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The Best (& Worst) Character Dining at Disney World · Ear Scouts Podcast

• Rob: In this episode of the Earscouts podcast, we're spilling the tea about all the different character dining meals at Walt Disney World, and we're going to share which meals are our must do's and which meals are our maybe nots. We've got 13 different restaurants to cover, so let's get to it. Hi ho everybody. This is Rob with Ear Scouts coming to you from our makeshift studio here in Celebration Florida. I'm joined as always by the other half your Scouts Eric. Hi ho Eric. Erick: Hi ho everyone! Rob: Eric is going to be keeping up with the live chat over on Patreon. If you'd like to join us live as we record each episode and chat with Eric and us as we record the show and stick around for the Patreon exclusive after party, just head on over to patreon.com forward slash your scouts. Also joining us from the great state of Connecticut is our good friend and the host of Jessica scraps on YouTube. Jessica. Hi ho Jessica. Jessica: Hi, hello everyone. Rob: So sadly not with us this week, although it's not so sad because he's having the time of his life in the UK right now. ⁓ Quizmaster Craig is on vacation. ⁓ he sent some pictures from the Cotswolds today that I have a new bucket list destination. I have to go visit the Cotswolds. So if you have never seen how beautiful that place is, you should, you should Google it after the show because it'll end up on your bucket list too. But we are going to be doing a show all about character dining. And Craig said that was a good one for him to skip because he loves dining at Disney World. Character meals, not his cup of tea. So we're going to spill the tea without Craig while he's sipping tea in the UK. ⁓ other reason that doing this episode is because we actually just wrapped our new video that's going to be coming out probably around the same time as this episode, if not shortly thereafter, all about the Disney dining plan in 2026. ⁓ And, you know, we wanted to update it last year, one, because we got a lot of feedback from folks. ⁓ One of the things that we heard from a lot of people was yeah, you guys made it look like a really good value, but she also had cocktails with every single meal. And you know, if we're having a family vacation and we're not going to be drinking it up at breakfast, uh, are we still going to be able to make this a good deal? And so this year we did the whole video, uh, without getting a single cocktail or beer or wine. And I'm not going to spoil the ending, but I will say, I think that the Disney dining plan is better value in 2026 than it was in 2025, which I guess probably does spoil the ending. But, if you're contemplating it, ⁓ and you haven't seen that video yet, I would say it's probably a good deal this year. So worth considering. ⁓ but with that said, let's jump into our main topic, which is what we're all here for today. And that is character dining at Walt Disney world. If you've never done a character meal, you're not sure what we're talking about. There are currently 13 restaurants at Walt Disney World, technically 14 if you count the one at the Four Seasons, but we're not counting that because it's kind of a third party restaurant. there's 13 ⁓ dining spots where you can have a meal and you will be joined in some way, or form by Disney characters. And in one case, they just kind of go through and give the royal wave. And in most cases, however, they're going to really interact with you and your family. And it's a great chance to get photos and sometimes autographs. And so if you really want to have that one on one character time and you don't want to wait in massively long lines because there's no lightning lanes for characters anymore, character dining can be a really good option for that. So I would say those are the pros of character dining. Do you have any other pros you would add to that Jessica? Jessica: I think just to reiterate about the characters, my biggest pro is there are some characters you cannot even meet in lines. So just, it's not just that you don't have to wait in the line. There are some characters, and then if you're really a character person, there are outfits that you will not see unless you do this. And I know because John and I met at the Christmas party. people that actually like their bucket list is to try to meet Mickey Mouse in as many outfits as possible. In order to do that, you have to do character dining. And I think that's just another one of the pros. you're into the characters and you're into very specific characters and I'll know, I'll talk about just a second, Mary Poppins, because she used to be at 1900 Park Fair. And we'll talk about that in a little bit, but my kids really wanted to meet her. And at the time, that was how you saw Mary Poppins. And I think, There are some characters that this is the way to do it. So that's a big pro if your child is in particular characters. And we'll talk in more detail as we go through the day, but that's a, to me, that's one of the biggest pros. Rob: Yeah, I would say there's really only one con that I can think of to character dining and that is when it comes to enjoying your meal. If your main goal is to enjoy a nice meal, you are going to be kind of interrupted constantly to have a moment with characters. I mean, that's really what you're paying for. These meals are more expensive because the characters ⁓ are providing the entertainment for your meal. but that does mean also that you're going to kind of stop eating from time to time to like get a picture with the characters and especially the restaurants that have a lot of characters. Um, that can be something that, you know, is, a little bit distracting. And if you have littles, I'm guessing who maybe it's hard enough to get them to eat even when they aren't distracted by characters, I can imagine that would be an extra hurdle to deal with. Uh, do you have any other, other cons that you can think of Jessica? Jessica: My one con is that some of these meals don't have characters at every meal. Some of these locations don't have the characters at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's only one of them or two of them. And if you're not up on, we'll talk about that as we go through this, but if you're not up on that, you may schedule what you think is a character meal and show up and there's no characters. And that's kind of disappointing. The fact that they do that, in my personal opinion is a con, because that sets people up for a mistake that I don't like that. To me, that's a... It settings people up for a kind of disappointment, and I wish they would just either make it a character or not make it a character. Rob: Yeah. Well, let us know over on Patreon, our Patreon family members who are watching, ⁓ what you love about character dining and maybe some drawbacks to character dining. And as we go through these different, ⁓ restaurants, ⁓ let us know what you think about them. And we'll check in with Eric as we go along to hear what's going on on Patreon, but I'm going to start us off with our very first restaurant. We're going to go in alphabetical order. And then at the end we'll pick our favorites and our not so favorites. ⁓ but first in alphabetical order is Akershus Royal banquet hall in Epcot. So this is in the Norway pavilion in Epcot. And you would think that would be where you would find Anna and Elsa from frozen, but you will not actually find Anna and Elsa there. You will however, find a delightful meal that is inspired by the cuisine of Norway and kind of Scandinavia, I think more generally. ⁓ and who you will find there, ⁓ is an assortment of princesses. It's not a set, ⁓ it's not a set lineup of princesses, but there will typically be four princesses that are not Anna and Elsa, So the princesses that might find at Akashus, you might find Cinderella, you might find Ariel, the Little Mermaid, you might find Aurora. It's possible that you would find ⁓ Mulan. ⁓ It's possible that you would find ⁓ Jasmine. And am I missing anyone? ⁓ is is brave. ⁓ yeah. Does Bell sometimes show up there? Merida. Yeah. Jessica: I think Belle, Merida, Merida, Merida, yeah, Merida. And it's a crapshoot. I find Akershus a crapshoot. But I mean, it's good because you, I mean, you can go multiple times and get different princesses. But I think, and it's a good set of princesses. Four princesses for the price of one, you know? Erick: Diana. Diana Vail. Rob: Yeah. Well, and, and the food there, I really liked the food. haven't been there for breakfast. I've heard very good things about their breakfast though. I've been there for lunch and I really enjoy the character meals that kind of go outside of the box a little bit with the culinary options. So there's definitely things on the menu that little kids are going to like. mean, they're going to have like the Swedish meatballs there. There's a lot that kids will enjoy and I'm pretty sure that the if you have little ones they can also just get really basic fare if they want they don't have to get you know they could I think they could probably just get like chicken tenders right at Acrisius so But if you want something a little bit more elevated I think a lot of the dishes there you're not gonna find in other parks outside of Epcot Erick: Yes. Rob: And it's I think it's really good food. I really enjoyed it. And that was one of the highlights for me. I would say the downside potentially to Acrisius. Number one, if you're not into princesses, that's all you're going to meet is princesses. And number two, we'll talk about this as we go through. These are all face characters. And what we mean by that is these are characters that, they will carry on conversations with you. Right? You know, and so if you're less comfortable engaging with characters or you have little ones who are maybe less comfortable engaging in a conversation with characters, this might be a little bit much just because, you know, it's just a much more interactive experience when you're dealing with the face characters who can speak with you. And so. If it's their first time or you've got really little ones, unless they're just super into princesses, you might want to consider one of the other options where it's maybe Mickey and friends, ⁓ where it's, it's more of a, a pantomime kind of interaction that I think is, is easier sometimes for little kids. ⁓ and any other thoughts on accuracy, Jessica? Jessica: will say just as a reminder, Anna and Elsa meet right outside. there is a, you know, there's already a meet and greet right there in Norway. That might be part of the reason why they're not there, but they are welcoming it in. know people are surprised, but, ⁓ and I don't think there's a way to know who your rotating princesses are, which I think is the worst part. I wish there was a way to know before you scheduled it. I think that would elevate this a little bit. And also, I don't know if you were gonna talk about this or not, but breakfast is only one, I think, dining credit, but dinner there is two. Dinner there is two dining credits. So as far as the cost, this is a two dining credit Princess Dinner, if you go there. So just remember that. It is only a one dining credit breakfast. What you'll find is breakfast a lot of times is the way to go. Rob: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I say, if you're on the dining plan, what we're referring to with the credits, most every meal at Walt Disney world only requires one meal credit to enjoy, but there's a handful of restaurants and accuracy for, is it just dinner? It's lunch and dinner, isn't it? It's lunch and yeah, accuracy is lunch and dinner require two of your dining credits to eat there. And if your goal is to get the best bang for your buck out of those credits, Jessica: Lunch and dinner, yes. Rob: You don't want to eat at any of the restaurants that take two. It just it's never a good value. It never works out in your favor. So Eric, what are we hearing over on Patreon about Acrisius? ⁓ Erick: So Jennifer mentioned that she loves Acre shoes breakfast. Jennifer wrote love Acre shoes breakfast, was surprised because we weren't huge fans of their lunch menu back ⁓ it was buffet. ⁓ And ⁓ also just mean was. Rob: Yeah, so this used to be a buffet before the pandemic. And when the pandemic happened, they were, everyone was kind of icked out by buffets. And so a lot of restaurants, Disney converted over to be kind of family style meals. And that's what it is now. So you still get as much as you care to eat and they will keep bringing whatever it is that you'd like more of, but it's going to be served to your table. And that's a good thing. