Character Breakfast - Please Help Me Decide!

[pixarmom]

I'm trying to decide between Ohana, Cape May and Chef Mickey's for breakfast with our 4-year-old. I's just our 4-year-old and me for one overnight at Disney on the way to the airport - my husband and older boys won't be with us. We're staying at POFQ and driving to our character breakfast before our flight.

I should start with this: I've been to all three of these character breakfasts and I'd rank them as follows.

1) Ohana - My clear favorite. I love the atmosphere, the view is beautiful, I prefer the food over the other two and I am a huge fan of family-style service over buffets. Our 4-year-old has already been there at least four times and has stayed at the Polynesian. He loves it too, and we're planning to stay at Poly 10 months later with the whole family.

2) Cape May - I like the relatively low-key atmosphere and the character interaction is pretty good. Our 4-year-old has stayed at BC four times, but he hasn't been to Cape May and doesn't ask about it when we stay there.

3) Chef Mickey's - Our 4-year-old hasn't been there yet because we dropped CM from our rotation before he was born. We're not crazy about the food or the atmosphere, and there are so many other restaurants that we prefer and are a better value for our family. But I do recommend it to families looking for a classic Disney breakfast. It's fun to try at least once, so it's on my list since our youngest hasn't yet. And it's a much better value for just one parent and a little one than it is for two adults, two pre-teens and a little one.

I asked our 4-year-old and showed him photos of Cape May and Chef Mickey's. His answer: He wants to go to all three, of course!

Please help me decide!

 

[clrdisney]

we have been to both cape mickey and chef mickey both are great!! I preferred cape Mickey more interaction with the characters and not so rushed. :

 

[ladyfoundhertramp]

I think for a quick fix of the Disney faves Chef Mickeys is the obvious choice. Plus he would get a glimpse of the MK as well. Since he has never been it will be a new/fun experience for him there. I agree its loud and definitely not as nice as the others but I think it's a great been there/done that for a 4 year old. We are taking DD3 in January for breakfast (thats the only meal we do there) just for the experience of eating with her "friends" as she calls them. Plus if this isn't a family fave when you go back in 10mths this is already marked off the bucket list of your 4 yr old and your DH and family wont have to endure it. Good luck deciding!!

 

[krb2g]

I'd probably go for Chef Mickey's (because it sounds like it's more off your rotation than Cape May) and save Ohana for the bigger family trip coming up.

 

[aripantaloon]

What characters does he like best? Since he's already been to Ohana's several times, maybe pick one of the others for him to experience something different? Out of your choices, we've only been to CM, but if we were staying at the BC, we would have gone to Cape May for breakfast. I remember who is at Cape May, so if he likes Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie, I'd say to go to CM. Is the food at Cape May breakfast that different from CM?

 

[MSLRAC]

What characters does he like best? Since he's already been to Ohana's several times, maybe pick one of the others for him to experience something different? Out of your choices, we've only been to CM, but if we were staying at the BC, we would have gone to Cape May for breakfast. I remember who is at Cape May, so if he likes Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie, I'd say to go to CM. Is the food at Cape May breakfast that different from CM?

Minnie, Donald and Goofy are at Cape May and the food is much better than that at CM's. We did both last trip and CM's was horrible. I did not think it was possible to mess up breakfast but they did it. So of the three, I'd go with Cape May. We ate there twice last trip for breakfast and both times were beyond fabulous.

 

[HunnyJar]

We have done all three and 'Ohana is our family favorite - just something special about the setting, I love being able to wake up and have my coffee while looking at the castle.

We actually did all three this past September and found them all to very good. Food wise our favorite was probably Cape May - great selections I really loved the vegetarian frittata. The characters were a lot of fun there as well. The only negative we had was our server. She happened to be a little on the rude side and wasn't paying attention when we were paying our bill. My husband told her to run the charge as a room charge NOT DDP, she ran it as DDP and we had to wait about 20-30 minutes for them to fix the mistake. But the food and the characters made up for it.

And despite all the bad reviews Chef Mickey's gets (we are normally dinner diners there and have never had any problems) the breakfast was quite good as well. My two year old is not a breakfast person at all (takes after me) but loved the chocolate croissants and the fruit. She even ate the scrambled eggs and that's not something she will do often. The characters were also very good and Minnie, Mickey and Pluto took extra time with our one year old daughter.

For character interaction my family found 'Ohana to be the best and as you know you can't beat that view if you are lucky enough to be seated by a window. All three had fresh, hot food. I'm not a huge egg fan, but 'Ohana has eggs I will always eat. Plus I just really love the fruit and juice. Stitch was really great with my girls and took extra time with them as well.

I wouldn't have a problem booking ADRs at any of them, but knowing my family we would probably do all three. If we had to do just one.. Tough call, but more than likely it would be 'Ohana. We enjoy the food and for us it is one of the more relaxed character experiences since you avoid the chaos you can sometimes find at a buffet.

 

[troynkasey]

We just went to Ohana's last year and will be hitting Cape May this year. I too would rank Ohana in front of Chef Mickey's. I'd say do Ohana. The food was good (better than Chef Mickey's) and we liked the service and interaction on our server's part.

 

[pixarmom]

Thanks so much to everyone for the responses!

troynkasey and HunnyJar, Ohana is definitely my favorite too - so hard to skip it for one of the others!!! clrdisney and MSLRAC, I prefer Cape May over Chef Mickey's too - definitely prefer the food and Cape May is so much more relaxed.

But I think this is going to be a "take one for the team" situation! ladyfoundhertramp, krb2g and aripantaloon raise good points. After all the Pixar characters, Mickey and Donald are his favorites, and he could see both at Chef Mickey's. Really compelling point about the bucket list, ladyfoundhertramp! This is a great way for him to experience Chef Mickey's without giving up favorites on our regular rotation. And since we're coming back 10 months later, krb2g is right - we can just save Ohana for everyone. He will love Chef Mickey's, and the "been there/done that" factor for a Disney-loving 4-year-old will be big!

Thanks again!

 

[nklooz]

I agree with Chef Mickey's. From the 4 yo's perspective, it is something new and different for him, he gets a glimpse of MK, and he gets to see his favorite characters. If it is about him, the quality of the food will be the least of his concerns.

 

[TheHafflys]

I'd vote Ohana, not as much for the character interaction but the food and atmosphere are great for everyone.

We didn't get to Chef Mickey's, but last week went to Cape May and Ohana. In my opinion the food at Ohana was fresher (family style vs. buffet) and the atmosphere was very relaxing and more appealing for adults. The kids got plenty of time for interactions with Mickey, Goofy, Lilo & Stitch. Even though they didn't really know Lilo and Stitch, they were just happy to see characters greeting them. They still brought out the Mickey waffles for the kids (and adults too). They also have the orange/guava juice...yum!
Cape May was kind of a disaster, the buffet was a little messy and the service that day seemed slower and less friendly than usual. The character interactions seemed a little bit rushed, maybe because we were seated at an awkard table right near the buffet.

Have a great trip!