Why do people choose Character Meals for Breakfast?

[JenH1969]

I can see if you are paying- cause it is cheaper but if you are on dining plan isn't it a better deal to chose suppers?

Just wondering~ thanks, Jen

[guelde96]

Money wise you get a better deal with dinners. Sometimes it is nice to have a breakfast and then have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.

[bubba]

:thumbsup2 We always choose Chef Mickeys for a late breakfast. We'll have a light breakfast at the resort - maybe toast or yogurt and juice, then have our big 'breakfast' later closer to lunchtime. It's a great chance for the kids (and the parents !) to sit for a bit and rest from a morning at the parks, we all love breakfast foods so having what is, in effect, an early lunch is just fine with us. Also, a late breakfast/early lunch usually does us until suppertime.

[kimsuenew]

I can see if you are paying- cause it is cheaper but if you are on dining plan isn't it a better deal to chose suppers?

Just wondering~ thanks, Jen

Yes, dinner is a better value. We did breakfast with Lilo & Stitch on our trip. We were on the free dining plan. We chose to get ADR at places that appealed to us, not based on the cost of entrees at each place. I have to say that that breakfast was worth 1 TS per each of us, we enjoyed the characters and parade. :cool1: The food, it was good, but not spectacular.

[momto2inKC]

The main reason we do them is to get in the park early :thumbsup2 We've done CRT and CP at MK and Donalds at AK, always with the first seating times. We usually pay out of pocket for them though and save the dining credit for a different meal.

[lynninpa]

I can see if you are paying- cause it is cheaper but if you are on dining plan isn't it a better deal to chose suppers?

Just wondering~ thanks, Jen
It is a perfect way to start a day in Disney! We choose our dining spots for the experience, the atmosphere and the food-not for the "better deal." JMHO! :upsidedow

[whogirl'smom]

We did a late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare so we could eat with Alice, etc. We needed another sleep-in morning anyway by the end of the week, so it was nice to take the boat to GF and then monorails over to Epcot. The main drawback I found was that I was too full to want to do anything but go back to sleep for a couple of hours! I don't see how anyone does an early breakfast for TS and then be at rope drop, although I do see the logic in it!

[brianm27]

Some locations only offer characters at breakfast or breakfast and lunch. JoJo and Little Einsteins are not available at dinner time. Donald's breakfast (moving to Tusker House) is breakfast only.

[Allison]

Because for me the "better deal" isn't just monetary. I'm getting the better deal when I'm eating the food I enjoy (love breakfast) and doing it at a time that fits our schedule. The cost of one meal vs. another that I'm not paying out of pocket for anyway has no bearing on my decision.

[noahdove]

I am choosing the character breakfast becuase the 2 children I am taking prefer breakfast to the other meals..so if I am using ddp then why not get what they will eat better? I think they would breakfast 3 times a day if they could:)

[CNDKangaroo]

We are using doing one TS for breakfast at Chef Mickey's on our departure day. This will allow us one last "taste" of Disney before leaving!

[stitchlover]

We do CP at breakfast because we prefer the food available over the dinner options. We know we get more for our money with the dinners but if we have been before and know we like one set of food options over the other than we know we are breaking even in the long run. We don't let trying to come out ahead dictate what and when we eat.

[dqpowell]

Two reasons, for us.

1. Because it gets us into AK before everybody else, and allows us to ride EE first.

2. Because we have too many TS credits to use them all on dinner.

David

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We'll be doing Cape May Cafe and Chef Mickey's as breakfasts. CMC doesn't have a character dinner, and DD4 is a huge Minnie fan. Plus, we'll be at BCV. Our trip to the Contemporary will include parasailing and a dip in the pool--basically, spend a morning there having a good time. DS10 specifially requested CM's because they have "dessert at breakfast", which is the ultimate, I guess, if you're a 10yo boy!

You're right that dinners are a greater value, and I would prefer them, personally. However, it's not always just about the $.

The nice thing is, each family gets to pick and choose what works best for them.

[StarLight StarBright]

We do it cause my family loves breakfast food! Also, my kids are usually worn out by dinner time, and would rather sleep than eat. If we do breakfast, they are awake, and hungry. This upcoming trip we will be doing 3 character breakfasts, and the rest will be dinner.

[DCDisney]

For 2008 DDP you will lose money if you use your plan for breakfast. For 2007 DDP you can still break even with breakfast especially if you have a few expensive dinners (not character meals). We did one breakfast on the DDP and paid for 1 OOP in the past. For 2008 if we do the plan we will only do 1 breakfast and pay OOP otherwise we'd pay more for the plan than we would for the food.

Yvonne

[bigbabyblues]

We like both, but we prefer breakfast. If you time it right, you get in the park before it opens and are finished before opening as well.

[Angies1274]

We are doing 2 character breakfasts this time and we are on the dining plan. However we love breakfast so for us it's not about the money we would save, it's actually about getting my 2 boys to eat and enjoy their meals.:)

[disneyjunkie]

Because for me the "better deal" isn't just monetary. I'm getting the better deal when I'm eating the food I enjoy (love breakfast) and doing it at a time that fits our schedule. The cost of one meal vs. another that I'm not paying out of pocket for anyway has no bearing on my decision.

:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 ITA

I don't worry about maxing out the plan or "wasting credits". :confused3

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Completely OT, but disneyjunkie, your pictures of your son crack me up--poor thing, forced to nap in the oddest places!

[le9397]

I have two reasons:
1 - I love breakfast foods!
2 - I like making the first available reservation. We are walking out as the park is opening that way. It's a great incentive for me to get up and out the door on time.

[Cindy's Mom]

We do it to get into MK earlier. We do it to enjoy a nice b-fast at Cape May on a resort day. We do it because we're on vacation and very rarely do the 4 of us get to have breakfast together.

[itchin2go]

When my little one was littler, it was because she was better behaved in the a.m.

[caroline1851]

I'm going to do the dining plan for convenience, not necessarily to save every possible dollar. For me, having breakfast leaves a good portion of the day open without being obligated to be back somewhere for lunch, for example.

[Eeyore's Wife]

We do Character Breakfasts because the mornings in the parks are when you can get the rides done quickly, but if we head in first thing in the morning little ones get distracted by the characters on Main street. So, we spend 15-20 minutes visiting with a character while the line for Dumbo grows exponentially every second.

By doing a Character Breakfast we not only get into the park before it opens and have WONDERFUL picture opportunities without all the crowds, but the kids can visit with their favorite characters and "get it out of their system" before the park opens. I can then keep to a strict morning schedule of doing rides and avoiding lines. All in all everyone is happy, and then we can head out of the park for a quiet lunch/nap.

I think our family gets an emotional, but not financial benefit, from the morning breakfasts together. Everyone is well rested and well behaved. We sit down, eat a wonderful meal, are visited by our favorite furry or tiara toting characters, and we get emotionally connected and grounded before the day begins. I find we are really in the Disney Zone after these magical breakfasts.

As to the Dining Plan, we will no longer be using it unless they offer it to us during the free dining periods. After they took our beloved appetizers and then socked us with the tips, it just doesn't make financial sense for our family and the way we enjoy the parks. We will do our Character Meals and still pay for Le Cellier, but for everything else, we will do counter service or eat in our room.

--Eeyore's Wife

[dadof2]

We never thought of it as getting the most expensive meal possible for each credit. We dine at the places we enjoy, the Character breakfasts are favorites of DD & DS. It really dosen't matter if we are paying $26.99 for a breakfast or $29.99 for a dinner. For us the better "value" is at breakfast.