food IS a theme park
Guess who’s coming to Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge? Snow White, Grumpy, and Dopey will all be greeting guests as part of the brand new Storybook Dining at Artist Point!
Snow White and Dopey ©Disney
Oh, and guests will have the chance to encounter someone else, too… [Read more…]
In April of this year, Disneyland Resort announced that two brand new character meals were coming to the resort — and in true @DiningInDisney fashion, our Disneyland correspondent Heather Sievers was all over it! She enjoyed Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet (which is billed as a Brunch Buffet on weekends and select Mondays and holidays!) at Storytellers Cafe in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel — and it. was. awesome.
Storytellers Cafe
This buffet brings Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, and Dale in their finest adventuring attire — and Heather received this cute button on her visit, too! Doesn’t Mickey look ready for fun?
Earlier this summer, it was anticipated that Chef Mickey’s would be relocating to the Contemporary Resort’s Convention Center from late July to mid-August for maintenance of the popular Character Meal location. However, that maintenance was cancelled… for a time.
Chef Mickey’s
Now the temporary relocation is back on. Chef Mickey’s will be relocating to the Convention Center from late November through December 2017. [Read more…]
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
Ladies and Gentlemen, ’tis nearly time to say “Good morning!” to Rapunzel, Flynn Rider (a/k/a Eugene Fitzherbert, a/k/a my boyfriend ;-D ), Ariel, and Prince Eric at the brand new Bon Voyage Breakfast Coming to the BoardWalk’s Trattoria al Forno!
April 2nd is the day this new Character Meal experience will make its debut.
As of this writing, the Disney World website has not yet been updated with full information regarding the meal. However, a call to Disney World Dining at (407) WDW-DINE confirmed that April 2nd is the opening date, and Advance Dining Reservations are currently open.
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider will be part of the new character breakfast ©Disney
The fixed price for the experience is $34 for adults and $20 for children ages 3-9, or 1 Table Service Credit on the Disney Dining Plan. [Read more…]
Minnie Mouse has been hosting some pretty fun dinner parties at Hollywood and Vine Restaurant in Hollywood Studios for a while now.
Minnie’s Seasonal Dine kicked off in November of 2015. This Character Meal gives guests the chance to enjoy dinner — with themes changing according to the time of year — with Minnie, Mickey, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy.
And soon, there will be even more opportunities to join Minnie and the gang for some festive fun. Because, starting May 14, 2017, Minnie’s Seasonal Dine will be offered for lunch as well as dinner! (Advance Dining Reservations are anticipated to open February 1st for this experience).
Minnie’s Holiday Dine
Currently, lunch at Hollywood and Vine features Disney Junior Play ’n Dine with Disney Junior characters such as Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Handy Manny. [Read more…]
Are you ready to start your day with Chip & Dale (along with a few more Disney pals) at Epcot’s Garden Grill?!
That’s right! Garden Grill, Disney World’s only rotating restaurant, has been serving dinner only for a while now. But on November 8th, TWO new meals joined the lineup: Garden Grill now serves up breakfast AND lunch, in addition to dinner! (This, by the way, brings the total of Character Breakfasts in Epcot to two, with the Norway Pavilion’s Akershus Royal Banquet Hall offering the other option with Princess Storybook Dining. Characters are now at both restaurants for every meal.)
The menu for the new lunch addition nearly duplicates that of Chip ’N’ Dale’s Harvest Feast for dinner. But breakfast is all-new, operating each day from 8:00 to 10:30 am.
We can’t wait to dig in! And we’ve got a few friends who would like to say “Good Morning” to you, too…
Chip
But let’s take a look around first. And, as always with the Garden Grill, I do mean AROUND… [Read more…]
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is upon us
! And it got us thinking… where would we most like to relax and celebrate after a runDisney race in Disney World? There are lots of things to consider when planning your post-race celebration. So, lace up, friends, and read on!
Located in the heart of the Contemporary Resort, Chef Mickey’s fun-filled buffet is also character meal featuring the Fab Five… which, of course, includes the Big Cheese himself, Mickey Mouse!
