Eating in Disney World

Since the parks were decorated for the holidays, you can get some special photo ops at the restaurants that have character meals, because the characters are in holiday costumes.

Quick Tips:

Character meals are great for photos and interaction, but a warning for parents of small kids- they will most likely not eat anything because of all the excitement! If you are on a tight budget, it may be better to spend less money on a quiet meal, and take pics in the parks with the characters instead.

Best Way To Get Around:

We rented a car, which we got because of having a toddler with us, but next time we may consider using Disney's bus transportation- it seemed pretty efficient, and it is also free!

The World Premiere Food Court was very convenient for a family. It features that Disney theming, designed like the concession area of a movie theater.

There are different lines that you can order from, and your food is made while you wait. It is served cafeteria style, using trays and plates. Each "station" has their own themes; one station had mostly fast food items (cheese steaks, burgers, fries, chicken strips, etc), while another had pasta and meat dishes (grilled portabella pasta, carved london broil, baked chicken). A specialty line had items like chicken quesadillas (delicious!), pizzas, specialty salads, etc. There was also a line for all types of ice creams and sundaes- this one was popular! Please note, there is a different menu for breakfast, then lunch/dinner menus are about the same. The breakfast menus featured everything you would expect to find at breakfast- bacon, eggs, potatoes, pastries, pancakes, waffles, etc.

One of our personal favorites was the "grab-n-go" area- there were refrigerator cases filled with premade sandwiches, drinks, salads, vegetable cups, fruit cups, yogurt, pudding, and various desserts. It was easy to pick something out and be on your way quickly- we did this a few times, and shared items. Also, there were carts sitting out with snack foods (chips, crackers, Mickey Krispie Treats, etc). There was also a pastry and doughnut section, which comes highly recommended by us!

Once you gather the food you want, you head to a central area to pay for everything. There were 3 registers open every time we went, which made the wait very short. Castmembers were always very friendly and efficient.

One thing to note- while you can get prebottled drinks in the fridge cases, there is also a huge circular main drink station that has fountain drinks the entire way around- it has the normal sodas, lemonade, iced tea, milk, coffee, and hot chocolate.

One of our favorite tips here- buy a refillable mug (on carts by the cash register)- it is decorated in the theme of the resort, and it sells for $11.99 plus tax. There are two types of mugs- a travel one that fits in a car, and one that is a little shorter and wider. Both have lids, and are plastic. Once you purchase the mugs, they allow you free refills at the drink station for the length of your stay. It was a great deal for us- we stopped every time we headed back to the hotel room.

Some of our favorite things we tried from the World Premiere were the chicken quesadillas with fries ($6.59) , the cheese steak with fries ($6.69), the fruit cups (2.99), and the cheesecake at $3.59 a slice. For breakfast, my son loved the Mickey waffles, served on a Mickey plate.

With a convenient location to all the rooms at the resort, the World Premiere Food Court is a great place to come and eat in, or to take back to your room for a quiet meal.

We LOVED this place—come expecting to role play as a family, because your server will definitely be a relative. It has a very fun atmosphere—loud, so it's great for kids! Food was excellent—sort of a "meat and potatoes" home-cooked feel. I had the meat loaf, one of the specialties, and was not disappointed—it was delicious! They have nice alternatives for the younger kids too—fruit cups, and Goldfish crackers can replace the old french fry standard.

This is one of Disney's counter service places to eat- the specialty here is 1/4 lb hot dogs, and this is what we had- they were delicious! My husband and I both got hot dogs, and split a fry, then got my son corn dog nuggets. Drinks included, it was under $15. Not too bad for Disney, and it was very filling.

The atmosphere here is very casual, and rather fun. It is decorated in old time baseball photos, and has a movie screen and risers to sit on in a back room. They were playing old Disney sports cartoons while we were there. Very "americana" feel, just like you are at a ball game.

