The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney World Character Dining

Character Dining Locations at Disney World

Here is a list of the character dining locations at Walt Disney World.

• The Crystal Palace
• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Garden Grill Restaurant
• Hollywood and Vine
• Tusker House Restaurant
• Chef Mickey’s
• 1900 Park Fare
• ‘Ohana
• Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
• Cape May Café
• Topolino’s Terrace, Flavors of the Riviera
• Be Our Guest *

*Disney does not consider Be Our Guest a formal character dining location. However, the Beast is known to appear during dinner. Unfortunately, his appearance is not guaranteed.

The Crystal Palace

Next, we have The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom. The Crystal Palace is off Main Street, U.S.A., serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is a buffet-style meal. While this is a popular location, reservations can usually be obtained relatively quickly, given the restaurant’s large capacity.

Positives: Crystal Palace is the only place at Walt Disney World where you can meet Piglet and Eeyore, except for the seasonal extra-ticketed parties at Halloween and Christmas.

Negatives: You have to eat at some point during the day. However, reserving a full-service meal at Magic Kingdom can take away valuable time in the park if you only have one day.

Characters: Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore

Resorts Gal Review: The Crystal Palace Breakfast Review with Winnie the Pooh and Friends

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

At Epcot, we’ll stop at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion for Princess Storybook Dining. This popular location serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The meals offer a combination of a buffet and entree selection. At breakfast, a family-style skillet with traditional items is brought to the table instead of individual entrees, while at lunch and dinner, guests order an individual selection. The buffets at both meals offer a taste of Norwegian cuisine.

Positives: Akershus is among the few places to dine with Disney Princesses. The restaurant offers a royal setting, and the interaction between the characters is always fun.

Negatives: Like the other theme park character meals, Akershus will take up a decent amount of touring time. However, there aren’t many “princess-related” activities at Epcot. Therefore, this meal might be the right thing to add if you visit with little ones who love seeing Disney princesses.

Characters at Akershus: Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, Ariel, Tiana, and Mulan are all part of the princess rotation. You can expect to see five of these princesses during the meal.

Resorts Gal Review: Akershus Princess Character Breakfast Review

Garden Grill Restaurant

Garden Grill is another character dining location at Epcot. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is located on the upper floor of the Land Pavilion in the World Nature section of the park. Garden Grill is unique because it slowly rotates while you dine. During the rotation, you’ll eventually get a behind-the-scenes look at the Living with the Land attraction. This meal is usually referred to as Chip and Dale’s Harvest Feast.

Positives: Not many restaurants rotate while you dine, so a meal here is somewhat considered a unique experience. Additionally, you get to see Mickey Mouse dressed as a farmer.

Negatives: Meals are presented family-style, and the menu is limited. It’s kind of like eating at the lunchroom cafeteria. You are out of luck if you don’t like what’s served.

Characters at Garden Grill: Chip, Dale, Mickey (Farmer), and Pluto

Hollywood and Vine

Hollywood and Vine is the only character dining location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This restaurant is directly behind Echo Lake, near the park’s entrance. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, character dining works differently than other restaurants. At breakfast, guests meet popular Disney Junior Characters exclusive to the Disney Junior Play n’ Dine Breakfast. However, the restaurant transitions to Minnie’s Seasonal Dine during lunch and dinner. The theme of this meal changes every few months to represent the season.

Positives: Kids get to see some of their favorite television characters. Overall, the buffet at Hollywood and Vine offers a variety of items and consistently gets decent reviews.

Negatives: Unfortunately, the food is pretty generic. While some items might stand out, most items are pretty basic. However, that is the case with many of the character restaurants. Most of the food is the same quality as what you would get at a quick-service restaurant.

