Hi Liz, and welcome to planDisney! I love that each Disney Resort hotel has its own unique theming, whether it’s the larger-than-life sports icons at All-Star Sports or a relaxing stay on an African savanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
No matter which resort hotel you choose, when it comes to characters, you can’t go wrong! Our favorite Disney pals stop by every resort hotel throughout the week. It used to be a surprise, but recently I’ve seen signs in the lobby with the character schedule for that particular resort hotel. Some of my family’s favorite character interactions have been in these more informal settings!
Now, there's one thing that gives some resort hotels an edge, and that’s character dining! I love a good character meal and it’s really convenient to have one right at your resort hotel. Especially if it’s breakfast and you’re not a morning person, like me! It’s also nice for getting little ones to bed quickly after dinner. Speaking of kiddos, character meals are a great way to introduce little ones to Disney pals for the first time. My nephew used to be afraid of some characters, but meeting them more gradually over a meal was the perfect introduction. This way he could see other kids having fun with the characters before they came over to our table. Now he gets so excited to meet them!
The resort hotels with character dining include
1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian,
Cape May Cafe at Beach Club,
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary,
'Ohana at the Polynesian,
Story Book Dining at Wilderness Lodge, and
Topolino's Terrace at Riviera (my favorite!). Check the restaurant's website because sometimes characters only appear at certain meals (for instance, Topolino's Terrace only has characters at breakfast).
If you’re interested in character dining, I'd recommend making a reservation as soon as your booking window opens. For Disney Resort hotel guests, you can start making reservations for your entire length of stay (up to 10 nights) 60 days in advance of your check-in date. All other guests can make reservations up to 60 days ahead of each day. It looks like you’re visiting this week, so Hakuna Matata! Guests are always changing their plans and I’ve had good luck snagging popular reservations in the days leading up to my vacation.
Since we’re on the topic of characters, I wanted to share some of my favorite meet and greets inside the theme parks. I love the
Mickey & Friends spot in EPCOT because you can meet the main mouse himself and a few of his friends all in one place! One of my other must-dos is the meet and greet at
Adventurers Outpost in Animal Kingdom. This is the only place where you can regularly pose with both Mickey and Minnie in one photo! There are also some fun pictures in the queue of their adventures around the world.
I hope you get to hang out with lots of Disney pals on your upcoming visit to the Most Magical Place on Earth. If you have any other questions, we’d love to have you back at planDisney.
Say hi to Mickey for me!
JoAnna