Disney World Tips – Character Dining

Meal Planning Strategies & Disney's Advance Dining Reservations

Nov 29, 2009
Debra Peterson

Mickey, 'Ohana Character Breakfast at Polynesian - Amber H.

Character dining at Walt Disney World theme parks and resorts are popular events. Here are tips for planning character meals and making Disney dining reservations.

Disney character dining allows guests to enjoy a meal hosted by characters who visit diners’ tables, pose for pictures, and sign autographs. Character meals are available at Walt Disney World theme parks as well as at Disney World resorts, and there are over a dozen venues that provide character meals that vary in terms of hosts, atmosphere, and menus. Character meals are very popular, especially in the theme parks, and these tips can help guests with planning and booking a meal.

Know the Popular WDW Character Meals – Cinderella’s Royal Table & Crystal Palace

Although all character meals are popular, the most highly sought-after reservations are at the Magic Kingdom theme park: Cinderella’s Royal Table and the Crystal Palace. The Magic Kingdom resort area’s character-meals are also in demand: Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare; Contemporary’s Chef Mickey; and Polynesian’s ‘Ohana. Other popular options include dining with Donald in the Animal Kingdom and meeting the princesses in Epcot’s Norway.

Guests who want to eat at a specific character meal should make advance dining reservations (ADRs). Generally, booking between 45 and 90 days in advance is sufficient for most meals. Guests who wish to dine at Cinderella’s Royal Table or Crystal Palace, however, should make the character meal a priority, and book as early as Disney dining reservations permits.

Planning Strategies for Disney Character Dining

As an opportunity to meet and interact with characters, WDW character dining is an attraction in and of itself. That said, taking time for a character meal can interrupt other elements of a touring plan. This is especially true of early character breakfasts that makes it difficult to attend a theme park’s opening – the time when a park is least crowded.

To offer the most flexibility in balancing a Disney character meal with other touring plans, consider these tips:

Book a character meal at a resort for either an arrival or departure day, so that the character dining becomes an introduction or conclusion to a trip.
Enjoy a character meal on a half-day or rest day, so that the meal becomes the day’s focus.
Plan to dine at off-times, such as a late brunch or an early or late dinner, to take advantage of peak touring times and to avoid most of the dining crowds.
Choose alternate dates, times, and meals in case preferred choices are unavailable.

It is also worth considering acceptable substitutes for a specific character meal based on similarities between it and another meal’s characters or atmosphere. If Cinderella’s Royal Table is unavailable, for instance, consider dinner at 1900 Park Fare where Cinderella is also in attendance, or eating at Askerhus, which offers a princess-themed breakfast in a castle-like setting.

Booking Character Meals Using Disney Dining Reservations (ADRs)

ADRs, Disney’s dining reservations, may be made at Disney World Dining online or by calling 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463). When making reservations, keep these things in mind:
Reservations may be made up to 180 days in advance.
Guests who will stay at WDW resorts – excluding the Dolphin and Swan, Shades of Green, and Downtown Disney – may begin making reservations starting with their trip’s first day and up to 10 additional days, for a window of 190 days.
Use an ADR calculator to determine the first date of the 180-day window.
Online reservations open at 6:00 a.m. EST and Disney phone reservations open at 7:00 a.m. EST and are open until 10:00 p.m. EST (with the exception of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, where lines close at 8:00 p.m.). Guests who make online reservations, then, have a slight time-window advantage for booking highly popular meals.
Online reservations require navigating multiple pages, so become familiar with the website before making reservations.
When making reservations, note any special occasions or celebrations that mark the Disney trip (e.g. birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, first trip).
Unlike most other ADRs, Cinderella’s Royal Table and Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue are reservations that must be paid for at the time of booking using a credit card.
Confirm ADRs a few days before arrival. Guests services at a WDW resort and at theme parks can also print ADR confirmations.
If an ADR for a preferred character meal is unavailable, book an alternate character meal and continue to check with Disney reservations to see if a reservation becomes available at the preferred venue.

Every Walt Disney World theme park offers character meals, as do many Disney World resorts. For guests who are able to plan in advance, be a bit flexible with their schedules, and make Disney dining reservations, it’s fairly easy to make a character dining and meeting their favorite characters a memorable part of their Disney vacation.