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: to point out that we didn't mention earlier. And I, before we continue with that, that comment from Eric, I do want to also add that's a big plus when it comes to character dining. And we'll go over that with some of these other restaurants that have that feature. Anytime you're getting table service, it makes it much easier to interact with the characters because when it's a buffet, you're always anxious. ⁓ I want to go get something else from the buffet, but am I going to miss that character? Or then you just get back from the buffet and then you've got to do a character interaction, your food's getting cold. The fact that you have table service makes it a lot less stressful when it comes to dealing with characters. having said that, continue, what else are we hearing? Erick: Also, Jasmine was mentioning that she has seen Snow White over there, which I remember. Yes, I remember seeing her last time we were there. But also she brought to our attention that it's good for plant-based folks. ⁓ They're for breakfast as well. Rob: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, I can't wait to get over there for breakfast because I've heard great things. Well, are we ready to move on to our next restaurant? Jessica: our next restaurant alphabetically is Artist Point. So it's Storybook Dining at Artist Point with Snow White. So this is actually over at Wilderdus Lodge. And this is the first one where I wanna make sure we understand that it's dinner only. So you can only do this not for lunch, dinner only. So ⁓ like I said, one my cons here is my dad, I think if you've listened to the podcast long enough, know that Snow White is his favorite. Princess had always has been, always will be. And so he really wanted to have to meet Snow White. We do it every time he visits with us. And this was on his bucket list. We had to figure out how to leave the parks and go for dinner because you couldn't do it any other time. that is Wilderness Lodge. It's also a two credit meal. So it's another one that's two credits. ⁓ It has a combination. I would say it's a combination of it's served at the table, but of like a family style, plus you choose your entree. So they bring all the appetizers up together, all the desserts are a tray, but you choose your entrees. It's not anything ⁓ amazing. There's a chicken dish, there's a fish dish, there's a steak dish. ⁓ It's a good variety of food. The appetizers, they had a mushroom soup that was pretty good, ⁓ but nothing that's like... I wouldn't say this is the fine dining. The big draw to storybook is the characters you meet. You get a really good interaction with Snow White and then two of the dwarfs, you get Grumpy and Dopey. ⁓ And they come to your table and they spend time. ⁓ We were there and there was a child next to us. They spent a lot of time with that child. It was a great interaction for that kid with Dopey. Grumpy came over and it was just, it was a really cool interaction. But the star of the show, sorry dad, is not Snow White. The star of this show is the Evil Queen. And the Evil Queen, it's whatever version of the Evil Queen you see, it's amazing. Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: When we did the Disneyland episode, we talked about how some of them were just, you know, smarter, kind of quicker. This evil queen, she was improving, she was doing it, and that is the star. And there's a photo pass photographer there as well, taking pictures. So you get good pictures of your family with the evil queen. That is the star of that dinner. ⁓ It was a great interaction. So it was by far, you know, one of the best interactions we've had with the character was the time we spent with the evil queen. Rob: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I 1000 % agree with you. The evil Queen is the star of that show and what's cool about Snow White and Dopey and Grumpy will come out and they go from table to table. They also do like a little bit of kind of like a floor show at one point where they kind of do a song and it's very. It's very cute. think so. That's awesome, but then the evil Queen will summon you. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Rob: when she's ready to have an audience with you. And what's good about this is number one, they can kind of time it right in your meal usually. So it's, it's not something where, you know, the entrees just came down and then up. It's your one chance to meet the evil queen. So you're just going to leave your entree there and go meet, you know, they, they can kind of time it better that way. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: I will say about the food. I think the best way to think of the food ⁓ at artist's point, a lot of people love it. A lot of people rave that ⁓ they think it's the best food. And there are definitely highlights and I think it depends on which thing you order ⁓ as to how you're to feel about it. To me, I liken it to cruise ship food, ⁓ which I don't mean that as an insult. Like there's some great things on cruise ships, but it's kind of food that you can tell has been, you know, when they bring out the appetizers and they bring out the desserts, it's the same thing for everyone. And you know, you can tell they're kind of cranking this stuff out, which is like they do on the cruise ships. Jessica: Mm. Rob: And there's certain things that lend themselves well to that kind of preparation, like the soup that you mentioned, you know, is going to be good, uh, even if you're cranking it out. And then there's other things that I feel like for me, I was like, eh, I don't love this. I don't feel like there's like a canopy or something. I was like, yeah, it's kind of forgettable, but, it's there. It's here. Miss the food there in my opinion. All right. Moving on to our next restaurant. ⁓ This is the one that I feel like it's barely a character meal. ⁓ I'm can, can, I'm going to consider it a character meal because a does make an appearance, but it is be our guest at the magic kingdom. You are a at beasts castle. And during the course of your meal, beast will grace you with his presence very briefly from time to time. He's going to walk down the main, you know, like a walkways of each of the dining rooms. And he's going to kind of give you that I'm, I'm in a Royal procession kind of wave. And he might, you know, nod a little bit in your direction from time to time. They will tell you, that you are not to get up and try to have interactions with the beast. ⁓ So if what you're aiming for is a true, you know, getting photos with a character or having interaction with a character, this is not the location for you. It's also kind of notorious for having ⁓ some of the, just say their, their menu is not the favorite of many people who've done a lot of character dining meals. ⁓ On the plus side, you are in beast's castle, which is kind of a cool landmark in magic kingdom. And the only way you can explore it is to have a meal there. Number two, the dining rooms are beautiful. I mean, these are some of the best themed dining areas in all of Walt Disney world. They are stunning. And it doesn't really, no matter which dining room you get put in, most people want to be in that. the classic, you know, the big dining room that reminds you of where they were having their, their dance, where bell is in the yellow dress. You know, that's, I'm not sure the grand hall, I guess, is sort of the idea of it, but, ⁓ but there's also a dining room theme to be study, ⁓ where there's the, the, the Rose and the fireplace. And then it's just, every single room is great. ⁓ So there are some things, if you're a beauty and the beast fan, you're going to love being in those environments. But I think really the reason that it is limited is because, uh, you know, the, the beast, he has a big ego, a big ego. He has a big head and, um, he's also known to lose his head. You know what I mean? So he has to, he, he has to be very, uh, Erick: you Rob: Delicate with his interactions with with folks and so that's why it's kind of a more limited experience Jessica: ⁓ you know, when we went, I will say at the time my, ⁓ kids who were in their early twenties, so not like kids, kids, ⁓ they would have told you it was one of their favorite meals. ⁓ they had like, they really liked it. ⁓ I think cause they didn't have to pay for it. I think that was probably part of it. but, ⁓ you know, I think if you're a meat eater, I guess, I was really upset. They had almost nothing that I could eat almost every, every, cause it's French food, which is a Rob: Hahaha Jessica: I have a lot of problem with French food because it's always... But the kids at the time, and I think John too, I think everybody kind of liked the food. if you like French food, I've heard it's pretty good French food. It's not my jam, is it not? Okay. I've heard it 50-50. Some people seem to really like it, some people don't. So I would look at the menu and if it's something that is really exciting to you, maybe you'll like it, but it's expensive. Rob: I mean... Erick: Yes. ⁓ Jessica: I don't know if it's two table credits, it's expensive, it's expensive. I don't think you touched on that, but it's expensive. Rob: It is very expensive and the menu, I don't know when you went Jessica, but the menu changed after, would you go before after COVID? Okay. So yeah, you went after the new menu. Yeah. So the, actually this used to be, believe it or not