Complete Guide to Disney Character Dining Experiences 2024

Complete Guide to Disney Character Dining Experiences 2024

Complete Guide to Disney Character Dining Experiences 2024

This article is your guide to all of the best character dining in Walt Disney World for 2024! Disney World character dining continues to be one of the top experiences you can book during your Disney vacation. If you are looking for a truly magical experience, Disney World character dining 2024 is a must! What else is better than having some of the most incredible food with your favorite pals like Mickey, Stitch, and more? It’s no surprise that Disney character dining has been one of the most popular options for guests visiting WDW for as long as it’s been available.

Just like the amazing rides, everyone seems to have their favorite character dining experience at Walt Disney World. However, for first-time visitors or guests thinking about booking a character dining experience, it can be overwhelming. The reason is Disney theme parks and hotels offer a variety of Walt Disney character dining opportunities. In this guide, we’ll break down the best character meals at Disney World including the best breakfast opportunities, WDW character dining pricing, reservations, and so much more!

We hope you find this post helpful! And if you are planning a trip to Disney World be sure to check out our other FREE vacation planning tools. Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time on your next vacation and find the cheapest Walt Disney World vacation packages!

SPECIAL NOTE: If you’re looking for the best time to visit Disney World check out our Disney Crowd calendar!

 Disney World Crowd Calendar

What is Disney Character Dining 2024?

Let’s start with the most popular question we receive on this topic which is, what is 2024 Disney World Character dining? Disney World character meals are special dining experiences where guests can enjoy a meal with some of their favorite Disney characters. In many situations, Disney characters do make it a point to travel from table to table interacting with guests and young children. In other restaurants, characters might be available for a meet and greet photo, and one of the main reasons character dining at Disney World has become so popular is it’s a great opportunity to interact, grab a hug, and of course an autograph from your favorite characters.

Is there a character dining at Disney World in 2024?

Guests will be happy to know that character dining is back at Disney World in 2024 at almost every restaurant that was participating before 2020. For a while during the COVID-19 pandemic, all character meals at Disney World were halted for everyone’s safety. Now, those character experiences are back for guests to enjoy!

Related post: Top 10 Best Disney World Restaurants

Disney Character Dining Options 2024

One of the most important things to consider when booking your Disney character meal is that pre-shut-down character experiences are back! This means that instead of the Disney characters free roaming through each dining room, they once again stop and take photos with you at the tables! Guests will be happy to know that they can enjoy character dining at over twelve Disney World restaurants including options in all four of the Disney World main parks including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. It’s also important for us to note that many character dining meals are prix fixe menus which we discuss the pricing later in this post. Make sure to check your favorite restaurant’s menu to double check if it is still the same offerings as years past. Also please keep in mind some of the Disney World character dining reservations do require a valid Walt Disney World ticket if the restaurant is in one of the theme parks.

List of all the character meals at Disney World 2024

• Chef Mickey’s
• Hollywood & Vine
• Topolino’s Terrace
• Tusker House
• Garden Grill
• Storybook Dining at Artist Point
• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Be Our Guest (The Beast roams around for photo-ops)
• ‘Ohana
• The Crystal Palace
• Cape May Cafe
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

List of WDW character dining that has returned without characters in 2024

• Trattoria al Forno

These are all restaurants that have returned for guests to book meals but have not brought the characters back for a meet n’ greet. The prices are a bit cheaper than they were when characters joined guests, so if you’re looking for a cheaper Disney character breakfast in 2024, this may be the best option.

Disney character meals list – Restaurants that are NOT open in 2024

• 1900 Park Fare – Grand Floridian Resort

Related post: The Complete Guide to the Disney World Monorail

How Do You Get Character Dining at Disney World 2024? 

 

Okay so you picked out your favorite restaurant now you might be wondering, how do you get character dining at Disney World? Disney World character meals can be booked through a reservation over the phone or online at the official Disney World website or mobile App. It’s important to note that Walt Disney World dining reservations open up 60 days in advance. We always recommend you make your Disney character dining reservations as soon as your window opens especially if you know you want to dine in a specific location.

If you missed grabbing a popular reservation be sure to check out our Disney World dining tool!  

We are very proud of our brand-new tool because there is nothing like missing out on your favorite restaurant!

How far in advance can you book Disney character dining meals?

