Which character breakfasts are worth paying OOP?

[Wendydagny]

Taking our first trip without a deluxe dining plan, and I'm having a hard time deciding on character breakfasts. In the past, we always just tacked them on because we had the spare credits, so I never paid attention to prices or getting our money's worth, yk?

DH, DD (6), and I are staying at the Poly the week of July 4th. Right now my only definite is that we will do Ohana the morning we leave (no park that day).

In the past we have done these breakfasts:
Akershus (didn't love it)
CRT (LOVED it, but so expensive)
Crystal Palace (ok)
H&V (ok, but dd loved it)
Ohana (all loved)

The places we've never done and I feel like a terrible disney addict for missing out on are:
Tusker House (easy to add onto our first day, which we always do at AK)
Chef Mickey (have two ressies that I haven't dumped yet because I am indecisive)

I'm also thinking it may be helpful to have a MK ressie the morning of the actual fourth, just to get our foot in the door....

Mostly I'm thinking they are not worth it in general and I should just stick with my Ohana ressie and back away from the dining site!

Thoughts?

 

[mickeynut1]

Our favorite breakfast is Cape May at the BC. We love the buffet, the BC atmosphere, and the characters as they are dressed in beach wear .

 

[OklahomaTourist]

I wouldn't feel too bad about missing Chef Mickey. It was great about a decade ago, during our first visit, and we loved it. It has deteriorated considerably since then - and after two more chances. We were manifestly disappointed in '08, then hopeful and frustrated in '09. We finally gave up for our '11 trip, and have no plans to visit this summer. Some folks go and pay the premium for the character experience, which is fine, to each their own, but not for us.

Just my opinion.

 

[meggiebeth]

We love Akershus and Chef Mickey's as they are quintessential Disney. Chef Mickey's is a must for us on our trips.

We were disappointed in Tusker House and Crystal Palace was nice, but didn't match up to Akershus and Chef Mickey's. The atmosphere at CM is amazing, vibrant and we had a great view over the lake. Plus, my 12 year old brother wasn't getting into any character photographs and Goofy insisted he came for his own photograph.

That said, I don't think I could justify the prices any character meals charge. CP could be justified by making an early ADR to get into an empty park. Chef Mickey's is just THE Disney experience in our experience. Akershus seems to be quite good value in the sense that we got photo packages for free, whilst you are expected to pay for them at other character meals.

We really liked 'Ohana for breakfast- but it still wasn't as good as CM, Akershus or CP IMO. Stitch is hilarious though, and so friendly!

Forgot to add, we get the free DDP and then upgrade to deluxe so don't pay OOP. I really don't think I could justify the cost.

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[lady_hlh]

We love Tusker House and Cape May Cafe for character breakfasts. Tusker House is way more loud and crowded but the food choices are great. Cape May is more relaxing and the service is great, the servers were always offering to take our picture or help us find something on the buffet. I booked CM for breakfast this year because we are staying at CR but our 12 year old DD would rather go to Kona Cafe instead now.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Both of our boys (12 & barely 10) will be Disney "adults" on our June trip, and we are only doing Crystal Palace breakfast this trip. Long gone are the days of a character meal each day, and CP has always been our favorite.

 

[jpessa]

Sorry responded to the wrong message!

 

[jwfla422]

Our favorite breakfast is Cape May at the BC. We love the buffet, the BC atmosphere, and the characters as they are dressed in beach wear .

Yeap, I am in agreement with this one too, good quality food, decent variety, good character interaction and a little more laid back than CMs. Feel free to check out Our Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast Experience

I also recommend 1900 PF breakfast as the characters are fun and there is quite a variety of food and it's pretty good quality. Feel free to check out Our 1900 Park Fare Character Breakfast Experience as well. This is a good one if you're planning to visit MK for the day, the monorail from here is just 1 stop to MK.

We normally pay OOP and these are the 2 breakfast buffets we visit on a regular basis.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We did the character breakfast at Tusker House and loved it. Cape May is an excellent one, too. I love them both.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[dmaxphil]

Ohana was a hit with our family.