before COVID, this was actually, think for lunch, it was a quick service, which is, which was, yeah, which I've heard good things about when it was a quick service. Yeah. Jessica: After COVID. Yeah, I went after COVID. It was good then. Erick: Everyone write about it. Rob: So I think hopefully maybe Disney will one day take it back to quick service for lunch or maybe make a quick service breakfast or something to give people a more, a way to make that accessible to more folks. Cause it is a very expensive table service meal. ⁓ yeah, I did not, but yeah, there's no breakfast currently. So, ⁓ but that could be an opportunity. Disney Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's very explicit and there's no breakfast. I don't know if you said that. This one has no breakfast. Rob: ⁓ Jessica, what is our next restaurant on the docket? Jessica: So I am doing one that is at the beach club. And this is another where it is breakfast only this time. So we've done a few that are dinner only. Now I'm gonna do breakfast only. So you guys are seeing where my con is coming in. And that is a Cape May Cafe. So Cape May Cafe is at the beach club. It's a breakfast. It's very reasonably priced and it's one dining credit. I will just say this is probably in this list one of the more reasonably priced breakfasts. It is a buffet though. So if you have concerns about the buffet, that's kind of one of those places, the buffet. They do have a omelet station on this buffet, which I think elevates it on some of the other buffets on property as far as breakfast goes. So the full service omelet station and they have Donald and Daisy, Goofy and Minnie in beach attire. So they're going to the beach. also because it's breakfast, you go there, ⁓ get a reservation there, go in the beach club, and then go hit the international gateway Epcot. So there's just a lot of, there's a lot of pros to this if you're kind of planning a day. Rob: so found it to be a pretty basic breakfast buffet. ⁓ I mean, there wasn't anything that I thought was like stand out amazing. I agree. It's nice that it has a an omelet station, but I mean, it's a pretty traditional breakfast. It's the it's the it's the outfits. This this one. I mean, these are some of ⁓ the most adorable you're really into, ⁓ you know, the five and you want to see them decked out ⁓ in a unique Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rob: And ⁓ another thing we should mention is a good thing to bring up. If you miss a character because you're at the buffet or maybe they just came right before you were seated, a character attendant will usually be coming around throughout your ⁓ and making sure they'll be keeping track of all the characters that you've seen. So just let them know if you're getting ready to leave, you're ready to kind of wrap up your meal and you haven't met someone. They're really good about making sure that that character makes their way back over to your table. ⁓ my next one that I'm going to about is kind of notorious. This one is there. There's some people who love it ⁓ and there's a lot of people strongly don't love It is Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. I think it's probably if you say character dining to a lot of people, this is maybe the first meal that comes into their heads because if you ever ride the monorail in the morning, you go right over Chef Mickey's, you know, on your way to the Magic Kingdom. And that is kind of one of the cooler things about this is you kind of you're there in your dining and there the monorail comes right through the restaurant. It's a cool vibe for that reason. ⁓ It's also unique in that this is, think, the only character dining meal where there are five characters. You get the full Fab Five, all of them come to your table. And I think all the others max out at four. So here you'll get Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Goofy and Pluto, I believe is the mix. And you don't get Daisy's app. but you get the fab five and the plus side is you get a lot of characters. They're all dressed like kind of chefs and they're, they're, they look like they're working in the, the kitchen. and just so you know, while it's called chef Mickey's Donald, ⁓ is under the impression that he is actually the chef. ⁓ so don't make the mistake when Donald's around of, of thinking that Mickey is the chef is no, it is Donald. Donald's number one, but it's a, the, went there for breakfast. I've never done it for lunch or dinner. I can say I've, I've seen the, the, buffet. It's a buffet restaurant. We should mention that as well. I've seen the buffet for, for lunch and dinner, and it doesn't look stellar. It looks like it's pretty mid in terms of your, your selection for lunch and dinner for breakfast though. It's, Jessica: Mm. Rob: you know, it's your basic breakfast. It's what you're going to expect to find on a breakfast buffet. Nothing was, you know, mind-blowingly good, but nothing was really bad either. It was just kind of basic, I would say. And for, for a lot of families, that's kind of what you're looking for, right? You've got little ones who have very, you know, picky pallets and they want the food that they're familiar with for breakfast. That's what you're going to find here. Mickey waffles are definitely on the menu. eggs, bacon, sausage, and they have a lot of different breakfast cereals. I do remember there was a family sitting next to us and the parents were, were audibly quite displeased with what they had paid for this breakfast and all their kids were eating were Froot Loops. But you know, ⁓ it was, it was a very expensive bowl of Froot Loops for that family. this is a very expensive meal. It's, I think Erick: You Jessica: It was. Erick: You Rob: You know, in terms of what you're getting for for your meal, I would say, you know, this one is kind of a little overpriced, maybe because it doesn't have some of the more exciting food options you're going to find at some of these other buffets. But you do get that cool ambiance at the contemporary. You get the monorail and you get five characters. Anything else to add to that one, Jessica? Mm hmm. Jessica: It's loud. mean, that's one of the things she didn't mention is that it is loud. If you have a sensory, a child with sensory issues, ⁓ this is probably the loudest of all of these restaurants. And it gets louder because they do things to make people sing songs, do chants, do your napkin in the air. That restaurant itself, because of the monorail, because of the... architecture of the contemporary. It's just a loud place. But if you're looking to meet the Fab Five characters and you have a child with sensory issues, this may not be the choice. Rob: Yeah, that did remind me though. If you've got a kid who really wants to, mean interact in a big way with the characters, this is maybe the best because they will have like little dance parties where you can. The kids will get up and dance with the characters and because it's not a huge space, the characters and there's five of them. I think we saw every character twice. I mean they come around a lot and I just remembered. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: This is another one where there is a dedicated PhotoPass photographer. ⁓ There's a PhotoPass you actually go to a specific location and take pictures. It's not not always with a character. I think you just get your it's like a backdrop that you get your picture taken with and you might get lucky. It's possible. Maybe like a character might be passing through, but don't expect to get character pictures from the PhotoPass photographer. ⁓ Jessica: There's a backdrop. Erick: It's just a backdrop, it's not a character. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, we've done it twice. We've done breakfast and lunch. This is a while ago when my kids were smaller and the kids loved it and I hated it. But because of the reasons why, I mean, it's loud, it's overpriced, it's a lot. But if your kids want to do the dance party and they want to, it's a lot of fun for kids. I think I made mom go to that one when the kids were small too. I don't think she was a fan either. But ⁓ yeah, it's... Rob: Hehehehehe You Jessica: It is, it's exactly what you think it is if you've seen it. It's exactly that. Rob: Yeah. Eric, anything we're hearing on the chat about Chef Mickey's? Erick: Following with Jessica Jules mentioned, video of noise and crowds at Jeff Mickey's ⁓ and it enough for me to steer clear. Rob: Yeah, it's and you can kind of tell sometimes when you're in the monorail going over you look down I mean, it's it's just it's sometimes a wild time down there Well now it is time for I would say in many respects this is kind of the the crown jewel of dining experiences. What is our next restaurant Jessica? Jessica: Our next restaurant is Cinderella's Royal Table. Another one that is actually, and this is much like Chef Mickey's, this one is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So we got all three, finally. We've got one that's gonna cover all three. This, however, is two table service credits for both breakfast and lunch and dinner. So all of that. And Cinderella's Royal Table, you were guaranteed to meet Cinderella, but the other princesses are a random assortment of princesses. Much like we said for Akashush, it could be Merida could be Jasmine, Ariel. We saw Rapunzel once. We've seen, ⁓ I'm trying to think who else, we saw Aurora. So you could see a lot of different ones there. And there's no, you don't know when you walk in the door. So if your child has a princess they have to see this and it's not Cinderella, you can't guarantee they're gonna do this. The big benefit, the number one benefit is you eat in the castle It's a plated meal. So unlike the other ones, it's not a buffet, it's a plated meal. There's choices. If you have a child who's gonna order chicken tenders and mac and cheese, this is an expensive chicken tender and mac and cheese, but there is a chicken tender and mac and cheese option. There's also a Mickey waffle option. it's one of those things where I don't remember thinking the food was bad. Like the food, but the food was not why I was there. The food, the reason that we went there both times we've went there is to watch my child eat in the castle and to be in the castle and to climb those stairs and to take those pictures and to see the princesses. ⁓ It's one that, although if you have a child that really wants to meet a princess and it's a big deal, it's really cool. It's a cool experience. It's another one that's expensive. ⁓ But I think it's worth it in a lot of ways. ⁓ And they do have a dedicated photographer to take a picture with Cinderella. You get ⁓ either a star wand or a sword when you leave ⁓ as a souvenir. And at one point in my life, I had those star wands in my office. think my children might have taken those back. But I had them in the office. mean, for probably 15 years, I had that star wand as a reminder of that trip. Rob: Hahaha! Jessica: in the office. I have pictures of my kids with meeting the princesses. It's a cool