Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney World
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.
Storybook Dining
- Artist Point
- Wilderness Lodge
- Dinner 4pm-9pm
- Disney Dining Plan: 1 Table Service Credit per Person
- Adult $36-$60, Child $25-$30
Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
In a rustic Enchanted Forest, meet the Princess who started it all. Snow White, Dopey, and Grumpy will whistle while you eat, and if you dare, you can even take a picture with the Evil Queen.
As of 2019, this is the newest resort character meal and people are loving it. Want proof? Go try and make a reservation. I’ll wait. See what I mean? This is the only place you can meet the Evil Queen and the two Dwarves on property. All seven of the Dwarves usually appear at the Halloween Party and the wait to meet them is hours long. So getting to meet two of them while you enjoy a Prime Rib or Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie seems like a good deal. Outside of the parks, there aren’t a lot of evening character meals, so adding another one, especially a Princess meal, was a smart move on Disney’s part. Early reviews have raved about the decor (look at those enchanted woods!) and the cleverly themed, delicious food (soup in cauldrons! What will they think of next?) The meals here are to order. There are shared appetizers and desserts for the table, with each diner choosing their entree. The Wilderness Lodge is accessible from the Magic Kingdom by boat, so what better way to end a day full of wonder by taking a boat ride to have dinner with a princess?
Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney World
Have you been to Storybook Dining? 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!