will cancel when they finalize their plans.

Each park has Character Dining as well as some of the resorts.  When you look at your options be sure to look at whether it is a sit down meal or buffet and the average cost.  These are not cheap meals, but for us they were really worth it!  (Even my husband gave me a pat on the back for picking these dining experiences out!) Also pay attention to when characters will be there.  Some restaurants only offer characters at certain meals and things change so double check!!  If you go to a restaurant in a park you will have to pay admission to get into the park first.  The dining at the resorts do not require you to purchase a ticket to get in one of the parks.  You simply tell them you are there to dine and you walk into the resort/hotel. 

I don't want to keep repeating myself, (but I probably will because it was THAT good) so I will mention it here.  The service at every restaurant we went to was beyond excellent!  The wait staff anticipated our every need so we never waited for drinks and they gave the children extra special attention.  They definitely deserved hefty tips!

Magic Kingdom Character Dining:
Crystal Palace
This is a buffet meal that features Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet for lunch and dinner.  The characters also do a parade with the children.  We found the food to be a great variety and excellent as well as the service.

Cinderella's Royal Table
This was by far our favorite dining experience!  I can't say enough wonderful things about it!  I will admit that I was actually giddy at this point!  I took out Lola's "princess" dress and white gloves and got her dressed.  She was so excited and twirled around for all of us!  Before sitting down we had a family picture with Cinderella inside of the castle.  Your meal includes an 8x10 picture of Cinderella with you and a picture of the castle.  Our group had 7 people so we were given two pictures.  We did one of the entire family with Cinderella and one of Lola, our princess, with Cinderella.  Next it was up the winding steps of the tower to the dining room.  The room was how you would expect a castle dining area to look.  It was very regal.  I was disappointed that the windows were covered, but they are doing renovations in Toontown so they don't want you looking over construction.  That didn't take away from the experience however.

This meal was pricey and you are required to pay for it when you make your reservation, but it is soooo worth it!!  The food was exquisite!  I had prime rib.  Again the staff was phenomenal!  We were called "my lady" "princess" "prince" "queen" "king" and "my lord".  The kids were treated like royalty and received the most attention.  We were greeted by four princesses.  They do an entire presentation before each princess appears.  The anticipation was fun for everyone.  We were personally visited by Snow White, Belle - Beauty and the Beast, Aurora - Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel - The Little Mermaid. 

The princesses even talked like their character in the movie!  Ariel called the kids star fish and Belle talked with Jackson about reading books and what his favorite book was!  I continue to be very impressed with Disney's efforts to make experiences like these ones that you won't forget and will want to have over and over again!!

We were also given wands and swords that we waved around with the characters for a presentation and a wishing star to make a wish on.  The swords were a huge hit for the boys and were hidden on the bottom of the stroller rather quickly!
This one is a must for everyone!!!!

Animal Kingdom Character Dining:

Tusker House 

This meal is a buffet and at this time characters are only present at breakfast.  The assortment of food was spectacular complete with Mickey shaped waffles!  The restaurant actually opens before the park and I would recommend going before the park opens.  It isn't often you are able to walk trails and take pictures with no one else around!  Also we were in a perfect location to go to the most popular ride first thing!  Donald Duck, Daisy, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse all visited our table and posed for pictures.  The children were also able to pick out a noise maker to dance with the characters!

Hollywood Studios Character Dining:

Hollywood & Vine

This is also a buffet that features characters for breakfast or lunch.  We did not go to this restaurant so didn't get to see characters from Disney Junior like Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, June, and Leo.

Epcot Character Dining:

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

Princesses grace the halls of this dining experience during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We did not attend this dining experience.  The breakfast looks like it is a family style sit down meal and it looks like lunch and dinner are Norway style buffet options.  I'm not really sure what that all means so you may want to go to the link and check it out!

The Garden Grill Restaurant

This is a rotating restaurant that features Chip and Dale.  As you enjoy your family style dinner you can also watch as you rotate by the Land Pavilion.  This option is only available at dinner time and was not one that we visited although it looks like it would be fun!

Character Dining in the Resorts:

(We had made reservations at Chef Mickey's for a breakfast, but found we were running around too much and needed a break so we cancelled them.  Unfortunately we didn't make it to any of the character dining experiences at the resorts.)

Chef Mickey's

This dining experience is one of the most popular options and is in the Contemporary Resort.  This is a buffet that is available for breakfast or dinner and features Mickey and some of his buddies.  They dress in their chef outfits and take a break from preparing the food to greet everyone.

