Hi there Erika,
Welcome back to planDisney. I love helping my fellow midwestern Disney fans plan their
Walt Disney World Resort adventure, especially when they are visiting during my favorite time of the year! The theme parks and
Walt Disney World Resort Collection hotels are beautifully decorated with wreaths, poinsettias, holiday trees and twinkling lights as far as the eye can see. And do not even get me started on the scrumptious holiday treats, character interactions, unique entertainment or special events like
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
Now to chat about some character dining experiences. Character dining is the perfect way to spend time with some of your favorite Disney pals, snap fun family photos, and the menus offer delicious food and beverage options. There are a number of
character dining locations currently open and you cannot go wrong with any choice you make! We do have a few favorites however, and one of my top suggestions is
Garden Grill Restaurant. This restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, is located at EPCOT inside The Land Pavilion and will give you the chance to meet with Farmer Mickey as well as his best friend, Pluto as well as Chip and Dale. The family style, all you can eat menu includes a selection of beef, turkey, mashed potatoes and more, and be sure to save room for dessert. Two added perks are the restaurant slowly rotates around the Living with the Land attraction (very cool!) and we always get plenty of one on one time with the characters here.
Two more of our must-do character dining options include the Best Friends Breakfast with Stitch at '
Ohana at Disney's Polynesian Resort (returning September 27th) and
The Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom featuring Winnie the Pooh and his Hundred Acre Woods friends (returning September 20th). These all you can eat buffets have plenty of yummy options to please even the pickiest eater but best of all they feature some of our favorite characters.
As you can imagine, all character dining experiences are extremely popular and fill very quickly so
advanced dining reservations are strongly recommended. Reservations can be made
60 days in advance and remember Disney Resort hotel Guests can make reservations for up to a 10 day stay when their 60 day window first opens. I hope this helps with your planning - if you have any additional questions, please
stop back and see me.
With pixie dust,
Margaret