Cape May Cafe Breakfast

[OnlyDisney]

We have a 7:30am ADR on Wed Dec 1. Does anyone know if Donald Duck is always there? Son is a big fan.

Also, we will be going to Epcot after breakfast. Do you think we could make the 9am opening? We'll be driving our own car and I'm not sure how long it will take us to drive, park, and walk to entrance.

 

[Pakey]

Donald is always there and we've always had great interaction with both Donald and Goofy (Minnie doesn't seem to spend as much time at each table).

Yes, you should be able to get to the International Gateway by 9:00. We've always been seated on time here and the characters take about 50 minutes to make the loop.

 

[sharadoc]

You can drive directly to Beach Club and park there with a reservation. Then it's a quick 5 minute walk to International Gateway.

 

[Amy&Dan]

You cannot park all day at the Beach Club. So you'll need to repark at the main opening of Epcot. They are very strict at the Epcot and monorail resorts about not letting guests who eat there park there for long enough time to also visit the adjoining park.

Honestly, if you are staying onsite, take a cab to the Beach Club, then walk into Epcot directly from BC. The reparking of your car which you will have to do (they issue you a pass that is only good for like three hours) is going to take you too long.

In all my times at this breakfast, I have never seen Donald. Now its been a year since we ate there. But for us its always been Goofy, Minnie, Chip or Dale and Pluto. I think we have done this one at least five or six times. This is our favorite breakfast, we love it!

 

[PoohsFan1]

, if you are staying onsite, take a cab to the Beach Club, then walk into Epcot directly from BC. The reparking of your car which you will have to do (they issue you a pass that is only good for like three hours) is going to take you too long.

In all my times at this breakfast, I have never seen Donald. Now its been a year since we ate there. But for us its always been Goofy, Minnie, Chip or Dale and Pluto. I think we have done this one at least five or six times. This is our favorite breakfast, we love it!

I agree with the first part of your statement. If you are staying on property either take a cab (never done it personally but heard it is a good way to go) or take the bus over (busses start running about an hour or so before the parks opens and you can ask the bus driver to take you there directly...we did this last time with no problems). Since you have a 7:30am ADR, you will have plenty of time to eat, see characters, and then make it out to the IG.

For your second part of your statement. Chip and Dale has not been there in a couple of years. They were replaced with Donald. We started eating there last March and it was Minnie, Donald, and Goofy....Chip and Dale were already gone. To the OP, if your son loves Donald, then he will love this breakfast. This breakfast is one of our favorites and is a must do each time we go.

 

[Amy&Dan]

You know I thought we ate there last June but maybe its been longer. I am glad to hear that Donald is there now, we love Donald and we have an ADR there in October! Chip and Dale are everywhere and sort of blah to us!

 

[OnlyDisney]

OP here - Our kids will be almost 3 & 18 months so we'll be bringing a double stroller, diaper bag, small bag to carry important stuff onto rides, and a small collapsible cooler. Because of all this stuff we won't be taking the buses (can you imagine my husband and I juggeling everything!)

Driving our car seems like the easiest especially since we will probably be going back to our resort, Port Orleans Riverside, for a break around lunch time. We'll have AAA parking though I'm not sure just how close to the front of the park it will be.

If we did want to take a cab so we could use the International Gateway would all of our stuff fit in a cab? How much would a one way cab ride from Riverside to Beach Club cost? How much do you tip? Only time I've been in a cab was in Tiajuana, Mexico and let me tell you it was some experience!

 

[Amy&Dan]

A one way cab from Riverside to Beach Club would be around $15. The cab driver can put your stuff in the trunk, we have taken cabs before at WDW with many suitcases and four of us and it all fit. My only concern would be the car seat issue. Some cabs have car seats they keep on hand but not all. Even though its WDW, its still out on the road, sometimes at highway speeds and I myself would be worried with the 18 month old in particular not in a proper child seat.

Given your scenario, I would try to get an earlier ADR! If you could get a 7:00 a.m. one, you could park at Beach Club then drive to the main entrance of Epcot and probably make it for opening or come close following your breakfast.

Another option is to valet park at Beach Club. I believe valet parking is a 24 hour type thing. So you may be able to valet park for the day and go to Epcot without the 3 hour window problem you have with self parking. Somebody else may be able to verify this.

A beach club character meal is complicated for you! Could you maybe do a character meal near the MK another day (or inside the MK at Crystal Palace). That way you can just park at the TTC then monorail right over to the MK or one of the monorail resorts for your breakfast. Monorailing with a stroller is easy, you just wheel them right on vs. the folding up nightmare on bus.

You could also do a character meal inside Epcot. Breakfast, lunch or dinner at Norway (all princesses for that one) or the Garden Grill for lunch or dinner.

Donalds Safari Breakfast inside AK is another option for you so your little one can see Donald but you are eating inside the park. Donald is also at Chef Mickey's.

With little ones and al their gear you face challenges for sure. Of course mine are teens now and my challenge is getting them out of bed in the morning then waiting for my dd to do her hair and makeuup! We parents trade one set of challenges for another!

Good luck, you'll get it all worked out!

 

[OnlyDisney]

7:30am is the earliest time they do breakfast. We do have a couple other character meals planned (Crystal Palace and 'Ohana), but we want to do Cape May since it has Donald Duck and my son would love to meet him. We won't be at Animal Kingdom at a time where we can have breakfast with Donald there. Is there any other meal with Donald we could do?

