Top 5 Best Disney Character Dining Locations

Photo Credit: HarshLight

Photo Credit: Jason Wohlford

If you are looking for the creme-de-la-creme of Disney Character Dining experiences, look no further than Cinderella’s Royal Table.  You really couldn’t ask for a better location because this event is held right inside Magic Kingdom’s iconic Cinderella Castle!

Cinderella herself greets every guest as they enter the majestic Grand Hall, and then you continue up a spiral staircase and enter the Royal Banquet Hall above.

With its massive stained-glass windows, majestic stone archways, and draping medieval flags, this setting feels like it’s right out of a  storybook. If you won’t settle for anything other than the best, set your sights on booking Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Breakfast

Guest will delight in plated favorites like steak and eggs, stuffed French toast, pastries, baked quiche, and pastries.

Lunch and Dinner

Lunch and dinner meals begin with assorted cured meats and cheeses and are followed by unforgettable entrees like Chef’s Fish of the day, beef & shrimp, and braised pork shank with vegetable couscous. The kid’s menu has items like beef tenderloin, turkey pot pie, and chicken nuggets. Save room for something sweet because Cinderella’s Royal Table is known for its signature desserts like a white chocolate-jasmine tea mousse and The Clock Strikes Twelve— a chocolate mousse with dark chocolate ganache and raspberry coulis. This is Disney dining at its best!

Note: Cinderella’s Royal Table requires 2 Disney Dining Plan credits.  Reservations must be made very early because this location will book quickly. We recommend making dining reservations 180 days before your trip if possible. Is it worth the extra cost and the extra effort? You bet!

Best Alternative

Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall – Epcot’s Akershus is a great alternative if you can’t secure a reservation for Cinderella’s Royal Table. Like Royal Table, Akershus has a princess theme and guests are personally greeted by Belle (not Cinderella)  upon entering the exquisite Royal Banquet Hall (picture included).  This experience is a bit easier to book and it’s also less expensive (1 Disney Dining Plan credit vs 2 for Cinderella’s Royal Table).  So if you can’t reserve Cinderella’s, Akershus will fill the void!

While Cinderella’s Royal Table may be the Cadillac of Disney Character Dining experience,  Chef Mickey’s may very well be the most quintessential. It offers just about everything you would expect from a Disney Character Dining experience, including a classic buffet and the opportunity to mingle with Disney’s most beloved characters – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.

Located in Disney’s Contemporary Resort and overlooking Bay Lake, Chef Mickey’s serves breakfast, brunch, and dinner. It’s conveniently located just a stone’s throw from the gates of Magic Kingdom.

The expansive buffet offers breakfast standards like fresh fruit, sausages, pancakes, and waffles, while dinner items include carved meats, pasta, sushi, salads, salmon, pork ribs, and lobster mac and cheese. It’s a great place to go with a large group of people because there are menu items to please anyone and you really can’t go wrong with this central Magic Kingdom-area location.

Yes, Chef Mickey’s can be noisy with so many excited kids around. However, it’s one of the best dining spots to meet the most popular Disney characters without waiting in lines.

Chef Mickey’s is another one that fills up fast, so book your reservations as soon as you can!

Best Alternative

The Polynesian Resort’s ‘Ohana is a great Chef Mickey’s character dining breakfast alternative. Here you can meet Lilo and Stitch and other classic Disney characters like Mickey and Pluto. The menu features an American-style breakfast influenced by Polynesian flavors.

(Epcot)

Photo Credit: beth

The Garden Grill’s Chip ‘n Dale’s Harvest Feast is one of the more unique character dining experiences at Disney World.

If you are not familiar with Epcot’s Garden Grill already, you may be in for a surprise. This is because the restaurant (and you along with it) slowly revolves above scenes from the Living with the Land attraction. It will give you an interesting perspective of the Land pavilion with each passing moment! You can expect to do one full rotation during your meal, passing by the rainforest, desert, and farm scenes.

As for the character experience, guests have a generous amount of time to interact with Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Mickey Mouse.

The food is served family-style and many of the dishes incorporate fresh produce grown right there in Living with the Land.  You can expect large portions of classic American fare like salads, roasted turkey, beef, fish, and mashed potatoes.  Simple…but good.

Overall, this is an interesting character dining experience with good food and several popular Disney characters to meet.

Photo Credit: JeffChristiansen

Donald’s Dining Safari is held at the Tusker House, a wonderful restaurant located in the Harambe Village section of Animal Kingdom’s Africa section. While the uniqueness of Garden Grill lies in its neat revolving feature, Donald’s Dining Safari at Tusker House stands out because of the restaurant’s exquisite African safari decor, exotic menu offerings, and participatory activities of the event.

As you enter Tusker House, you’ll be greeted by Donald Duck. Soon Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Mickey will appear and join in on the fun. These Disney characters are dressed in safari gear to go with the setting and theme.

One of the main reasons we love Donald’s Dining Safari is because it gives kids the opportunity to join the characters in song and dance. If your family likes a good dance party and willing to test your vocal range, then Tusker House is the spot for you!

Adventurous eaters will be delighted to find a buffet teaming with exotic African flavors, but there are plenty of less adventurous options as well.  The buffet offers breakfast standards like bacon, eggs, and Mickey Waffles and lunch and dinner selections like roasted chicken, beef, and mac & cheese.

We would recommend booking this as a breakfast location for your day at Animal Kingdom. As soon as the park opens and your bellies are full, head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris to beat the crowds.

Photo Credit: JeffChristiansen

While Disney Character meals like the ones at 1900 Park Fare and the Crystal Place are certainly nice, they do tend to be on the boring side. That’s why we decided to go with Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine for our #5 spot on our best Disney Character Dining experiences list.

This fun dining location is hosted in the Art Deco-style “diner” of Hollywood & Vine, a restaurant known for its Fantasmic! dinner show.  Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine will give you a chance to interact with your favorite Disney Junior stars like Doc McStuffins, the Neverland Pirates, Sofia the First, and Handy Manny.

Breakfast offers classic buffet items like Mickey waffles, eggs, sausages, fresh fruit, and potatoes while the lunch menu consists of the usual meat, chickens, pasta, and salads items you would expect to find at a buffet. Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine’s dinnertime lineup includes Summertime Dine, a beach-themed party running throughout the summer, Minnie’s Halloween Dine during the latter half of September through early November, and Minnie’s Holiday Dine from early November through early January. Dinner guests often include Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy dressed to reflect the season.