My family loves the experience that comes with Disney character dining! We have a 3 year old and a 4 year old, and character dining is a great way for them meet their favorite Disney characters in a comfortable setting. We love not having to wait in lines out in the Florida sun, and being able to enjoy a great meal as well. During our recent visit to Disney World in May of 2024 we visited several character buffets. Our experience at these restaurants are detailed below!
Crystal Palace
One of our favorite character buffets that we must visit during each visit to Disney is Crystal Palace. Located at Magic Kingdom near the Baby Care Center and Casey’s Corner, this beautiful restaurant is decorated in a stunning Victorian-style and offers an elegant dining atmosphere. The characters featured at Crystal Palace are Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.
We love the interactions we get with Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace. It can take up to 90 minutes to see all of the characters during your visit, however during our 4:30pm meal the restaurant wasn’t busy and we were able to see all of the characters multiple times! The characters spent a lot of time with our kids and posed for several pictures, with hugs and high-fives.
The food at Crystal Palace was great. The buffet features freshly carved prime rib, as well as shrimp creole and country fried chicken. Our kids enjoyed the kids buffet that was stocked with pizza, nuggets, and mac n cheese. The assorted desserts are always our favorite part, as they are all modeled after Winnie the Pooh characters!
Chef Mickey’s
We decided to try Chef Mickey’s character buffet for the first time this year. Located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Chef Mickey’s is character dining in a casual and up-beat setting featuring Disney’s “Fab Five”. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald all meet and greet you as you dine. We decided to eat here for breakfast during our check-in day as I couldn’t think of a better way to begin our Disney vacation!
Chef Mickey’s is a very busy restaurant, and while we enjoyed meeting all of the main Disney characters we did feel like these characters had less time they were able to dedicate to us than at other character meals. We were able to get hugs, high fives, and photos with all of the characters and the kids were very pleased with their interactions.
Chef Mickey’s had a great breakfast buffet that had a little bit of everything. There was a large assortment of pastries that the kids enjoyed, Mickey waffles, freshly-made pancakes, sausage, bacon, and croissant beignets. The buffet was quite busy because of the high-capacity of the restaurant, but the buffet itself was large and able to handle the capacity.
1900 Park Fare
We were very excited to try 1900 Park Fare after its reopening! 1900 Park Fare is all about wish making and the characters who greet here have all had their wishes come true. Aladdin, Mirabelle, Cinderella, and Tiana happily stroll throughout the dining room while you dine. The restaurant is quite elegantly decorated and the restaurant feels very upscale!
We absolutely loved the character interactions at 1900 Park Fare. The variety of characters was great and my kids loved it. We felt like they spent a good amount of time interacting with us and we didn’t feel rushed at all. We also loved seeing Tiana in her new bayou adventure outfit.
The food at 1900 Park Fare was our favorite out of any restaurant we visited. The prime rib was cooked to perfection, Tiana’s Gumbo had just the right amount of spice, and the Strawberry Soup definitely lived up to the hype. The buffet was well-stocked and had a great salad bar. Our kids loved the gummy bear dispenser as well.
What character buffets do you enjoy at Disney World? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Photo: Megan Woodard
Written by
Megan Woodard
Contributing Writer
Megan was born into a Disney family. Her first trip to Disney World was when she was only 18 months old. Now as an adult, Megan loves to share the magic of Disney with her two toddlers. Keeping up with Disney news and Disney World knowledge is a fun hobby for Megan. Disney World is her favorite place to be and continuously brings back her childhood joy.
