This question comes from Dawn, who writes:
I have a question about dining. We want to take our 2 children to The Garden Grill for supper and the only reservation I could find was for 7:45 and it says it closes at 8pm. My question is….will the characters be leaving at 8pm or do they stick around until everyone is gone? My son is handicapped and I have to feed him and it takes us a little longer at restaurants than the average family because I have to feed him and then feed myself or vice versa depending on my son. Thanks for any information!! Love all the info on your site as well!! Dawn
Hi, Dawn.
Thank you for reading the site and for your question; we love it when our readers get involved. This shouldn’t be an issue at all. If you’re concerned, you can do one of two things: 1) Show up a little early and hope to get seated earlier; or 2) make a note that you’ll be taking a bit longer when you check in and again with your server when you’re seated. One thing that Disney does really well is make sure that all of its guests have access to the same experience, regardless of disabilities. Most cast members will go out of their way to help.
On a personal note, we’re not huge fans of complaining over little things at Disney World as we recognize that cast members are human too and that they work long, hard hours–we don’t really care if we don’t get a “have a magical day” at the end of the night or a towel animal! But, if you feel you’re not being treated fairly, feel free to go all “momma bear” on the manager. You son deserves the same character interaction as any other kid.
Again, thanks for your question and have a wonderful trip. Please let us know how it goes.
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That is one question I have never thought of. When we book reservations we usually always book around 5:00
when I booked our meals for July at Disneyland I was told they only stay 15 minutes after the time they are to stop
I had the same concerns last week when we had some late reservations at character dining restaurants. When I asked a CM about it, they told me the characters will stay until all guests have had a chance to meet the characters. When you check in, ask how many characters are there that night. If there are some you haven’t seen tell your waiter and he will make sure you see them. All characters have “handlers” who keep track of which tables the characters have been to. At one point at the Garden Grill, I saw a CM walking around with a note pad jotting down where each character had been. When I joked with her about it, she said she said that the characters don’t want to disappoint any one. Disney really do make efforts to have everyone happy and having magical days. 🙂