I also like the location of Casey's Corner. Right on Main Street in Magic Kingdom, so it is a convenient stop on your way into or out of the parks. The set-up of the restaurant made the traffic flow easily, so it didn't seem very busy. Nice place for a quick meal!

We attended the character breakfast at Crystal Palace, and what a wonderful surprise! We had advanced dining reservations, and only waited a couple minutes to go in.

What a striking place! Very bright interior, and beautiful topiaries of Pooh and Friends in the lobby when you walk in. It puts you in a festive mood right from the start.

When we were seated, our waitress came and took drink orders, then explained how the characters visited each table in special orders (I am guessing this is to keep guests from swarming over them!).

The food here was typical breakfast buffet food; eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, fruits, cereals, breads, etc. Nothing too special as far as selection or taste, but it was hot, and the bar was always stocked.

The only problem we had was trying to get my son to eat—he only took two bites, because he was so excited for the characters—maybe a waste of money for breakfast for him.

The characters had great interaction with the kids here, and took time for plenty of photo ops. My son loved it, and I think we would return here, although maybe not until my son was a little older, so he would actually eat a little more.

We ate here because it was a quick stop- something fast to eat so we would have time to attend the upcoming parade.

I asked my husband to order for me, and I took my son to go sit down. When we were there, it was practically empty, so we had a whole section to ourselves. The restaurant carries out the western theme just as you would expect Disney to flawless details.

My husband got the bacon cheeseburger, and if the manner in which he wolfed it down was any indication of how well he liked it, I would say it was a "thumbs up." He also got fries, which he and my son both enjoyed. He got me a pork BBQ sandwich, and it was delicious, but way too much food to finish. He got me carrot sticks instead of fries, which was a nice change from normal fast food fair.

This is a counter service restaurant, with the typical cafeteria style lines, which seem to be very efficient. Once you get your food, there is a gigantic "fixin's" bar, with all sorts of toppings to put on your burgers. The veggies (lettuce, pickles, onions, tomato, etc.) looked very fresh, but we didn't really take advantage of them.

This was the first character dining experience we had on our trip, and it really was fun. My son's eyes lit up when he saw the characters coming into the dining area. The characters here are Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, and of course Donald Duck.

We did have an advanced dining reservation, and even though we ran a couple minutes late getting there, the cast members were very understanding.

The theming of the restaurant is really neat since it is located in Dino-land. You can see the dinosaur bones and artifacts all throughout the place. A tip is to look up—you never know what you may find!

The buffet itself was just OK in our opinion. It was the normal breakfast buffets that you would expect, but it all seemed a little on the greasy side, and the way they designed the lines at the buffet made for a lot of traffic congestion. The cast members did a good job keeping food hot, and filling in the food.

The character interaction was pretty good, but it seemed like the characters were a little rushed by their handlers. They did stop and pose for pictures, though.

All in all, a fun experience, but young kids will most likely be too excited to eat anything. It is for this reason that we probably wouldn't eat here again; just because we can spend a lot less on a breakfast that tastes just as good, and use the extra time to be in the parks.

Hmmm, magical. That's the best way to describe it. Magic Kingdom is open until midnight for guests with tickets. The party officially starts at 7:00 pm, but you can start coming into the park around 4pm. At 6pm, the park is closed to prepare for the party, and guests are sent to one of the lands to wait. Once 7pm comes around, the party is in full swing!

I highly recommend getting a special park map from the entrance of the park when you enter. It points out all of the special events going on during the party (such as a Holiday Hop dancing area with characters for the young and old alike), and things like free photos with Santa, and where the free cookie and hot cocoa locations are.

Almost all of the rides are still open during the party, and we never had a wait for anything the entire night.

After the parade, there was a special "Wishes" performance, which is Disney's 360 degree fireworks show. Bring tissues, because it will bring tears to your eyes-it is simply beautiful.

All in all, we are so glad we went to the party, and I am sure we will return again.