If meeting characters in Disney World is a priority for your family, we highly recommend you consider booking at least one character dining experience. The main benefit of character dining is pretty significant: you don’t have to wait in long lines to meet multiple characters. 

And if you want to meet the Big Cheese — Mickey Mouse himself — during your meal, you have a few great options both in the parks and at the resorts. He even has a different outfit at each of the character dining restaurants, so he’ll always have a unique look no matter which restaurant you pick! But how do you choose WHICH character meal to book? Let’s run through them here and see which meals are 100% worth it and which are totally skippable.

Now, there are a few things that differentiate character meals in Disney World from one another:

• Cost
• Amount of time with characters
• Food quality
• Atmosphere
• Experience
  • Buffet: All you can eat, but you also have to juggle your kiddos through the buffet line AND rush back so you don’t miss characters at your table
  • Family Style: All you can eat, but NO buffet juggling or rushing back to your table for characters, BUT limited menu so might not be best for picky eaters or special diets
  • A la Carte: Not all you can eat, so usually a worse value from a food quantity perspective, but NO buffet juggling or rushing back to your table for characters

This is the basis of our grading scale for our rankings. But as always, here at DFB, we have the goal of giving you the full story on each restaurant so you can make the best decisions for your family.

So without further ado, here are our rankings of Mickey Mouse character meals from best to…don’t bother!

Garden Grill — EPCOT

At the top of our list is Garden Grill Restaurant in EPCOT! This has always been a favorite of ours for MANY reasons. This unique rotating restaurant (that’s right, the restaurant SPINS, though veeeery slowly!) is located on the second (entrance level) floor of the Land Pavilion (that’s the one where Soarin’ is).

You’ll have a chance to meet Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale at lunch and dinner, and Mickey is dressed in a cute little farmer’s outfit! This spot used to serve breakfast too, but it’s currently just offering lunch and dinner. As the restaurant rotates, you get some unique views of the Living With the Land attraction down below!

Compared to other restaurants on this list, Garden Grill is perhaps the smallest and most laid-back option. Due to its smaller size, the characters usually take multiple trips around the restaurant during your meal, which means YOU GET MORE MICKEY! Seeing as you’re paying big bucks for a character meal to spend time with the Main Mouse, the more character interaction you get, the better the value.

This perk is truly invaluable, and you will probably get way more time with the characters here than you will in most other character meet-and-greet scenarios. Note that the characters are staying a little bit distanced at this restaurant (like with all character dining right now), so they won’t be coming right up to the front of your table. They stay on the inside loop of this restaurant, while guests eat at the booths on the outside loop.

The food is served family-style, meaning you don’t have to worry about juggling your kiddos while you stand in a buffet line to get your meal. And you don’t have to worry about rushing back to your table before the characters get there!

It’s also all-you-care-to-eat, so you still benefit from being served a TON of food. The food itself is delicious, and much of it comes from the greenhouses in The Land Pavilion. Lunch and dinner both feature a hearty skillet of a variety of meats, mac and cheese, fries, and veggies with a berry shortcake for dessert. So, you’re getting super fresh food, brought to your table, and you can eat as much as you want? Sign us up!

This location also happens to be a great value compared to other character meals. Lunch and dinner each cost $55 per adult and $36 per child.

In short, we cannot recommend Garden Grill enough. You can often get last-minute reservations here too, which is always a shock to us because it’s such a gem. A lot of character dining exists JUST so your kids can meet the characters, but this is not the case with Garden Grill. You can meet Mickey (usually multiple times), eat a ton of excellent food, and enjoy a quieter break from the hustle and bustle of EPCOT all in one place!

PROS: Small restaurant means you can likely meet characters more than once. Family-style food means you’re not managing a buffet with kiddos. Food is delicious. Food is all you can eat.

CONS: Family-style food and set menu means picky eaters or those with special diets may not have choices they enjoy. Have to pay for a park ticket to dine here. A lot of great dining options in EPCOT, so if you eat here you could miss out on a different restaurant.

Read our most recent review of Garden Grill here!

‘Ohana — Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

UPDATE: Note that character dining is not currently available at ‘Ohana. Disney hasn’t announced yet when the characters will return. We’ll be sure to update you when we hear about the characters returning to this restaurant.

Coming in second place is breakfast at ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort! There are many draws to this fan-favorite restaurant. For starters, the location couldn’t be better.

The Polynesian is located along the monorail loop, just minutes from Magic Kingdom. This makes ‘Ohana an excellent breakfast option to fill the family up before hitting the parks! Keep in mind that the characters are ONLY out during breakfast here. 

In addition to meeting Mickey in his cute Hawaiian shirt, you can also meet Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch! Currently, this is the ONLY place on property where you can meet Lilo, so if you have Lilo & Stitch fans in your household, ‘Ohana is a must-do.

