Opting out of meeting characters at 1900 Park Fare?

[TheDisneyNurse]

Allllllllllrighty.

I would just skip it if you’re not into characters. Maybe try Ohana? Or a restaurant that’s not a buffet? Are you doing dinner or breakfast? Dinner is so fun with the Tremaines. My brother and I love it.

That’s unfortunate about the Wilderness Lodge/Ft. Wilderness thing, because they’re really great resorts and the boat rides are so fun.

 

[Rustysmom]

My kids and I are not one for interacting with the characters either, but we like to see them and have pictures with them. They get the hint if they talk to you and don't get much response. My daughter has Selective Mutism and won't talk to them, so they just say a few things, pose for a pic and go, which works for us.

 

[RealBlast3]

I live in the west, in a tourist trap area, and I don't love the log cabins or the guns or the shooting of animals or the dirt roads; I come from the city. I spend a lot of money and hard work to go to Disney and I don't want to waste a second to see the home scene again, I can see the home scene for free any time.

The benefit is, being that my home area is so drastically different from the WDW area, our enjoyment of our WDW trips is huge. It's like traveling from earth to heaven! We love every moment of being in WDW. We spend 3 weeks there every summer, and I spend each second very carefully because every second is precious. And it's not that we don't appreciate seeing the characters; we do enjoy that; I was just wondering if there's a discreet and systematic way to having them not talk to us without me doing anything. If not, I can handle it. I don't want to wave them away because that's crude and will make me feel guilty. I can't often walk away as I see characters approach because I have a toddler, though I do try to do that if I can.

In a few years I am moving to the city. By then I might not appreciate WDW as much because my new home will be like a half Disney to us, with its swimming pools and fancy shopping centers and paved roads and expensive restaurants. Even though there's no Disney magic, it will rob the specialness of our WDW visits, I believe.

Another thing: I don't like the Disney boats. Boats are too slow and too hot. I like to charge through everything in Disney as quickly as I can. I'm a middle aged, weak woman while my sons are strong and healthy teens. When we are in WDW, the two things I yell most often to my sons are "Move!" and "Move faster!" OK, I admit it, I'm a bit obsessed.

Oh, I don't even know why I said, "hop on a boat" to Fort Wilderness, probably because I just assumed most people would prefer that way of travel there, but if you did want to eat at Trail's End, there, there is also the Magic Kingdom bus that will take you there.

But if I might offer some advice, if you are willing to make a compromise on one thing, if it's REALLY important to you to have BETTER food, you might want to consider eating at some of the non-buffet restaurants, because as long as you limit yourself to that restriction, you're just really limited in your choices. And Disney has SO many amazing places you could eat it that are not buffets. And with some very interesting themes.

 

[Kathleen Zwally]

We mostly eat buffets for dinner and 1900 park fare was one I tried last trip but not on my radar. A friend really wanted to go and we went... it was by far 1 my favorite meals! Food was awesome. much better than crystal palace, and characters fun too...more like theater instead of meet/greet.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Thanks for everyone's recommendations! Most helpful. Unfortunately, we cannot go to Trails End. I tell my kids that we will never go to Trail's End or visit Wilderness Lodge. You see, we live in an area that looks just like Wilderness Lodge. I go to Disney World to get away from the logs and the trails and the wilderness! I want civilization, please!
As to the money, it sounds like they are the same. According to the internet, it says that dinners are:

Boma: Adult $52, Child 29
Cape May: Adult $55, Child $31
1900 PF: Adult $50, Child $31

So 1900 PF is actually cheaper, if the internet is correct.

Weren't all the buffets recently raised to $55? Or am I mistaken

 

[VAfamily1998]

I don't really see Fort Wilderness Camp Ground and Wilderness lodge as having a similar theme at all. Wilderness Lodge is more "Pacific Northwest" to me, and the Fort is more "Old West."


But if neither appeals to you because it reminds you too much of where you live now, I second an earlier post to try 'Ohana. It's not a "buffet" but it is "all you care to eat" and is Polynesian theme.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Why don't you hop a boat on over to the buffet breakfast at Fort Wilderness, Trail's End, also in the Magic Kingdom area? Their dinner is also a buffet. It's probably one of the better reviewed but somehow kind of "hidden" eateries on property, actually. Probably because it is sort of tucked away, I think it's mostly those who stay at the resort who eat there. So, it's generally a much more quiet resort and place to go as well. The food is in the style of southern, very hearty and filling.

And of course no characters.