Disney World character dining meals can be booked starting 60 days in advance at around 5:45 AM EST. We highly suggest that you try to make your Disney character dining reservation at the 60-day mark as these restaurants tend to be the most popular on Disney World property and do fill up the quickest.

Related Page: Weekly Disney World Ticket Deals 

List of all Disney Character Meals By Parks

As discussed guests will be happy to know that they can find character meals at Disney World throughout the four main Disney World theme parks including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Guests will also be able to find character dining experiences at some of the Disney deluxe resorts found on the property such as the Contemporary, the Polynesian Resort, and the Disney Beach Club. We typically find that the best character dining at Disney World is at the resorts, but, there are great choices inside the parks too!

Some of the locations where guests cannot find character dining will be the two Disney World water parks and also over at Disney Springs. Below, you’ll find a useful Disney character meals list, broken down by location:

Magic Kingdom Character Dining 2024

Disney character breakfast – Magic Kingdom

• The Crystal Palace

Magic Kingdom character dining lunch and dinner

• The Crystal Palace
• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Be Our Guest

The Crystal Palace

This location is on Main Street and includes characters from the Hundred-Acre Wood. We missed the full-character dining experience because it is the only Winnie the Pooh dining in Magic Kingdom and are excited to see it return. Guests are welcomed to bountiful buffets for American favorites for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Be Our Guest Restaurant

This is an unforgettable dining experience and when you dine, you feel like you’re sitting in a Disney movie. The themes are elaborate, and the food is amazing. While this is technically not one of the traditional character dinners at Magic Kingdom, as, the meet and greet isn’t formal for the Beast. The character walks around while you eat, and occasionally does photo ops for guest dining there.

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Cinderella’s Royal Table has long been considered one of the best places for character dining at Disney World. Guests who book this character dining experience can celebrate with Cinderella and her Prince! The reason this is one of the most popular Princess dining options at Disney World is your meal is right inside Cinderella Castle! Cinderella’s Royal Table is one of the most expensive character meals in the park for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but guests do get to meet most of the most popular Disney Princesses while there.

This is an extraordinary way to end a visit to Magic Kingdom and is great for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and more. Magic Kingdom character dining reservations are strongly recommended!

Related Article: 10 Best Dining Experiences in Walt Disney World 

EPCOT Character Dining 2024

Character meals in Epcot for breakfast

• Garden Grill
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

Epcot character dining – Dinner and Lunch

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Garden Grill

Garden Grill Restaurant

This is the best Epcot location for breakfast, lunch, and character dinners at Epcot. Meet Chip ‘n’ Dale and their pals while eating a family-style meal at this rotating location. (It’s located near Living with the Land at Epcot.) Menu items include a garden salad, grilled beef with chimichurri, and sliced turkey with gravy. Mickey and Pluto also make their appearance in adorable Farmer outfits, which fit right in with the fresh and natural theme!

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

Located in the World Showcase, guests can join Disney Princesses for Storybook Dining and it’s one of the best character meals at Disney inside a medieval castle with beautiful archways and cathedral ceilings. This is a great location to mingle with Disney Princesses and get autographs and photos. Guests will be excited to meet Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Princess Aurora, and Ariel.

Related Article: Complete Guide to the Best EPCOT Restaurants 

Animal Kingdom Character Dining 2024

The only Animal Kingdom character meal is at the Tusker House, which is available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can expect to pay $42 – $55 depending on what time you choose to dine.

Tusker House Restaurant: This experience is themed as a colorful Harambe marketplace eatery, and visitors can join Safari Donald Duck, Mickey, Minnie, and more regardless of the time of day. That’s right, guests can eat with the characters at Disney World for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The buffet menu is back which includes African and American favorites like Mickey Waffles and even Simba waffles for breakfast, which we love!

For lunch and dinner, you can indulge yourself in spit-roasted tandoori chicken, roasted root vegetables, green curry shrimp, and more!

Related article: Ranking the Best Restaurants in Animal Kingdom

Hollywood Studios Character Dining

There is only one Hollywood Studios character dining experience available for guests and that is the Hollywood & Vine – Disney Junior’s Play n’ Dine.

Hollywood & Vine: Celebrate a Disney character breakfast with Disney Junior stars or meet Minnie and friends at lunch and dinner seasonal dining parties. As this is the only character dining at Disney Hollywood Studios, it is rather grand with a lot of unique seasonal offerings.