experience. ⁓ It's everything you want it to be. You go into the castle. the con is as expensive, I think, in my mind. Rob: So this is the only one that I have not yet done. I'm definitely planning to do it at some point. ⁓ I think I'm the only one here who's never been inside Sendrails Royal Table because Eric has been inside Sendrails Royal Table many times. ⁓ I've never set foot in there. I have heard from folks that the ultimate experience is to make your reservation during fireworks. Jessica: Agreed. Rob: To experience the the fireworks show from inside the castle is apparently a very cool experience ⁓ And I've heard the food on multiple occasions I've heard people describe the food as like wedding or banquet food just kind of Jessica: I remember the dinner, I don't remember if we did dinner or lunch, but I remember the lunch being better than the breakfast. Like I remember thinking, ⁓ this was worth it. This was a good meal when we ate the dinner. The breakfast was just breakfast food. That's probably fair, a good ⁓ wedding food, a good banquet food is probably what it is. I mean, it's mass produced food. There's only like three items on the menu. And they're churning you out, man. There's a lot of people that go to Cinderella's table every day. Rob: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Jessica: So for that, it's good food, ⁓ good experience. Rob: That is the other downside I've heard from people. And you just mentioned that apparently this is one where you're going to feel a little bit rushed ⁓ through your meal more. Jessica: You will only meet each princess once. It's a one time through with the princesses. can't really, unless you take your child to the bathroom, you're not going to miss a princess because you don't have to go to the buffet. But it's one princess once most of the time. And it's a pretty fast service. It's a fast service. So there's pluses and minuses to that. You're not spending hours missing part time. ⁓ But if you have a slower eater, it might be hard. Rob: Eric, did you have anything to add about Cinderella's royal table or do we have anything from the chat? Erick: Jennifer, ⁓ she wrote CRT was our meal on property in 2025. just before the Christmas party when we finished to paraphrase my husband said, wow, I didn't expect much from the food, but I think this was my favorite meal on property this year. Rob: Well, that's great to hear. ⁓ it sounds like maybe it's also possible. So what I heard about the food was quite a while back. So maybe it's also possible that the food has just been improving one last I'm going to mention about send Roswell table, because this is important. ⁓ If you to do Cinderella's Royal table, this is one that you will need to book ⁓ the very reservations open for you. ⁓ And this a good time to mention that if you're staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, ⁓ you can for your entire hotel stay up to, think a total of 10 days for restaurants starting 60 days out from your check-in day and it'll be at 6 a.m. But if you're not staying at a Disney World hotel, you have to book 60 days out from the day you want to dine starting at 6 a.m. And the challenge is a restaurant like Cinderella's Royal Table, which is extremely popular in many cases is going to be completely booked up by hotel guests. by the time it comes available to the general public, which is unfortunate. But if that does happen to you, I would recommend there are apps out there ⁓ that you can use that will keep an eye on the reservations for you. And if one pops open during your trip, it'll let you know. Steakout is one of those apps that I've used in the past, but there are others. So the benefit of Steakout is if you're just watching one restaurant, if you're just watching a Cinderella's royal table, you can do, you can use it for free. It'll, it'll watch one, you know, sort of meal slot for you at a specific restaurant for free. ⁓ or just keep checking, you know, if you miss it, just keep checking from time to time and hopefully you'll get lucky and find a reservation pop up. Well, our next restaurant is one that I've to be honest. ⁓ I was really surprised by how much ⁓ love this restaurant gets because I'd only eaten there for lunch and was ⁓ fine. There were things I loved about it, but it wasn't something that I considered one of my favorites. But boy, ⁓ boy, we did a poll on Patreon. We're going to release the results later, but this restaurant did very well in that poll. And when we did our hidden gems episode, Jessica listed this as a hidden gem for breakfast specifically because they have the famous Mickey churro waffles, which typically you can only get One day on your cruise voyage on a Disney cruise. I mean even on a Disney cruise it is a very coveted meal item that only happens one morning, but you can also get it every morning at the breakfast buffet at Crystal Palace this is a restaurant that is in the Magic Kingdom and I'll start with the things that I love about this place because there are things that I love about it. It is gorgeous inside. It is one of the most Jessica: you Rob: beautiful restaurants. It feels like you're in an English conservatory. mean, with just lots of greenery, lots of plants, lots of windows. It's very bright. And it's just, it's a lovely kind of elevated atmosphere. It compared to the other dining options in magic kingdom. It's, it's a little chaotic cause it's still, you know, character dining, but when compared to the other restaurants, It's a, it feels a little bit more refined, certainly more refined than chef Mickey's. it's also a unique one because you, the characters that you meet here are the characters from the hundred acre wood. it's Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore and Tigger and Piglet. And just so if you're, if you're a fan of Winnie the Pooh, this is the only place where you can meet Winnie the Pooh in a character meal setting. Jessica: haha Rob: So this will probably go to the top of your list for that as well. I have not tried it yet for breakfast, but I got to say after the poll today and after Jessica's ringing endorsement in the hidden gems episode, I'm actually really looking forward to going back to Crystal Palace for breakfast. I can only give a review of lunch and dinner, which is to say that it was pretty me. I didn't love the buffet. ⁓ for lunch. It was kind of not really, mean, can't even so much so I can't really remember much of what was on the buffet. Everything was just kind of, I remember that there was a so-so salad bar that was pretty limited and you know, like some broccoli and you know, just kind of basics on the hot bar. love ⁓ the lunch buffet, but sounds like breakfast. is the place to be. In fact, I was surprised to see how many people had voted for it. So I asked in the comments on Patreon, said, everyone who voted, let me know, did you go for breakfast or lunch or dinner? And overwhelmingly, the answer was breakfast. So I do think that's the secret. ⁓ Jessica, you're a big fan. So take it away. What are your thoughts? Jessica: Yeah. I've only been for breakfast. I mean, that's the key. I honestly couldn't, I've never been anything other than breakfast. And spoiler alert, this is my top. I mean, we love breakfast here. I have been to this character dinner more than any other character meal at Disney. ⁓ I love the fact that you can meet Eeyore. ⁓ I think I've said this in another podcast. We have a son who loves Eeyore. It's only place outside of parties you can meet Eeyore consistently. Poo and Tigger, you can sometimes see at, you see Poo and Tigger outside of the ride, but Eeyore and Piglet, ⁓ this is it. So for me, this is just the best. It's a guaranteed best characters, guaranteed great interactions, really good breakfast buffet and a good way to start your day at Magic Kingdom in my personal opinion. But I understand if you've been there for lunch and dinner, you may have been disappointed. Please give it another shot and go for breakfast is what I would ask. Rob: All right, Eric, what are we hearing on the chat about Crystal Palace? Erick: breakfast. That's the main answer. And the reason is because Jessica converted us all to Crystal Palace churro waffles. Jessica: I didn't know everybody didn't know that, because I thought that was the big draw. But it is the best. It's the number one reason. It's not the number one. Actually, the breakfast buffet is good, y'all, even without churro waffles. But churro waffles kind of takes it over the edge. Erick: had no idea. Rob: We were just on the wish and ⁓ churro waffles is there's a lot of things at Disney. Let's be honest that are legendary that people just rave about. And then when you actually have it, you're like, I mean, okay, that's good, I guess. But the churro waffle is one of the few things that truly lives up to the hype. I mean, this thing, imagine a Mickey waffle that has been deep fried and then rolled in cinnamon sugar. I mean, how can that not be delicious? Erick: Yes. Rob: And yeah, it's really good. Yes, you are. What is what is the next restaurant on on our list? Jessica: It's amazing. Am I up next? The next restaurant on our list is we're going to Epcot, back to Epcot, and we're going to the Garden Grill. So Garden Grill is in Epcot in the land pavilion. It is a rotating style ⁓ restaurant, which means the floor rotates slowly through the Living with the Land ⁓ ride. So this is kind of a unique experience. It is a gardener farmer theme. So this is where you could see Farmer Mickey, which what I said in the beginning, one of the pros was to see characters in unique costumes. ⁓ Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale are the four characters you'll see here. The food is served family style here and ⁓ for breakfast it's the normal Mickey waffles, sausage, eggs. For dinner it's a turkey steak, some vegetables, think a salad, bread rolls. It's a pretty decent kind of just family style meal. I ⁓ think the theme here is it's nothing to write home about in some cases, but it was good. And the character interactions, once again, the costumes, character interactions, and going through living with the land. That's a big draw for a lot of people is going through living with the land. I think that's it. know, I've been, I've only been once to Garden Grill. ⁓ We enjoyed it. I will say, and I think maybe Eric will speak on this. It does move. The restaurant moves. So if you have some motion sickness, this might not be the ride, the ride. This might not be the meal for you. ⁓ And It is distracting, I think, for little kids because the restaurant's moving, so they're seeing the ride. So it's kind of, you know, it's distracting a little bit. But it was a good experience to be able to do Chip and Dale. That to me was the big draw for this one. Rob: So here's the thing you say if you have motion sickness, sickness issues that you might need to be aware. Eric, do you have motion sickness issues on say the teacups? You okay? Yeah, you're okay with the teacups. Let's say guardians or star tours. Do those give you no, no issues at all. Garden grill. How does, how do you feel about garden grill? Erick: Feel nothing, nope. Jessica: Mm-hmm Erick: ⁓ boy. ⁓ boy, no. I can't. Rob: So it's the only thing I've ever seen Eric get get like motion sickness from is the Garden Grill, which I think is funny of all the attractions at Walt Disney World. The only one Eric can't do is Garden Grill. ⁓ I did not have that issue and I know, you I think but it's it's one of those things that if you have it, I mean, Eric couldn't finish his meal. He had to leave. I mean, he had to he had to go because he just couldn't. So Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Eric. What are your thoughts on Garden Grill and what are we hearing from Patreon? Erick: the chat, wrote, the cinnamon bread that the garden grill breakfast is to die for. My friends enjoy the all you can eat steak for breakfast. I have motion sickness, but I took Dramamine before I ate. ⁓ each character about times. Rob: You Yeah, I will say that's another great thing about Garden Grill. You will see the characters more than once. It's not a huge space and they make the rotation, pun intended, ⁓ several times. And the other thing that's great about it, it is one of those, it's a table service where they're gonna bring the food to you. ⁓ And so you have more quality time with the characters. You're able to enjoy your meal a little bit more and they don't rush you out there. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: at all. I feel like you could hang and they're not gonna, you know, run you out the door. Jessica: Yeah. Rob: All right. Well, so the next one I'm going to talk about, I am surprised because this one has not gotten any love. ⁓ it's P people are not fans of this one. Whereas I feel like Eric and I both, especially the first couple of times we went, we're like, this is a step up in terms of the buffet. We really liked it. We had good experiences, but Hollywood and vine at Hollywood studios, not a popular location. It seems. ⁓ I think maybe one of the reasons for that is because during the morning it would be the Disney Junior characters and then in afternoon it would be Mickey and I mean will be Minnie and the gang and then if it was the holidays. then it would always be Minnie and she would be dressed in like holiday things. But if it was Halloween, it was always like, like Vampirina. It was just all over the place and people kind of, didn't know what you were going to get. And I also think that when it was the Disney junior characters, those were less popular. I think with a lot of, a lot of families maybe saw during the day that it was Minnie. And so they were excited to book it for breakfast and then they go there. And it's, you know, Fancy Nancy and Vampirina and that crew, Doc McStuffins. ⁓ I think Disney has heard from folks that that maybe wasn't quite as popular. So now the Disney Junior crew, at least for right now, is gone. It's always going to be Minnie and it's going to be Minnie and Mickey. And I believe it's Goofy and Pluto is the mix. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: And they're going to change their outfits depending on the season now. So if you come near Halloween, they'll be dressed in Halloween costumes. Christmas, they'll be in their Christmas finery. Right now they're going to be decked out for spring. ⁓ But they kind of change their outfits depending on the season. The food there is a very just straight up traditional buffet. If you go for breakfast, it's going to be what you'd expect from a breakfast buffet. If you go for lunch and dinner, you know, it's it's There's not anything specific on the menu that's unique. I would say that I can think of. ⁓ It's it's good though. I mean, I will say the last time we were there it was a little subpar, but but even then it was. It was a good buffet. It wasn't bad. There were definitely some good things on the menu. I also appreciated that there were a lot of healthy things on the menu. If you're a plant based eater, there were a lot of plant based options, ⁓ so I don't know. ⁓ Fair warning though, ⁓ my opinion that it's a good buffet is not shared by everyone. A lot of folks didn't care for it. So Jessica, I know you are definitely not a fan of Hollywood and Vine, correct? Jessica: Well, I mean, no, this is the one that I haven't been to. You haven't been to Cinderella's Royal Table. This is the one I haven't been to because the reviews were so, the ones reviews that I've read have been so negative. I mean, this is one of those that I said, well, if I'm going to do a buffet, I'd rather do Kate May's or I'd rather do, you know, a sit down meal or I'd rather do this. I'm not going to spend time for the buffet there. So this is the one on the list that I've actually never been to. I am Rob: ⁓ Jessica: Every time during Halloween, I am tempted because of the costumes and I do want to see those costumes. That's the only one that tempts me, but I'm also much more likely to do breakfast than lunch or dinner ever at a big... That's when I want my big meal in the heat. I don't want to eat a big meal, lunch or dinner ever in Florida. So I'm always more likely to get bang for the buck by eating breakfast at one of these. So when it was not going to be the Mickey Halloween, I wasn't interested. But now... If they're gonna have Halloween characters, it might be something I try this year, but this is the one I've not done. Rob: All right, Eric, what are we hearing on Patreon? They were not loving it earlier today in the chat. What are they saying now? Erick: So Laura mentioned, my then four year ⁓ the Disney Junior characters. ⁓ reason we to Hollywood Studios, our first trip was to meet Vampirina and especially ⁓ Doc McStuffins. But like for Christina, what turns me away from Hollywood and Vine is the decor. From your videos it looks like a high school cafeteria, sterile and not ⁓ whimsical. But the characters and outfits are tempting. Rob: Yeah, it feels it's meant to feel like a like a diner like a 50s diner I think is kind of what they're going for. But it's a very generic feeling 50s diner. It's not. ⁓ It's in terms of decor is not one of my favorites. right, what is our next meal? Jessica: Our next one is one of the ones that you can only go to for breakfast. And we're leaving the parks again and we're going to the Polynesian. And this time we're doing Ohana's. But Ohana's is a very unique one in that this is where you can meet Lilo and Stitch. You also see Mickey and Pluto in their Hawaiian Polynesian garb. But if you're a Stitch fan, this is it. If you're a Lilo and Stitch fan, this is the meal for you. It is a breakfast only, I think I said that. one table service credit, so it's a good deal. But it is family style again, all you can eat, family style. The food slightly, I would say it's slightly elevated to some of the other food we've been talking about. It is scrambled eggs, but it's Hawaiian style, pineapple bread, they stitch waffles instead of just Mickey waffles. I can't speak to the meat options, but I know they also had potatoes if I'm remembering correctly. It was, I did both. Garden Grill family style breakfast and Ohana family style breakfast. I like the Ohana better. I think it was a better breakfast. ⁓ But in my mind, this is the atmosphere at the Polynesian sitting in that room, looking out at the Polynesian. It's a really cool environment and it's Lilo and Stitch. And I mean, can't, there's nothing else you need to say. If you're a Lilo and Stitch fan, this is the breakfast for you. ⁓ It is very hard to get. I would say this is almost as hard to get as Cinderella's Royal Table and it's. only for breakfast. So there's a limited number of reservations. This one, if you want it, you need to get it as soon as possible. Rob: Yeah, I really liked it as well. I've only done it once. So I like Ohana for dinner mainly because of the noodles. I love the noodles. ⁓ and the rest of it, can kind of take relief. So it's a very expensive way to eat some delicious noodles for me when I go for dinner. But for breakfast, I love everything that's on the menu. ⁓ it is a little bit overpriced for what you're getting to be fair. I mean, it's all pretty, you know, it's as, as you mentioned, it's a little bit elevated, elevated versions of breakfast basics, but it's still breakfast basics and it's a lot of money. But I second that it's all about the environment and stitch. and you know, Lilo and I really actually like being in Ohana more in the morning than I do in the evening because all that light coming in from the windows and the views that you get, we were lucky enough to be seated by a window overlooking the pool, I believe was our view. And it was just, it was lovely. I, when I think back on that breakfast, I remember it. As one of one of my better breakfasts. I've had a Disney World. I really liked it. Eric, what are we hearing on the chat about Ohana? Erick: From Denise, so true, if you wanna stay, this is the place. I thought it was delicious and special. From Laura, Ohana was hands down the most rushed character meal we have ever had at ⁓ Walt Disney World. One of the few times I felt like we were getting lesser service since we were a small party of two. Go happy in a bad day for the cast member, but even my kidda commented that they felt rushed. Jessica: ⁓ wow. Rob: how. Jessica: Wow. Erick: from Jasmine. We have had a mixed bag at Ohana in terms of service slash food. We've had really good experiences and times where we felt like they were just rushing us out. Okay, so. Rob: Interesting. So that does seem to be a consistent issue. We had the opposite from that when we were there. Our server was very relaxed and chatted with us for a long time and the characters took a long time with interactions, but clearly multiple people having that issue of feeling rushed there. So that sounds like that could be something that may happen to you. Jessica: That's interesting. