Character dining is one of Disney World’s best-known offerings, but there are some unspoken rules that guests should follow to have the most magical meal possible.
Grumpy
Whether having breakfast, lunch, or dinner at one of the many character dining spots scattered across the resort’s theme parks and hotels, following these “rules” will make the experience better for everyone, from other guests to Cast Members to you yourself!
Don’t Chase Down Characters
Obviously, anyone eating at a character meal wants to meet said characters, so it’s understandable to be excited. However, there’s no need to start following characters around the restaurant or trying to rush them over to one’s table. They will make their way around eventually. Just enjoy your meal and let the characters and attendants make the magic happen!
Aurora at Cinderella’s Royal Table
Time Your Buffet Run
Speaking of characters coming to your table, if you’re eating at a restaurant that serves a buffet-style meal, make sure to keep an eye on where the characters are. If you see them nearing your table, maybe hold off on your next buffet trip so you don’t miss them. This happens all the time, and sometimes attendants can’t pull a character out of rotation for your table if you miss someone.
A Classic
Don’t Hog the Characters
Once the characters do reach your table, be respectful of the fact that the characters have a whole restaurant of guests to see. Now, of course, that doesn’t mean speed through the experience, skip photos and autographs, or anything of that nature. However, also just be cognizant of the fact that each character has a finite amount of time with each party.
Signing Away
Do Some Test Runs for Your Kids
If you’re planning a Disney World with young kids for the first time, we’d recommend booking your character meal towards the end of your trip. That way, just in case the youngsters in your party are nervous or shy around characters, you can slowly introduce them to experiences in the parks so that the meal won’t be overwhelming for them.
Piglet!
Don’t Ruin the Magic
On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re in a party of adults without kids, don’t ruin the magic. Now, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy a character meal, of course, you should. It simply means to be cognizant that there are parties in close proximity, likely with plenty of kids around.
Chef Mickey’s
These are some of the best rules to follow in order to maximize your next Disney character dining experience! Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney dining etiquette!
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A trick I also use is that, if we’ve already had quality time with that character, they and their aide took their break, and now they’re making a new loop, I always just say, “nice to see you again so soon _____, hope you had a nice break.” Cues to both folks that our table already spent time with Pooh, Mickey, etc., and y’all can safely skip us.
Please don’t give kids wands and swords at Cinderella’s Table until they are on their way out the door. Kids at the table across from us went full on wild once they received souvenirs, it is painful experience to get hit with a wand.
What exactly does this paragraph mean: Don’t Ruin the Magic….On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re in a party of adults without kids, don’t ruin the magic. Now, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy a character meal, of course, you should. It simply means to be cognizant that there are parties in close proximity, likely with plenty of kids around?????????? … we always enjoy the Character Dinners… wait our turn…get our pictures taken with characters….of course there are kids…IT”S DISNEY WORLD!
Don’t Ruin the Magic
On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re in a party of adults without kids, don’t ruin the magic. Now, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy a character meal, of course, you should. It simply means to be cognizant that there are parties in close proximity, likely with plenty of kids around.
Granted – but Disney was made for ALL to enjoy. I believe if an adult family who is just as excited as the juvenile kid family they have a right to enjoy a character dinner as the next. They pay to partake also. We had reservations for the Storybook dinner. We did not go up and take pictures. But the characters did come to our table and we were able to have pictures taken with them. We enjoyed it more than some of the children there??