Promising Development for Character Dining
Wondering about the status of character dining at Walt Disney World? This post covers which in-park and resort restaurants have returned and what modified meals they’re offering, plus a promising development on taking photos with characters–rather than of them.
For those who missed it, Walt Disney World temporarily suspended character meet & greets back when the parks reopened. In their place, physically distanced greetings have been utilized, with the characters in elevated locations waving at guests or otherwise separated by a barrier. Many of these are quite good, providing engaging and humorous ways for kids to connect with characters. They’re something we’d love to see supplement traditional meet & greets long-term.
Character dining has similarly changed. Many meals remain on hiatus, in particular those at closed hotels or in venues being used for other purposes. Others have returned in modified form, which typically means the characters appear to smile & wave at guests, and also do brief parades around the restaurant every so often. Physically distanced selfies with the characters as they pass are possible, but they’re difficult–and that’s without kids to pose!
We’ve done a few modified character meals since last summer and have mixed thoughts on them. While we very much enjoyed the experiences, our circumstances are also unique. You can see what these are like in our Topolino’s Terrace Modified Character Meal Review or our Good Morning with Goofy & Pals Modified Character Meal Review. (If we were going to recommend any character meal at Walt Disney World right now, it would definitely be Topolino’s Terrace.)
Other modified character meals at Walt Disney World include:
- Chef Mickey’s Family Feast Breakfast
- Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast
- Cinderella’s Royal Table (sort of…but not really)
- Minnie’s Springtime Dine
In addition to the character component being dramatically different at all of those restaurants, the culinary component has changed significantly at all but Topolino’s Terrace, Garden Grill, and Cinderella’s Royal Table. Since buffets are verboten, those have switched to family style offerings.
Then there are the many character meals that have not yet returned. Those include some of Walt Disney World’s most beloved restaurants, like ‘Ohana, Cape May Cafe, Artist Point, 1900 Park Fare, Tusker House, and more. Some of those have a good chance of returning when their respective hotels reopen. Others have a chance when attendance increases. It seems realistic that by the end of July 2021 there are at least 3 more character meals operating again at Walt Disney World.
For those not interested in the physically distanced ‘smile & wave’ greetings and parades, we have an interesting development. Disney just announced that Aunty’s Breakfast Celebration at Makahiki Restaurant in Aulani will return on May 7, 2021.
Here’s the most notable detail: “Upon arrival at Makahiki, and throughout the breakfast experience, guests will have an opportunity to take photos with Disney friends to mark the occasion!” During the month of May 2021, the characters will appear Monday, Friday, and Saturday, and reservations will only be available to resort guests.
Just because this is happening at Aulani does not mean a return of photos with characters is on the immediate horizon at Walt Disney World. For one thing, Hawaii has strict rules that require pre-arrival testing or a mandatory 10-day quarantine, and it’s reasonable for Disney to assume that most resort guests are tourists who have been tested.
However, it’s still an assumption and one that won’t prove true 100% of the time. Then again, nothing will…which is sort of the point. Risk can be mitigated to an acceptable level, but never eliminated entirely. It’s also worth noting that aside from some subtle differences–like photos with characters at this meal–Aulani’s health safety protocol is nearly the same as Walt Disney World’s. Some of the website verbiage is identical.
It’s thus hardly far-fetched to think this might be a preview of what’s on the horizon at Walt Disney World in the coming months. Vaccinations are increasing at an impressive rate and are now being offered to Cast Members by Disney Health Services. In terms of risk mitigation, this is more effective than even pre-arrival testing by orders of magnitude.
The significance of vaccinations, particularly for performers, cannot be overstated. There has been a public dialogue about different tools in fighting spread, with things like masks and vaccines often mentioned in the same sentence. They’re both useful, no doubt, but not all tools are of equal utility. If the vaccine is like a bulldozer, a mask is like a large spork.
With vaccine rollout going well, Walt Disney World has already relaxed the face mask rule for outdoor physically distanced photos. (At the intersection of these topics, we’d expect mask rules to exist for non-distanced character interactions when those return.)
This is just the first of many changes to Walt Disney World’s health safety protocol that we can hope to see in the next several months. Expect those rules to be gradually eroded to the point there’s essentially nothing left of them. No matter where you’ve stood in this “debate” before, this should make you happy. These rules will go away because they’re no longer necessary. That’s cause for celebration.
This isn’t to say that once the United States hits X% of the adult population vaccinated, all rules will vanish and Walt Disney World will reintroduce real character dining. There probably is not a magic number, but rather, a totality of circumstances and metrics that Disney will collectively weigh in bringing back character dining, among other things.
(That is, unless Walt Disney World can ensure performers are vaccinated, which would dramatically reduce the risk to them and guests with whom they come in contact. I wouldn’t bet on that happening, though, for the same reasons vaccine passports won’t happen at Walt Disney World.)
Ultimately, this Aulani development is bigger news than it might seem, and potentially foreshadows a similar change at Walt Disney World in the coming months. Although Hawaii over 5,000 miles from Florida, it’s still part of the domestic parks & resorts, and follows nearly identical health safety protocol as Walt Disney World.
