Breakfast at Plaza Inn review

[wendow]

Some of you may remember that I had a hard time before our recent trip in finding a reservation for Plaza Inn during our dates (June 20-23). Everything was booked solid until just a few days before when I got an opening for June 22, late morning (10:40) like I wanted.

We showed up at 10:30, got our pic with Minnie and were seated at an outside table. It was quite warm so this wasn't ideal but we aren't complainers so we went with it. A family checking in right before us was seated outside as well. I figured inside was full. I stayed at the table with my ds who has a dairy allergy so we could discuss with the chef what was safe, and what he could make dairy free. The rest of my family headed inside to get food. Chef came over and we talked. I'm used to WDW where they have options besides just Mickey waffles that are dairy free...they also have donuts and muffins...The chef said Mickey waffles was all he could offer, and told me what my ds could eat off the buffet (basically just eggs, bacon, potatoes and fruit). Right as I was about to head inside with my ds, Rafiki showed up. My ds gave him a hug but that was really it. Figured he'd be back later.

We all got our food and ate and ate and ate and no more characters came by. I could see them all inside milling around but the outside seating is clearing out. No one else was being seated since we were the latest reservation time. By now, it's just us and that other family that checked in ahead of us. The tables have been cleared outside, and we are still finishing up our food but it's kind of becoming obvious, we've been forgotten The CM busing the tables is rushing to take our plates. If she even thinks we might be done, there she is ready to clear. That was honestly very annoying. She had to have come to our table 8-10 times asking if we were done.

So, my dh went inside to find someone to talk to. He talked to a CM who was happy to help and send characters out to us. She apologized profusely. And now out they came! We had all the characters come in just a brief amount of time which wasn't what we are used to but was still fun. They went to visit the other family outside as well. We had seen some characters inside that never came out to us but when my dh mentioned it to the manager CM, she said we are not guaranteed to meet them all. Fair enough.

All-in-all, the food was delicious and the character interaction, once it happened, was fun. I think if we did the breakfast again, I'd go for a slightly earlier time. We definitely felt very, very rushed. My kids loved it though so I'm glad we did the breakfast!

 

[Priory]

It’s funny, I was listening to a podcast recently and they commented only Rafiki came to them their entire meal. Sounds like they need better organization there.

 

[twinprincesses09]

We had a similar experience for our reservation on June 20 at 10:30am. We checked in and were seated inside, but were told that they would stop serving breakfast at 11am. Chip had just left an almost empty dining room to go outside. But before we could even get food, other characters started coming around. We ended up having my husband get his food while I waited with our girls and visited characters, because my girls were afraid they would miss someone. When he came back, I got food for my girls, then me. So we ended up seeing Dale, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, and Max within about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, both my husband and I missed a few of the characters while we were getting food, but at least my girls got to see them all. We then took our time eating (I had gotten plates and plates of food for all of us before the food stations closed). The waitstaff did keep coming around and seeing if we were finished and trying to hurry us, but we still took our time finishing, especially for the money we were spending. Meanwhile, Chip had went into the back and then came back out, but went directly back outside (there was only us and one other family on our side of the dining room at this time). As we were leaving, my girls chased him down to get a picture and autograph. So we did see all the characters and definitely had enough to eat, but the whole thing felt rushed and stressful. We had planned a late breakfast so we could have time to rest after an early morning, but it didn't really feel restful. This was our first time to DL, but have been to WDW several times and have done character meals each time. We never had this experience at WDW. There they would always seat an entire section of the dining room and when it was full and everyone had time to get food, THEN the characters would start coming around. At the Plaza, it seemed like they were just seating people in random places. We definitely enjoyed it, but like you, if we ever did it again, I would definitely try to get an earlier time. Especially as we had 5 days in the parks.

 

[mom2rtk]

We ate outside once, not even at a very late time, and had the same problem with characters. We haven't had this issue inside. If we have an ADR we always ask now to be seated inside. (They often make walk-ups sit outside).

I have to say you guys make me hesitant to try the late seating like I was considering for our next trip.

 

[B3rlingirl]

Even though it didn’t work out perfectly it sounds like you still had a great time... and after reading your report I think I have to do a character breakfast as well some day...( and now I know better do get a time in the middle of breakfast time) sounds great!
Thanks for your report!

