Character Dining at Disney World-What You Need to Know

Cinderella's Happily Ever after Dinner at 900 Park Fair

Know Where The Characters Are

Do you or your kids have a list of characters you would like to meet at Disney World?  Character Dining presents you with the opportunity to meet multiple characters in one setting.  Here are the restaurants that have character dining in the parks and resorts. 

Please be aware that dining within the park requires an admission ticket. If you dine at a resort and plan to return to a park please make sure you have a park hopper ticket.  If you choose not to purchase a park hopper ticket plan you character dining during early Breakfast or late Dinner. 

Disney Parks–

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot)

• Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Princess Aurora, Ariel, and Mary Poppins
• Breakfast: all you can eat
• Lunch/Dinner: Entree/casual dining 

The Garden Grill: Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Harvest Feast (Epcot)

• Chip ‘N’ Dale and other favorite Disney Characters
• buffet/family style

Cinderella’s Royal Table (Magic Kingdom)

• Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Belle in peasant attire, Sleeping Beauty, and sometimes Jasmine
• Fine/Signature Dining

The Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom)

• Winnie the Pooh and Pals
• Buffet/family style

Hollywood & Vine: Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine (Breakfast)

• Fancy Nancy, Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and Roadster Racer Goofy
• Buffet/Family Style

Hollywood & Vine: Minnie’s Seasonal Dining (Dinner) (Hollywood Studios)

• Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy
• Buffet/Style

Tusker House (Animal Kingdom)

• Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse, and friends
• Buffet/Family Style

Resorts—

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy
• Buffet/Family Style

Supercalifragislistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

• Mary Poppins, Alice and Wonderland, The Mad Hatter, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh
• Breakfast: Buffet/Family Style

Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

• Cinderella and Prince Charming
• Buffet/Family Style 

Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at Cape May Cafe at Disney’s Yacht Club

• Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Donald Duck
• Buffet/Family Style 

Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s BoardWalk

• Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Ryder
• Casual Dining 

Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch at O’hana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

• Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey Mouse (note: Mickey is not guaranteed)
• Buffet Family Style

Breakfast a la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort

• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck
• Fine signiture dining

Note: Character appearances are not guaranteed and are subject to change.

Choose the Right Experience and Time

Here are some questions you could ask yourself while choosing the best character dining for your trip.

• Which characters do you want to meet?
• What time of day is the dining offered?
• What park do I want to be at that day?
• Are there offerings at the park I’m at that day? or close by?
• How late will we be up the night before? Should we get up early the next morning?

"Overall, you simply need to consider what kind of food you want, what park you want to be at that day and if considering breakfast, how early you want to wake up. If you want to eat at any of the Magic Kingdom resorts, then going to Magic Kingdom for the day makes sense."-Disneylists.com

"When choosing what time to enjoy your meal, keep in mind that most character dining experiences take anywhere from 1.5 – 2 hours, including travel time. So while a 9 am breakfast might be easier because you can sleep in, that means you are not getting to the park until 11 am. That might be perfect for you, but if your goal is to get the most time in the parks, then you may need to get up early for your meal."-Disneylists.com

"For dinner experiences inside the park, keep in mind when the park closes that day you don’t want to lose precious park time by making a 5:00 pm dinner reservation when the park closes at 7:00 pm. By the time you are done with your meal, you’ll have to leave. When a park closes early (between 5:00-7:00 pm) try to schedule your meal closer to closing so that you have more time for rides."-Disneylists".com

Make Your Reservations Early

"More and more, early planning and reservations are needed for dining at Disney World. Advance reservations are essential for character dining, especially Chef Mickey’s and Cinderella’s Royal Table. You may make reservations up to 180 days before your visit. If you are a Disney Resort guest, you may make reservations 180 days before the day you check-in plus 10 days after (which gives you an advantage over the general public). On that day you may make reservations for your entire trip. The easiest way to make reservations is using the online reservation system on the Disney website or, you may call 407-WDW-DINE."-Disneylists.com 

Please note that Mk's Magical Plans will do these for you!

Be Prepared for Your Meet & Greet at Your Table

"When the time has come for your meal, you will be seated at your table. Usually, the greeter will let you know when the characters will be making their way over to you. Since most character meals are buffets where you leave your table to get your food, this is essential information to have. You need to be aware of where the characters are when getting your food. Characters follow a set pattern, and you can usually see them making their way around. Sometimes we have been visited by characters immediately, and sometimes we have waited over 20 minutes for them to reach our table. Don’t worry they will come.

Each character follows a set pattern around the room and will come to your table in turn. You will want to assure young children in the party not to worry, the characters will be coming. Have autograph books ready to go, as well as your cameras. Unlike the parks, there are no Disney PhotoPass photographers who follow the characters to the table. So, if you want pictures, you need to have your camera ready. Like the parks, characters will spend an appropriate time with your family. Just be considerate of others waiting.

If for some reason a character misses your table, don’t be afraid to let a cast member know. 

NOTE: Some restaurants feature group pictures before the meal, but not all do."-Disneylists.com