Tips about Food & Beverage, Photography, Planning and Resorts

During our trip to WDW, we did several character meals. At first we would only use our cameras to take pictures after the characters signed the autograph books and were posing with the kids. But after the second meal we started snapping away as soon as the characters approached our table. We are so glad we did this because we captured a very funny sequence of events while at the Villains Dinner at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

These candid shots tell a funny story, showing the playful interaction between my sons and the characters. After that, we started snapping away at all of the character meals, and now that we're back, we see that the candid shots usually gave us better pictures than the posed ones! So my tip is start taking pictures as soon as the characters approach your table and start interacting with your children. Of course you want the posed pictures, but the candid ones just might end up being your favorite memories of the meals! -Theresa Brown

(Editor's note: This is a great tip for character meet and greets in the parks also!)