Also, The Wave at the Contemporary has a buffet but only at breakfast which is also considered one of the better ones. (and again no characters)

This..We loved Trails End! Take a bus.

 

[missbrooke06]

My husband loves buffets and he wasn't super impressed with the food but we agreed we'll go back when my SIL is with us because she LOVES character interaction and it was the best meal for that we'd ever had.

All that to say that this is probably not your scene.

 

[Tksolomom]

My husband loves buffets and he wasn't super impressed with the food but we agreed we'll go back when my SIL is with us because she LOVES character interaction and it was the best meal for that we'd ever had.

All that to say that this is probably not your scene.

We really liked the food at 1900 Park Fare and it was one of the few places my husband wanted to eat at again this trip. Watching the step sisters is really entertaining, especially with boys. We are going to Biergarten next trip although we haven’t tried it yet. We also like ‘Ohana but it does get mixed reviews, it might s AYCE nstead of a buffet.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

Oh, I don't even know why I said, "hop on a boat" to Fort Wilderness, probably because I just assumed most people would prefer that way of travel there, but if you did want to eat at Trail's End, there, there is also the Magic Kingdom bus that will take you there.

But if I might offer some advice, if you are willing to make a compromise on one thing, if it's REALLY important to you to have BETTER food, you might want to consider eating at some of the non-buffet restaurants, because as long as you limit yourself to that restriction, you're just really limited in your choices. And Disney has SO many amazing places you could eat it that are not buffets. And with some very interesting themes.

Oh yes, we do eat non-buffets as well, mostly the California Grill. It's just that my kids love buffets because we don't have that around home except Chinese ones, and my kids don't like Chinese. My kids think it's fun to just go grab whatever food you want. But thanks for the info that you can get to Fort Wilderness by bus. I did not know that.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

We mostly eat buffets for dinner and 1900 park fare was one I tried last trip but not on my radar. A friend really wanted to go and we went... it was by far 1 my favorite meals! Food was awesome. much better than crystal palace, and characters fun too...more like theater instead of meet/greet.

Thanks for the upvote on the food! Yeah, crystal palace is horrible. It looks so gorgeous outside and so crummy inside.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

Weren't all the buffets recently raised to $55? Or am I mistaken

Don't know, but they are hiking up without restraint. It wasn't long ago when Cape May dinner was only $35, like maybe 4 or 5 years ago. When it comes to eating at Disney, I just ignore the price. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to swallow anything! One meal is worth 2 weeks worth of groceries!

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for the help, I'm just wondering, there isn't any better buffet place, is there? My kids like to eat buffets, and we've been to Cape May and Boma, both of which are OK but not amazing to us, so I thought we would try 1900 Pare Fare. I will tell the hostess like you say. It's not a big deal, I can deal with characters if I have to, I just wonder if there's a simple way Disney has to skip characters. But maybe everybody wants to meet the characters so they have no need for such simple ways. I wish you can some kind of discrete symbol, like say a shy Minnie statue, for example, that you can put on your table to indicate that you do not desire character interaction.

I don't think any of the buffet places are that great, but I did really like the food at Biergarten.

as for prices currently
1900PF is Dinner: Adult: $58.58, Child: $35.15
Cape May is Dinner: Adult: $55.38, Child: $30.89
Boma is Dinner: Adult: $52.19, Child: $28.76

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I don't really see Fort Wilderness Camp Ground and Wilderness lodge as having a similar theme at all. Wilderness Lodge is more "Pacific Northwest" to me, and the Fort is more "Old West."


But if neither appeals to you because it reminds you too much of where you live now, I second an earlier post to try 'Ohana. It's not a "buffet" but it is "all you care to eat" and is Polynesian theme.

I'm not saying that Fort Wilderness and Wilderness lodge are similar; I don't know anything about them, having seen no more than a few pictures. I know that they are very nice places; I just don't want to visit such places, in Disney or at home. For this reason I will never go to the Grand Californian either. Just a personal preference.
We went to Ohana to eat breakfast once. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The place was so crowded and packed, and our waitress looked stressed out -- she did not smile once at us. I felt stressed out too and don't wish to go back, as I understand that dinner is even more packed than breakfast.

Hotels I don't like because of the decor:

Wilderness Lodge (never been there).
Animal Kingdom Lodge (been there twice for Boma and Jiko, will never go again.)

