What Are the Best Character Meals at Walt Disney World?
Have you ever experienced what Disney calls “dining with character” at a restaurant?
Walt Disney World currently hosts 11 different dining experiences wherein you interact with your favorite characters.
What are the best character meals at Walt Disney World? Here’s how I would rank them!
11. Tusker House Restaurant
Do you have a place where you’re almost afraid to go because something bad always happens?
That’s how I feel about Tusker House, a character meal that looks perfect on paper.
The menu at Tusker House highlights robust African flavors, differentiating it from other Disney buffets, most of which are stubbornly nondescript.
Also, any Disney fan will relish the adventure outfits that Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy wear here.
Ostensibly, this place should be perfect, and I fully understand why you probably disagree with me.
However, we had back-to-back experiences here so decidedly un-Disney that we’re never going back.
Despite this fact, I still warmly recommend the restaurant to others because it’s so well-regarded. We’ve just had terrible luck there.
10. Garden Grill Restaurant
On the one hand, I love dining at Garden Grill for the view.
This restaurant rotates slowly, thereby providing an unexpected view.
You can look down at certain times during your meal and notice some of the sets from Living with the Land.
In between your viewings, you’ll interact with Chip ‘n’ Dale, the hosts of this meal. Mickey Mouse typically appears in a farmer’s outfit as well.
I quite like the food here as well, but there’s a problem with the design of Garden Grill.
Due to the spinning platform, it’s fairly tight and challenging to navigate. I find the whole environment a bit claustrophobic.
9. The Crystal Palace
My favorite part about eating at Crystal Palace is the convenience rather than the character meal.
You’re dining on the corner of Main Street, U.S.A., making it one of the most accessible Magic Kingdom restaurants.
As for the food here, it’s…definitely food. As I indicated with Tusker House, many of Disney’s character meal buffets won’t dazzle you with the menu.
The idea is to serve a deep roster of populist entrees so that every guest will have plenty to eat.
I don’t mind that when the characters differentiate themselves, but the Hundred-Acre Wood crew at Crystal Palace lacks a wow factor.
I guess it’s because I’ve encountered Winnie the Pooh and his friends at the parks so many times. It’s no longer quite as special.
If you’re new to character meals, I highly recommend this one, though. It’s easy to find, and you’ll treasure the pictures.
8. Cape May Café
As someone who stays at Disney’s Beach Club Resort regularly, I’ve eaten at Cape May Café a lot.
Generally speaking, I prefer its sibling, Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, because I’m not a huge fan of seafood.
Still, I love this specific character meal, which is only available at breakfast.
Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast provides the vibe of a morning at the beach, even though you’re inside a restaurant. It’s just…happy.
I love waking up to this particular meal.
7. Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
Old-school fans of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge remember a time when Artist Point worked as a restaurant of last resort.
What I mean by that is when guests lacked Advanced Dining Reservations anywhere else, they could always rely on Artist Point to have an open table.
Alas, that knowledge frustrated Disney, which eventually rebooted the space in a big way.
When Disney introduced Storybook Dining, it immediately became THE most popular character meal at Walt Disney World.
The décor here creates the illusion that you’re dining within a fairy tale setting, where genteel Snow White and some of her Seven Dwarfs greet you.
The Evil Queen also appears to oversee the proceedings. It’s a lavish affair that I’m confident Walt Disney would have loved.
Alas, this experience is pricey, and the menu is…ambitious. It’s not for everyone, and I always fret about recommending it to finicky eaters.
6. Cinderella’s Royal Table
Okay, here’s the most challenging evaluation on this list.
On the one hand, you’ll never experience a more memorable setting in your life than when you dine at Cinderella’s Royal Table.
You walk into Cinderella Castle, and a cast member takes you behind a door that regular guests cannot visit.
I’m not really a red velvet rope kind of guy, but that’s a powerful moment.
Immediately afterward, you encounter the hostess of this meal, Cinderella herself.
Once you’re done at this photo op, you’ll head upstairs to a lavish dining area that’s overflowing with Disney Princesses.
Seriously, you can watch this video and count how many visit the table:
As for the cuisine here, it’s delicious. However, I’d also argue that a meal here is overpriced.
Disney knows that guests will pay any amount to eat inside the castle and prices the meal accordingly.
