Updated: October 23, 2024

Character dining at Walt Disney World is one of the most popular dining experiences. Not only do you get to enjoy a meal, but you also get to say hello to characters as you dine.

Taking photos with characters as you’re eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner certainly isn’t for everyone. That said, there’s no denying it’s a unique experience and a great way to meet characters without standing in line.

Let’s go over 8 things to know about Disney World character dining.

In this article

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8 Things to Know about Disney World Character Dining

There are 13 Disney World character dining meals

You’ll find 13 character dining meals at Disney World. Let’s take a look at each, including where you can find them, how much they cost, which characters appear, and more.

Note: Keep in mind that that sometimes (not all the time) select characters at certain meals might not appear and will be swapped with another character.

1900 Park Fare

1900 Park Fare transports guests back to the early 20th century, all while incorporating carousel theming, impressionist-style Disney artwork, and characters known for making wishes.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is similar to Cinderella’s Royal Table, but less expensive and hosted inside a medieval castle rather than Cinderella Castle. Alongside a royal promenade of Disney princesses, you’re served Norwegian-inspired food.

Cape May Cafe

Character dining at Cape May Cafe is only available during breakfast. Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast features Minnie and her friends greeting guests while wearing the most adorable beach attire.

Chef Mickey’s

Chef Mickey’s is one of the most popular character meals at Disney World. You get to dine in the heart of the Contemporary and watch the Monorail go by. Keep in mind that it does get loud here thanks to the many families and little ones dining. You can also pose for a PhotoPass photo in front of a Chef Mickey’s plate with a prop. Back in the day, the PhotoPass photo included a character, but that is no longer the case.

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Cinderella’s Royal Table gives you the chance to dine inside Cinderella Castle, but it’s far from cheap. You get to meet Cinderella in the Grand Hall and take a PhotoPass photo with her before you go up the spiral staircase to the banquet room to dine, where other princesses arrive to also say hello.

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace welcomes guest to the Hundred Acre Wood. If you’re a Winnie the Pooh fan or traveling with someone who is, this character meal is perfect.

Garden Grill Restaurant

Garden Grill is a unique character dining experience. First, during Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast some of the food served comes directly from the Living with the Land attraction. Second, it’s the only place at Disney World to meet Mickey in his farmer overalls! Third, the restaurant rotates slowly, meaning you get different views as you eat, including seeing scenes from Living with the Land.

Hollywood & Vine

Character dining at Hollywood & Vine is different than most other character meals, because the costumes change depending on the time of year for the characters.

These are the following Minnie’s Seasonal Dining offerings and when they are typically available:

Important: The Disney Junior Play n’ Dine character breakfast ended on October 12, 2025.

‘Ohana

‘Ohana is a hard-to-snag dining reservation thanks to its popularity. While dinner is also served here, characters only appear at breakfast for the Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch.

Ravello

Ravello is a modern Italian restaurant located at the Four Seasons Orlando. This is also where you can find the Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & Pals — but only on certain days (Thursday and Saturday mornings, plus select Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.). Make sure you book the character breakfast, because there is a standard breakfast offered other days of the week. Disney PhotoPass is also included with your meal here.

Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White

Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White is a unique chance to meet several characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You dine inside the Enchanted Forest that brings the storybook fantasy life. You even get to take a special PhotoPass photo with The Queen.

Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera

Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera has one of the most popular character meals on property, Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends. Character dining is only available during breakfast, even though dinner is also offered at Topolino’s. The restaurant sits at the top of the hotel, meaning you can also enjoy amazing rooftop views.

Tusker House Restaurant

Tusker House is an African-themed character dining experience set in the Harambe marketplace. A lot of the food has African flavors, along with other traditional options, especially for little ones. Better yet, the characters are in their safari best.

PhotoPass is not included

It’s important to note that despite PhotoPass photographers being available at select character dining experiences, PhotoPass photos are not included in the price of your dining reservation, unless you have a PhotoPass entitlement with Memory Maker or Memory Maker One Day or have a PhotoPass download benefit with your Annual Pass.

There is also the option of buying individual photos.

That said, PhotoPass is included at Ravello’s Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & Pals at the Four Seasons Orlando.

Be Our Guest is not character dining

Be Our Guest Restaurant, located in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, is not considered a character meal.

The Beast does make an appearance while you dine inside his castle inspired by Beauty and the Beast, but it is not a traditional character meet and greet.

He quickly walks through and waves. That’s it. If you’re sitting at a table far away from the Beast, he won’t make his way back to you. This means you might not even have a good view of him.

Characters will pose for photos and sign autographs

You’ll be able to pose for photos with all of the characters and even have them sign autographs.

If you don’t want an autograph, that’s ok! Characters won’t sign autographs if you don’t want them to. As seen below, most of the character meals at Disney World even hand out cute autograph cards that make for a great souvenir.

If for some reason you don’t meet all of the characters during your meal, be sure to let a Cast Member or server know.

Usually, a Cast Member walks around to check with each table that they’ve met all of the characters. If you haven’t, they will ensure you do.

Disney character dining can be expensive

Disney character dining runs on the more expensive side. There are many character meals that are also much pricier than others.

But, character dining is a great way to have a meal and meet multiple characters at once without having to wait in lines throughout the day.

Of course there are better character meals compared to others, but you need to decide which appeals to you more and what sounds the best.

My favorites? Hollywood & Vine, Tusker House, and Topolino’s Terrace.

You can book Disney character dining ahead of time

Like with all Table Service restaurants at Disney World, it’s important to book character dining ahead of time.

Disney World Resort hotel guests can make dining reservations for the entire length of their stay 60 days prior to their arrival day. 

Guests who don’t have a Disney World Resort hotel reservation can also book dining 60 days in advance — BUT, they will only be able to make those reservations one day at a time, exactly 60 days out from each day they want to book dining.

You can make dining reservations in the My Disney Experience app, on the Walt Disney World website, or by calling (407) WDW-DINE.

I highly recommend trying online or in the app first, because reservations open up online and in the app before the phone lines open. You can book in the app or online starting at 6:00 a.m. ET, whereas phone lines don’t open until 7 a.m. You should only call directly if you have issues.

Keep in mind that reservations may open up on the app before the website or vice versa, so you’ll want to check both simultaneously.

If you have issues, call (407) WDW-DINE. If you can’t get a reservation, you can always use a Disney dining reservation alert service, like MouseDining.

It’s important to check cancellation and modification policies

It’s important to pay attention to dining cancellation and modification policies.

More often than not, you can cancel/modify a dining reservation within 2 hours of the reservation time. Most restaurants also charge a $10 per person fee if you don’t cancel at least 2 hours prior to your reservation time.

However, there are certain character meals that have stricter cancellation and modification policies, like Cinderella’s Royal Table.

For Cinderella’s Royal Table, you must pay the full price up front when booking. Modifications also aren’t allowed once you have booked. If you need to cancel, you must do so at least 2 hours prior to reservation time or the full price of the experience for each member of the party will be charged/forfeited.

Character dining is worth it (but only for select guest)

Obviously, character dining isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like meeting characters, don’t enjoy buffets, and aren’t a fan of prix-fixe menus, you should probably avoid Disney character meals.

However, character dining is worth it for others, especially groups traveling with little ones. They are even fun for adults! If you want to meet several characters at once and also avoid waiting in lines to meet characters, character dining is for you.

When it comes to deciding which ones is best, well, that all depends on the characters you want to meet, your budget, and what kind of meal you’d like to enjoy.

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If you have any other questions about character dining at Walt Disney World, let me know in the comments.