Character meals are some of the most popular table service locations. Great food in combination of meeting various characters without standing in lines in the park is a big perk! As a parent with young children though, I found many of the character meals to be a bit frustrating and difficult to manage. Then I discovered family style dining and this has been my go to for character meals ever since!

It is recommended that reservations are made for any table service dining experiences and this can be done 180 days in advance. If you are staying on site at a Disney resort it can be done 180 days from the first day
of your package.

While making Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) tends to be one of the parts of planning a Walt Disney World vacation that stresses even the most organized guests, it really doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as it sounds.  There are so many amazing choices for dining at Walt Disney World. Whether you base your dining choices on location, food, characters, or any of the other many attributes, you will have a lot to choose from. Most quick service or counter service locations do not require advanced dining reservations (Be Our Guest and Oga’s Cantina are exceptions).

The challenges with character meals and young children is that so many of them were set up as buffets. Disney is recognizing how this doesn’t work as well for families and there are now almost as many character meals that are not buffet style as there are buffet style.  With buffet style character meals,  I often feel
like I’m playing a competitive game of strategy, balance and speed. Parents are going back and forth to the buffet bar to fill not only their own plates but their children’s, often working their way through a line and juggling multiple plates. While doing this, there is an added challenge of characters floating through the restaurant. You don’t want to miss when Goofy appears at your table so time those trips to the buffet bar carefully, strategically determining how much time you have based on how many tables away Goofy is and how much time you have before he makes it to yours. Then if you make it back in time, stuff a bit of food in your mouth quickly while juggling autograph pens to hand to kids and quickly turning the camera button on. Encourage hugs and smiles, fist bump goofy while trying to silently chew and talk without opening your mouth. Don’t take the time to swallow or you might miss that perfect photo moment!   If you’ve been here, you know I’m really not exaggerating – this is a meal of skill and endurance.   I often left character meals with happy children who would be claiming they were hungry in 30 minutes because they were too excited for the characters to actually eat the food on their plates and frustrated because the small fortune I just spent felt
like a stressful game of strategy that I just lost.  Come to think of it, I think I was hungry 30 minutes later too.

Character buffets do get easier to manage as your children get older and they can carry their own plates. The perks of having so many choices and encouraging kids to try new foods without locking them into an entire meal they aren’t sure of can make a buffet quite appealing as well. There are other options though one of these is family style dining with characters.  Family Style dining offers a set menu with a large quantity of choices (substitutions are typically available as well for those with dietary concerns or super picky eaters), but
these dishes are brought to your table and served family style. Many are all you care to eat and your server will happily bring you more of whatever your family would like. So if your 4 year old has decided she is only eating fruit and sausage for breakfast and refuses to touch anything else, your server can bring more fruit to the table.  If the roast beef is a big hit and you ended up with the smallest piece on the platter, just ask your server and in a few moments, the platter will be refilled. There is no race to the buffet or rush to fill a plate. Your server will be good about letting you know which characters are coming next as well. You can relax a bit and enjoy your meal.

A couple of our favorite family style dining choices include the Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at ‘Ohana in Disney’s Polynesian Resort as well as Chip and Dale’s Harvest feast at Garden Grill in Epcot. The
character interaction at these meals are really special too as the characters play with kids and enjoy posing for photos.

Family style dining still allows you the all you can eat option with multiple dish choices but with the ease of having your meal brought to the table and allowing your family to eat all at the same time. I have found this style to also feel a bit more intimate setting for your family probably due to the calmness in having a family meal served. It’s a nice escape from the busyness of the parks but still allows the fun of character dining.

We loved the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast at Trattatoria Al Forno at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. We’re excited about trying the new Topolino’s at the newest resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, this spring.  If character dining is a must on your trip, you may just find some new options that let you sit back and enjoy your dining
experience just a little more!

Disney has also introduced some character dining options with menu ordering. The menu will have a set a number of meal choices but will also offer character interaction through out the meal. Unique specialty meals
are often a highlight of these restaurants with a signature meal on the menu as well as special characters.