Hotels I love because of the decor:
Pop Century - gorgeous!
Caribbean Beach - gorgeous!
The 5 Epcot hotels - gorgeous!
The Grand Floridian - stunning!
French Quarter - beautiful

Hotels I'm OK with (don't love it, but don't mind going):

Polynesian
Contemporary
All Stars
Coronado Springs

My kids don't mind AKL or WL, it's just me, but they don't like All Stars.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I don't think any of the buffet places are that great, but I did really like the food at Biergarten.

as for prices currently
1900PF is Dinner: Adult: $58.58, Child: $35.15
Cape May is Dinner: Adult: $55.38, Child: $30.89
Boma is Dinner: Adult: $52.19, Child: $28.76

Thanks ! OK, that makes sense that character dinners cost more than non character, but not by a lot. They all cost a ton of money. Why do they have all the decimal points? Do they really need to charge 15 cents more than $35 per meal?

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks ! OK, that makes sense that character dinners cost more than non character, but not by a lot. They all cost a ton of money. Why do they have all the decimal points? Do they really need to charge 15 cents more than $35 per meal?

those prices include tax.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

those prices include tax.

Wow, OK. I've never seen anybody quoting prices with the taxes. That way it doesn't sound as steep.

 

[roxiepenguin]

Thanks for the help, I'm just wondering, there isn't any better buffet place, is there? My kids like to eat buffets, and we've been to Cape May and Boma, both of which are OK but not amazing to us, so I thought we would try 1900 Pare Fare. I will tell the hostess like you say. It's not a big deal, I can deal with characters if I have to, I just wonder if there's a simple way Disney has to skip characters. But maybe everybody wants to meet the characters so they have no need for such simple ways. I wish you can some kind of discrete symbol, like say a shy Minnie statue, for example, that you can put on your table to indicate that you do not desire character interaction.

I agree with other posters, truly, if you're not interested in the 1900 PF characters, don't spend the money; the food was lackluster at best.

We tried this one out for breakfast in April and were really disappointed with the food. Flip side to that is we do The Crystal Palace character breakfast every time; it's DH's favorite. I would easily pay for this again and again over the 1900 PF experience.

While we haven't shied away from character interactions at The Crystal Palace, we kind of did at Akershus for the princess breakfast. (We are two adults, no kids, and vegetarians so our best time slot to try Akershus was for breakfast.) The princesses were great and had a polite way of asking if we wanted pics/interactions.

We are trying the Donald breakfast at Tusker House in December; hope it's good! Also, the Storybook dining with Snow White

I love the idea though of maybe something that could be placed on the tables to notify characters that you just want to watch from afar!

 

[GPC0321]

I am planning to eat at 1900 Park Fare for the first time during our coming visit to WDW. I have 3 boys: 18, 13, and 3. I am not a person who enjoys small talk. I enjoy watching the characters from a distance as they interact with other guests and feel the Disney atmosphere, but I feel awkward having to talk to them myself. My boys are the same way. Is there anyway to opt out of meeting characters? Do they have a sign or something that I can put on the table to show the characters that they should just skip our table? Should I tell the waiter that?

Thanks for any help!

If you don't like interacting with characters, I'd suggest not going to a character meal. They're usually very good at reading guests and knowing how to keep things from being awkward, but why even put yourself in that environment if it makes you uncomfortable? There are other buffets on property that have no characters. I've heard the breakfast at The Wave over at Contemporary is really good. I've only eaten at two buffets at Disney so far: Boma for breakfast and Biergarten for dinner. Both were delicious and neither had characters. I get the appeal. I love "grazing" on buffets too.

Are you staying at the Grand? Is that why 1900 Park Fare is the one you're looking at?

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I agree with other posters, truly, if you're not interested in the 1900 PF characters, don't spend the money; the food was lackluster at best.

We tried this one out for breakfast in April and were really disappointed with the food. Flip side to that is we do The Crystal Palace character breakfast every time; it's DH's favorite. I would easily pay for this again and again over the 1900 PF experience.

While we haven't shied away from character interactions at The Crystal Palace, we kind of did at Akershus for the princess breakfast. (We are two adults, no kids, and vegetarians so our best time slot to try Akershus was for breakfast.) The princesses were great and had a polite way of asking if we wanted pics/interactions.

We are trying the Donald breakfast at Tusker House in December; hope it's good! Also, the Storybook dining with Snow White

I love the idea though of maybe something that could be placed on the tables to notify characters that you just want to watch from afar!

I know, right? A simple flag or statue or traffic cone or something cute can be used as a discreet way of warning the characters, but I hear that characters in costumes can barely see, which is maybe why they don't do that.