Characters at Breakfast: Vampirina, Fancy Nancy, Doc McStuffins, Goofy

Characters at Dinner: Minnie Mouse hosts the dinner and is typically joined by Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto. Here are the names of Minnie’s seasonal dining experiences at Hollywood and Vine:

• Minnie’s Holiday Dine
• Silver Screen Dine
• Springtime Dine
• Summertime Dine
• Halloween Dine

Tusker House Restaurant

Tusker House is the sole character dining location at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast is called Donald’s Safari Breakfast. Tusker House is in the Africa section of the park near the Festival of the Lion King. It is known for its buffet, which features standard fare mixed with African cuisine. Signature breakfast items include zebra coffee cake, Mickey waffles, Simba waffles, and rotisserie meats.

Positives: Tusker House is a popular character dining experience where you can meet a few classic characters in unique outfits. The buffet is often considered a step above similar types of experiences.

Negatives: Like other character meals in the parks, you must have valid admission. A meal here could take up valuable touring time.

Characters at Tusker House: Donald Duck and Friends in Safari Suits (Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse)

Resorts Gal Review: Tusker House Breakfast Review

1900 Park Fare

1900 Park Fare is the character dining restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The restaurant serves breakfast and dinner. Some might consider a late breakfast for brunch. This location typically seats guests until 12:00 p.m. It then closes and reopens in the early evening for dinner.

Positives: 1900 Park Fare is an excellent location for meeting a few harder-to-find characters. Plus, it’s always lovely to visit the Grand Floridian. The strawberry soup is very popular!

Negatives: Make sure to plan transportation for any resort dining experience. Sometimes, resort dining reservations can be challenging to get to if you aren’t staying nearby.

Characters: Aladdin (as Prince Ali), Cinderella, Mirabel, and Tiana (Disney notes that characters could vary.)

Resorts Gal Review: 1900 Park Fare Character Breakfast Review

Chef Mickey’s

Next, we’ll take the monorail to Disney’s Contemporary Resort to check out their character dining option. Chef Mickey’s is a buffet-style restaurant that serves breakfast and dinner.

Positives: When dining at Chef Mickey’s, you see the monorail going by overhead, which is fun. The characters dress as chefs, a fun touch for the fabulous five!

Negatives: This meal is overpriced for what most will consider mediocre food. You are paying for location and characters when you eat here. It’s also fairly loud and busy.

Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto

Overall, Chef Mickey’s can be fun. But the food has never been anything to write home about.

‘Ohana

Our next stop for character dining is ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. This location only offers character dining during breakfast. The restaurant is on the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House at Disney’s Polynesian. This dining experience is called the Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch.

Positives: ‘Ohana is an excellent location to meet several rare characters. Additionally, the location and atmosphere are delightful. We’ve always had excellent service.

Negatives: On our last few visits, we’ve waited long past our reservation time to be seated. The food is okay, but it’s pretty average.

Characters: Mickey Mouse (Hawaiian), Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto

Resorts Gal Review: ‘Ohana Character Breakfast Review

Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White

Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White is another popular character dining meal at Walt Disney World, located off the lobby of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Dinner is the only meal offered at this location. The restaurant offers a prix fixe menu where you select an entree, appetizer, and dessert.

Positives: Some characters at this meal are exceptionally rare, especially the Evil Queen from Snow White.

Negatives: We have not been big fans of the food at this location, but we’ll make an exception to meet these characters.

Characters: Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and the Evil Queen

Cape May Cafe

Moving on to Disney’s Beach Club Resort, we’ll look at their popular character breakfast location at Cape May Cafe. This restaurant only offers characters at breakfast. The dining experience is called Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast, which is served buffet-style.

Positives: Cape May Cafe provides the opportunity to meet classic characters in their beach attire, and the character interaction is always excellent.

Negatives: While we love this character dining location, the food is average.

Characters: Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck

Resorts Gal Review: Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast Review

Topolino’s Terrace

Finally, we’ve arrived at our top choice for best character dining at Walt Disney World: Topolino’s Terrace, located at Disney’s Riviera Resort. This restaurant only offers characters during its special Breakfast a la Art with Mickey and Friends.

Positives: This is the best food we’ve had at any character meal at Disney World, and the classic characters are endearing. 