Like Garden Grill, the food is served family-style, which again is a HUGE PLUS if you have young kiddos. The food comes to you, but it’s still all-you-care-to-eat. WIN-WIN. As far as pricing goes, this character breakfast will run you $42 per adult and $27 per child. (With character dining unavailable, breakfast currently costs $25 per adult and $14 per child.)

Speaking of food, the breakfast food at ‘Ohana is great! There aren’t too many surprises on the menu, and most of what you are served is traditional breakfast food your entire family should be able to enjoy. There are some unique specialty items though that we ADORE, like their yummy breakfast bread. It’s also the only place on property where you can get Stitch waffles!

‘Ohana is a solid option if you’re looking for a great character dining experience. Just keep in mind that this is a popular restaurant and reservations often go quick. So if you know you want to dine here, be ready to book your Advance Dining Reservation once your 60-day window opens up! If there are no tables available, there’s another great character breakfast option where you can meet Mickey, and it’s coming up next.

PROS: Small restaurant means you can likely meet characters more than once. Family-style food means you’re not managing a buffet with kiddos. Food is all you can eat. Food is delicious. Don’t have to pay for a park ticket to dine here.

CONS: Family-style food and set menu means picky eaters or those with special diets may not have choices they enjoy. Character meal is breakfast only.

Read about our most recent trip to ‘Ohana for breakfast here!

Topolino’s Terrace — Disney’s Riviera Resort

The newest character dining option is next on our list! Topolino’s Terrace: Flavors of the Riviera is a rooftop restaurant in Disney’s Riviera Resort.

The restaurant has gorgeous, sweeping views of Disney World. Their character breakfast, otherwise known as Breakfast à la Art, includes Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy in their finest Renaissance-inspired attire! Here, you’ll find Mickey has a cute and colorful painter’s smock.

Like ‘Ohana, the characters only come out for breakfast here.

Standout breakfast menu items here include the Quiche Gruyere, Wood-fired Butchers Steak, and Sour Cream Waffles with a DELICIOUS orange-maple syrup. While you order off of a set menu and this is NOT all-you-can-eat, Topolino’s Terrace breakfast is a prix-fixe meal at $42 per adult entrée, and $27 per child entrée, which is about on par with the other options on this list so far.

This is definitely going to be more of a “fine dining” experience, ESPECIALLY for character meals, so keep that in mind if you’re considering giving Topolino’s Terrace a try. And once you’re done, hop on the Disney Skyliner and head to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios, now that you’ve fueled up for your day!

PROS: Food is delicious. More refined atmosphere than a buffet meal. Don’t have to pay for a park ticket to dine here. A la carte menu means there are more options for picky eaters than family-style meals, but fewer than buffet meals.

CONS: Character meal is breakfast only. Just as expensive as other character meals, but NOT all you can eat.

Read our full review of the Topolino’s Terrace character breakfast here!

Tusker House — Animal Kingdom

Tusker House used to be a buffet-style meal, but it’s currently serving up food family-style. Located in Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, this character dining experience includes Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy! They are all decked out in super cute safari outfits, making for great photo opportunities to commemorate your time in Animal Kingdom.

When it comes to the food, Tusker House is a solid option. It has a “best of both worlds” approach where you’ll find a lot of typical American food for your pickier eaters, but they also have some interesting African-inspired dishes for your more adventurous eaters.

For breakfast, expect to find everything from Simba & Nala waffles to Durban Chicken & Egg Curry. And the bottomless bread service is not to be missed! Like the other character options on this list so far, breakfast will cost $42 per adult and $27 per child.

For lunch and dinner, you’ll find dishes like Cape Malay Green Curry Shrimp, Berbere-marinated Pork, and Spit-roasted Herb Chicken. This is a good option if your party is a mixture of wild and tame eaters, with some options like roasted potatoes and mac ‘n’ cheese for the pickier folks. Lunch and dinner cost $55 per adult and $36 per child.

Overall, this is a good option if you’re looking for unique food offerings you won’t find anywhere else in Disney World, while still appealing to those less adventurous eaters! Plus having a chance to cool off while in Animal Kingdom is great.

PROS: Food is plentiful and interesting while still including some standards for pickier eaters. Family-style food means you’re not managing a buffet with kiddos. Food is all you can eat.

CONS: Large restaurant means characters may only come to see you once. Have to pay for a park ticket to dine here.

Read about our most recent trip to Tusker House here!

