Character Dining Solo

[Bismuth]

How do you do, fellow solo travelers!
I'm pretty much exclusively a solo traveler and have done a good amount of stuff, but I need some advice

I'm going to EPCOT for the 40th and I've been desperately wanting to dine at Garden Grill for years now. Living With The Land is my favorite ride and the idea of getting to eat from its greenhouses and watch the ride from above is heaven to me. I'd probably do breakfast or lunch since I tend to hit The Land early in my EPCOT day and head to World Showcase in the afternoon. I'm completely comfortable doing table service solo! However, I can get really anxious when it comes to characters, especially when they don't talk. I've never done a character meet & greet, let alone a character dine, and I honestly have no idea how to interact with them and how they are with solo adults. I'm someone who's most comfortable watching them from a distance. I just wanted to hear y'all's advice on dining with silent characters solo or if a cast member can be around when the characters come to give you a hand with interactions (kinda like how they are when you see a character wandering around the parks). It's embarrassing, but I'm an awkward dude LOL
Appreciate it!!

 

[Her Dotness]

It remains to be seen how much of the oldstyle meet & greet interaction will be back, if any, by that point in the year. Which may be a relief to you as they all currently wave and gesture from around 8 ft. distant., coming no closer.

If the protocols are relaxed more or gone altogether by then, no need to worry. The characters are typically very good at taking cues from the guest. If you'd rather stay lowkey, distant and merely wave, saying "Hello, Mickey, great to see you", that's perfectly fine.

Or you can merely watch how others relate and decide how comfortable you feel behaving similarly sometime if not then.

It's entirely up to you how much or little you wish.

Whatever that may be, have FUN!

 

[Bismuth]

That's comforting to hear! Thanks for the advice!

 

[Brett Wyman]

The character actors are very skilled at understanding who wants close interaction and who doesn't. A quick shy wave and they will move on.

 

[jgl130]

Most of the time when I’m solo and it’s a fur character I do what Her Dotness recommends, take my selfie and say thanks, then send them on their way.

saying "Hello, Mickey, great to see you"

For face characters I usually do something similar and depending on whether I want the character to engage or not. I’m a villains fan, so tend to engage more with them. I ate at Artists Point in January and had Evil Queen earrings and a mask, so purposely pointed them out to her to get a better picture/interaction.

ETA, don’t know why the photos are sideways…

 

[jillt2ph]

How do you do, fellow solo travelers!
I'm pretty much exclusively a solo traveler and have done a good amount of stuff, but I need some advice

I'm going to EPCOT for the 40th and I've been desperately wanting to dine at Garden Grill for years now. Living With The Land is my favorite ride and the idea of getting to eat from its greenhouses and watch the ride from above is heaven to me. I'd probably do breakfast or lunch since I tend to hit The Land early in my EPCOT day and head to World Showcase in the afternoon. I'm completely comfortable doing table service solo! However, I can get really anxious when it comes to characters, especially when they don't talk. I've never done a character meet & greet, let alone a character dine, and I honestly have no idea how to interact with them and how they are with solo adults. I'm someone who's most comfortable watching them from a distance. I just wanted to hear y'all's advice on dining with silent characters solo or if a cast member can be around when the characters come to give you a hand with interactions (kinda like how they are when you see a character wandering around the parks). It's embarrassing, but I'm an awkward dude LOL
Appreciate it!!

I have done a lot of solo character meals. In pre-COVID times I would say something like "Hey Chip, can I have a hug" or "Hey Dale, how about a pic?". I love to get pictures with the characters so I try to see if anyone sitting near me looks like they would be willing to take pics for me, LOL. If not, I ask the server if they would please help me out. It usually works best just offering to take pics for a table next to me if they will take mine If you do go to Garden Grill and see Chip and Dale, ask them to show some attitude in your pics. I have a favorite I call 'Munks with 'Tude.

 

[kwdw]

I’ve done both breakfast and dinner at Garden Grill as a solo because of loving the Land setting and because I love seeing Chip and Dale. Really, you can interact as much or as little as you want and right now, it’s limited anyway. Servers, the table next to you, a character handlers can help with photos if you need that. Don’t be afraid to get a shot with each one, you are paying for it! Or just take theirs, they will pose for you.

 

[Skippyboo]

Did Garden Grill solo as first ever character dining last year. I actually liked that they were silent fur characters so. Mickey, Pluto and the Chipmunks were above the ring of booths since they are social distancing. I just took their pictures. I tried a selfie with Mickey.

 

[Simba's Mom]

How do you do, fellow solo travelers!
I'm pretty much exclusively a solo traveler and have done a good amount of stuff, but I need some advice

I'm going to EPCOT for the 40th and I've been desperately wanting to dine at Garden Grill for years now. Living With The Land is my favorite ride and the idea of getting to eat from its greenhouses and watch the ride from above is heaven to me. I'd probably do breakfast or lunch since I tend to hit The Land early in my EPCOT day and head to World Showcase in the afternoon. I'm completely comfortable doing table service solo! However, I can get really anxious when it comes to characters, especially when they don't talk. I've never done a character meet & greet, let alone a character dine, and I honestly have no idea how to interact with them and how they are with solo adults. I'm someone who's most comfortable watching them from a distance. I just wanted to hear y'all's advice on dining with silent characters solo or if a cast member can be around when the characters come to give you a hand with interactions (kinda like how they are when you see a character wandering around the parks). It's embarrassing, but I'm an awkward dude LOL
Appreciate it!!

I love character dining solo, and yet, I don't really like interacting with the characters. But I love to people watch. and there's nothing quite like watching all the giddy families craning their necks for their first glimpse of one of the anticipated characters. Then when the kids see and interact with the characters!
The very first time I did a character meal with Minnie and Donald Duck, they seemed to sense that I didn't want interaction, so whenever they went by, they gave me a cute little wave or blew me a kiss. However, when I ate with Tigger, I wanted my picture taken, so I whispered in his ear, "I'd love to have a picture with you. Do you think we could find someone to take it?" He took my camera, ran to an adjacent table, and motioned for someone there to take my picture. They thought it was so funny to have Tigger instruct them to do something and no doubt told all their friends when they got home! Other times, I've had the character just go over to a server they know and motion for them to take our picture. Interaction-no interaction-it's amazing how intuitive the characters are.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

ETA, don’t know why the photos are sideways…

It’s a mobile thing. If you edit the picture before uploading it (with a filter or even just slightly cropping it), it should resolve the problem. Idk why.

 

[bluecruiser]

It’s a mobile thing. If you edit the picture before uploading it (with a filter or even just slightly cropping it), it should resolve the problem. Idk why.

You don't even have to make changes when you edit. Just edit and immediately save. Always worked for me to fix phone image orientation .