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I wonder if they over oversell spots there sometimes and they gotta turn them out, but I don't know. Rob: Maybe. Yeah. Well, our next meal is easily the most popular in the chat today on Patreon during the day. I'm not sure if it's still what the chat's going looking like during the show, but people really love this one. It is Topolino's Terrace at the Riviera. totally no, in case you're not aware is the name for Mickey ⁓ in and it's also ⁓ apparently the. name for it's it's the name of a little mouse is called Topolino and that's why that's Mickey's name in Italy. And it's a very special character breakfast. ⁓ It is however only a character dining meal during breakfast. So if you go for dinner, it's going to be a fancy pants kind of Italian. but breakfast it's a, it's an elevated breakfast menu. I would say even more so than ⁓ Ohana. ⁓ it's going to be, ⁓ the bread basket when it comes out, it's going to have French pastries, ⁓ croissants and, and, and other delightful goodies. ⁓ And the you will order a meal from a menu. So this is not like the others where it's kind of family style and they bring out the same thing to every table. You will actually order the meal that you want ⁓ from the menu. And this is not going to be one of those things where they keep bringing you food. So when you come when you get your your breakfast meal, it's just an entree. I do think they will bring you more of. You know like the bread and and other things or the dessert I think you can get multiple of those maybe but your entree is just going to be what you get ⁓ But it's very good food Everything we've had there has been delicious and what's probably most special about it ⁓ are the character interactions themselves so the characters that are there are going to be Donald who is dressed as a sculptor and Daisy who is dressed as a fashion designer there's Minnie who is dressed as a poet then there's Mickey who's dressed as a painter and They just really not only do other outfits themed, but they actually really take it to the next level in terms of the interactions you have with them. Donald is gonna, you know, he's gonna be ready to sculpt you and marble, you know, he's gonna maybe get the kids to pose or something, you know, for his sculpture. And Daisy is absolutely gonna be talking about, you know, when I say talking, they don't talk, but, know, interacting. it just ⁓ gives you more to with when you can kind of interact with the characters, not just as Mickey. but also as an artist, as artist Mickey, you know, and, and it's just, ⁓ it's an elevated character experience. In my opinion, the views from Topolino's Terrace are also spectacular. It is the top floor of the Riviera. You have views, I think of at least three of the theme parks from there. I don't know if you can see quite all four, but you can see at least three of them from, from there. And it's just floor to ceiling windows. It's really bright and airy in the morning. And best of all, after your meal, you're invited to step out onto the terrace because there's an actual outdoor area and they do not rush you at all. If you want to just hang out out there before or after your meal, you're invited to do so. Um, and it's just a very relaxed environment. I really have enjoyed it when we've been there. And I would say it's definitely worth if that sounds like something that would be appealing to you and your family, it's going to meet your expectations. It's a very, it's a very good experience. Jessica, what are your thoughts on Topolinos? Jessica: Well, actually in the car ride, I took my daughter to the airport this weekend. In the car ride, I told her this was going to be our topic for Monday. And she said, I had to talk about how good the food was at the breakfast we went to where Mickey was a painter. That was her. doesn't remember what it's called, but she said this was her favorite. Out of all the meals we had, this is her favorite. So the food... Erick: You Jessica: Without the characters even there, this would be an amazing breakfast. I think that's the key. I think all of the other places we've talked about, unless I'm forgetting something that we've talked about so far, ⁓ the most exciting part of these are not the food. The most exciting part has been the characters. This to me is the exception to the rule here on this list, one of the exceptions to the rule, and that is the food is phenomenal. The avocado toast. I think she had the steak and eggs. My other daughter had like berry compote on waffles or something. I'm trying to remember what it was, but everybody had something and it was really good food. The interactions were great. The space is great. I'll just say that's one of my, it was one of the best ⁓ experiences. We took my mom, this was when we went, my, we did our girls trip with my daughters, me and my mom and. The four of us went there and just had a great time and you do not feel rushed. If everybody's talking about, we did not feel rushed at all. I think we could have sat there for as long as we wanted to sit there. Rob: Yeah. And we have the quiche. I think was the one I had what I had last time I was there. It was also delicious. So yeah, this one's definitely very much about the food. I agree. Although the one the restaurant you're talking about next is actually my favorite food wise. But but you're right. This is this is one of the few. Yet. Yeah. Yeah. So, Eric, what do we hear it on the chat about Topolino's? Jessica: Mm. I don't remember. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I said, yet, that we've talked about yet. That's what I said. Erick: Ellen, Topolinos was the best meal we had our week and we had a window table with just a fantastic view. My son doesn't like chocolate so I asked for extra of the non-chocolate pastries and they accommodated. Also, little known fact, Donald melt the fountains outside. Rob: Oh, good to know. I mean, I'm sure that if you talk to Donald long enough, he'll tell you that he built the foundation too. He's an industrious little duck. Erick: I'm from Loo- Jessica: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rob: Anything else before we move on to Jessica's next restaurant that I'm excited to talk about as well? Alright, take it away, Jessica. Jessica: So mine and I think my last one on the list or the second to last total is Tusker House. So we are going to Animal Kingdom and back there in Africa is the Tusker House ⁓ restaurant. This is for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is a buffet again. And you've got Safari, Mickey, Safari, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. So no mini at this, but the four are Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy. in the cutest outfits you will ever see, ever see. It's just amazing. And the big thing here though is, much like Topolino's, this is a good food. This is really good food. It's a great buffet. And it's not your average buffet for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner. It is elevated food. It unique food. ⁓ And Rob: Mm-hmm. Jessica: It's African flair food, but it just has a lot of flavor, a lot of interesting options. And it also has, full disclosure, for the kids, a kids section. So if your kids just want Mickey waffles and eggs, they have Mickey waffles and eggs. If your kids just want chicken tenders and mac and cheese, there's chicken tenders and mac and cheese. But while they're eating that, you can actually eat food that is really good. I would say if you've been to Boma and you liked that, this is a good comparison. ⁓ You do have to go into Animal Kingdom, but Animal Kingdom opens early. So this is a great breakfast option. Obviously, Animal Kingdom closes early, so it doesn't have a lot of late options for dinner. ⁓ You can it close to close of Animal Kingdom and then kind of leave the park. But really like it. It's really good. We've been a couple times. ⁓ I highly recommend if you're looking for ⁓ a Mickey in a cute outfit ⁓ and you're interested in a good this is an option that I highly recommend. Rob: Yep. Safari outfits are adorable. But for me, this one is about the food. Like I, if there were no characters here, it would still be one of my favorite restaurants in animal kingdom. We just finally had breakfast there for the first time. And that's actually going to be in the video, the dining plan video, cause we did it for the dining plan and ⁓ Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Breakfast is the one exception. It's easy to find reservations for this one for lunch and dinner, but breakfast can be a little tough if you're here during a busy period just because it's a more limited window and it's more popular. I think because it's less expensive for breakfast, but it's still, I mean, I was shocked. I was curious to see if it was still going to be those adventurous ⁓ buffet items like you find it Boma. Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: So there lots of African inspired dishes. There was a mealy pap with a with a chicken curry, which I was surprised how much I enjoyed that for breakfast. But it was basically I mean, mealy pap is basically like grits kind of, you know, and it was yeah, it was delicious. The Bobo de if you've never had Bobo de before, I'm not even sure I'm saying that correctly. But ⁓ man, was it so good? I went back for seconds. Jessica: Grits, yeah, I love the grits. Erick: Yeah, that was good. Rob: But even if you're not looking at for like the, the, the more, you know, ⁓ international flavors, they have great traditional food as well. Probably my favorite thing I ate there was, ⁓ a cinnamon roll bread pudding that was if possible, even better than it sounds. It was just heavenly. It was so good. ⁓ so really something for everyone there. And I, I highly recommend Tusker House for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Really great spot. Well, our final restaurant we're going to talk about, um, we're going alphabetically, but this one's a 1900 park fair. So even if we put it at the beginning of the end, we decided to put it at the end. 1900 park fair was gone for a very long time. Um, it closed during the pandemic and it didn't reopen until much later. And when it reopened, it completely changed. Um, cause as I understand it, 1900 Park Fair used to feature Mary Poppins ⁓ was was the star there and now it is an unusual mix of Princes and Princesses. It's so it's when we were there. It was Aladdin and Tiana and trying to remember who Cinderella and Mirabelle. Erick: Cinderella and... Mirabelle. Jessica: Mirabel. think it's always those four. Rob: Yeah, that one is set. And part of the reason that it's set is because the buffet will also feature a signature dish from each of those characters. So there will be, I can't remember if it was a jambalaya or a gumbo that was, that was from Tiana's kitchen. And then, you know, each there was something that was, ⁓ Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: kind of a Middle Eastern food that was ⁓ representing Aladdin's favorite dish. Those I will say are the highlights of this buffet. The foods that were kind of signature foods of the characters were my favorite things there. The downside to this buffet is, the rest of the food is just not good. It was not, it was not a good meal. It was. It was just, it was very, uh, maybe it was just when we were there, we've only done it once. If you want to see what it looked like when we were there, it was actually the last dining plan video that we did for last year. We filmed the buffet, but I mean, it was even the buffet itself was just kind of always like half empty and it looked like things have been sitting out a little bit too long. Um, it was, it was overcrowded. It was, it felt like way too many people for the space. The tables were all just kind of, you just felt like you were jammed in there. ⁓ there was some interesting theming, but it was honestly because everything was so jammed in and you just felt like you were in such a chaotic environment with all the people you really couldn't appreciate the theme. At least I couldn't. So I did not walk away from 1900 park fair thinking it was one that I would be looking forward to returning to. I'm sad to say I did not