I spent a whole post complaining that Disney World food is pricey and usually average. Now I’m going to tell you to spend more on a meal. Yes, I see the problem.
Here’s the difference: at a character meal, you aren’t buying dinner. You’re buying your kid a few uninterrupted minutes with Mickey, and the eggs are along for the ride.
The numbers aren’t small. According to Disney Food Blog’s rundown of the price bumps that hit this month, breakfast at Chef Mickey’s is $62 for an adult and $41 for a child, and the dinner is $72 and $46. Two adults and two kids at breakfast is $206 before tax and tip. Go up to Cinderella’s Royal Table at dinner, $92 and $57, and the same family is looking at $298. For $206 you could buy about a dozen counter-service entrees at the roughly $16 I priced in my last Disney post.
So why would anyone do it? Because of the line you skip. Meeting a character in the park usually means standing in a queue built for exactly that purpose, and a kid at the back of it has the patience of a smoke detector. At a character meal, the characters come to the table. Your kid gets a hug and a goofy photo while sitting down, with a plate of bacon within reach. I won’t pretend I have a published wait-time average to quote you for the park lines, and I’d rather not make one up. But anyone who has stood in one with a five-year-old knows the math.
The food itself is a buffet or a family-style spread, and it ranges from fine to forgettable. Treat it as the cover charge. If a place serves a decent omelet, that’s a bonus, not the product.
A few practical things. Reservations open 60 days before the date, and for resort guests the window opens 60 days before check-in and covers the whole stay, up to 10 nights. The popular spots go fast, so set an alarm for 6 a.m. Eastern. Also, which characters show up varies by restaurant and sometimes by meal. Chef Mickey’s is built around Mickey and his friends, Cinderella’s Royal Table is princesses, and ‘Ohana has Stitch. Check who’s on the guest list before you book, because nobody wants a Frozen fan stuck at a Winnie the Pooh breakfast.
Now the honest caveat. If you don’t have kids, or yours are old enough to roll their eyes at a costumed bear, this is a hard sell. You’d be paying a premium for something nobody at your table cares about. Skip it and spend the money on the place that actually has good food.
I’m fine with Disney charging what the market bears, and the market clearly bears a lot. But it’s one of the few things in that park where the price tag matches the thing you’re actually buying. A four-year-old’s face when Mickey walks up to the table is hard to price, and I suspect Disney knows it.
My two cents: don’t go for the food, go for the look on your kid’s face, and book 60 days out or don’t bother.