Prior to this, I would’ve guessed that normal character interactions would be among the last things to return to Walt Disney World. Not because they’re inherently higher risk than anything else, but because they put Cast Members and guests into direct contact with one another, and usually result in photographic documentation of that. With so much of Disney’s health safety protocol driven by appearances, it thus seemed (to me at least) that character encounters would be among the slower things to return. That could still end up being the case at Walt Disney World, but probably not. More than anything else, this–insignificant and distant as it might seem–should signal that a lot is likely to change in the coming months, and at a relatively swift pace.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Does the modified character dining experience at Walt Disney World worth the money to you? Is not being able to take photos with each character be a dealbreaker for you? If normal character dining returned–but still with masks required for those photos–would you partake? What did you think? Worthwhile for the characters, for the food, or for both? Is this meal something you’d like to try? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Why not have character meet and greets, where the character stands behind a 6-foot plexiglass. And we can stand in front of the plexiglass. That way it won’t look like a selfie with the characters 20 ft behind us!
I would love to see the dining plan come back ,even if it was only for counter service and snacks. The dining plan is a real convenience and helps with budgeting.
I can’t see character meals being justified in such a heavily modified form. They’re already challenging to justify under normal circumstances. A character meal is just that, an opportunity to have unique interactions with characters while dining. To be fair, I’ve always been of the same opinion with regard to similarly modified character meals such as Beast at BOG.
Great update Tom. We loved all the character dining we did in January. Characters were still fun and full of energy and food better than ever.
I believe there has to be a time when we as a society say the vaccine has been out long enough, those who wanted it got it, it’s time to move on. I suspect we need to wait until children are cleared for vaccinations and have had some time to get their shots, but lingering on with lifting small things here or there just isn’t going to cut it long term.
I think you are right Tom, this may seem small but is likely a small trial for Disney to see how well it works and is received before expanding this to WDW. All these little steps make me feel so optimistic that once vaccines are readily available to anyone who wants one (ie no hunting for appointments, you can just walk up and get one) then things will get back to normal. I agree that end of summer/early fall is pretty likely. Yay!!
I have never been able to see so many characters as I have on the trips we have made since the reopening. I like it better than having them locked away only in character meals or having long waits for pictures with them. Also enjoy the brief cavalcades too. Those quick appearances are just to enjoy them without expending a lot of time and money.
Thanks for the CDC link but I believe it backs up what I’m saying.
Yes — risk of infection from a surface is generally low.
And per the article, it is dependent on multiple factors including:
“The time between when a surface becomes contaminated and when a person touches the surface”
So yes, hundreds and hundreds of people touching the exact same surface within the same hour — That is a higher risk than regular table service dining. And it’s not just fomites, it’s also respiratory droplets that may come to rest on utensils.
From the conclusion in the article you posted:
“The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. In most situations, cleaning surfaces using soap or detergent, and not disinfecting, is enough to reduce risk. ”
So the CDC isn’t saying that surface touching is a free-for-all. Just that ordinary surface touching is not high risk (but a Disney buffet is not an ordinary circumstance), and that surfaces need to be cleaned of droplets, but that soap or detergent is sufficient.
Just makes sense that buffets would be among the last things to come back. (And I do think social distancing issues are bigger than the utensil issues).
Disney can definitely require employees to be vaccinated, and likely will once they are widely available. Many other employers commonly have done this (especially in healthcare), even for regular flu vaccines. Having vaccinated employees will allow them to not only bring back characters but shows where the biggest space issues are backstage, not guests. That, in turn, increases the capacity of each park.
It is also a very different PR issue than for guests. If an employee doesn’t want to be vaccinated, there a likely dozens of other still-furloughed employees happy to do so for the same position.
Buffets…
The “queue” wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate social distancing and I suspect it would slow down food service way too much. Enforcement would also be harder than an attraction queue… as you get the people who want to skip ahead because “they are just grabbing a piece of bread from the end” etc.
And I do believe communal touching of service utensils does indeed meaningfully increase transmission risk. It’s hundreds of people touching the same utensils over a short period of time, and then going directly to touching stuff that they are putting into their mouth.
Regular table service involves far fewer hands touching the food and utensils, and no crowded serving station.
From the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html
FWIW, other health organizations long ago reached the conclusion that the actual risk of transmission via fomites was extremely low–if not downright impossible. It was literally the basis for epidemiologists decrying “hygiene theater” as far back as last summer–before Walt Disney World reopened with those exact policies in place.
Texas de Brazil is open in Orlando and throughout Florida. I didn’t see any issues with their buffet when I visited in February. I agree Tom I think the buffets can reopen with no problems it’s actually needed because there’s more crowding with people standing in line for their quick service orders. Also the characters not being available for meet and greets is a bit silly at this point it is totally manageable. I agree that Disney is more worried about the optics at this point.
Obvious scientific reason not to bring back buffets — People hording close together to serve themselves, hundreds of people handling the same serving utensils. Policing people to remind them to put back on their mask as they get up from their table and go to the buffet.
Buffets are likely among the most “dangerous” infection activities you can have.