care for it, but ⁓ I do know that some people like it and a lot of people loved it in its old format because I think Jessica that was how you you had had 1900 Park Fair then right? Jessica: Yeah, I've I've been I had been to Park Fair twice when it was Mary Poppins and I'm not going in protest that is And Disney is hearing my protest. I know and deep down ⁓ but this is another one where if Tiana or Mirabelle ⁓ or if you have ⁓ a Prince that might want to meet Aladdin. These are the only I mean, this is now Tiana you can see some other places sometimes in the parks, but Tiana in an interesting outfit. She's kind of in her, she's in, I want to say it's a safari outfit, but it's kind of a safari outfit. And Mirabelle, these are great places to meet them. And from what I've heard, the interactions with the characters are really nice ⁓ I am in protest for not having Mary Poppins and Bert. I'm not going. Rob: And it's funny because with this redo of the Grand Floridian, it feels like in many ways they've added more Mary Poppins. And it's really surprising that they took her away from that, their signature character meal. It was kind of strange. It was odd. Yeah. I think maybe they were planning to have Mary Poppins, but then she saw how the tables were arranged. She was like, no, no, no, this won't do. so, yeah, she... Jessica: I know. It makes no sense. ⁓ she thought this is not practically perfect in any way. Rob: Exactly. So Eric, does anyone in the chat think it's a practically perfect character meal or any other thoughts about 1900 Park Fair? Erick: Diana said, I 1900s park fair, had a great interaction with the characters. was nothing special, but was not bad to me. I also think that ⁓ the tables were a little close and ⁓ And from Laura, ⁓ Tiana's ⁓ The We Book and saved meal. I wish I could have submitted 12 cast compliments for Aladdin. Rob: That's great to hear. The character interactions, I will agree, were all wonderful. As I recall, Tiana is wearing her outfit from the attraction from Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Yeah, and so that's kind of unique. ⁓ I do it is you can also meet Tiana sometimes at Acre shoes, but you never know. She you know, does she ever show up at Cinderella's royal table? Maybe as well. I'm not sure. Yeah, so she. Jessica: and it's good to hear. Erick: Yes. Yes. Jessica: ⁓ that's what it is. Mm-mm. Erick: Sometimes, I believe. Rob: could be found other places, but Mirabelle and Aladdin. I don't think you see them at any other character meal than here that I can think of. Yeah. So ⁓ those are definitely super unique. All right. Well, now ⁓ the part where we're going to, we're going to share ⁓ top three and our bottom three. ⁓ ⁓ also going to share with you the results of our poll. Jessica: Not another character meal, no. Rob: from Patreon, their top three and bottom three. So I'm just gonna go ahead and start with my bottom three and then I'll hand it off to Jessica. number three ⁓ bad and one is the worst. going towards the worst. ⁓ Number three for me ⁓ is gonna be 1900 Park Fair. ⁓ just, while the character interactions were great, ⁓ just ambiance, the environment, ⁓ the food, wasn't phenomenal. ⁓ Number two for me in terms of the bottom would be chef Mickey's ⁓ and that's just as we talked about. It's just it's it's loud. It's a little bit chaotic. ⁓ But I'm not going to put it at the very bottom because it is a really good character interaction as well. You have a good experience with the characters and if your kids want to dance with Mickey, that's a cool thing that they can do there. My bottom is. Be our guest and it's it's kind of almost not fair to put in there because it is not truly a character meal, but that's kind of why it is my bottom. I mean, you just don't really have much of an interaction with the beast and the food just doesn't warrant the price tag. In my opinion, the only upside is the environment is the is the ambiance and you know it's worth doing if you're Beauty and the Beast fan, but otherwise I'd say be our guest is a skip in its current incarnation. Jessica, what are your bottom three? Jessica: My bottom three are the same. I think, you know, 1900 Park Fair, it's a bottom because of, because they don't have Mary Poppins anymore. So that's a little bit of a cop out, but that is in my bottom. ⁓ I think when I look at bottom, I look at ones I won't be going back to and I won't be going back to Chef Bickey and Be Our Guest. ⁓ And the ones I don't recommend to people. ⁓ I don't recommend Chef Bickey's to people and I don't recommend Be Our Guest to people. In fact, I tell people I wouldn't go. Like if you're a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, go to the Bell's, Enchanted Storytime with Bell. Do that and then eat somewhere else. I don't recommend Be Our Guest and I don't recommend, if you're gonna go, if you wanna have a good meal and you wanna see Mickey, eat at the quick service and drink at the bar next to Chef Mickey. Don't go to Chef Mickey. So. Rob: Yeah. Well, ⁓ we had a poll on Patreon and there were very few restaurants that were in the single digits. coming in at number three in the bottom three was Chef Mickey's was at the contemporary only got six votes for Chef Mickey's behind that. This one surprised me Hollywood and Vine. Jessica: Mmm. Rob: Hollywood and vine only got four votes. So that is the number two least favorite, but the bottom with zero votes, no one, no one voted for be our guest. ⁓ so yeah, I think that sounds pretty universal. Be our guest is a skip, but now let's talk about a more fun topic, which is our top three, the thing, the three that we love the most. And, ⁓ for me, Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: ⁓ Number three in my top three is actually going to be storybook dining at artist point. Even though it's not my favorite food, ⁓ the food is good. It's not, you know, it's not amazing, but it's good. ⁓ But the ambiance of it, the fact that it's a table service meal that you feel like, you know, you're not as rushed to kind of go run back and forth at the buffet and have to split that up with time with the characters. The fact that you get that dedicated moment with the evil queen. I love that evil queen interaction. So that alone is enough to make it one of my favorites. ⁓ but yeah, I would say that is my number number three. My number two favorite is a one that a lot of people put is their number one. And that is Topolino's Terrace for all the reasons we mentioned, great character interactions, really great food. But for me, the number one is Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Tusker house. I just, I love that food so much. I love the character interactions. I love the costumes. The characters are in there's, there's nothing. I've got nothing bad to say about Tusker house. There's no drawbacks. It's just a great meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. So that is my number one, Jessica. What are your top three? Jessica: So when I looked at top three, I decided to take food out of the equation a little bit and think about the experience, mainly because in a lot of ways for these, you're paying for the experience and what the memory to me is of these experiences. And so for me, number three is Cinderella's royal table. I look back at the times I have dined there with great... ⁓ with great love. It was some of the best experiences I've had with my kids. It was some of the best experiences I've had at Magic Kingdom. It was magical in all the ways you want it to be. So Cinderella Roll table is there. ⁓ Then I'll put ⁓ Tusker House because once again, the kids experiences with Donald and Daisy there, that was when they were younger. I just have those memories. It was great. And I think the food is also good there. But it should come as no surprise to anyone who's taught, listened to me that the best interactions we've had are with Eeyore. The best interactions I've had as an adult, as a mother with little children, a mother with a grown children have been with the Winnie the Pooh characters. And even if they didn't have churro waffles, I think it would be on my top three list because the interactions we've had with the Winnie the Pooh characters there are just phenomenal. So for me, that's number one. And I think it's because of the characters. That's just how I chose to rank those was kind of the feeling they evoke. Crystal Palace, yeah, Crystal Palace is my number one. ⁓ And that's just why. So Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table, and Tusker House are kind of my top three. And they're the ones that I think evoke the most memories for me. Rob: So Crystal Palace is your number one. Yeah. All right. Well, the the the winners in our poll on Patreon kind of ran away with it. I mean, they were they were pretty far ahead of the pack. Coming in third place was Tusker House. So it did it did make the list, but not quite as high as either of us put it. Coming in second place was Crystal Palace that got 37 votes. Tusker house had gotten 32, 37 votes for crystal palace, but the number one pick of our Patreon family was totally those terrorists at the Riviera with 40 votes. So I do feel like we kind of, we all kind of agreed about the top and the bottom, you know, little difference here and there, but, ⁓ feel like that gives you a good idea of if you're torn between one or another. I hope that those rankings will help you decide what should break the tie. And with that said, we have ⁓ our question of the week next, and that is also dining related. what is this week's question of the week? Jessica: This comes from our Patreon and it's from Christina. need some advice. Planning our Disney Springs night for our arrival day and I need some suggestions for dinner. We have a handful of restaurants that have caught our eye but are very open to suggestions. We are definitely foodie people and we'll pay for a good meal. Last question, can all of these restaurants have reservation options? Which ones are through Disney and which ones are reservations through the restaurant itself? Thank you for all the suggestions. And one of the I do want to just kind of, the last part of her question, I think is kind of the one I want to touch on just a little bit, and then we'll just open it up to suggestions. But at Disney Springs specifically, there are a lot of restaurants that have the availability of open table or reservation options that are not through Disney. So if you're looking at Disney reservations and you can't find some of the restaurants there, please look at open table, look at the reservations systems through the websites for those restaurants. Disney Springs gives you a lot more options to get reservations, I think, than some of the restaurants there. that's, you know, she asked that. I think this is really good. I will say Wine Bar George, Boathouse, Homecoming, Summer House, Frontera Cancina, the Paradiso 57, ⁓ Wolfgang Pucks. All of those have open table options that we've been able to find, even when Disney said there was nothing available. So. I just do think that's