Negatives: Disney’s Riviera Resort might be challenging to get to in the morning unless you are a hotel guest or staying nearby.

Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald, and Daisy Duck

Resorts Gal Review: Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast Review

Other Character Dining at Walt Disney World

When planning character meals, you might want to be aware of a few other things. For starters, Disney Springs does not have character dining. If you’re looking for a kid-friendly meal at Disney Springs, try T-Rex or Rainforest Cafe.

As mentioned earlier, Be Our Guest is commonly called character dining. However, Disney does not consider this meal character dining, and the Beast’s appearance is not guaranteed. That said, we saw the Beast on our last visit and were given an autograph card.

Related: Be Our Guest Review

• Ravello at the Four Seasons Resort in Orlando offers a character breakfast called the Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and His Pals.

• Sadly, Mickey’s Backyard BBQ permanently closed a few years back. However, guests can visit Fort Wilderness to see Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Campfire Sing-Along, a complimentary offering available most evenings.

• Unfortunately, Garden Grove, the character meal at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Hotel, is no longer offered, and there is no mention of its return.

• As of this update, we have no information on the return of Grand Floridian’s Wonderland Tea Party or the Perfectly Princess Tea Party. While these were not formal character dining experiences, they included food and characters.

• The Bon Voyage Breakfast, formerly held at Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s Boardwalk, closed several years ago and will likely not return.

How Character Dining Works

When it comes to character dining at Disney World, it can be challenging to select the right experience. Many guests book meals based on what they’ve heard others recommend. While it’s great to take recommendations from friends and family, knowing that a meal like this is an investment is essential. An average family of four typically spends $250.00 or more on one character dining experience. That money could go toward other extras like adding a day to your park tickets or upgrading to the park hopper option.

So, it’s wise to research and find the meal that best works for your family. That might be a meal based on what characters are available. Or, you could choose a restaurant based on the food quality, with the characters as a bonus.

Another important factor is making your reservations as soon as possible. Many character dining locations fill up within minutes of the reservation window opening. Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort can begin making reservations 60 days out, plus the length of their stay. Off-property guests can begin making reservations 60 days out, one day at a time. Therefore, you will need to plan your dining reservations early. I highly recommend using an authorized Disney travel agent who will reserve your accommodations and help secure your dining reservations. You do not want to miss any sought-after meals or experiences.

After arriving at the restaurant, you’ll check in at the hostess stand or through the My Disney Experience app. When your table is ready, you’ll receive a text notification. Once seated, your server will provide everyone with an overview of how the meal works. You’ll probably see characters visiting with other families around you. If not, they will return shortly.

A cast member accompanies the characters. Often, this person stays in the background, so you might not notice them. They watch the characters meeting at tables and ensure they visit an entire section before moving on to the next one. If a character is at a table next to you and they appear to skip you, don’t worry. They have a specific order to follow.

However, with the characters in full costume, they can easily get turned around. Ideally, if they skip you, the character handler will send them back your way before the next break. Or the cast member might walk over and make you aware that you’ll be next when the characters return. By the end of the meal, your server will confirm that you have met all the characters. They usually come by and say something like you’re just waiting to meet Jasmine, right?

Over the last decade, we’ve eaten at numerous character dining locations. I can attest that cast members do an excellent job ensuring every table is visited.

Disney Character Dining Photos 

Unfortunately, character dining experiences (with a few exceptions) do not have PhotoPass photographers present to take photos. So you’ll want to have your phone or camera out and ready when the characters come by the table. Those exceptions are meals like Cinderella’s Royal Table and Akershus Princess Dining. These two locations usually have a princess greeting guests with a special photo opportunity at the restaurant’s entrance.

Another exception is Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White. At this character meal, the Evil Queen occasionally stands in the center of the Enchanted Forest. She doesn’t come to the table, but guests can stand in line to meet her and have their picture taken with her. In these instances, a photographer typically takes photos with the character. If applicable, the PhotoPass photographer will scan your band or ticket, and the images will appear in your My Disney Experience account. (A Memory Maker package might be required to access these photos.)

