More Disney Dining- Character Meals

There are still even more character meals to consider when planning a trip to Walt Disney World! 

One of them will have the preschool set rejoicing- Playhouse Disney's Play n" Dine at Hollyood & Vine located in Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Imagine a breakfast or lunch filled with music and dancing with the Little Einsteins or Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  The kids love doing the "Hot Dog" dance with their favorite characters!  My kids loved this when they were younger and I know that my youngest will love this too when we go in November.  It's a lot of fun and a great buffet with something for everyone. 

The next character meal I'll tell you about is located in Disney's Polynesian Resort's popular restaurant 'Ohana.  Only available at breakfast, this meal features Lilo and Stich and appearances by Mickey in his luau gear!  Now, I haven't been to this one yet, but it gets good reviews from those who have.  This one is typical American breakfast food served family style at your table.  Think bacon, eggs, potatoes, Mickey waffles, and juice.

Disney Dining- Character Meals cont.

At Walt Disney World, there are so many choices about where to eat!  And, of course with kids, you want to remember to book the character meals well in advance so that you won't miss out!  As I said before, it is great to not have to stand in line to meet your child's favorite character!  They'll come right to your table!

Ok, so let's discuss the popular character meal in Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Tusker House restaurant, the Donald's Safari meals.  They now serve breakfast and lunch with Donald (who greets you outside), Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and the hard to find Daisy and they are all in their safari gear.  This is a really fun buffet that has some really good food!  There is typical buffet food, but there are also choices that are African inspired.  In fact, the lunch here is one of or favorites because of the unique choices!  Breakfast has more American choices (think donuts and bacon), but there are some new things to try.  There is a fun parade for the kids with musical instrunments and believe me the kids will love it!

Next, let's move to the Magic Kingdom to the Crystal Palace restaurant where Winnie the Pooh and Friends circulate at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  This restaurant is really beautiful and the buffet options are wonderful!  And, a really fun option to consider is an early breakfast before the park opens.  You will experience an almost empty Main Street!  The pictures that you can get of your kids walking down Main Street will be fantastic!  But, as always, remember to make your reservation early!  As early as 180 days in advance!

More character dining options to come!  Stay tuned!!

Disney Dining- Character Meals

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long!  It's been busy with the kids heading off to camp.
Today's topic is the Character Meals at Walt Disney World.  Everyone wants their kids to see their favorite characters and one of the best ways to do that is to schedule a character meal.  It isn't just at breakfast anymore!  You can now schedule meals any time of the day.  And, the best news is that the characters come right to your table so there is no huge line to wait in!  How great is that?  You need to plan ahead though because some of these wonderful restaurants can fill up quick. 

Let's talk about some of them right now and then I'll try give more in-depth information about each one in particular at another time.
 
The one character meal that people think of first is the one at Cinderella's Castle.  Doesn't everyone dream of eating in the castle? They now offer princess' breakfast, lunch and dinner in the castle! 

This is one of the ones that you will have to make reservations for well in advance.  And, keep in mind, that it is very expensive and if you are on the Disney Dining Plan it is 2 table service credits per person.  I truly believe everyone has to eat here once, but this is something that you should save for a special occasion.  Cinderella is usually the greeter here and you will get a photo package with your meal.  There are also appearances by other princess' and friends (Mary Poppins). 

A great alternative to the castle for a fun princess meal is Akershus in Epcot.   This restaurant also has breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a variety of princess' who make an appearance.  It also includes a photo package usually with Belle in her beautiful yellow ball gown.  It is only 1 table service per person, so this may be a better option if you are on the Disney Dining Plan.  We have been here once and loved it.  We are planning to go again this fall.

Another must do character meal is Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort.  This is the classic Disney character dining experience and you'll get to see Mickey, Minnie,, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto!  This restaurant has breakfast and dinner and you must make reservations early to get a decent time!  It is so much fun here and is well worth the trip to the Contemporary.  We go here every year and really wouldn't miss it for anything! 

In my next post, we'll discuss some of the other character meals and the characters at each so that you can pick where you should go!



Disney Rides- Dumbo

One of the most popular Disney rides is Dumbo at the Magic Kingdom.  Who doesn't love flying through the air on that lovable elephant?  Kids young and old love this ride and it is even better now!  With a new que (waiting area) and now 2 identical sets of Dumbo rides, this ride is going to get even more popular! 

The new que is interactive and lets parents sit and rest while the kids run around the "Big Top" and play.  Guests will receive a pager, similar to those used at restaurants, that will tell you when it's your turn to ride.  No more waiting in that long line that winds around endlessly.  And, even better, you don't have to wait in the hot Florida sun.  The new circus tent is air-conditioned!!

This looks really fun and is a wonderul addition to the new Storybook Circus area that is a part of the Fantasyland expansion project.  Disney is really on a mission to make new ques that everyone can enjoy while waiting in line.

One important thing to remember if you want to ride this new and improved Dumbo- go early in the morning!  It will get crowded early!

Disney Increases Prices and More

Well, it happens every year and this year is no exception.  Disney has increased the price of park tickets.  It wasn't much this year, but any increase is a headache.  It is now $89 for adults and $83 for kids for a one day, one park pass.  Now, I always tell people that you should stay at Disney as long as you can because then your per day price goes down dramatically!  The longer you stay the less you pay!  You really need at least 2 days for the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and at least 1 whole day for Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.  Ideally, it would be best to have 2 full days at each park and have some time to explore Downtown Disney too!

Now, on to other news.  The Fantasmic Dining Packages finally opened up for November.  But, guess what?  I didn't book it.  Why?  Well, for one the times that that had opened for Mama Melrose were horrible!  As a family, we eat lunch early (11:00) and dinner at around 4:30.  They were giving me 1:20 times.  After thinking about it, I decided it just wasn't worth it.  We'll just do Fantasmic the regular way and hope we can get a seat in the back of the theater.  Also, this allowed me to go back to my original plan of trying out the Cape May Cafe for dinner on one of our Hollywood Studios days.  Did you know they have a boat that goes from the Beach Club Resort to Hollywood Studios?  It sounds fun to try anyway!

Southwest openend up their flights through January this morning, so I was also able to book our flights!  I got really good times and used points that we had, so we hardly had to pay anything.  I was really happy to finally get that part done!

One more thing, Disney has not yet opened the package rates for next year, but they should soon.  So, I'm keeping my eye on it for several people.  If you want to be added to my list for a quote email me at kerri@fairytaledreamtravels.com