an important distinction that not a lot of people talk about, that if you want a good meal and you're willing to go to Disney Springs, there's some options you don't have to do that 60 day reservation window for. But as far as what I would recommend for people with adventurous palates, Halejo was one she mentioned. I think that's a really good one there. And I have... I am bigger fan of Boathouse than Paddlefish. I think Boathouse is better than Paddlefish. I don't know what you say, but I think Boathouse is also a great option. ⁓ If you're good with like small plates, eating at Wine Bar George, they have really good food at Wine Bar George. It's not quite like a meal, like a big sit, but you can get enough food if you do like the apps ⁓ and they have an amazing cocktail list and amazing ⁓ wine. That's what it is. It's a wine bar. ⁓ That was a really good option. And then my hidden gem there is Frontera, I can't say the other word. I call it Conchina, but that's not right. ⁓ But I love the Mexican place there, Rick Bayless. It's amazing. That to me is one of the best. And you can almost always get bar seating if there's just two of you. ⁓ And ⁓ lots of good margarita options. ⁓ Same margaritas that are in La Cava in the Mexican Pavilion. So ⁓ amazing. So that's kind of my kind of big ones. ⁓ that I would recommend. Jalejo, Boathouse, Wine Bar George, and then Frontera. Rob: Haleo is Jose Andres, who's the celebrity chef who's behind that one. I love Haleo, but I would actually recommend do that one during they have like a happy hour where you can go and it's a very reasonably priced for happy hour and you can get a lot of his kind of they're more small bites. It's gonna be more like a tapas kind of a meal, but there's some of his signature. ⁓ There's these croquettes like ham croquettes that are Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: heavenly. They're really good. ⁓ that are on that small bites menu. ⁓ I would say my favorites that, that you can get reservations for, cause I think everyone knows my favorite favorite is polite pig love polite pig, but we're not that you can't get reservations there. That's more of a walk up, but, I really enjoy, I agree. Wine bar George is great. I think that's a great pick. ⁓ such if you want kind of, ⁓ Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: They have a lot of like kind of Spanish inspired tapas kind of stuff there. I also really love, we just went there for the first time Enzo's Hideaway. I really enjoyed the meal there. I did not care for Marie and Enzo's, which is the same owners, same, it's essentially, I think they even share a kitchen, but for some reason, Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: the menu at Enzo's hideaway I thought was significantly better than what was that Marie and Enzo's. So if you've tried Marie and Enzo's and were underwhelmed, maybe give Enzo's hideaway a chance. It's kind of like the speakeasy that accompanies Marie and Enzo's. ⁓ and then, you know, I would agree with you. I think Frontier is a good pick. ⁓ they have a really interesting menu there. ⁓ yeah. And then Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: The other one I would add in is homecoming. If you're a fan of really good fried chicken, Southern food, I think homecoming is a great pick and that is ⁓ the. Chef Art Smith's restaurant at ⁓ Disney Springs. Anything from ⁓ Patreon? Any suggestions for Disney Springs picks? Erick: Becky just said that she loves Wambar George, but also Jan was suggesting if we are going to have like a special mention for Getz's Roundup coming to the Diamond Horseshoe. Rob: ⁓ yeah, that's a good point. is is. Have we determined is Jesse gonna be there? Is Jesse gonna be? Is it gonna be a character meal with Jesse? Erick: seems that way. There's going to be a sh- a show. Yes, there's going to be show. Jessica: It looks like it's to be like hoop-de-do, like a show, not interactions. Rob: Okay. All right. Well, no, that's definitely worth mentioning. Thanks for bringing that up. Yeah. So they're for cool kids summer, which is, I think that's what they're doing it for. Right. It's like a, it's like a limited time summer thing. Cool kids summer is where Disney world is just doing extra stuff for the summer to make things even more fun. And one of those things is that the diamond horseshoe Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: Which serves the exact same menu as Liberty Tree Tavern. They have the same kitchen. It's the exact same food. It's just a different environment and Liberty Tree Tavern is a little bit more like kind of a. I don't know, like a homey kind of. It's a little bit more dark. It's a little bit more like old colonial vibe, whereas Diamond Horseshoe is like an old saloon and there's a stage and a player piano and for cool kids summer there's going to be a. Jesse from Toy Story themed roundup show that I think is going to be really fun. I'm looking forward to that. I will definitely be going to Diamond Horseshoe to check it out when it happens. And that's kind of a character. mean, I don't think you'll have character meet and greet with Jesse, but I think you'll get to see Jesse do a show, which is more of a character interaction than the beast at, at, at be our guests. So, all right. Erick: You Rob: ⁓ Well, unfortunately we only have time for that one this week, so now going to end as we always do with happy thoughts. ⁓ Jessica, what is your happy thought this week? Jessica: Well, for those of you watching on YouTube or watching on Patreon, you will have gotten a sneak peek to my happy thought, which is on Friday, I am going to go see Draco Malfoy, Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy on Broadway. I'm going to see the Cursed Child. I've been trying to get tickets since it was announced he was coming and I couldn't figure out how to get there and all of this. So I'm super excited. I am a Slytherin. I know there were some... confusion in the Patreon about I should be a Ravenclaw. Probably should be a Ravenclaw, but somehow I'm always a Slytherin. But I love Tom Felton. I do love the Harry Potter books. And I'm just super excited about this. I've wanted to see this on Broadway since it came out and being able to see it with him. I'm super excited. So I will probably be talking about it again next week after I see it. So just be prepared. but I thought I would just give a little shout out. Also my glasses, I have the pair eyewear. So these are my Slytherin glasses. So very excited. I'm all Slytherin out. I'm ready. ⁓ Rob: Well, I have to say, since you have such a deep love for Tom Felton, AKA Draco Malfoy, was it, I mean, that might have something to do with the fact that you ⁓ found yourself a Slytherin. Jessica: Yeah, I don't know. think it's actually more of, if you actually look at what Slytherins are, they're leaders who understand how to bring out, they may not be the smartest or the best, but they understand how to bring out the best in other people. They actually use other people's skills to build a team. It's actually, if you look at the good qualities of a Slytherin, it's actually what I'm good at. ⁓ So I do believe I can spin the fact that a Slytherin is actually a good thing, maybe not in the... Rob: Okay, all right. Jessica: books, but it actually is what I am. But ⁓ I think I love Tom Belton because he was the character who's most underappreciated, I think, in the book. Rob: All right. Well, Eric, what is your happy thought this week? Erick: So today actually we were able to meet some of the fancy characters that you don't normally see. And I was able to get some photos with Mrs. Incredible and Edna Mood. And I think the highlight of sharing those photos with Rob today was that he made a very terrible pun and he wrote like, ⁓ those are incredible. And I don't know. It was terrible, but it made my day in that way. yeah. ⁓ no, it was, yes. So for Cool Kids Summer, we have them in Tomorrowland, but I don't know if they are coming back. I don't know if they are coming back, ⁓ but right now it was just like they were doing an event. Rob: So are they coming to Magic Kingdom? Are they gonna be for, cause they're in Hollywood Studios, right? Jessica: ⁓ Rob: Those were adorable photos. So they were ⁓ incredible ⁓ So my happy thought this week is I was ⁓ lucky to be able to participate in one of the early previews ⁓ of revamped Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin. ⁓ Thank you to Eric for helping me to, we were able to do that preview. Jessica: Mmm. Rob: ⁓ cause Eric was able to get access to that preview. And I got to tell you, if you liked Buzz Lightyear, space ranger spin before you're going to love it now. I mean, it is, I've, I've been lucky enough to, ride this attraction in four different parks. ⁓ you know, magic kingdom, there's a version in Disneyland. There's a version in Tokyo, Disneyland. There's a version in Disneyland, Paris, and this is the first time. out of all those times of riding it, that I consistently knew what I was shooting and what I was aiming at, like which of the little laser beams was mine. And that's a feat in a ride like this, because you know, I mean, there's just so many people aiming and shooting, but the, the, the blasters are so much better. You can actually hold it and, know, aim it like a traditional blaster. It's not like it's fixed to the vehicle like before. ⁓ but the, the, Jessica: You Rob: My, my biggest takeaway from this experience was somehow the imagineers made this attraction both exactly like the old Buzz Lightyear and nothing like the, old Buzz Lightyear all at the same time. Like everything feels upgraded. Everything feels fresh and new and exciting. Even though it's much of it is the exact same thing that was there. It's just been Jessica: Hmm. Rob: polished up a little bit. know, it's been given a new, it feels, everything feels more elevated. It's easier to play the game. It's a more exciting game to play. It's more fun to play it. The video tunnel that you go through, whereas before you weren't really aiming at the things that were flying around you on the wall. I mean, you could shoot at them, but you weren't getting points for actually hitting anything because there were no sensors there. But in this new version, Jessica: Mm-hmm. Rob: There are actually targets that are flying around you and you can aim and hit the targets and they react to being hit. So a huge upgrade for this attraction and I can't wait for it to open and for everyone to be able to experience it. I do think it's going to be very popular. I think this is going to become ⁓ one of the longer lines and one of the more difficult tier two lightning lanes to book when it reopens. So excited for that. And ⁓ also excited to see you all next week for our next episode. think will Craig be back with us next week? He will, yes. So we'll have the gang, we'll all be here. It'll be nice to have the gang back together again. Until then, hope everyone has a lovely week and we hope it's filled with lots of happy thoughts. See you again real soon, everybody. Erick: I believe so.