One of the best parts about a trip to Disney is the chance to meet your favorite Disney Characters!
Some First Timers might think that this happens by chance, that you’ll see Mickey walking down Main Street and you’ll hug and get your picture taken with him and rainbows will shoot out of… Okay, maybe not the rainbow part, but the rest of it, is pretty accurate of what a first time visitor might be expecting.
But the truth is, the characters are only in certain places at certain times. And you must head there (and usually wait in line) in order to meet any of the beloved Disney Characters.
There are two different types of places you can meet your favorite Disney friends. The first type of place are the Meet-N-Greet areas. Meet-N-Greets are set up throughout the park (you can find them on the My Disney Experience App). These places are where you can meet certain characters at various times throughout the day.
Character Dining
The other type of place, happens to be something my family loves to take part of, and that is Character Dining! This is where you can have a meal and get the chance to meet some characters. All while munching on some yummy Disney cuisine.
And in case you’re wondering, Disney offers a number of Character Dining options!
The way the Character Dining works, is you are seated and then throughout your meal, the characters come around to each table for autographs, pictures, and cute/fun interactions. Some restaurants have a chance before or after your meal to get pictures with a character as well.For example: Cinderella’s Royal Table you meet Cinderella. At Be Our Guest you meet the Beast. And at Ohana you meet Pluto, all prior to sitting down. The characters come visit your table once you are seated.
As mentioned above, there are a number of Character Dining options. The most popular ones (aka hardest reservations to get) are Chef Mickey’s (that has the Fab Five), Cinderella’s Royal Table (that has the Disney princesses), Be Our Guest (that has the Beast), and Ohana (that has Lilo and Stitch at breakfast) just to name a few.
And some of them have characters in different outfits. So it’s a lot of fun to head to all the different places to get pictures with the characters. Even going at different times of the year can be a chance to see the characters in different ensembles.
The other Character Dining options include:
- 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian- characters are different at dinner (Prince Charming and Cinderella) from the ones they have at breakfast (Alice in Wonderland characters),
- Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom – Winnie the Pooh and friends,
- Garden Grill at Epcot – Chip and Dale, Mickey and Pluto,
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot – Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, and Ariel,
- Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios – Disney Junior characters for breakfast only,
- Tusker House at Animal Kingdom – Mickey and friends in safari garb (it’s one of the least expensive Character Dining experiences and it’s an all-you-care-to eat buffet),
- Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club – Minnie and friends – No Mickey (but in beachwear attire!),
- Mickey’s BBQ at Fort Wilderness -Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip, and Dale (all wearing western wear),
- Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s Boardwalk – Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Ryder (breakfast only).
There are some other dining opportunities that aren’t always available or are offered off property. These places are:
- Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios – seasonal themed events featuring Mickey and friends in seasonal attire,
- Tiana’s Riverboat Party and Ice Cream Social in the Magic Kingdom – the Riverboat underwent some refurbishment and has yet to reopen for this expereince, but it was highly popular so it will probably be back soon,
- Disney Perfectly Princess Tea Party at the Grand Floridian – this is super pricey and you’ll have to check when they have availabilities,
- Garden Grove at the Swan Hotel – they typically have Pluto and Goofy each night at dinner and sometimes on the weekends they have Chip and Dale,
- Four Seasons near Walt Disney World at a restaurant called Ravello – Goofy (and it’s only at breakfast).
So as you can see, there are a great number of dining opportunities. And each offer you can meet many of the wonderful Disney Characters. But we must warn you, many of these places can be hard to get reservations for, so we recommend making Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) as soon as you are able. Also keep in mind that most (if not all of them) will NOT have availability to just walk in and get a table, so again, we recommend getting those ADRs ahead of time if you’d like to dine at any of these restaurants.
Most Authorized Disney Travel agents will assist you with making ADRs. This is another reason we highly recommend using an agent to book your vacation. Not to mention their services are free to you! If you would like to speak to an agent, click HERE for your free, no obligation quote.
For info on other places you can meet characters, check out our article on Character Meet-N-Greets.
For tips on how to make the most of your character interactions, check out this helpful video.