For this reason, I think of Cinderella’s Royal Table as a special occasion restaurant rather than a place that’s in my regular rotation.
Every other character meal we’re about to discuss is one I try to do at least every other vacation.
5. Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera
If you experience any of the top five character meals, you’ll have the time of your life.
While the cuisine isn’t as good at a couple of them, you won’t care because the character interactions are that good.
Topolino’s Terrace actually offers substantially better cuisine than the following two entries.
The beloved Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is so good that you’ll waste a lot of your phone’s storage space on pictures.
I’m only half-joking, and you’ll understand what I mean the first time that you lay eyes on Daisy and Minnie in their artistic outfits.
I just smiled while thinking about their costumes. They’re absolutely incredible. Still, I’m a sucker for the classics…
4. Hollywood & Vine
Here’s the smartest character meal at Walt Disney World.
I say this because Hollywood & Vine takes a seasonal approach to character dining.
Once a quarter, the characters update their look to fit the season.
For example, during the Yuletide season, you can expect Mickey and Minnie Mouse to wear red outfits, while Goofy often dresses like Santa.
During the fall season, my personal favorite, four of your favorite characters appear in their Halloween costumes!
You can see how delightful they are here:
Alas, Miranda and Jared are more positive about the cuisine here than I am. I think it’s thoroughly mediocre.
In truth, the best meals I’ve had here date back to the old Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine.
Otherwise, this place is home to chicken fingers, pizza, and ice cream for me. I am definitely not getting my money’s worth on the food.
The instant I see Minnie Mouse in her spooky cobwebs, I feel like it’s money well spent, though.
3. Chef Mickey’s
Here’s where the conversation grows the most challenging for me.
Anyone who knows me or has read my work for years knows that I favor three specific character meals over all the rest.
We try to eat at each of them during every Walt Disney World vacation.
Chef Mickey’s has become the most challenging because it’s one of the most difficult Advanced Dining Reservations to book.
People love this place and scarf up reservations like they’re Apple stock.
Why is Chef Mickey’s so popular? I can assure you that the explanation isn’t the food.
The cuisine here is on a par with Hollywood & Vine, and it might be even worse. This is cafeteria food disguised as a buffet. And you won’t care at all.
I say that because Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto are your servers, and they dress accordingly.
Frankly, some of the most joyful character encounters I’ve had with Disney characters have occurred at Chef Mickey’s.
This place is pure Disney magic.
2. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Still, there are two words in the phrase, “character meal.” And the food is objectively better – and I mean by several touchdowns – at Akershus.
The Norwegian cuisine here is delectable and in the conversation for best overall dining experience on this list.
The top four are likely Tusker House, Garden Grill, and Akershus. And their placement here underscores how little I care about the food for the most part.
Instead, I want delightful interactions with my favorites. At Akershus, that means several Disney Princesses.
So, you can think of this place as Cinderella’s Royal Table-lite. It’s that same regal vibe, only you’re not dining inside the castle.
I’d argue that the menu is stronger at Akershus, and the meal is cheaper as well.
As such, we favor Akershus. I totally understand why others would prefer dining inside Cinderella Castle instead.
1. ‘Ohana
I haven’t made the distinction much thus far, but several of these character meals are available exclusively at breakfast.
That fact alone could heavily impact your evaluation of which ones are superlative, as some folks are anti-big breakfast during a Disney trip.
Personally, I’m the opposite. I want to fuel up for a big park day by enjoying a large meal.
‘Ohana suits my needs perfectly because the breakfast menu here happens to align with my favorites like Mickey Waffles and bacon.
Still, that’s true of many Disney breakfasts. What differentiates ‘Ohana are its hosts.
The Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch warms my wife’s heart, as Stitch is her favorite character.
Of course, Mickey Mouse and Pluto also appear, and you’ll love how they accessorize.
Fittingly, each of them wears a lei, the kind that Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort hands out in the lobby of the Great Ceremonial House each day.
Charming touches like this somehow make ‘Ohana more welcoming and friendly to me.
Not coincidentally, it’s not unusual for us to eat at this character meal break two or three times per Disney vacation. I’m not even joking.
While all the character meals I’ve listed here possess their own unique charms, ‘Ohana will always stand apart, at least for me and mine.
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Feature Photo: Disney