The restaurant offers the Disney Junior Play n’ Dine breakfast and Minnie’s Seasonal Dining, which are hosted throughout the year. Disney Junior stars are available only during breakfast.

• Disney Junior Play n’ Dine Breakfast – Assortment of pastries, omelet station, biscuits, and gravy, Mickey waffles, and more with Disney Junior friends!
• Minnie’s Seasonal Dining (Lunch and Dinner) – You’re invited to Minnie’s seasonal dining parties to enjoy the most delicious foods with our favorite Disney characters. The lunch and dinner buffet offers an array of salads and delicious chilled starters. Entrees include roasted mushroom farro risotto, macaroni & cheese with shrimp and bacon, as well as protein selections featuring oven-roasted chicken, herb-crusted tenderloin steak, salmon, and crispy pork belly.

Related Article: Complete Guide to the Best Hollywood Studios Restaurants 

Disney Character Meals at Resorts 2024

There are a few things that make character meals at Disney resorts so popular. The first reason is that you don’t need a Walt Disney World park ticket to go, and they make for a great option for travel days or non-park days. The second is these restaurants are some of the best Disney character dining 2024 on property. We love spending our time exploring the Walt Disney World resorts and seeing how much they have to offer. Luckily, all of Walt Disney World resorts have reopened for guests since the closing. Unfortunately, some of the character dining experiences haven’t returned.

Character meals at Disney resorts that are open:

• Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Topolino’s Terrace at Riviera Resort
• Storybook Dining at Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Cape May Cafe
• ‘Ohana
• Trattoria al Forno (no characters at this time)

Where are the best places to have character meals at Disney hotels?

Chef Mickey’s

Looking for brunch with Mickey Mouse? What about dinner with Mickey Mouse at Disney World? Located in Disney’s Contemporary Resort, experience an enhanced all-you-care-to-eat family-style character meal at Disney World in a bright, happy space. Each table will receive a special autographed card keepsake from Mickey and his friends. Throughout the dining experience, Mickey Mouse and some favorite pals will make surprising appearances in each of the dining rooms.

Topolino’s Terrace

One of the best places for Mickey Mouse character dining at Disney World. Located in the Riviera Resort, this restaurant offers a breakfast character experience, Breakfast à la Art with Mickey and friends. This is a new Walt Disney World character meal experience where guests can meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck as they parade through the restaurant.

StoryBook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White

Back finally! Located at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, visitors can meet Disney characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs while enjoying Disney character dinners. Meeting Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and—if you dare, The Queen, every evening for dinner!

‘Ohana

Located in Polynesian Village Resort, visitors who book this character breakfast at Disney World will hang out with Lilo, Stitch, and other favorite Disney friends. It’s important to note that character dining is only available for breakfast. Feast family-style as characters visit with guests, sign autographs and pose for photos.

Disney’s Perfectly Princess Tea

This is technically not a “dining” experience, it’s a tea party, but it’s still worth mentioning. Located in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, this experience shows young princesses the royal treatment—and a visit from a Disney Princess! Princess Aurora is known to make an appearance, sign autographs, and take photos. This experience is temporarily unavailable.

Cape May Café

Located in Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney characters will join guests for the Cape May character breakfast only. A lot of visitors have said this is one of the best character breakfasts at Disney World. The Disney Cape May Cafe breakfast price averages around $25 for children and $45 for an adult.

What characters are at Cape May breakfast? Meet Minnie and friends at Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast, and they’re dressed in their best beach attire. This experience is temporarily unavailable.

1900 Park Fare

Located in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, this place has Disney character breakfast and dinner buffets hosted by Disney characters. Here you may meet Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter, Tigger, or Winnie the Pooh at breakfast. And at dinner, Cinderella and Prince Charming are the hosts. This experience is temporarily unavailable. 

Ravello

Located at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando, this restaurant features a Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and His Pals. The Four Seasons’ “Kids 5 and Younger Dine Free” program does not apply to this Disney character breakfast. It takes place on Saturdays from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM and includes a complimentary download of digital photos.

Trattoria al Forno

If you’re looking for a Disney World princess breakfast, here’s one! Located at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort, this place offers the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast featuring characters such as Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider. Characters are available for autographs and photos. This experience is temporarily unavailable.

Wonderland Tea Party at 1900 Park Fare

Located in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, this experience is geared for kids ages 4 to 12. Guests will join characters from Alice in Wonderland for an hour-long party. This experience is temporarily unavailable.