 

[wendow]

We had planned a late breakfast so we could have time to rest after an early morning, but it didn't really feel restful. This was our first time to DL, but have been to WDW several times and have done character meals each time. We never had this experience at WDW. There they would always seat an entire section of the dining room and when it was full and everyone had time to get food, THEN the characters would start coming around. At the Plaza, it seemed like they were just seating people in random places. We definitely enjoyed it, but like you, if we ever did it again, I would definitely try to get an earlier time. Especially as we had 5 days in the parks.

This was also our first DLR trip and the only character meal we did. We always do one late character breakfast at WDW so I was definitely expecting that experience. We usually have a 10:45'ish time for those breakfast also, and you are right, the place is still packed full and people bustling everywhere. You get your food, get a couple of mins of eating in and then the characters make their way over. Plaza Inn felt very disorganized and rushed.

 

[wendow]

We ate outside once, not even at a very late time, and had the same problem with characters. We haven't had this issue inside. If we have an ADR we always ask now to be seated inside. (They often make walk-ups sit outside).

I have to say you guys make me hesitant to try the late seating like I was considering for our next trip.

Good to know about the outside seating. I didn't even question it. I think just a bit earlier would be fine. I don't like too early cause I'm not sitting down during precious RD hours but maybe a 10:15 reservation would be better. Still gives almost an hour before they stop serving. Why in the world they do 10:40 reservations when they will stop serving at 11 is kind of baffling...?

 

[wendow]

@mom2rtk My dd18 loves Marie also! In all our years at WDW and now one at DLR, we've never seen Marie. Do you know if there is anywhere to meet her?

 

[skuttle]

We were there on June 21st. We had a 10am reservation and were seated inside immediately. We met Minnie outside when we checked in and had the following come to our table: Pooh, Rafiki, Hook, Fairy Godmother, Eeyore, Max, Chip and Tigger. Dale was also there, but he never made it to our table (He had just left our area when we were seated) and we saw him at Goofy's a few nights earlier so we didn't wait around for him. The characters had great interaction with our kids and with each other. Max and Chip were at our table at the same time which was fun. And Tigger gave my 15yo a hard time (my other boys are 5 and 7)...Tigger wouldn't leave until my 15yo stood up and gave him a proper hug. It was hilarious and made breakfast worth it. Sounds like 10am is still a decent time.

Once at Chef Mickey's at WDW, we had a late breakfast and all fo the characters just so happened to be in our area right when we were seated. We saw every character within 10 minutes before getting any food. Then the rest of our meal we saw no one since they had already been to our table. That was a bit of a let down. I much prefer having the characters spread out throughout the meal.

 

[AuntieKels]

We were a walk up reservation last December and had a somewhat similar experience. It wasn’t the end of service and we weren’t the last table around but was witnessed 9-10 characters and only met 4. Part of the probable may have been that we could only stay at the table for 60 minutes before the toddler needed to move on.

I guess I don’t understand how they organize seating and characters. How do they make sure every character weaves through the tables to meet everyone while having people arriving and leaving?

Any cast members have insight?

 

[Amw1064]

We had an opposite experience on June 6. We had 10:30 reservations and we were seated outside. Characters spent so much time with us and hung out for at least 30 minutes after we were done eating. In my way to many character meals at WDW we have never had so much character interaction and for so long. We did have an issue with food being put away. We didn’t know and went in and stuff was being put away. I had to be a little pushy to get some more food. We loved the experience though and super glad we did it.

 

[millie0312]

If it makes you feel any better we’ve been seated inside later and had the same issue (also had an issue with Storytellers and a later time). We go early now but sometimes still have to remind a cm we were missed by some characters that meant a lot to us... earlier is better but apparently you have to be the squeaky wheel there too lol

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We eat breakfast at the Plaza Inn on every visit and always request to sit on the raised porch out front. (to the left or right of the doors up the steps). You have a great view from here, easy access to the buffet, entirely shaded, and always have a lot of characters come by. We choose a 10:30 reservation most of the time as we like to get in as many rides as we can in the early morning hours. We've always had a great experience. Never felt rushed, saw the characters we wanted, plenty of fresh food available.

 

[Winnowill]

We've done a late breakfast at the Plaza many times and have never had any issues, either with missing characters (except once when Fairy Godmother had a schedule M&G at the castle), with food access, or with feeling rushed by the staff. And we almost always have terrific character interactions. I'm sorry the OP's experience wasn't as positive, but it still looks like you had a good time!

