Character Dining Options in Walt Disney World

Character dining is perhaps the most fun dining option while you are in Disney World. While it is definitely one of the more expensive options when choosing where to dine, it is also the most unique that you will not be able to experience anywhere other than Disney World. In my opinion, the high price tag is worth it because a character dining meal offers so much more than food. The experience of dining with and meeting fan favorite characters is truly magical, and I highly encourage having at least 1 character meal during your Disney World vacation.

There are a lot of character dining options offered at Walt Disney World, both in-park and out-of-park. The experience varies based on the venue, most restaurants offering either a buffet or family style dining, and different characters being featured at different restaurants. This blog post will lay out the character dining restaurants available on Disney World property and the different experiences offered at each.

In- Park Character Dining

Having a character meal during one of your park days has its pros and cons. It is fun to see characters up close and makes your time in the park even more magical. You often do not get to see and meet a lot of characters in the parks without standing in long lines, so a character meal offers you the ability to do so very easily. On the other hand, character meals do tend to take up more time than a normal meal, which some may view as a waste of park time.

Magic Kingdom

1) Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace is located on Main Street which is a very convenience location to get to. A buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner are offered here, and you will get to meet Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. These are some of the rarer characters to meet, so this is a perfect option to get photos with the core characters. It is also nice that this restaurant features characters for all 3 meals of the day, so you do not miss out no matter when you happen to be dining.

2) Cinderella's Royal Table

Cinderella's Royal Table is a fun one if you are with your young daughter. This character meal is actually inside of Cinderella's castle. While dining, top Disney princesses roam the dining room, and you will be able to meet Cinderella, Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine, and Snow White. Meeting that many "face characters" in one spot, without having to wait in any lines, truly makes the high price tag of this restaurant worth it. All 3 meals are also served here, and the restaurant features a prix fixed menu.

3) Be Our Guest

This is character dining(ish...). Be our Guest is located inside of the Beast's castle, and the theming is absolutely beautiful. The reason this is kinda, sorta, character dining is because during your meal, the Beast will briskly walk through the dining room. You are not able to meet him and he walks too fast to even capture a non-blurry photograph. However, there is technically the appearance of a character, so I'll include it in my list. Like Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest features a prix fixed menu. However, only lunch and dinner are currently served here.

EPCOT

5) Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

This is another fun one if you're dining with your young daughters. The restaurant is located inside of a medieval castle in the Norway pavilion of EPCOT. While dining here, you will see and be able to meet a variety of Disney princesses including Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White. Other princesses sometimes make an appearance, and there have been some sightings of Tiana, Mulan, and Jasmine in the past. This seems like a great way to meet all of the princesses in one swoop. This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, buffet style.

6) The Garden Grill Restaurant

The Garden Grill is located inside of the World Nature building in EPCOT and doesn't seem like anything special upon first glance. However, it seems like a cool and fun concept. This restaurant actually slowly rotates while you eat, showing you different scenes from Living with the Land. More importantly, you will get to meet Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Mickey (in her farming overalls). This one is definitely on my list of places to check out! The meals are served family style here and the restaurant hosts breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Hollywood Studios

7) Hollywood & Vine

This is a lesser talked about Character dining experience in Hollywood Studios. The characters vary, depending on which meal you eat here. Breakfast is targeted towards the younger crowd, featuring Disney Junior characters like Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and Fancy Nancy. I personally have no idea who these characters even are. Lunch and Dinner will give you the chance to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. A unique feature of this restaurant, is that the characters' attire and the menu change with the seasons, giving a new experience during different times of the year. The dining is buffet style.

Animal Kingdom

8) Tusker House

Tusker House is one of my favorite character meals in Disney World. It is located in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom and features Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy, all sporting their safari outfits. The theming of this restaurant is perfectly paired with the African ambiance surrounding the building outside. Tusker House serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in buffet style.

