4 Character Dining Meals Not to Miss Out on at Disney World

Walt Disney World currently has 12 Character Dining experiences to choose from. Character Dining is a sit down meal where characters periodically visit your table, sign autographs and take photos. This can be a wonderful way to meet your favorite characters without waiting in the long lines for a character meet & greet. However it does come with a steeper price tag than a traditional sit down restaurant and far greater cost than a quick service restaurant.

We have visited Disney many times over the last 8 years and have tried all of these options at least once. We highly recommend adding at least one or two character meals to your itinerary. Especially if your kids are under 10 years old. You will need to make sure to book your reservations early when your 60 day dining reservation window opens because these locations fill up quickly.

Below are our Top 4 don’t miss Character Dining Locations. These are the locations our kids have had the best experiences at and always ask to visit again when we return to the parks.

Tusker House

Characters Met: Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Daisy

Meals Served: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Meal Recommended: Breakfast

Location: Animal Kingdom Park

Breakfast at Tusker House is among our top dining experiences of all time! We never go to Disney without dining here! Their breakfast buffet is vast and features many traditional American favorites like scrambled eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes and honey sliced ham. The buffet also offers a wide variety of traditional African dishes as well. My personal favorite is the chicken curry over rice. It is sensational and a must try! They also offer overnight oats, fresh fruits, pastries and danishes galore and more. The signature item here is the Jamba Juice. It is a blend of passionfruit, orange and guava juices. Our kids love this blend and can usually drink up several glasses with breakfast.

The characters here are all dressed in full safari gear. They make their way from room to room stopping at each table. A table visit usually lasts about 2 mins give or take, but that is the average. The characters here have always been very engaging especially with our younger children. Depending on how long you are dining sometimes the characters can make a second stop by your table.

We recommend either booking an early breakfast here right at park open or booking a time slot at the very end of the breakfast period, so that you have time to enjoy rides in the park early before crowds begin to pick up.

Hollywood & Vine

Characters Met: Goofy, Fancy Nancy, Vamperina Doc McStuffins (at breakfast) & Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto (at lunch & dinner)

Meals Served: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Meal Recommended: Lunch

Location: Hollywood Studios Park

I know Hollywood & Vine can sometimes get overshadowed but this is by far one of the best character dining meals for character interaction, if not the best! Every time that we have dined here the characters have always gone above and beyond with their interactions with the children. On average they spend longer at the tables, are more engaging and really make it personalized for each child! For this alone we would recommend it!

In the past few years this restaurant has also gotten a menu revamp. The buffet is now filled with homestyle favorites like pot roast with mashed potatoes, salmon over rice, risotto and a wide variety of vegetables. The kids also have their own kid height buffet filled with kid favorites like chicken tenders and macaroni & cheese. Our kids love the dessert bar because they have a soft serve ice cream machine with sprinkles! Also this is one of the only restaurants I have found at Disney that serves sweet tea!

The characters change here, where breakfast features an array of Disney Junior characters, lunch and dinner feature traditional Mickey and the gang. During the holidays they offer a seasonal dine where the Mickey Mouse characters are dressed in holiday attire. Something that you can usually only find at a ticketed themed after hours party. Our favorite time to visit is during Christmas when Goofy is dressed as Santa and Pluto is dressed as a reindeer. Mickey and Minnie also don holiday attire. You cannot go wrong with this location!

Artist Point

Characters Met: Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, Evil Queen

Meals Served: Dinner

Meal Recommended: Dinner

Location: Wilderness Lodge

Artist Point is one of the most recent character meal additions at Disney World and it also sits high on our favorites list. The theming inside the restaurant makes you feel like you really are stepping inside an enchanted forest. Snow White, Dopey and Grumpy make their way around for table visits, while you must receive a special invitation to visit the Queen in the center of the restaurant.

The food here is served family style except for the entrees, which everyone can select one from the menu. The kids meals come with a “garden” appetizer filled with little terra cotta pots with ranch and veggie sticks, along with fruit and a tiny roll with jar of honey butter. The table appetizers are served on a tree platform that sits in the center of the table. There is one of each appetizer for each member of your party. Dinner is served al la carte and the prime rib is exceptional! Afterwards dessert comes family style as well with miners treasures (chocolate gems/rocks) and tiny poison apples. Finally when it is time for the check to arrive the waiter brings a box from the Queen filled with real smoke and chocolate hearts.

The whole experience here is magical and is a great way to spend time with a princess minus the long lines you will find in the parks. In our opinion this character experience is better than both Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest. This is a must do, at least once for every family!

Garden Grill

Characters Met: Mickey, Pluto, Chip, Dale

Meals Served: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Meal Recommended: Breakfast or Lunch

Location: Epcot

Garden Grill is just one of those restaurants that just makes you feel at home! The restaurant is located inside the Land pavilion in Epcot. It is built on a spinning platform that overlooks the Living with the Land ride. Yes, the whole restaurant is spinning while you are dining inside.

The characters here always provide excellent interactions, especially Chip and Dale. They will hide behind booths or over tables to play games with the kids. The food is served family style in a big platter in the center of the table. The servers will bring you as many refills of any item that you would like. This is also a lower cost character dining than other meals but packs far more entertainment.

We recommend booking this location as a dining package for Candlelight Processional or Garden Rocks Concert Series. Anytime there is a package deal this is a great place to book with and double the bang for your buck.

I am sure every family has their own favorite characters and favorite dining experiences. These are just the consistent favorites that our children always request to visit again each time we visit Disney.