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Are you rating Tusker House solely on breakfast? Or in totality? If the former, I think you should give Tusker House a try during lunch or dinner time and see if you like it more since the food will be way different than breakfast.
I'm actually going to agree with Dave on most of this list. While these are the lessor choices, they are still pretty darn good. I had Akershus as my Princess backup and I've got to say one of my most memorable experiences was there. First of all - it was the ONLY place where Ariel had legs. She would come and meet you as a Princess. That MADE my daughters trip. Secondly, there was a table next to us and their young daughter sleep thru the entire meal and visits from the Princesses. When she woke up, almost closing time EACH and EVERY Princess came out of the back just to greet her. Not because they complained (they did not) but the staff did not want her to leave without meeting all of them. I know it was her magical experience but I was every bit as impressed as she was.
Now, putting Akershus on the list was just a bit too far. The advantage of the Princess Storybook Breakfast, is exactly what you listed as a negative. The same princesses as the CRT but only one table service credit. It's excellent food, and great princess interaction. In addition, beautiful decor. This is always one of our must do.
I beg to DIFFER!!! We just took our grandchildren to Walt Disney World and our Tusker House breakfast was delicious! The kids, ages 3, another 3 and 6 had a fabulous time and we all enjoyed our meal, which was a much better value than the Epcot Princess lunch we had last year that gave my husband food poisoning!!!
As far as YOUR number one pick... IF you don't know who Doc McStuffin or JAKE is then where are you hiding??? They have their own attractions at the park!
I WAS giving your blog some credence but now I guess I will have to take it with a grain of salt. PLEASE don't judge some attractions by your lack of knowledge... this was a VERY disappointing post.
As was clearly stated in the article, these are David's personal opinions and are not shared by all of us here at Theme Park Tourist.
That said, I don't see any harm in publishing posts that stir up opinions.
Except that a LOT of first timers use your site to plan their trips. If we hadn't experienced them firsthand we would have been duped by the article you chose to publish.
Fair enough, Marge.
We did have an internal debate about some of the points in this article, and we'll learn the lessons for the future.
Marge, I understand your frustration that my opinion does not line up with your own. I feel like I went out of my way to acknowledge that a lot of other people enjoy Tusker House a great deal, so first timers should still infer from the piece that other reviews could disagree. As I stated, Tusker House is a place where I will never go back. I would be equally incorrect if I failed to acknowledge that and pretended as if everything is great here when my personal experiences belie the subject. I would be doing those same new readers a tremendous disservice. Any meal experience is subjective, and I am glad that you enjoy Tusker House. Quoting a long forgotten Dave Mason song, we just disagree.
Marge, I understand your frustration that my opinion does not line up with your own. I feel like I went out of my way to acknowledge that a lot of other people enjoy Tusker House a great deal, so first timers should still infer from the piece that other reviews could disagree.
As I stated, Tusker House is a place where I will never go back. I would be equally incorrect if I failed to acknowledge that and pretended as if everything is great here when my personal experiences belie the subject. I would be doing those same new readers a tremendous disservice.
Any meal experience is subjective, and I am glad that you enjoy Tusker House. Quoting a long forgotten Dave Mason song, we just disagree. It would actually be a bit odd if our opinions on the dozen Disney character meals were exactly the same.
i took my family to the Crystal Palace Character dining, 6 people !!! it was HORRIBLE , VERY expensive and no one , not even the kids would eat the food, so now when we go i never eat in the parks at all, and I'm not real crazy about the on property resort restaurants either, Epocot i like lol
I have to respectfully disagree with you on the Disney junior play and dine...it's only the worst if you don't know disney junior. ..if you have young children who watch disney junior this characterr meal is awesome..complete with singing and dancing with the characters...by far the best for the young ones! :) and I'm thinking there is no dinner option because the age they target are probably done for the day ;)
During SW weekends this year they did a special Character dinner with Mickey and the gang dressed up like SW characters: Jedi Mickey, Princess Leia Minnie, Stormtrooper Donald, Darth Vadar Goofy and Chip and Dale as Ewoks. It was some much fun! We actually had a late Play and Dine breakfast their that morning and then dinner. We loves it! Food at both was very good. I wouldn't plan to pay that much outside of the world but you are also paying for the characters which we love. This was my daughter's first trip and my first trip in 17 years. It several years before we can afford to go back and since my daughter was almost 10 when we went so it's quite possible she will not be into the character meals next time (at least not the Junior) so hitting the character meals was a priority for us.