Unfortunately, no photographers can take pictures at any restaurant when the characters visit your table. Therefore, make sure to have something readily available for photos.

Autographs

Another essential thing to remember is that many of the characters sign autographs. So, if your children want to collect autographs, be prepared with an autograph book. I recommend purchasing one before your vacation or picking one up at a gift shop when you arrive. Make sure to store it in your park bag so you’ll have it when you need it.

Word to the wise, you might not think your child will be interested in collecting autographs. But it only takes one instance of them seeing someone else getting a character’s signature. After that, most children will automatically want the same experience. Autograph books are a minimal investment. They also have plenty of pages to reuse on a future trip.

The restaurant will provide an autograph card if characters don’t sign autographs at a particular location. Here are a few we’ve collected. (Sometimes, the characters will still sign autographs even if a card is presented.)

Disney Character Dining Tips 

Here are a few tips for character dining at Disney World.

• Don’t forget to reserve your character dining experiences as soon as you become eligible.
• If you didn’t secure a desired reservation, check back often. The best time to secure a new reservation is when someone cancels. This usually happens within 30 days to a week before the start of your vacation.
• Know where you are going and how you will get there before your meal. Also, consider weather factors when traveling to your meal.
• If using free Disney transportation, allow a good hour to an hour-and-a-half for travel time. If you arrive late, explain your situation to the cast member, and they should fit you back into the schedule.
• Don’t forget to bring your camera and autograph books!
• If you visit a resort for a character meal, allow a little time to explore the resort before or after.

How to Get to Character Dining at Disney World

Traveling around Walt Disney World can be challenging if you aren’t familiar with the area. Here are a few tips to help you get to any character dining experience at the resorts.

For Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary:

• Anyone who wants to visit a monorail resort can simply take a bus to Magic Kingdom and then board the resort monorail to that resort.
• If traveling to Grand Floridian or Polynesian, you can also take a boat from Magic Kingdom to the resort.
• If visiting the Contemporary, simply walk over from Magic Kingdom.

You will have to go through security at Magic Kingdom to access these forms of transportation. However, you won’t have to walk through the ticket entry area.

For Wilderness Lodge:

Take a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Then, take a boat or bus to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. You will have to go through security at Magic Kingdom to access the resort boat launch, but it’s a beautiful ride.

For Disney’s Beach Club:

If you’re visiting Disney’s Beach Club, try these tips:

• Take a bus to Hollywood Studios from any resort and then do the following:
  • Use the Friendship Boat Service to get to either resort.
  • Walk the long pathway from Hollywood Studios to the Beach Club.
  • Take the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios to the International Gateway and walk to the Beach Club.

For Disney’s Riviera Resort:

Lastly, for anyone headed to Topolino’s at Disney’s Riviera Resort–take a bus to Hollywood Studios and then take the Skyliner to Disney’s Riviera.

If you’re visiting one of these resorts for breakfast, sometimes it might be better to use a car service or a Minnie Van. This option will cost extra. However, resort transfers can be more difficult early in the morning when the buses are focused more on getting guests to the parks instead of to and from them.

Final Thoughts on Character Dining

We hope you found this dining guide helpful in planning your character meals. Disney World is a tremendous vacation destination with plenty of dining options. We try to provide a concise overview of what’s available so you can discern what’s best for your travel party.

If you want to learn more about planning a Walt Disney World vacation, our quick start guide is an excellent place to start. You can sign up for it below. Or, if you’re concerned about the cost of your vacation, try our guide to creating a budget for a Disney World vacation. It’s a series of articles that comes with a complimentary spreadsheet.

Other planning resources include our Disney World Dining Guide, which will teach you the basics of dining at Walt Disney World, and our Disney transportation guide.

In the meantime, good luck planning your Disney World character dining! I hope it will be a genuinely worthwhile meal where you make many new memories.