Related Article: Complete Guide to the Disney World Skyliner 

Disney World Character Dining Prices 2024

Character dining at Walt Disney World is a magical experience that every family should try at least once. While it can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the cost of character dining at Disney World can be excessive. But fear not, there are options for the cheapest Disney character meals.

Although overall prices will vary based on the Disney World character dining experience you choose the average price for will range between $40-$65 plus tax and gratuity.

What is the cheapest character meal at Disney World in 2024?

No matter where you eat at Walt Disney World, breakfast time will be the cheapest Disney character dining price. Disney World character breakfasts have gone up in price, but also haven’t had as large of a range since the reopening of the parks. You can find character breakfasts to be between $42 – $55 for adults and $27 – $34 for kids. Breakfast is usually served as an all-you-care or family style, making sure that you get the most for your money.

The cheapest character breakfast at Walt Disney World used to be Crystal Palace, which is located at Magic Kingdom Park. Pooh and his friends will greet your table in between bites for photo ops.

If you’re looking for a Mickey Mouse meet n’ greet, try Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.

What is the cheapest character breakfast at Walt Disney World?

Since the COVID-19 shutdown, we’ve seen a lot of changes with returning favorite character breakfast spots, which makes this section a bit more difficult. Therefore, where there used to be many cheap Disney character meals for breakfast, the list is much smaller now. There are four restaurants priced at $42 for adults and $27 for children, which happens to be the cheapest character breakfasts at Walt Disney World.

Cheapest character breakfast at Walt Disney World

• Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Hollywood & Vine in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Tusker House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

What is the cheapest character dining at Disney World for lunch or dinner? 

Lunch: Walt Disney World has so many options for lunch, that it becomes almost overwhelming to choose! But, if you’re looking for the cheapest Disney character dining, we would suggest Garden Grill, which is located at Epcot! This lunch comes with an incredible meet n’ greet from Chip and Dale, Mickey, and others in farming outfits. Adorable!

Dinner: This dining period always tends to be the priciest of them all, but always offers the most exciting food and character choices. A truly magical experience is dining inside Cinderella Castle during dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table experience. If you’re looking for the least expensive character dining in Disney World for dinner, we would recommend Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios. 

If you’re looking for dinner with Mickey Mouse at Disney World you can book at Garden Grill, Chef Mickey’s, or Tusker House. These all happen to be some of the cheapest dinner character meals at Walt Disney World.

Related post: Complete Guide to the Best Hotels Near EPCOT Orlando

Disney World Character Dining Reservations 2024

We strongly recommend that you make a reservation for Disney character meals exactly 60 days out—as they are extremely popular and book out quickly. The guidelines for booking character meals at Disney World, allow you to make ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) 60 days before your arrival date. Thinking of planning? Check out our guide on how far in advance you can book Disney.

The best option to make Disney dining reservations is to log onto the WDW website, where you can search all the restaurants available for specific dates and times.

Related post: What are the Best Disney Springs Restaurants?

2024 Character Meals at Disney World FAQ

Q: What is character dining at Disney World?

A: An opportunity to interact with your favorite characters, enjoy delicious food, and make wonderful Disney memories!

Q: How long are character meals at Disney World?

A: We recommend at least 90 minutes for characters meals. As you will want to enjoy the experience just as much as the food!

Q: Who do you meet at Ohana breakfast?

A: Good question! Guests visiting Ohana will hangout hang out with Lilo, Stitch, and other favorite Disney friends. But currently, the character portion of ‘Ohana is unavailable.

These are our best character meals at Disney World; which do you think is the best Disney character dining?

When is The Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Our Disney  World Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you maximize your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature. We also list the best time to visit Disney World based on specific times of the year and special events.

Are You Ready to Plan Your Next Disney World Trip?

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be sure to speak with a Disney World Travel Agent for the most recent deals and promotions. The Park Prodigy will provide a Free Quote for all Disney World Vacation Packages. The Park Prodigy can also help you save up to $20 per ticket when purchasing your Walt Disney World Tickets, and we offer promotional discounts for special events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tickets and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets. If you’re brand new to Disney vacation planning we recommend our Walt Disney World Planning Page! Learn more about Disney hotels by reading our Walt Disney World Hotels Review page.

Don’t forget to check out our wonderful friends over at Theme Park Today, as well!