I was surprised to see a couple of the places on here.... ive never been to akershus but cinderella royal table was absolutely horrible... The food was horrible the atmosphere for old run down and dirty and the princesses were rude and rushed... my duaghter no longer like snow white because of our experience there.. i understand they're refurbing the place but we will NEVER go again.... complete waste of 2 TS credits.... and Tusker house and Hollywood and vine were hands down the best of the places we went. Food was great ppl were great and characters were fantastic and of you didn't know who there characters were at Hollywood and vine you obviously dont have young children. I knew who everyone of them was.... they were the whole reason we went my 2 year was super excited .... definitely will do them again.... ohana was also horrible. Food was cold. Waitress was unexcuseably slow and the characters seemed to skip over the boys.. anyhow a everyone has their own opinions and tastes in food my advice to anyone that reads this article is pay no mind to it.... try where ever you wish and form your own opinion :)
Look at the name of #1....Disney Junior....turn your tv to dinsey jr channel or dinsey channel in the morning and you will definitely know those characters. This was one of my kids favorite character meals because they got to meet and dance with their favorite characters while daddy and I watched. Definitely not the worse!
Apparently the "writer" of this article has lost touch with his inner child. And has been living under a rock. These character meals are geared towards kids who are not so jaded as to wonder if Pooh and friends are timeless. And the phenomen of Doc McStuffins has been covered in the NYT. Maybe he needs to get out more. But I need to go now, Doc MuFfins is on.
Apparently the "writer" of this article has lost touch with his inner child. And has been living under a rock. These character meals are geared towards kids who are not so jaded as to wonder if Pooh and friends are timeless. And the phenomen of Doc McStuffins has been covered in the NYT. Maybe he needs to get out more. But I need to go now, Doc MuFfins is on.
A few years ago we did the princess breakfast at Akershus. I had a good time watching Disney Royalty. I was able to ask Princess Aurora if Prince Philip slept in that morning. ; )
The Tusker House is actually my favorite Character meal. I have always felt the food was some of the best for a Character buffet and the wait staff have gone out of their way to take pictures and have always been friendly to me. My favorite time to go is towards the end of breakfast so you can get some breakfast and some lunch food. I agree the buffet at Crystal Palace is horrendous. Its banquet food at its worst for the most part but it is worth booking before the parks open to get those magical pictures of an empty park.
FYI, the "Disney Junior Play 'N Dine at Hollywood & Vine" has Disney Junior characters, not Disney Channel characters. Disney Junior is a whole separate channel from the Disney Channel. If you watchedc DisneyJunior the channel, then you would know all the characters in the dining. That might explain why you don't know them.
You say you don't know who Doc McStuffins or Jake and the Neverland Pirates are? It makes me wonder why you bothered to go to Play N' Dine at all. These characters are in the same genre as Sophia the First and as equally well known and loved as she. Ask any preschooler who they are and they'll fill you in. I was under the impression the only reason a grown-up would go to the character meals is because their children love the characters their seeing. Who did you take? In this case adult opinions don't really matter...Good food or not.
Hollywood and Vine's Character meal features Disbey JUNIOR characters, not Disney Channel characters. If you don't watch Disney Junior (it is a sperate channel but I think Disney Channel a set Junior time with a few shows each day) or at least have a child who watches, I'm not sure why you would go to this character meal. We loved the breakfast when we were there in June. I'm glad we went before my daughter was too old for this one. Also it gave my toddler nephew a chance to see his characters.
I have been to some character dining and I must say that the one you picked as the worst is hands on the best one for those families visiting with toddlers. Most of the toddlers u know watch Disney Junior and know who those characters are. If you don't have little kids then of course you won't appreciate this character dining experience!
I have been to some character dining and I must say that the one you picked as the worst is hands on the best one for those families visiting with toddlers. Most of the toddlers u know watch Disney Junior and know who those characters are. If you don't have little kids then of course you won't appreciate this character dining experience!
My wife says that the waiters at Akershus are gorgeous and worth going there just for them. We really enjoyed that one.
The Disney Jr. breakfast was good and our daughter absolutely loved the characters. If your child loves Disney Jr. shows than this is a breakfast for them.
Haha! Too funny! But she's not alone. My sister came back and said the same thing! I hadn't noticed that they were more attractive than anywhere else though.
Haha! Too funny! But she's not alone. My sister came back and said the same thing! I hadn't noticed that they were more attractive than anywhere else though.