 

[Amy&Dan]

Chef Mickey's has him there. He is in the front, and you get your picture made with him, he does not circulate to the tables. Now he's been there each time we have eaten there, but they always say "all characters subject to change" sort of thing.

I'll also add that we almost never get to a park at opening! We always manage to do everything we want to do. With that 7:30 a.m. breakfast, you will be at Epcot close enough to opening to still take advantage of the quieter time of day before the hoardes start to pour in. You are going during an off time of year so the crowds will not be such an issue that if you don't get to a park at opening, you are sunk!

I say stick with what you have, drive over to Beach Club, repark over at Epcot and I am betting you will be walking through the turnstiles by 9:30.

 

[MSLRAC]

7:30am is the earliest time they do breakfast. We do have a couple other character meals planned (Crystal Palace and 'Ohana), but we want to do Cape May since it has Donald Duck and my son would love to meet him. We won't be at Animal Kingdom at a time where we can have breakfast with Donald there. Is there any other meal with Donald we could do?

I would stick with what you have because it sounds like Donald is what you want and you will not be disappointed with him there. We did 3 meals with Donald, Tusker House, Cape May and Chef Mickey's. We got very little interaction at TH because he is nothing more than a photo op (he was not signing anything when we were there). At CM, the characters were so rushed that they barely paused at at our table long enough for a picture and a couple of signatures.

It was a whole different ball game at Cape May. It was quiet, calm and relaxing. The characters ended up coming around twice both morning we were there which was awesome because they were fabulous. They had time to really give each child personal attention and that truly sold DS (a Mickey fanatic) on Donald. Plus, the food at Cape May is wonderful (far superior to CM and a bit better than TH)!

Cape May can easily be done in about an hour (we were in and out in about 45 minutes each time) so you should have time to drive over to EPCOT by rope drop or shortly there after.

But ask the security guard when you go in to park if all day parking is an option. I about died the first time DH did that (I had read on here that is was frowned upon) but the guard was super nice and said sure, it was not a problem. We asked about it at the BW, BC, Poly and CR and all four places were fine with it. Granted it was a different time of year and crowd levels were low but it can't hurt to ask.

 

[MSLRAC]

Chef Mickey's has him there. He is in the front, and you get your picture made with him, he does not circulate to the tables. Now he's been there each time we have eaten there, but they always say "all characters subject to change" sort of thing.

I'll also add that we almost never get to a park at opening! We always manage to do everything we want to do. With that 7:30 a.m. breakfast, you will be at Epcot close enough to opening to still take advantage of the quieter time of day before the hoardes start to pour in. You are going during an off time of year so the crowds will not be such an issue that if you don't get to a park at opening, you are sunk!

I say stick with what you have, drive over to Beach Club, repark over at Epcot and I am betting you will be walking through the turnstiles by 9:30.

That is Tusker House. At CM, you have your picture made with a Mickey statue and Donald circulates. At TH, he is stationed outside for the photo and does not make the rounds inside.

 

[OnlyDisney]

I thank everyone for helping to put my mind at ease. And thank you for the tip for asking the guard if we can park all day, worst he can do is say no.

 

[Amy&Dan]

And if they say no, then proceed to valet parking and ask them! Because that's a different parking system within the resort and it might be a different story.

I must have my character meal thing messed up. At Chef Mickey's, I swear we have always had our picture taken with Donald in the front. But then again, in 7 years we have done 25 trips total between Disneyland and WDW and we have done every single character meal at both with the exception of Garden Grill. So my details may be fuzzy. Oh well, he is there at the very least (Chef Mickey's) one way or the other!

But I can agree that Cape May is one of the quieter character meals. Still fun and lively, but a great place to enjoy the characters and our experience has always been that they spend a bit more time at our table vs.

I also suggest that if 7:30 is the first seating, you arrive early. Everyone will be checking in at once and since you want to be at Epcot as early as possible, if you get there 15 minutes early, that will help with that.

 

[2Tiggies]

I love Donald too. DD adores Minnie. A bit sad to see that post that Minnie seems to spend less time at the tables though since she isn't at any of our other character meals. Never mind, our ressie is at 10.55 am. Maybe being late they won't be quite so rushed.

 

[DebbieB]

I thank everyone for helping to put my mind at ease. And thank you for the tip for asking the guard if we can park all day, worst he can do is say no.

Dec 1 is a Wednesday, I don't think you will have a problem parking all day. Especially if you have a WDW parking permit, you are not trying to avoid paying for parking at Epcot. They are more strict during Food & Wine and weekends.

 

[MSLRAC]

And if they say no, then proceed to valet parking and ask them! Because that's a different parking system within the resort and it might be a different story.

Just be aware that valet parking is $12 per day plus tip. But it was money well spent the one time we used the service.

 

[OnlyDisney]

If I were to valet park what is the customary tip?

 

[maxnhenrymama]

You can also ask for your check as soon as they bring your food to make sure things aren't slowed down waiting for the check.

 

[MSLRAC]

If I were to valet park what is the customary tip?

I'll admit that we had to ask what was customary as we had never used valet service before and a very nice valet at the GF said a couple of bucks was standard. He did a great job and really helped us get loaded up as we were leaving Narcoossee's so he got $8.