Top 5 Disney Character Dining Restaurants
Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Allison Lancaster
Ready to dine with your favorite characters at your favorite Disney parks? Here are the best ways to take advantage of character dining at Disney.
Walt Disney World character dining options have reemerged. There are now many more places where you can meet Disney characters and eat as much as you like. Some iconic experiences have yet to become available. Yet, there is a pretty satisfying mix of places you can visit for some of the best character meals you could want.
Depending on the type of vacation you are building, some of these restaurants are nestled inside the theme parks while others are to be found in nearby resort hotels. These are all the top picks for Disney World character dining, along with some fun character interactions, so be sure to find some time in your schedule to eat with your favorite Disney characters and cast members.
Your Disney World character meals can be paid with cash or the more convenient credit cards. There are two types of main dining, buffet style and table service restaurant where you can find your favorite characters in. Your Disney character dining experience is sure to make your vacation even more memorable. Here are the top 5 places to enjoy delicious food and fun and see the different characters you’ve been waiting for!
Garden Grill
Garden Grill is an incredible Disney World character dining experience for a number of reasons. Essentially the restaurant itself is an attraction. It’s a way to further experience the pavilion in the form of what it produces.
The other pavilions in what used to be Future World are great imaginary leaps into future technology and other artificial worlds. The Land Pavilion is different. It really produces food using the techniques shown on the Living with the Land boat ride. The food grown in this pavilion goes to other restaurants in Walt Disney World, but having it in the rotating restaurant that overlooks the ride is especially fun for kids and adults. The character experience here is just one more level of entertainment for this already spectacular EPCOT experience.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
Disney World Character dining takes on a whole new level of immersion with the new Story Book Dining. It started with Trattoria Al Forno’s Bon Voyage breakfast with Ariel and Rapunzel and then came Storybook Dining 2.0 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This atmospheric dining experience takes place in Artists Point, a Signature restaurant in Wilderness Lodge.
The woodsy theme of the enchanted forest makes it the perfect little spot for the Snow White story to unfold. In addition to meeting characters from the Disney classic, the menu is inspired by the film’s setting, characters and moments. It’s a multi-course meal with enchanting specialty beverages for kids and adults.
Chef Mickey’s
The best place to meet the classic Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto is at the Contemporary resort. This restaurant is currently family-style with menu items that are very kid friendly. Reasonably priced, it’s also wallet friendly and does not require a ticket before you go.
You can stay until you have eaten all you want. If you want to enjoy a fun breakfast of Mickey waffles before heading into the Magic Kingdom, it’s only a ten-minute walk or a quick monorail ride to the gate.
Tusker House Restaurant
Most of the Disney World character dining experiences are either buffet or family style. In both cases, you are allowed to eat as much as you want, but family-style restaurants tend to be easier to manage with kids. Tusker House has the added culinary benefit of being placed within a more exotic and adventurous park. There are foods to sample from Africa that you might not try otherwise. It’s a kid-friendly way to help your child expand their flavor horizons.
When all else fails, there’s Mac and Cheese! The kids’ price for this character dining location is also considerably lower than the adult price and you get to see Disney pals like Donald and Goofy in safari gear for an extra unique appearance. It just so happens that Tusker House Restaurant also offers a good morning breakfast menu for an even more kid-friendly approach and a great way to start your day in this huge theme park.
Topolino’s Terrace
Two kinds of dining are top-notch at Walt Disney World. They are the new Storybook Dining and the expanding collection of rooftop dining experiences. Topolino’s Terrace provides both. The restaurant showcases views of Disney Hollywood Studios and EPCOT from atop Disney’s Riviera Resort.
At night it’s signature dining, with all the flavors of the Rivera, but in the morning, it’s a character breakfast with Topolino himself! (Topolino is Italian for Mickey Mouse) You can start your day bright and early at 7:30 and then take the Disney Skyliner after breakfast for a day in the park. This is much better than Hollywood and Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so a breakfast here and a day in the park over there would pair nicely.
