There are currently six resorts that offer character meals, all of them Deluxes. You do not have to be a guest of the Disney resort to enjoy a meal there. In fact, you don’t even have to be on a Disney vacation. If you are in Orlando and feel like having a waffle with Stitch, you can bebop over to ‘Ohana at the Polynesian Resort for breakfast with everyone’s favorite Elvis loving alien.
Enjoying a character meal gives guests the opportunity to spend more quality time with their favorite Disney characters while also enjoying a delicious meal. Instead of standing in line or using one of your precious FastPasses, you can relax in comfort with the characters coming to your table during their visitation rotation.
A few quick tips:
- These meals are in demand so it is highly recommend that you take advantage of the 180 reservation day window and make your reservations as soon as possible.
- If you are driving to the resort, you will tell the Cast Member at the gate you have a dining reservation. You have a 3 hour window where you can park for free if you are dining at the resort.
- Characters are subject to change. While it’s pretty certain you will get the character whose name is in the meal description (Ie Chef Mickey’s) the rotating secondary characters may alternate.
- Some resort restaurants only have character meals at one time of day (breakfast or dinner). Be sure you are checking that characters are available during your reservation times.
- The prices of meals will vary by time of the year (peak vs regular vs value season) and by day of the week (weekends tend to be a little pricier than weekdays) and also just cuz Disney’s gonna do Disney. The prices listed are an estimate based on recent menus. These prices do not included gratuity, though an automatic gratuity of 18% will be added for a table of 6 or more.
Best Friend’s Breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch
- ‘Ohana
- The Polynesian
- Breakfast 7:30am-12pm
- Disney Dining Plan: 1 Table Service Credit per Person
- Adult $31-$39, Child $22-$25
Enjoy a family style American breakfast with Polynesian flavors. Enjoy time with your Ohana as you meet with Lilo and Stitch, and other friends, which in the past has included Pluto and Mickey Mouse.
This is an insanely popular breakfast option. My opinion is because of the Pineapple Coconut Breakfast bread, but other contributing factors might be the amazing location (on the monorail loop, a stone’s throw from Magic Kingdom), the decor, atmosphere, and the beloved characters.) The food is served family style, which means they bring you huge platters of everything and then you fight with your children over who gets the last slice of bacon. Jokes jokes jokes. If you finish any one part of your platter, they’ll bring you more. Mickey waffles for everyone! Lilo and Stich are the headliners here, and they are a lot of fun. Stitch gets the reputation as a goofball, but on my last visit, Lilo was the star! She is just as fun loving as her troublesome alien, sitting down with us and trying to steal the coffee. Other characters will also be on hand, though the roster is a little random. It’s important to know that Lilo is a “fur” character, which means her costume includes a headpiece, so she does not speak.
Have you stayed at the Polynesian? Have you ever been to the Best Friend’s Breakfast? What was your favorite part? What character meal would you like to see that doesn’t exist yet? What resort would it be located inside? Give me all your best Imagineering thoughts in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!