1900 Park Fare
This buffet meal features the characters from Alice in Wonderland for breakfast.  For the dinner buffet Cinderella, Prince Charming and other storybook characters will join you.  1900 Park Fare also features a special tea time for children.  This sounds like super fun!  The children get special "tea", finger paint, and get to decorate and then eat cupcakes with friends from Alice in Wonderland!  1900 Park Fare is located in the Grand Floridan Resort.

Cape May Cafe
Located at Disney's Club Beach Resort, this venue offers a breakfast buffet with Goofy and friends.

Garden Grove
Savor your meal while you marvel at the beautiful 25-foot oak tree that stands majestically at the restaurant's center. For the perfect family dining experience, delight in Disney Character Dining with nightly themed buffets or at breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays.  This venue is located at Disney World Swan Resort.

Garden View Tea Room
This unique restaurant in the Grand Floridian offers character dining at lunch with an all you can eat set menu and it also offers a special tea!
My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party
The Garden View Tea Lounge hosts My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party, a fantasy-come-true with exciting gifts for your special princess (or prince). Princess Aurora may even join the fun at this enchanting party.
Girls 3 to11 years old are encouraged to attend dressed as their favorite Disney Princess, and a parent will need to accompany the young Royal. Your hostess, an enchanted rose called Rose Petal or one of her magical friends, will entertain the princesses with storytelling and songs. As they sip tea (which magically tastes like juice), the girls will receive the royal treatment and perhaps a special visit from Princess Aurora or another regal guest.
Each princess receives a selection of gifts as a keepsake of her storybook morning:

• A special 18-inch My Disney Girl doll dressed in a matching Princess Aurora gown plus accessories
• Her own ribbon tiara, silver Princess link bracelet, fresh rose, special princess scrapbook page and a "Best Friend" certificate

Young princes who are invited to the tea will receive a plush Duffy the Disney Bear and a Mickey pirates cap.
Disney Characters who appear:

• Princess Aurora - Sleeping Beauty

This sounds super fun and I think Lola would LOVE it!!

Ohana
If you would like to experience a meal with Lilo and Stitch with a true Polynesian feel, head over to Disney's Polynesian Resort for a family style breakfast at Ohana.

Those are the character dining experiences that are offered at Disney at the moment.  Be sure to check on-line to see if they add more and to reserve your spot as soon as possible!  You won't be sorry when you are able to sit in a nice atmosphere, eat awesome food, have the kids entertained, and get great photos of your group with characters you all love without the lines!

Disney Fast Pass

Disney Fast Passes are really convenient to use if you use them wisely!  Here are a few things to know!

A Fast Pass (FP) is basically a ticket to cut in line for a ride.  You go to a machine, which is by the ride and put in your entrance ticket.  Out spits your ticket and your FP.  Be sure to take both tickets with you! 

There is a separate line at the ride for people who have a Fast Pass.  On your ticket it will say when you can get in the FP line.  It will tell you an hour time frame to get into line.  However, you can use the FP anytime after the first time listed.  So if your FP says to come back between 12:30 and 1:30, it is acceptable to go back at 4:00 and get in the FP line.

There will also be a time listed on your ticket of when you can get your next FP.  So, you will not be able to go from ride to ride collecting FPs.  You will have to wait until the time listed.  If you are in a big group and not all of your group wants to ride the same rides you can use their tickets to get FPs to other rides.  My two little ones were too small to go on the Tower of Terror and the Rock'n'Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios so my husband took our five tickets so he could get FPs for both the rides for him and our older son.

Not all of the rides have a FP and you don't need a FP for some of the rides that have them depending on when you are there.  If you look at my Disney notes you will see the rides that it is recommended that you get a FP.  For some of the more popular rides they can run out of FPs pretty early in the day so if there is a popular ride you absolutely must ride on be sure to get in line for it early or get a FP!

Also, for some of the most popular rides the FP lines will get longer as the day goes on!  It is better to ride them as soon as possible!  We got a FP first thing for Soarin' at Epcot, but didn't get in the FP line until around 3:00.  The normal line said it would take 2 hours to get through!  The FP line took an hour!

For the most part getting a Fast Pass will save you a lot of time so you can enjoy more of what there is to experience at Disney World!

Animal Kingdom - Disney

Below you will find a link to my main blog with my take and experiences in the Animal Kingdom!
Disney - Day 3 -Animal Kingdom in Adventure and Attitude

Epcot - Walt Disney World

On our second day we went to Epcot.  I thought that Epcot was more of a park for adults, but we could have spent two days having fun there!  See my blog here about Epcot!