Opinions

Magic Breakfasts: Dining with the Characters
By Alicia Calsyn - August 18, 2001

Character breakfasts are my favorite part of most of our trips. My rule of thumb is, "Go to as many as you can each trip!" Each is fun and completely different. Whether you are traveling with children or not, it is a nice way to relax for a bit and Let Walt Disney World Come to YOU! These are MY opinions and, of course, YMMV! :-) Also keep in mind that other than the Crystal Palace, all have changed their "cast of characters" since I attended the meals. (Some have a "rotating" list of characters, while some (like Minnie's Menehune at the Polyneisan and 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian) have changed their "headliner" completely! If you want to eat with a particular character, check when you make your priority seating and again just before you go to make sure that the character will be there when you are. We have never been to one we DIDN'T like. We keep returning to 1900 Park Fare and Cape May--our favorites--although they all have advantages...

1. 1900 Park Fare had the best FOOD. They made the omelets to order and the oj is fresh squeezed. When the Mad Hatter was there he was the BEST breakfast character! He acted out most of the tea party scene at our table one time. On Valentines Day Bert accompanied Mary Poppins. When we went it was Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and Pluto. Minnie attended another time in place of the Mad Hatter and (I think it was) Dale instead of the White Rabbit. This one does seem to have a "rotating" cast of characters. I would definitely call the day before you come if the characters matter. According to Passporter Alice is now the host and Mary Poppins is no longer there.

2. Cape May has the best selection. Chip and Dale really "ham it up" (you should have seen Dale's various gestures of impatience while my husband changed the film in his camera!) especially toward the end of the breakfast shift when there were very few people left. I did not think Goofy would know how to entertain, but he was the PERFECT HOST! Minnie has circulated some times we attended and has "hosted" in the lobby other times. If meeting Minnie is important, check with the waitress to see if you need to go to the podium at a particular time to see her.

3. Donalds Restaurantasaurus is the best VALUE; It is cheaper than any of the others we attended. It also has the best SHOW since the waiters and waitresses join in. Our waiter gave my MIL the HARDEST time when she moved from the table with my SIL and nephew to our table since we were running late. "I am going to watch you. Don't think you can start all OVER at this table and keep eating like you have been and no one will notice!" And they "planted" some plastic fruit in a child's backpack and made a HUGE fuss about him trying to "take half the buffet" with him. They then filled his backpack with REAL fruit before he left since he was "such a good sport." We really did laugh almost the WHOLE time we were there. WARNING--do NOT go toward the end of the time. When we went during the last 20 minutes they were whisking the last character away as we sat down so we had a "characterless character breakfast."

4. Breakfast in the CASTLE with PRINCESSES! Need we say more. Plus Cinderella's Fairy Godmother greets you in the lobby! Yet Cinderella's Royal Table has BY FAR the WORST food and the worst selection (NONE) so if you have picky eaters (the food is not bad, just "ok" while most of the others are GREAT) you may want to reconsider this option. There is always one male character there so that the young men do not feel left out. When we went originally, the characters were Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, and Peter Pan. Lately Belle and Peter have been replaced by Jasmine and Aladdin. If you have not been for a while you may need to know that CRT has become THE HOT TICKET at WDW. Because a limited number of people can eat each day, anyone wanting to attend CRT must must MUST call approximately 3-5 minutes BEFORE 7 AM (EST) on the FIRST day s/he can make a priority seating. This fills within minutes! (I have heard rumors that because of no-shows you can appear at the check in stand and sometimes walk in but anytime I have tried it (or even mentioned it to CMs) they have looked very amused and said the equivalent of "Not today!" So I gather this is something that requires a great deal of luck.) Use the Priority Seating Calculator http://pscalculator.net and be on the phone at 3 minutes till 7 AM (EST) 90 days before the date you want to attend.

5. Crystal Palace has Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore. The characters seemed the best at being "fair." We usually get visited by each of the four characters twice during the meal (so 8 character visits during the meal.) Sometimes Pooh waits in front of the buffet (looking for honey? :-) instead of circulating. They can get around the room very quickly and were experts at not getting "trapped" by people trying to hog their time. They bring a cupcake if it is your birthday and it is festive. And since Tigger is my FAVORITE I give this one extra points! :-) I usually go for LUNCH though since it is one of the few places that offer a character lunch and if I want to go to the OTHER places, I HAVE to go for breakfast. THIS ONE IS ONLY THIS LOW BECAUSE WE ENJOY THE LUNCH MORE THAN THE BREAKFAST (especially the "build your own ice cream sundae bar.") This one is a MUST attend character meal.

6. Hollywood and Vine at MGM has characters that you do not get to see very often. We had Meeko, Esmerelda, Genie, Aladdin which we did not find elsewhere. (The front guy was VERY unhelpful though so I don't know if we will go back. One of the people calling out names was very soft spoken and of COURSE she got our name. When she called it we did not hear it (we were in the back) and another couple took our seats. When I noticed that everyone who was left had come in long after us (we did have PS) and asked about it the man basically acted like it just SEEMED like we had been waiting a long time. Eventually they announced a couple who did not show up and I convinced one of the female CMs to check the "pot". Sure enough, "WE" had been seated 20 minutes before! Anyway if you can't hear what the name is be obnoxious about asking who it was if you do not want lose 1/2 hour+ of your MGM day!)

7. Chef Mickey's We had breakfast here once with Bruce. Since Bruce is SUCH a character, the characters seemed tame in comparison. But is the only one with a staged SHOW and the only one with MICKEY that we went to. I KNOW he is also at the Garden Grille but we have never been to that one. I have been told that Mickey has been sited at other character breakfasts: Donald's and the one at the Polynesian.

8. Minnie's Menehune at the Poly. Since the food is served family style the eggs are freshly cooked, light and fluffy. They have a sort of "conga line" that they kids enjoyed. We felt a little crowded in this one. The staff was SOOOOO nice when my 1YO DESTROYED the floor by covering it with eggs as she was eating. She had the BEST time feeding HERSELF but I do not envy whoever had to make the floor around her high chair pristine for the next family! :-) I have been told that this has been replaced by a character breakfast with Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale (i.e. no more Minnie.)

We have not tried the others since we decided there was NO way they could get any better than our favorites! (We could be wrong, though and eventually we'll check them out!)