 

[gottalovepluto]

@mom2rtk My dd18 loves Marie also! In all our years at WDW and now one at DLR, we've never seen Marie. Do you know if there is anywhere to meet her?

From my quick googling it appears she’s more common in the international parks. Although rare characters do sometimes make random appearances at Disneyland I’m not seeing mention of Marie. Not saying it isn’t possible!! I got a pick with a penguin who was just walking from Alice to the hub area at DLR one day, dreams do come true! (It completed my penguin trifecta: Madagascar penguin, check! Real penguin at SeaWorld, check! Disney Mary Poppins penguin- the most elusive of all- check!)

 

[gottalovepluto]

I’m glad they at least got the characters to you! Your fam looks like they’re having a wonderful time! Definitely noting that make sure to request inside seating thing for people who ask in the future about this.

 

[lcp9]

All of the different experiences here are interesting - you'd think there would be a set "schedule" for how characters roam around. We have done the 10:40 at Plaza Inn on a Saturday after MM, seated indoors (didn't specifically request it) and it was almost like the characters were bored b/c not only did they hang around for a few minutes when they were at the table, most came around 2-3 times. I don't remember all of them but it was the usual Plaza Inn list - so 8-10 characters? This was an early November visit.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We had a similar experience for our reservation on June 20 at 10:30am. We checked in and were seated inside, but were told that they would stop serving breakfast at 11am. Chip had just left an almost empty dining room to go outside. But before we could even get food, other characters started coming around. We ended up having my husband get his food while I waited with our girls and visited characters, because my girls were afraid they would miss someone. When he came back, I got food for my girls, then me. So we ended up seeing Dale, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, and Max within about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, both my husband and I missed a few of the characters while we were getting food, but at least my girls got to see them all. We then took our time eating (I had gotten plates and plates of food for all of us before the food stations closed). The waitstaff did keep coming around and seeing if we were finished and trying to hurry us, but we still took our time finishing, especially for the money we were spending. Meanwhile, Chip had went into the back and then came back out, but went directly back outside (there was only us and one other family on our side of the dining room at this time). As we were leaving, my girls chased him down to get a picture and autograph. So we did see all the characters and definitely had enough to eat, but the whole thing felt rushed and stressful. We had planned a late breakfast so we could have time to rest after an early morning, but it didn't really feel restful. This was our first time to DL, but have been to WDW several times and have done character meals each time. We never had this experience at WDW. There they would always seat an entire section of the dining room and when it was full and everyone had time to get food, THEN the characters would start coming around. At the Plaza, it seemed like they were just seating people in random places. We definitely enjoyed it, but like you, if we ever did it again, I would definitely try to get an earlier time. Especially as we had 5 days in the parks.

I’ve read the whole thread. Our experience is exactly summed up as you did. Rushed and disorganized. We had the earliest breakfast on a Magic morning day. We sat and they characters just kept coming and coming. We barely had time to eat. They didn’t try to clear all our plates but I still felt rushed.

I’ve also heard many experiences like yours when seated outside.

 

[Winnowill]

From my quick googling it appears she’s more common in the international parks. Although rare characters do sometimes make random appearances at Disneyland I’m not seeing mention of Marie. Not saying it isn’t possible!! I got a pick with a penguin who was just walking from Alice to the hub area at DLR one day, dreams do come true! (It completed my penguin trifecta: Madagascar penguin, check! Real penguin at SeaWorld, check! Disney Mary Poppins penguin- the most elusive of all- check!)

Mary Poppins penguins are not uncommon at Characterpalooza at WDW, but I'm astounded you found one at DLR!

 

[mom2rtk]

@mom2rtk My dd18 loves Marie also! In all our years at WDW and now one at DLR, we've never seen Marie. Do you know if there is anywhere to meet her?

Alas, no longer. She was a regular in Epcot for a number of years. Then they moved her to Town Square in the MK. Then they sent her packing several years ago. She hasn't been out anywhere in WDW since then.

Mary Poppins penguins are not uncommon at Characterpalooza at WDW, but I'm astounded you found one at DLR!

We met Mr. Penguin at Minnie's on our 2016 trip. Then we found him just out on the path to Fantasyland in 2017.

Mr. Penguin by mom2rtk, on Flickr