Decide that you want to attend a character dinner months before your planned trip to Disney World. This is especially important if you want to go to one of the more popular places, such as Chef Mickey, at a prime time.
Identify restaurants and locations that offer a character dinner. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are the only two Disney theme parks that do. The Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian and Swan Resort all have character dinners.
Determine which group of characters you most want to see. Some restaurants feature Mickey and friends or Winnie the Pooh and friends; others have princesses or popular movie characters. Find out which characters circulate at each restaurant on the Disney World website, or sites such as Allearsnet (see Resources below).
Compare meal types and prices. Dining experiences include buffet, family style and menu choices. Meal costs are similar to other restaurants in the theme parks. Meal costs at the resorts are about 10 percent higher than in the theme parks.
Pick your restaurants and have several options planned in case you don't get your first choice of time and place. If you end up with a less than optimal time, it may turn out that your children have more one-on-one time with the characters.
Call Disney World Dining at (407) 939-3463 to make a reservation up to 180 days in advance. You can reserve all your meals at once (advance reservations are recommended for all sit-down restaurants).
