Too many character meals?

[disneywishesmom]

We are doing a short four night trip in May. I am wondering if I am doing too many character meals? We have a DS 9, DD 6 and DS 2.

Saturday: Garden Grill (dinner)
Sunday: CRT (dinner)
Monday: Tusker House (Brunch; 10:20)
Tuesday: BOG (dinner, I know not technically a character meal but will see the beast)

All other meals will be counter service.

 

[Abby Hill]

If you love the characters, then no problem! My (limited) experience with character meals is that they take time to wait for all of the characters to come around. If you don't mind spending the extra time, why not! if you want more park time, then maybe cut Garden Grill or Tusker House. I believe they have the same characters.

 

[married2mm]

I believe if you & your children will enjoy them-that's all that matters.

Clearly character meals are intrinsically linked to a disney trip; it's not your everyday kind of dining-so go for it!!

 

[piglet1979]

I love Character meals so i don't think you have too many. With that said I agree with what @Abby Hill has said.

 

[KenHutch]

Remember while it does take a bit longer to see the characters a meal like Chef Mickeys can save you 1-3 hours of waiting in lines at the parks. As to the question of to many. You have kids, ask them and they will probably want more. I am the sad veteran of eating at least once in every character meal except Cape May. At 17 I thought my daughter was done with them when she told me to add Trattoria al Forno and Garden Grill.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

I say go for it. The food at those places is good. Characters will be different (I think with the exception of Mickey at TH and GG, but he'll have different outfits.) BOG won't feel like a character meal even though the Beast will be there as you leave.

 

[JennyDrake]

I think it's "a lot" given the length of your trip and the ages of your kids. Including travel, wait and eating time, you are talking about 2-3 hours PER MEAL. That's a lot of ask of little ones that may be *done* or *done in*.

 

[Lisa F]

I don't think it's a lot at all, and they definitely aren't going to take 2-3 hours to accomplish since they are all presumably at parks where you are already going to be. Our park days would be a lot more brutal without the long relaxing breaks that TS meals accomplish. If they were all buffets it might be a bit much, but you have a good mix of cuisines, characters and experiences (buffet, TS and family style). You also have some of my favorites (my son won't do CRT though lol). I think it sounds great! We did GG breakfast, CP breakfast, BoG dinner in 2 full and 2 half days at the parks (so one a day) and then a cruise then 'Ohana after one more half park day before departing. It was not too many and worked out great!

 

[Floridaman999]

According to my granddaughter there can never be too many character meals.

 

[Lisa F]

According to my granddaughter there can never be too many character meals.

my son too. He is only going to be this age for so long. I am taking him back in 2019 when he will have his first trip as a disney adult and he will be 10. After that we'll take a couple of years off to do other stuff and he'll be 12-13 by the time we get back. It goes by just like that. Some day he won't want the character meals and I'll be sad.

 

[disneywishesmom]

I don't think it's a lot at all, and they definitely aren't going to take 2-3 hours to accomplish since they are all presumably at parks where you are already going to be. Our park days would be a lot more brutal without the long relaxing breaks that TS meals accomplish. If they were all buffets it might be a bit much, but you have a good mix of cuisines, characters and experiences (buffet, TS and family style). You also have some of my favorites (my son won't do CRT though lol). I think it sounds great! We did GG breakfast, CP breakfast, BoG dinner in 2 full and 2 half days at the parks (so one a day) and then a cruise then 'Ohana after one more half park day before departing. It was not too many and worked out great!

Of the ones we are going to Garden Grill is the only one I have never done before. I keep hearing that the food is good and the character interactions are wonderful. It will be my 2 year olds first time meeting Mickey! I love that he is dressed like a farmer because that is what my husband does for a living. Should make a cute picture!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Sounds like a great plan to me.

Going to restaurants with kids that age can be a chore unless the kids are happy and entertaining themselves in ways that aren’t making you crazy. (Like fingerpainting a window with pudding when you weren’t looking for like two minutes.)

When the kids are happy, so are the parents.

BTW, while it’s not a traditional character meal, my family group (four toddler/baby girls) really enjoyed the experience at BOG.

They have one of your kids lead your party to the table with a Lumiere candelabra when you are seated. Every 20 minutes or so, they announce (with trumpets) that the Master is in the House. The beast walks through the restaurant while the guests applaud and wave.

It’s really a fun place. Our kids loved their child’s steak dinners, and I loved the Chimay Blue ale.

 

[Mac30188]

It seems like a good plan for those ages. I would much rather sit in a restaurant, rest my legs and feet, and let the characters come to me then stand in line. It always feels to me that character lines are longer, slower, and typically less interesting then most other lines. That goes double when you have a number of companions with little legs.

 

[kniquy]

I think if you only have one character/TS meal per day then it is fine -TS meals can take up a lot of your time. The only issue with TS meals is sometime the times you pick/get and if they work with your kids schedule. You have mostly dinner, so a dinner at 4 or 5 would work well but something later like 7pm might be too much for the 2 yo (when this is typically they are heading to bed). The TS meals can be a nice break from the parks. The great thing is, if you decide that you much change things up then cancel the night before (at least you should be with all except CRT).

 

[married2mm]

According to my granddaughter there can never be too many character meals.

My eldest dd is 30 and is super excited for all the character meals we have planned for our upcoming trip.
And all the super immersive Disney specialities:

Crystal palace
Garden grill
Hollywood & vine
Akerhus
1900pf
Tusker house
Bon voyage breakfast
CRT
Be our guest (dinner)
Scifi diner
50's prime time
Sanaa
Hoop Dee doo
Liberty tree tavern
Jiko

 

[Mrspeaks]

I don’t think it’s too much. On a short trip this will help you see a lot of characters and free up that time to be on rides versus waiting for meet and greets.

 

[jliucci]

I don't think its too much! We have 5 planned for our 6 night stay in November. I agree with the others, its better to sit down and relax and have the characters come to us then wait in line in the heat! Plus your kids are at a great age for them.

 

[dachsie]

Of the ones we are going to Garden Grill is the only one I have never done before. I keep hearing that the food is good and the character interactions are wonderful. It will be my 2 year olds first time meeting Mickey! I love that he is dressed like a farmer because that is what my husband does for a living. Should make a cute picture!

Then there is your answer. Keep them all. You will enjoy them and it wont take 2-3 hours. You will enjoy the break from the heat and walking

 

[Lisa F]

It seems like a good plan for those ages. I would much rather sit in a restaurant, rest my legs and feet, and let the characters come to me then stand in line. It always feels to me that character lines are longer, slower, and typically less interesting then most other lines. That goes double when you have a number of companions with little legs.

they are. My son cannot tolerate them and would rather skip than deal, so we do a lot of character meals.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

According to my granddaughter there can never be too many character meals.

Smart girl right there. The only rule I would use is avoid repeating characters.

For my Birthday trip, I currently have --

Day 2 (PPO): Akershus (Princesses)
Day 3: 1900 Park Fare (Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins)
Day 5 (PPO): Hollywood & Vine (Disney Junior)
Day 6 (PPO): Tusker House (Mickey & Friends)

I may drop Tusker House if Disney opens earlier on that date. H&V and Akershus, I will keep (may tweak time if I can) regardless of park hours. 1900 PF might get dropped for something else.