Character Dining for 2 Awkward Adults

[evlaina]

My husband and I are going on an adult-only trip this year. We have done plenty of character meals in the past, but always with our daughters. We like a few restaurants that happen to have characters, but we have no interest in interacting with them just the 2 of us. Part of it is for time, part is because we know we'll be straight up awkward with the characters Can we tell our server or host that we don't want to meet characters, or is that rude? Or would you just skip them all together and go elsewhere? Or should we just suck it up and be fun lol? It's all breakfasts:

Garden Grill (PPO to hop on Soarin')
Tusker House (PPO to hop on Safari)
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's Brunch

 

[xipotec]

Yeah you can tell them no characters.

sometimes the characters are funnier with an adult.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I would probably just skip them.

 

[CraigInPA]

You can shoo them away. I've done it with Pooh and the crowd at the Crystal Palace.

If you're shy or awkward, I would NOT recommend Hoop De Doo review. Last week we went and I ended up with one of the characters sitting on my lap as part of the show!

 

[Maggie Gallagher]

My husband and I are going on an adult-only trip this year. We have done plenty of character meals in the past, but always with our daughters. We like a few restaurants that happen to have characters, but we have no interest in interacting with them just the 2 of us. Part of it is for time, part is because we know we'll be straight up awkward with the characters Can we tell our server or host that we don't want to meet characters, or is that rude? Or would you just skip them all together and go elsewhere? Or should we just suck it up and be fun lol? It's all breakfasts:

Garden Grill (PPO to hop on Soarin')
Tusker House (PPO to hop on Safari)
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's Brunch

When DH and I go solo, we just keep the character interactions short and sweet. We joke, take photos, and let them move on. I have had some fun princess interactions just having a little girl talk. It really doesn't have to be awkward. I've gotten the feeling that the characters enjoy a little adult interaction, kind of like a little break from all of the kiddies wanting a piece of them.

 

[lovin'fl]

We went to Chef Mickey's not long ago with our 2 college DDs. I asked the guy who was walking around with the characters to skip us as my DDs were 'too old' to visit with the characters. He shook his head and said okay but 2 minutes later he escorted them, 1 by 1, right to our table. Not sure why. Only can guess it was a language barrier maybe. Now I just won't book the character meals anymore. No need to pay the high premium when we have no interest in the characters. Most of those places have so-so or blah food anyway.

Oh, and one of the characters was making crude slurping sounds in DDs ear. We still laugh at that today.

 

[lorenae]

We (two adult women friends, 56 and 64) went to Garden Grill and I really felt awkward. Well, it turned out great, and I relaxed and actually had fun with the characters. I did get up to get a photo with Mickey, and when my friend clicked the photo, it turned out that Pluto photobombed us.

If you just smile and wave, they’ll keep moving on. But if you’re even a little open to it, you may find it fun. My friend, near the end, ‘petted” Pluto on the end and said, “Oh, you’re such a good dog!“. Pluto then “licked” her face making dog licking noises and it was hysterically funny. That was after a few rounds of them going by, and we were obviously pretty comfortable by that point!

 

[rdaky]

Maybe find a different restaurant? I'm not trying to sound dismissive, but the main draw of somewhere like Chef Mickey's is the characters, and there are sooooo many places where you can get a better brunch.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Personally I would skip them. There are much better (and cheaper) places to eat if you're not interesting in meeting the characters.

 

[Laura353741]

There are some AWESOME non-character places to eat, I would definitely go that route! My son and I just got back, he's 10 and can't get far enough away from characters so we ate at some pretty great non-character restaurants!

 

[JZCubed]

My husband and I are going on an adult-only trip this year. We have done plenty of character meals in the past, but always with our daughters. We like a few restaurants that happen to have characters, but we have no interest in interacting with them just the 2 of us. Part of it is for time, part is because we know we'll be straight up awkward with the characters Can we tell our server or host that we don't want to meet characters, or is that rude? Or would you just skip them all together and go elsewhere? Or should we just suck it up and be fun lol? It's all breakfasts:

Garden Grill (PPO to hop on Soarin')
Tusker House (PPO to hop on Safari)
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's Brunch

A single-man going solo, that'd be awkward.