 

[I❤MICKEY]

On average how many characters appear? We will be going on our first WDW vacation with the kids in October. We love the character meals at DL and always go to at least one. Generally there are 5-8 characters we see at each meal. During breakfast with Minnie we averaged 12! It sounds like there is a lot less characters at WDW breakfasts.

PS: I have 2 boys so princesses aren't on our list... at least not yet.

 

[jpessa]

I've had 4 characters at each meal plus the one you take the photo with out front.

 

[bluejasmine]

We paid OOP for 1900 PF we were surprised at how affordable it was for 3 adults & 2 teens back in Nov

So now this Sept we are going back & paying OOP for our anniversary breakfast just b/c we fell in love with the lobster eggs Benedict! Lol

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[smiths02]

Taking our first trip without a deluxe dining plan, and I'm having a hard time deciding on character breakfasts. In the past, we always just tacked them on because we had the spare credits, so I never paid attention to prices or getting our money's worth, yk?

DH, DD (6), and I are staying at the Poly the week of July 4th. Right now my only definite is that we will do Ohana the morning we leave (no park that day).

In the past we have done these breakfasts:
Akershus (didn't love it)
CRT (LOVED it, but so expensive)
Crystal Palace (ok)
H&V (ok, but dd loved it)
Ohana (all loved)

The places we've never done and I feel like a terrible disney addict for missing out on are:
Tusker House (easy to add onto our first day, which we always do at AK)
Chef Mickey (have two ressies that I haven't dumped yet because I am indecisive)

I'm also thinking it may be helpful to have a MK ressie the morning of the actual fourth, just to get our foot in the door....

Mostly I'm thinking they are not worth it in general and I should just stick with my Ohana ressie and back away from the dining site!

Thoughts?

If I were paying OOP...I would only do one "Mickey" meal. I know the Mickey meals vary in characters a little, but I would choose one. My choice in general for that meal would be Tusker House BUT if I was staying at the Poly...your Ohana idea sounds good

If I loved CRT and I wanted a July 4th breakfast in MK...I would try for that (are there any openings?) Your only other option is CP which you said was only okay...I wouldn't pay for it if I thought that (although I really love CP)

We really enjoyed the food and characters at 1900 PF (which would be easy to get to from Poly).

 

[I❤MICKEY]

If I were paying OOP...I would only do one "Mickey" meal. I know the Mickey meals vary in characters a little, but I would choose one. My choice in general for that meal would be Tusker House BUT if I was staying at the Poly...your Ohana idea sounds good

If I loved CRT and I wanted a July 4th breakfast in MK...I would try for that (are there any openings?) Your only other option is CP which you said was only okay...I wouldn't pay for it if I thought that (although I really love CP)

We really enjoyed the food and characters at 1900 PF (which would be easy to get to from Poly).

Which characters are at the Tusker House?

 

[jmcghee2024]

Tusker House is great! Give it a try!
Also, does it have to be breakfast....try Akerhaus for lunch. Much better food!

 

[BillyBuckner]

We have only ever done 3 of the character breakfasts: Cape May, Tusker House,Akershus. Akershus is ok if you really want princesses, but I believe Cape May and Tusker House are both better value for equivalent (if not better) food.

 

[bluejasmine]

1900 PF was very reasonable in Nov & inSept & we loved it especially the lobster eggs Benedict

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[katt789]

I really like Tusker House, even for a later breakfast, or lunch! The food has more variety and the characters are still there. I like the meals here because they have a bit of different variety than other places!

 

[jenjersnap]

We are in the same place! We have done DxDDP every visit since it was introduced but I don't think we will this trip so I have been trying to figure the best intersection of value, convenience and enjoyment.

I agree with the PP that one Mickey meal is enough. We love Tusker House but I am struggling with whether to book 'Ohana as well since we will be at the Poly. We will be at the BC too but Cape May is very meh to us so not booking it. I wouldn't pay OOP for Chef Mickey's personally, as the flagship character meal it is over-priced for selection and quality. My boys also voted for 1900PF and Crystal Palace.