Chef Mickey’s
Pros:
• A great buffet with an abundance of choices to fill most any post-race craving;
• If your race happens during Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in January, this is the place where you can get your picture taken with a character that likely matches the one on your medal! (Minnie for 10K finishers, Donald for Half Marathon finishers, Mickey for full Marathon finishers, and Goofy for those just goofy enough to run both the half and the full!)
Chef Mickey
Cons:
• There will be a fair bit of standing (for character pics) and walking (to and from the buffet)… something to keep in mind for tired legs;
• Chef Mickey’s is not open for lunch (when most runners will finish the full marathon), so you’ll need to wait for dinner or next morning’s breakfast to celebrate.
OTHER CHARACTER MEALS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
• Epcot’s Akershus in the Norway Pavilion: We’re thinking of all of you Princesses running the February races with [Read more…]
Dining at Walt Disney World is very often an experience rather than just a meal. It’s become a rite of passage to dine with characters during a visit to Disney — and there’s stiff competition to secure Advance Dining Reservations at some of these table-service restaurants.
Mickey strikes a pose!
Meeting Cinderella, rubbing Pooh’s tummy, hugging Mickey Mouse, and posing with Chip and Dale are some of the memorable moments that can be discovered while dining at Character Meals.
Tigger Lounges and Signs an Autograph Book at the Plaza Inn
But is a character meal right for your group? On one hand, adults and kids alike enjoy meeting characters from Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood, Cinderella’s Castle, and more! Yet on the other, character meals can be costly — both in time and money!
We’ve been to countless meals in which Disney characters hobnob with guests, and now we can help you determine if a character meal fits well into your next Disney vacation!
Chef Mickey serves up fun and food at the Contemporary Resort!
In our The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013 e-Book, we have an informative section on character meals. Pick up your copy here for an extra $4 off using code 2013 for a limited time! Your vacation is an investment and we want you to have the best trip possible!
So let’s take a look at whether a character meal makes sense for YOUR family…
Let’s get right to some important dining considerations that we’ve included in the DFB Guide to help you plan your meals.
Meet the princesses at a character meal!
Character meals can be a good place for children to get to know the Disney characters. However if one (or more) of your children are not fond of the characters then consider dining at a restaurant with a fun theme instead.
Not sure if your kiddo hates characters? Here’s how to find out without too much trauma: [Read more…]
Editor’s Note: Tusker House now offers a character meal experience for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It’s been a LONG time since we’ve talked about Tusker House, so let’s get down to business!
I consider this sprawling restaurant within Disney’s Animal Kingdom to be one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to Disney World character meals.
Yep — Tusker House is known for its bounty of African dishes, but it’s also a character dining destination.
We have a ton of yummy pictures to share with you, so let’s go!
Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite Disney parks due to its truly incredible themeing, and Tusker House takes this one step further.
Tusker House – Outside View
It’s one of the Disney restaurants that doesn’t just incorporate theme on the surface — I could spend hours exploring all of the specialty decor, finishes, and props Imagineers have added to this massive restaurant.
You’ll enter the restaurant through the village of Harambe in Animal Kingdom’s Africa, and Tusker House serves as Harambe’s “open air” market on the edge of the Harambe Wildlife Preserve. The podium for the restaurant was outside during our visit. Once you check in, you have the option to wait at a few outdoor tables that are leftover from the days when Tusker House was a counter-service restaurant.
Outdoor Waiting area
Also, next door is one of our favorite watering holes — the Dawa Bar. This is a great spot to [Read more…]
Howdy, Disney food lovers!
Great news today for all you hungry commuters, walkers, runners, gym-goers, stair-monster-climbers, and other assorted podcast listeners!
Just wanted to drop a line to let you know that the 10th episode of our DFB Podcast is now posted and ready for downloading!
In this episode we cover the latest Disney Food News and have a “telekinetic” discussion about the ever-popular Goofy’s Kitchen buffet at Disneyland and Chef Mickey’s buffet at Walt Disney World.
We also answer a couple listener questions, and reveal the answer to our Episode 9 trivia question (and debut a new trivia question)!
Here’s the Podcast page for Episode 10. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS or on iTunes!
Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think!
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