Not sure how to avoid the festivities at Chef Mickey's.

For the premium cost of every character buffets, I'd try CA Grill brunch over Chef Mickey's.

 

[only hope]

The presence of characters inflates the price. If you’re not interested in the characters, it’s really not worth it unless you just really, really like that restaurant. No kids is no reason not enjoy meeting the characters though- characters are for people of all ages. I enjoy meeting characters more now than I did as a kid. I think ahead of time of what I would like to say so I get a real interaction and not just hug-photo-bye. Sometimes the character is so engaging I don’t need to have thought of anything though.

 

[CynBeth]

We are adults and go to a few character breakfasts every trip. We love Crystal Palace, Tusker House, and Cape May.

 

[evlaina]

You can shoo them away. I've done it with Pooh and the crowd at the Crystal Palace.

If you're shy or awkward, I would NOT recommend Hoop De Doo review. Last week we went and I ended up with one of the characters sitting on my lap as part of the show!

OMG my husband would die lol!!

 

[evlaina]

Maybe find a different restaurant? I'm not trying to sound dismissive, but the main draw of somewhere like Chef Mickey's is the characters, and there are sooooo many places where you can get a better brunch.

No, I want all opinions, which is why I asked. Neither of us wants the characters but we like the pre-park opening benefits of Garden Grill and Tusker House!

 

[evlaina]

The presence of characters inflates the price. If you’re not interested in the characters, it’s really not worth it unless you just really, really like that restaurant. No kids is no reason not enjoy meeting the characters though- characters are for people of all ages. I enjoy meeting characters more now than I did as a kid. I think ahead of time of what I would like to say so I get a real interaction and not just hug-photo-bye. Sometimes the character is so engaging I don’t need to have thought of anything though.

We always do Deluxe Dining, so we're not paying OOP. We just really like big breakfasts lol. We will have a few non character meals scheduled too, I'm just wondering if we should make them all non-character.

 

[GovieMom]

If you just smile and wave, they’ll keep moving on.

That's what we've always done and it seems to work fine, as the characters can see we're a group of four adults who might not desire the interaction. Only place it didn't work was Akershus, as the princesses were obviously supposed to give a short speech at each table to allow for continuity. We just listened and smiled and all was well.

 

[evlaina]

A single-man going solo, that'd be awkward.

Not sure how to avoid the festivities at Chef Mickey's.

For the premium cost of every character buffets, I'd try CA Grill brunch over Chef Mickey's.

Cali Grill is our absolute FAVORITE brunch, so we have that for another day. We actually have never been to Chef Mickey's (because of bad reviews) but we thought it may be a good idea on our MVMCP day.

 

[Caitttmeetsworld]

My husband and I are going on an adult-only trip this year. We have done plenty of character meals in the past, but always with our daughters. We like a few restaurants that happen to have characters, but we have no interest in interacting with them just the 2 of us. Part of it is for time, part is because we know we'll be straight up awkward with the characters Can we tell our server or host that we don't want to meet characters, or is that rude? Or would you just skip them all together and go elsewhere? Or should we just suck it up and be fun lol? It's all breakfasts:

Garden Grill (PPO to hop on Soarin')
Tusker House (PPO to hop on Safari)
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's Brunch

You can always ask a CM as a preference but for the prices you’re paying you should try some new restaurants! Sanaa in Africa at DAN is very delicious, Monsieur Paul is very delicious as well, Skipper Canteen is unique and Jungle cruise themed, The Wave at the Contemporary is delicious I personally LOVE Kona Cafe for brunch at the Polynesian

 

[evlaina]

There are some AWESOME non-character places to eat, I would definitely go that route! My son and I just got back, he's 10 and can't get far enough away from characters so we ate at some pretty great non-character restaurants!

We plan on Cali Grill brunch, The Plaza (my husband's second-favorite breakfast place), and Whisper Canyon Cafe for sure (staying at WL), we are just so up in the air with the ones I listed above. We do Deluxe Dining, so typically a big breakfast and a Signature dinner. I love Boma so I can replace TH with that, and also love GF Cafe. I just love the food at CP and GG so much though!