Hollywood and Vine — Hollywood Studios

Next on our list is Hollywood and Vine! This character restaurant in Disney’s Hollywood Studios does a bit of a switch-up during the day. For breakfast, you can meet an assortment of Disney Junior characters, but for lunch and dinner, it transforms into Minnie’s Seasonal Dining. SO, if you want to meet Mickey and not Vampirina, make sure you’re booking the right meal.

At Minnie’s Seasonal Dining, you can meet Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the Fab Five in specialty seasonal outfits, depending on the time of year you visit!

The seasonal parties throughout the year include Silver Screen Dine (during Awards Season, of course), Springtime Dine, Summertime Dine, Halloweentime Dine, and Holiday Dine! Outfits vary from their cozy Christmas best to not-so-spooky costumes to Hollywood Glam and more! All of the meals are prix fixe, so you’ll pay a set price and order a la carte. So this spot is NOT all-you-care-to-eat. Breakfast is priced at $42 per adult and $27 per child, and lunch and dinner are each $55 per adult and $36 per child.

The food at Hollywood and Vine is…just OK. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s also probably not the best meal you’re ever going to eat. Is it worth $55 per adult? That’s up to you!

While we would recommend this to anyone who likes simple, American-style food and is looking for a unique character dining experience, we think Hollywood and Vine just got beat out by the other fabulous restaurants on this list that offer great food AND great character experiences.

We do love how this restaurant switches up with the seasons, however, meaning you can visit multiple times throughout the year and have a totally unique experience each time with the characters in new outfits.

PROS: Plenty of food options for picky eaters. Fun “seasonal” experience with characters.

CONS: Large restaurant means characters may only come to see you once. Have to pay for a park ticket to dine here. Food is largely mediocre. Just as expensive as other character meals, but NOT all you can eat.

Read our review on Minnie’s Halloween Dine at Hollywood and Vine here!

Chef Mickey’s — Disney’s Contemporary Resort

And finally, we have Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Those of you who have followed us for a while may already know about our love/hate relationship with Chef Mickey’s. We DO want to point out some positives first.

Like ‘Ohana, this is a great location if you want to do a character meal on your Magic Kingdom day. Just a quick Monorail ride or WALK away from the park’s main entrance, it’s a good spot to grab breakfast before you head in or to take a break for lunch or dinner.

The one thing Chef Mickey’s has going for it OVER ‘Ohana is that you can meet characters at both breakfast and dinner, providing your family with more flexibility if you want to meet Mickey in a character dining setting near Magic Kingdom.

You meet Mickey along with the rest of the Fab Five, and they’re all in super cute chef outfits that you won’t see anywhere else on property.

And to be totally fair to Chef Mickey’s, the food HAS gotten better over the years. It’s a far cry from the best food on property, and it’s definitely not the best food on this list, but we’ve absolutely noticed an improvement. Our biggest bones to pick with Chef Mickey’s are still the fact that it’s big, it’s crowded, you pretty much ONLY get one shot with the characters, the atmosphere is blah, and it’s loud.

Like the other options on this list, Chef Mickey’s costs $42 per adult and $27 per child for breakfast and $55 per adult and $36 per child for dinner.

The restaurant also feels pretty crowded, even though it’s a large space. With so many people to see, the characters don’t have a ton of time to spend near your table.

In order to make sure they make their rounds and say hello to every guest, that means less individual time interacting with your table! This is a huge contrast to Garden Grill, where we’ve had Mickey stop at our table multiple times in one visit, and stick around for longer to play.

Like we mentioned before, the food is getting better every time we go, although there’s still plenty of room for improvement. You will definitely find no surprises here. Both meals are served family-style (although this spot used to be a buffet), and you’ll find options like Mickey waffles, bacon, and eggs for breakfast.

Dinner has dishes like salads, baby shrimp, prime rib, and roasted turkey.

Overall, however, while this is definitely a classic Disney World restaurant that we ALL have those old family photos from, if your goal is to meet Mickey and you want to truly enjoy your time while you do so, we recommend you check out the other restaurants on this list first.

PROS: Plenty of food options for picky eaters. All you can eat. Close to Magic Kingdom. Don’t have to pay for a park ticket to dine here. Family-style food means you’re not managing a buffet with kiddos.

CONS: Large restaurant means characters may only come to see you once. Food is largely mediocre. Atmosphere is blah, frenetic, and very loud.

Read about our most recent trip to Chef Mickey’s here!

So there you have it! All the character meals starring the Mouse, himself! There are a few great character meals at Disney World we didn’t cover here if you’re looking for your fill of princesses or other whimsical characters. But when we think of a solid character meal at Disney, more often than not, we want to meet “the leader of the club,” so we hope we helped you evaluate all your options!

Keep following DFB for more planning tips as you get ready for your next vacation!

Click here to learn how character dining is CHANGING in Disney World.

What is YOUR favorite character meal in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!