Resort Character Dining

There are many character dining options outside of the parks as well. I personally prefer saving your character meal for a non-park day, for a few different reasons. First, you do not waste park time having a lengthy sit-down meal, which usually does take at least 90-120 minutes. Second, it adds some extra magic to a day that you are not experiencing magic within the parks. The experience allows you to see characters without having to pay for a park ticket. I think it is great to have the option to meet characters outside of the park, so you are always feeling the Disney magic during your trip.

9) Chef Mickey's

Chef Mickeys is a fan favorite that we have gone to multiple times and it never gets old. This restaurant is located in the Contemporary, which is on the monorail loop, making it a very convenient location to reach. The best part about this character dining experience is that you get to meet all of the classic characters in one spot- Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, and they are all sporting chef outfits. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I am partial to the breakfast and the amazing cheesy potatoes served in the breakfast buffet. All meals are buffet style at Chef Mickeys.

10) Story Book Dining at Artist Point

This is another very popular character dining experience that can be extremely difficult to get a dining reservation at. Story Book Dining is located at the Wilderness Lodge. The restaurant itself is themed as dining in an Enchanted Forest and during your meal you will get to meet the Seven Dwarves and the Queen from Snow White. This restaurant is offers a prix fixed menu and only serves dinner. The menu looks a little odd, but I would really like to try this restaurant at some point because the experience seems very neat.

11) 'Ohana

'Ohana is located inside the Polynesian, which is also on the monorail loop. It is both a character dining restaurant and a normal table service restaurant, which is important to consider when you are choosing which meal to have here. Breakfast at 'Ohana is a character meal, where you will see Lilo & Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto, all dressed to attend a Hawaiin luau. The characters will only be there during breakfast time, which runs from 7:30am - 12:15pm. Dinner at 'Ohana is a normal table service restaurant, which is also delicious, but guests should expect a completely different experience. All meals at 'Ohana are served family style.

12) 1900 Park Fare

This restaurant is located in The Grand Floridian, which is also on the monorail loop. A buffet is served for both breakfast and dinner, and characters are available for meet and greet during both meals. This character dining is unique because many rare characters can be found here. While eating at 1900 Park Fare you'll be able to see the likes of Aladdin, Cinderella, Mirabel, Princess Tiana, Jiminy Cricket, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, and Winnie the Pooh. These characters are not always available to meet, even in the parks, so dining at 1900 Park Fare gives you a great opportunity to see them.

13) Cape May Cafe

Cape May Cafe is located in the Beach Club resort, which is in the Boardwalk area of Disney World. This is a harder restaurant to reach than one of the restaurants on the monorail loop, which means it is usually a less crowded spot. This could work out for the best though, because it is usually pretty easy to get a dining reservation at Cape May Cafe. It is important to note that characters are only present during breakfast, so do not book a dinner here and expect it to be the same experience as during breakfast. During breakfast at Cape May Cafe you will be able to meet Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. A fun part of dining here is that the characters are dressed in their beach attire, giving you a pretty rare photo opp. Meals at Cape May Cafe are served buffet style.

14) Topolino's Terrace

Topolino's Terrace is a popular character restaurant, which is extremely difficult to get a reservation at. If this is on your must visit list, I highly recommend making this a priority booking on your dining reservation day. Topolinos is located inside the Riviera, which is one of the resorts on the Skyliner. That makes is pretty convenient to reach this restaurant. Like other character restaurants in Disney World, character dining is only available for breakfast at Topolinos. Dinner is an upscale table service experience. During breakfast, you will get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. They will be sporting stylish french, artist outfits, as the breakfast has an "art" theme to it. The menu is prix fixed. I very much want to try this restaurant, but do flinch a bit at the price tag. It is priced very similarly to other character restaurants, and yet you only get 1 entree for the price rather than an unlimited buffet or family style platter. I do plan to eat here eventually, but wonder why it is so expensive.

As you can see, there are a lot of character dining experiences available at Walt Disney World. I highly recommend including at least 1 on your next trip. It certainly adds to the magic and allows you to meet some of your favorite characters in one spot without waiting in long lines. We have had some very memorable moments during character dining and know we will continue to include these in our vacations.