Character Dining at Disney World – What You Need to Know

Meeting your favorite Disney characters is usually a top priority for most guests visiting Disney World. While visiting characters can certainly be done on a whim, for the best experience possible, it’s best to have a plan with you at the beginning of the trip. That plan begins with knowing where the characters are located in the parks and restaurants.

Character dining at Disney World is a great way to meet many characters at once and enjoy a delicious meal at the same time. Character dining at resorts is also a great way to meet the characters without going into the parks. You can still enjoy some character magic if your park days are limited. Here are six things you need to know to have a fantastic experience with Character Dining at Disney World.

6 – Know Where The Characters Are

Character Dining offers the advantage of meeting multiple characters in one setting. But the key here is to know what characters you want to check off your list. Here are the restaurants that have character dining in the parks and resorts. Please note that in-park dining requires an admission ticket.

Current Character Dining Experiences Offered

The Garden Grill: Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Harvest Feast (Epcot)

• Chip ‘N’ Dale, Farmer Mickey, and Pluto

Cinderella’s Royal Table (Magic Kingdom)

• Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine

Hollywood & Vine: Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine (Breakfast)

• Fancy Nancy, Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and Roadster Racer Goofy

Hollywood & Vine: Minnie’s Seasonal Dining (Lunch and Dinner) (Hollywood Studios)

• Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy

Tusker House (Animal Kingdom)

• Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse, and friends

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy

Breakfast a la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort

• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck

Story Book Dining at Artists Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

• Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, Evil Queen

Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch at O’hana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

• Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey Mouse (note: Mickey is not guaranteed)

Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at Cape May Cafe at Disney’s Yacht Club

• Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Donald Duck

The Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom)

• Winnie the Pooh and Pals

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot)

• Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Cinderella, and Mary Poppins

1900 Park Fare (Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort)

• Maribel, Tiana, Cinderella, Aladdin

Note: Character appearances are not guaranteed and are subject to change.

5 – Choose the Right Experience and Time

There are many considerations in choosing the right meal. Here are some questions to consider:

• Which characters do you want to meet?
• What time of day is the dining offered?
• What park do I want to be at that day?
• Are there offerings at the park I’m at that day? or close by?
• How late will we be up the night before? Should we get up early the next morning?

Overall, you simply need to consider what kind of food you want, what park you want to be at that day, and if considering breakfast, how early you want to wake up. Going to Magic Kingdom for the day makes sense if you want to eat at any Magic Kingdom resort.

When choosing what time to enjoy your meal, remember that most character dining experiences take anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours, including travel time. So, while a 9 a.m. breakfast might be easier because you can sleep in, that means you will not get to the park until 11 a.m. That might be perfect for you, but if your goal is to get the most time in the parks, you may need to get up early for your meal.

For dinner experiences inside the park, keep in mind when the park closes that day. You don’t want to lose precious park time by making a 5:00 pm dinner reservation when the park closes at 7:00 pm. By the time you are done with your meal, you’ll have to leave. When a park closes early (between 5:00-7:00 pm), schedule your meal closer to closing so that you have more time for rides.

4 – Make Your Reservations Early

More and more, early planning and reservations are needed for dining at Disney World. Advance reservations are essential for character dining, especially Chef Mickey’s and Cinderella’s Royal Table. You may make reservations up to 60 days before your visit. If you are a Disney Resort guest, you may make reservations 60 days before the day you check in plus ten days after (which gives you an advantage over the general public). On that day, you may make reservations for your entire trip. The easiest way to make reservations is using the online reservation system on the Disney website, or you may call 407-WDW-DINE.

3 – Be Prepared for Your Meet & Greet at Your Table

When the time has come for your meal, you will be seated at your table. Usually, the greeter will let you know when the characters will be making their way over to you. Since most character meals are buffets where you leave your table to get your food, this is essential information to have. You need to be aware of where the characters are when getting your food. Characters follow a set pattern, and you can usually see them making their way around. Sometimes, we were visited by characters immediately, and sometimes, we waited over 20 minutes for them to reach our table. Don’t worry; they will come…

2 – The Characters Will Come to You

Each character follows a set pattern around the room and will come to your table in turn. You will want to assure young children in the party not to worry; the characters will be coming. Have autograph books ready to go, as well as your cameras. Unlike the parks, there are no Disney PhotoPass photographers who follow the characters to the table. So, if you want pictures, you need to have your camera ready. Like the parks, characters will spend an appropriate time with your family. Just be considerate of others waiting.

If a character misses your table for some reason, don’t be afraid to let a cast member know. One time, there was some confusion in our area, and Minnie accidentally missed us. Naturally, we had some sad children. So I just told a cast member, and they assured us that Minnie would come back to greet them. After a while, she did come back, and everyone was happy.

NOTE: Some restaurants feature group pictures before the meal, but not all do.

1 – Enjoy the Food

This may seem obvious, but make sure to take the time to actually eat your food. Once, I was so busy worrying about pictures that I barely ate anything. These meals are hardly inexpensive, so make sure you get the full value of the meal and enjoy the food. The food is usually delicious, especially those Mickey waffles!