Breakfast help

[GoonieBride]

We (DH, DS 8, DD 3, MIL & FIL) are going for a quick weekend trip in Mid March. My MIL dropped a bomb on me last night, "We want to do a character breakfast. Can you take care of it? I'll be our treat."
I need help. It has been sooooo long since my last character meal. Are there others besides Chef Mickey's? Are there better times to go? Is going to be tough getting a res now??

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There are many, but they can all be tough to get.

Garden Grove, at the Swan, does a weekend character breakfast that doesn't require an ADR. Otherwise, there are many options:

• Tusker House (AK)
• Garden Grill or Akershus (Epcot)
• Crystal Palace or Cinderella's Royal Table (MK)
• Hollywood & Vine (DHS)
• Cape May Cafe (Beach Club - breakfast only)
• 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)
• Ohana (Polynesian - breakfast only)
• Chef Mickey (Contemporary)

Your challenge will be getting an ADR. Many of these options book up 180 days out. You'll want to be watching closely at 60 days, 30 days, and the days before to try to snag one.

Many of these places also do characters at lunch and dinner. If you're flexible, it may help you get an ADR.

 

[WhispyPixie]

Ohana breakfast IS AWESOME!!!! Good luck! Just check constantly and of course there might be last minute cancellations.

 

[goofygal531]

Ohana is my family's favorite.

But you have a little one, I'd seek out a meal with characters that they currently enjoy. Stitch might scare a little one at Ohanas.

Are you looking for a resort or park meal? That would narrow it down.

 

[mickeynut1]

Ohana breakfast IS AWESOME!!!! Good luck! Just check constantly and of course there might be last minute cancellations.

I agree! Also wanted to add Cape May. Cape May is our favorite, but Ohana runs a close second. As stated above, if you don't find what you want right away, keep checking as people do cancel. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Ratzo]

Chef Mickey's has really nice ambiance being located inside the Contemporary, but is very noisy. I haven't done Ohana for breakfast, but I've heard that it's very unique. Food is served family style and the menu is very limited. You should definitely look up a detailed review of it with pictures. I did Tusker House once and it was nice, but nothing too special. I'd go with Ohana or Chef Mickey's instead.

 

[mrzrich]

Yes, you should have no trouble getting into Garden Grill at Epcot. For breakfast. I have never had trouble finding an ADR there. Easiest way to know is to go online and put in your date and time. Choose "Character dining" under dining experience to narrow your results.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Personally, I would go on the website and search to see what is available for your dates at this point. All of the character meals have their pros and cons and I would probably try to find one that fits into the plans you already have. For instance, if you are going to MK, see if Crystal Palace has availability (you could also check for CRT, but that will be difficult and it's the most expensive). AK - try for Tusker House (our favorite!). EP - Garden Grill or Akershus. Unless you are staying at a resort that has a character meal, you may want to avoid the resort character meals unless you don't care that it's going to add to your travel time in the morning and possibly impact your park touring if you are trying to get into a park at rope drop. As another PP pointed out, if you are flexible, you may also want to consider a dinner.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'll rank them in terms of food quality

1. Park fare
2. Garden grill
3. Tusker house
4. Crystal palace
5. Ohana
6. Cape may
7. Hollywood and vine
8. Chef mickeys
9. Cinderella's
10. Akershus-a shush-a bush

 

[littledebbie335]

Crystal Palace was a lot of fun! What characters do your kids love the most?

 

[LSLS]

I really like Cape May for some reason, and it's usually pretty easy to get into. With a daughter, it may be worth trying for Akershus, but could be tough at this point. 1900 Park fare is supposed to be great, but I have never had a chance to eat there for breakfast.

 

[Lisa F]

We did Tusker House, 'Ohana, Garden Grill and Crystal Palace. I have 2 of the 4 reviewed in a detailed way in my dining report... still working on the rest. They were all really good choices, just kind of depends on what kind of food and experience and characters you want

 

[jonslawiu]

Just as a tip- in the event you cannot secure a reservation- speak with the host/hostess about a time you may be able to walk in. Our last trip we spoke to the hostess at Chef Mickey's and she let us know if we arrived a particular time the next day we had a solid chance of walking in (it was early). We did get to walk in- within 15 minutes. I certainly wouldn't make this my go-to, but just in case.

 

[JZCubed]

We (DH, DS 8, DD 3, MIL & FIL) are going for a quick weekend trip in Mid March. My MIL dropped a bomb on me last night, "We want to do a character breakfast. Can you take care of it? I'll be our treat."
I need help. It has been sooooo long since my last character meal. Are there others besides Chef Mickey's? Are there better times to go? Is going to be tough getting a res now??

Valuable Park time versus going for breakfast......

Location, location, location......eat close to where you are staying or at the Park you are visiting.

As to availability - I can only suggest looking at Disney website for an answer.....

I searched March 15, 2017 and came up with Cape May, Hollywood & Vine, and Garden Grill breakfast availability for a party of 6......March 22, 2017 included Akershus, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace, O'hana, and Tusker House.....

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a character breakfast now for March as long as you are flexible.
My fave character breakfasts are in no particular order:
Cape May cafe, Garden grill, 1900 Park fare, Tusker house.

I tried Garden Grove breakfast last trip and loved it!
Character breakfast is only on Sat and Sunday they serve 6:30a-11:30a
Characters are there 8a-11a. They only have 2 characters but the food and service was great.
No reservation needed...just walk in.
DDP not accepted but they do give DVC and TiW discount.

If you can't find something else you can always use Garden Grove as a backup.

 

[cassie58]

As mentioned above, depending on which parks you are planning and any favorite characters will help narrow it down. We love Crystal Palace in MK with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet, with made-to-order omelettes and Mickey c.c. pancakes, right across from the castle. Second is Tusker House at AK, with the special Jamba Juice DD loves, and Mickey, Goofy, Donald & Daisy in Safari gear. If you do late brft they start to change over to lunch, so you can have brunch. And third is Cape May at Beach Club outside of Epcot with Minnie, Goofy, and Donald with good buffet and nice peaceful atmosphere, right by International Gateway entrance - good if you want to do early brft and head to Frozen ride first thing. Of course you will see what is available for your dates and plans - if you see something, grab it, and then can keep looking if you prefer another place or time - many pop up the week, and even day before.

 

[mrzrich]

Some things to consider about Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot.

1. It is served on platters family style, which means no getting up and down to a buffet.
2. It over looks the Living with the Land ride. The restaurant slowly rotates, and you can see a dew of the scenes from the ride below.
3. If you can get a pre park reservation, you may have an advantage, possibly making you one of the first people in line for Soarin. This is a bonus in Epcot where you must choose only 1 headliner from the list of Tier 1 fast passes.

 

[Cinderella94]

We love 'Ohana, Cape May, and Tusker House!

 

[eastendlights]

Some things to consider about Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot.

1. It is served on platters family style, which means no getting up and down to a buffet.
2. It over looks the Living with the Land ride. The restaurant slowly rotates, and you can see a dew of the scenes from the ride below.
3. If you can get a pre park reservation, you may have an advantage, possibly making you one of the first people in line for Soarin. This is a bonus in Epcot where you must choose only 1 headliner from the list of Tier 1 fast passes.

Also the character interaction is fantastic. (And you get a skillet of sticky buns.....)

 

[GoonieBride]

You are all great!! My husband asked how I was able to do it, I just said I asked my DIS Friends! Thank you all for the help! I was able to book Garden Grill on Saturday when we will be at EPCOT and then booked Crystal Palace for Sunday when we are at MK.
Now time to figure out which one. I think I'm leaning towards CP. What would you pick??