No reason buffet lines can’t have the same physical distancing markers as queues for those fleeting encounters. Handling the serving utensils or being near communal food does not meaningfully change actual risk, although there’s undoubtedly still the perception it does.
I’d be shocked if there’s a meaningful difference in rates of transmission at a typical indoor table service restaurant v. buffet.
Mask character dining can return at lower risk than face-character (Princess) dining.
After all…. masks reduce risk. I’d expect Princess dining to be among the last things to fully return. (along with buffets).
Same and same.
I don’t think there’s any compelling scientific reason to not bring buffets back at this point (or in the near future), but perception is everything. As such, I don’t see either coming back this year.
I agree with Tom in that I hope the more impromptu character interactions stick around at WDW going forward. The structured Meet and Greets and character meals have their place and I think they should remain an option for people wanting a guaranteed interaction with the big names like Mickey or the princesses, but they can be a huge time suck and often feel impersonal. I hope spontaneous interactions with roving characters become more common at WDW going forward (this was one of my favorite aspects of pre-Covid Galaxy’s Edge).
I hope they’re getting a lot of guest feedback to that effect.
Disneyland has been doing this for years, and not only does it create great moments, it creates great VIRAL moments on social media. Obviously, guests don’t care about the latter, but it’s excellent free marketing for Disney.
Great news! Looking forward to the continued erosion of these Covid protocols and getting things back to normal. A time when people weren’t afraid of other human beings.
I think Disney could require covid vaccination for its employees
They’re not going to do that.
The question thus becomes whether they can only have vaccinated employees working in performer positions. My guess is that’s a can of worms Disney doesn’t want to open, for the same reasons as they won’t touch vaccine passports.
Do any of the current character dining meals at WDW have outside dining? Thanks.
The Goofy breakfast at Four Seasons has some tables that are open air. Otherwise, the closest thing is Chef Mickey’s, which is in a large atrium with ventilation via the monorail entrances and exits overhead.
I wonder if it’s possible for Disney to ensure that meet-and-greet characters are vaccinated. I’m fully vaccinated and would love to do a character meet-and-greet myself, but my next trip is with my daughter who isn’t eligible yet (since the vaccines aren’t approved for children). If I knew characters were vaccinated, I would definitely let her do a meet & greet when available!
I don’t know what the legality of it is, but I wonder if it’s possible for Disney to say, “IF you want to be a character and do meet-and-greets, THEN you need to be vaccinated… otherwise you’re getting moved to the position of server/hostess/cashier/whatever.”
I don’t see Disney touching that one. That’s the kind of thing with the potential to get them a lot of controversial media coverage.
Really awesome news! I very much appreciate your positive, optimistic outlook and I defenitly share the same view. I really feel like we will start to see progress back to normal over the next several months and full normalcy hopefully by the end of summer/early fall since the pediatric trials are going really well and are looking just as promising as the adult ones did. Do you think this might be a precursor to Disney also bringing back regular in park meet and greets maybe by end of summer? I really feel like Disney is not going to hinder their profit margin intake by lagging to far behind in reducing/eliminating health and safety protocols if the rest of florida/US return to normal sometime this summer. I know a lot of govenors have already set the bar to 4th of July as being back to normal. I know they may have already “written off” the end of 2021 fiscal year, but I just can’t see them sitting on the sidelines loosing out on money because they don’t relax/eliminate policies.
I still think character meet & greets will lag behind character dining. For one thing, meals can be directly monetized.
I’m still surprised Disney hasn’t done more physically distanced character selfie spots. I could see those increasing outdoors this summer, especially with the new no-mask photo policy change. That would be a great half measure that could convince some families to visit.
I think the modified character meals are a joke. A bad joke. Disney prices are high to begin with. Character meals are ridiculously high. You know that going into a WDW vacay. But now, they’re just ridiculously expensive, even by Disney standards, for what you get in return.
Before, character meals saved time in the parks. You could sit down in air conditioned comfort, eating a meal while waiting for the characters to come to you as opposed to standing in long lines doing nothing at any of the park’s Meet & Greets. The character interactions are now equalized – the best you get is a walk (or vehicle) pass-by that you don’t have to wait in line for.
The character meals were buffets. You paid more for the character experience, but you got more in food quantity and selections. Now you’re down to a choice of a few selections that may or may not be all-you-care-to-eat. And with the all-you-can-eat option, you’ll have to hope you have a great server who comes by your table often to refill the meal if you want more. Good luck on that.
But for all that you’re no longer getting, it’s not reflected in the price. Crystal Palace is $39 per adult, and they aren’t even having characters anymore. $39 is ridiculous for fried chicken! Topolina Terrace (imo) is even worse. That’s $42 per adult, and while you do get to see some characters walk by, it’s not all you care to eat. It amazes me that people will shell out $42 for a breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, potatoes, and bacon or for a plate of fruit. Two adults and one kid & you’ve basically paid over $100 for 5-6 eggs, some potatoes and 5 slices of bacon.
Needless to say, we don’t have any “character” meals reserved for our upcoming trip to Disney.
I think that masks will still have to be worn until children and teenagers can be vaccinated, especially since there are more young people getting Covid-19 now.