It's because they're from Norway and thus all amazingly attractive. :)
First off, I've not been to a character meal, So i am no way judging any of them. But I've done a lot of research on them for our upcoming trip. I've never even heard of the four seasons goofy and pals. But it is more expensive than most of the others, except for CRT of course. And the Play N Dine at Hollywood & Vine was at the top of my list because of it's Disney Jr. Characters. My two year old LOVES Disney Jr. Unfortunately, the best time for us to do a character meal is on departure day, and we will not be hitting any parks that day. So we've decided on Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Where is the post for BEST character meals?
I think you might have missed the boat on your #1 worst character dining experience. All of those characters you didn't recognize are on Disney Junior, which is a totally different channel from The Disney Channel. I have a two year old who would know each and every one of those characters you didn't know... Mainly because she only watches Disney Junior. Phineas and Ferb aren't in her vocabulary yet because she doesn't watch that channel yet.
All in all, I'd say that the Disney Junior dining experience sounds great... If your kid watches Disney Junior... Not the Disney Channel. Its name is totally correct.
I don't agree with Tusker House. We go early for breakfast and the food and selection is great and probly the biggest breakfast buffet I'm thinking. Plus it's cooler. But maybe the author was talking about lunch instead which I have not been to. Def recommend the breakfast tho
Actually, Crystal Palace is out family's favorite character dining when it comes to the quality of the menu and the lack of hassle. Our grand kids seem to enjoy it even as they get older. Guess they just love the experience of all of the characters
Actually, Crystal Palace is out family's favorite character dining when it comes to the quality of the menu and the lack of hassle. Our grand kids seem to enjoy it even as they get older. Guess they just love the experience of all of the characters
I totally disagree about Tusker House. The food is unique and quite good. The wait may be a little longer, but you do see the main characters and again, I love the food. Also, Hollywood and Vine, while the characters are meant for a much younger crowd (2-6), I think this is one of the best dining experiences I've had in Disney World. The food was wonderful!
We ate at Garden Grove Cafe a couple years ago and it was really awful. The food was cold, Goofy wasn't even there, and even though the restaurant was nearly empty, Pluto only gave us about 5 seconds of his time. It was completely over-priced for what it was, and I would never eat there again.
I do not agree with your worst meals. We have eaten at Tusker House and Hollywood and Vine and we have been pleasantly surprised at both. Furthermore, as the mother of two (7 and 3) my kids thoroughly enjoyed dining with the Disney Jr. characters and not one of them had to be introduced. Maybe your title on this post should have been "Worst Character Meals for Adults".
I agree completely. This review was completely biased toward adults. If I were going as an adult, I would definitely be more inclined to agree with the authors choices but my kids loved Akershus and Crystal Palace, and I can guarantee they would have loved Hollywood and Vine as well, if we had gone there.
We would do Crystal Palace again in a heartbeat over Chef Mickey at Contemporary. At least the food at Crystal Palace was good.
The Chrystal Palace does require a lot of advance work. You MUST give a credit card number to secure your reservation. As a 58 year old obsessive Pooh fan, I loved the characters, but the meal left a lot to be desired. Hardly worth the one hour wait even with the guaranteed reservation! As much as I love Pooh, I will never spend the money for this again1
I have to say that I mostly agree with this list. Just got back from disney and ate at quite a few character meals. I do have to say that we were happily surprised with Crystal Palace this trip. We did dinner last time and felt it lacking but was able to get an ADR for this trip for breakfast before park opening. This was the only reason I booked it because of our past experience. I have to say they do a much better job with their breakfast buffet! Tusker house was a huge disappointment...character interaction was good but the food was horrible! We also enjoyed Arkeshus better than Cinderellas Royal Table. I know it is the castle and all but the food and Princesses were much better in Norway and the food was better and we never felt rushed even once! Plus it is 2 dining credits at CRT which made it a not do for our next trip!
I completely disagree with your choice for #1! My family ate there in October 2013 and it was the best meal of our whole trip. The food was outstanding, especially the lobster Mac-n-cheese! And the characters were great!!! I guess you should have checked out the difference between the Disney channel and Disney junior.
I completely disagree with your choice for #1! My family ate there in October 2013 and it was the best meal of our whole trip. The food was outstanding, especially the lobster Mac-n-cheese! And the characters were great!!! I guess you should have checked out the difference between the Disney channel and Disney junior.