Walt Disney World: Other Character Meals

If you would like to dine with characters other than Mickey and the gang or the Disney princesses, there are 2 special options just for you!

Winnie the Pooh at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom

The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom features Winnie the Pooh and friends, while Hollywood & Vine in the Hollywood Studios welcomes favorite characters from the Disney Junior television shows. Read more to find out the details!

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom welcomes Winnie the Pooh and his friends (usually Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food is served buffet-style, with all of the characters visiting each table to interact with the guests. As with every character meal, characters are happy to take pictures with guests and/or sign autographs. There is also a fun parade for guests, who follow the characters around the dining room.

Eeyore at The Crystal Palace

Breakfast is available starting at 8:05 a.m., which means that it is possible on certain days to have breakfast before the park opens. This allows guests to get pictures on Main Street with fewer crowds, as well as bypass crowds at park opening.

Hollywood & Vine

Disney Junior Play 'n Dine features characters from the popular Disney Junior television shows at Hollywood & Vine in the Hollywood Studios. Characters are part of the breakfast and lunch experiences only. Characters change regularly as Disney Junior shows grow or decline in popularity; past characters have included: JoJo and Goliath (JoJo's Circus), Leo and June (The Little Einsteins), Handy Manny, and Special Agent Oso.  There are usually 3-4 characters available at each meal.

Special Agent Oso and Disney Junior Play 'n Dine

The food is served buffet-style, with all of the characters visiting each table to interact with the guests. There are also entertainment portions where the Disney Junior characters dance with the younger (and younger-at-heart) guests. Breakfast is available starting at 8:00 a.m., which means that it is possible on certain days to have breakfast before the park opens. This allows guests to get pictures on Hollywood Boulevard with fewer crowds, as well as bypass crowds at park opening.

Conclusion

So what do you think? Are you ready for a meal with Pooh or Disney Junior friends?

For more information on other character dining experiences, read my posts on dining with Mickey and friends, or with the Disney Princesses.

Not "Short", Just "Vertically Challenged"

Those of us, young and young-at-heart, who are vertically challenged have found a lot to love at Disney destinations.

Have you ever been to a "traditional" theme park with younger and/or smaller children? Do you have some children in your family who are tall enough to ride the thrill rides and others who can only do the kiddie rides?

Going to a theme park can be very frustrating when the majority of the rides require riders to be 48 or even 52 inches tall or taller! I have a 2 girls who love roller coasters, one is tall enough and the other isn't; and it's such a shame to see the sadness when one gets to ride all of the rides and the other has to stay in the kiddie section, which is a postage stamp compared to the rest of the park.

Not so at Disney destinations!

Did you know that...

There are only 16 rides in the four major Walt Disney World theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) that have any height requirement at all?

3 of those height requirements are relatively low?

• Tomorrowland Speedway (Magic Kingdom) - 32 inches to ride, 54 inches to drive
• Goofy's Barnstormer (Magic Kingdom) - 35 inches
• Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom) - 38 inches

Goofy's Barnstormer

13 of those rides require a height of at least 40 inches?

• Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Stitch's Great Escape
• Epcot: Test Track and Soarin'
• Hollywood Studios: Star Tours and Tower of Terror
• Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur

Test Track

 Only 5 of those 14 rides require a height of at least 44 inches?

• Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
• Mission: Space (Epcot)
• Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom)

Expedition Everest

And only 2 of those 5 require a height of at least 48 inches?

• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios)
• Primeval Whirl (Animal Kingdom)

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

At the age of 4, our daughters were able to ride all of the attractions with height requirements of 40 inches. At the age of 5, one daughter was able to ride Space Mountain (barely), which has a height requirement of 44 inches! They LOVED it!

Splash Mountain

There are many reasons why I love Disney destinations so much, and this is a major one. Very rarely do I have to tell my children that they are "not tall enough" to ride. Disney considers their audience, which is families, many with young children. There are very few things those children "cannot" do in the parks!

Disney's Rider Switch Policy

This is one of the best perks at Disney for those who know about it!

If you do have one member of your party who does not meet the height requirement, Disney has a "Rider Switch" policy. A family can ask a castmember at the entrance to the attraction for a "Rider Switch Pass." This allows one adult to stay with the child(ren) who do not meet the height requirement, and the rest of the group to experience the attraction.

When the group is finished, the adults "switch", with the stay-behind adult getting to experience the attraction without waiting in line (usually through the Fast Pass line). The Rider Switch Pass allows up to 3 people to participate, so some of the group can ride again!

My older girls love this, since they get to ride twice: once with Daddy and once with me! I think they'll be disappointed when their little sister meets the height requirement.

Please note: The Rider Switch option is only intended for groups with members who are unable to ride an attraction, not for those who don't happen to want to experience it.

What do you think about Disney's height restrictions? Have you used the Rider Switch? Comment below!

Star Wars Weekends: A Disney Jedi's Dream!

There has recently been much talk about Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, and of the Star Wars franchise that goes with it. However, Disney's affiliation with Star Wars in fact began years ago.

Star Tours was the first Disney attraction inspired by a non-Disney film. The first Star Tours ride opened at Disneyland in January of 1987. Its success resulted in a version at the then Disney-MGM Studios just 2 years later, in December of 1989. There are also versions of the ride at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. An updated version named Star Tours: The Adventure Continues opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland in the spring of 2010, and is scheduled to open in Tokyo Disneyland in 2013.

The first Star Wars Weekends festival was held at the then Disney-MGM Studios in 1997. It has since been held in 2000 and 2001. The festival began its annual appearance in 2003.

The Star Wars Weekends are popular with crossover fans of Disney and Star Wars. They feature appearances by celebrities of the Star Wars franchise, parades, and Hyperspace Hoopla! (a music, comedy, and dance show featuring Star Wars characters).

Although these weekends can be crowded, careful planning can result in a fun time for all involved.

Dates have recently been released for the 2013 Star Wars Weekends. The 2013 festival will take place at Disney's Hollywood Studios every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from May 17-June 9, 2013.