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.
Chef Mickey’s
- Contemporary Resort
- Breakfast, 7am-11:15am
- Brunch, 11:30am-2:30pm
- Dinner, 5pm-9:30pm
- Disney Dining Plan: 1 Table Service Credit per Person
- Adult, Breakfast and Brunch $40-$46, Child, Breakfast and Brunch $22-27
- Adult, Dinner $50-55, Child Dinner $32-$37
Set in the Contemporary Resort, enjoy a lively buffet as the monorail whizzes past! Enjoy the beautiful views of Bay Lake and the stunning mural by Disney legend Mary Blair while you meet such friends as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy.
The menu has something for everyone at all meals. Mickey Waffles and Biscuits & Gravy for breakfast and brunch, Macaroni & Cheese and chicken nuggets for dinner, among some adults friendly entrees such as prime rib and glazed salmon. This is one of the most popular character meals because it features the Mouse himself and it’s located in the Contemporary, just a short monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It is also the only resort character meal to serve lunch. It might be called “brunch” but it serves during the lunch window (11:30-2:30), which makes it lunch to me. A brunch by any other name… is just lunch with waffles. The good news about this extra seating time is that even with it’s popularity, you have a chance at scoring a reservation here if you’re not picky about what time you eat. As someone who has done lunch at 2 and dinner at 4 to get certain meals, having that additional time in a plus. Proximity to Magic Kingdom and accessibility from Epcot make it an ideal spot to escape the parks for a few hours. Due to the popularity, awesome location, and operating monorail going by constantly, this is one of the noisier meals.
Have you stayed at the Contemporary? Have you ever been to Chef Mickey’s? 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!