Comparison between different Inventions meals (photo heavy!)

[Vala]

I know there's a main review topic for Inventions meal reviews, but as the question about brunches etc. came up a lot lately I figured maybe I best make a separate thread comparing the different meals.

During my last stay from October 30 to November 5 I did have the chance to go to Inventions three times: for normal character dinner on October 30, for the Halloween Brunch on November 1 and finally for "Royal Brunch" on November 5.

So let's get this started with the character brunch for October 30. My reservation was for 7 PM. I was seated pretty quickly at what seems to become my usual table, across from the starter buffet at the window.

Rolls on the table:

I got the chance to take some pictures of the starter buffet:

I didn't notice a lot of change there, although the selection did seem slightly smaller than at the brunches - the last dinner I have attended at Inventions was in December 2011.

Mickey appeared pretty quickly.

Unfortunately he was the only character I saw in the first hour. I kid you not. Tigger, Pluto and Dale walked through the room in the other dining area, but they didn't stop at any tables. That was it.

I kept myself busy taking more photos:

I don't pay much attention to the seafood due to my allergies, but at least the amount of the crabs/prawns on display seems to have shrunk a lot.

 

[Vala]

The thing that caught my eye most on the main course part was that a lot of dishes were labeled as "today's special" without any sort of description what the dish was. Gave me the impression a bit that they just tossed together whatever they had remaning.

An hour and 15 minutes into the meal finally Pluto stopped at my table. Meanwhile Genie had also walked past into that other area and the chipmunk had gone back for a break.

More food photos:

What completely irritated me about the above dish was that at first it was beef - then somehow they placed the fowl from the dish next to it on this plate with the pasta after replacing the plate once. Did anyone but me care? Three guesses please.

The above cheese pizza was pretty much my saving grace because I had no success whatsoever trying to find out what the specials were, and after that little beef/fowl conversion I wasn't quite in the mood for guessing games.

Twenty minutes after Pluto finally Dale appeared:

 

[Vala]

I decided to check out the dessert area because that's apparently where most of the changes to the brunch have been happening. And really, it looked nowhere like the brunch.

Candy and cheeses were actually the most prominent areas.

Total lack of the mousse and all the other stuff I personally enjoy.

There must have been an ice cream fridge somewhere because I saw people walk by with packaged ice cream cones, but I wasn't in the mood for ice cream and didn't check closer.

I got some of the rice and caramel pudding and some of the pancakes and plopped down to wait some more.

 

[Vala]

Finally Goofy appeared - at least one character that didn't walk past us (which Genie and Tigger had meanwhile both done while going back for a break):

Minnie showed up after over two hours

She was another one I never saw walking past, not sure if she spent all the time in the third room or what.

At that point I could tell the CMs were not happy that I was still hanging around by the looks some of them were shooting me. Hey, get your characters to the tables in a timely manner and I have no reason to block the table. Mind you, the restaurant was maybe 50 percent full, if not less. It's not that they would have needed my stupid table.

Genie finally stopped when he came in for the third time:

Again more than 20 minutes later - meanwhile I was suffering from a serious case of pancake overdose - I got attacked by a very enthusiastic chipmunk who seemed to recognize me and who also had not been around before (it was after 10 PM meanwhile):

That left me to wait for Tigger. I have to admit that at this point I was only still around because I was too stubborn to leave. Tigger finally appeared 2 hours 34 minutes after I took the first photo according to the time code on my camera.

Summary of Invention dinner: not impressed at all. Dessert buffet and character interaction severely lacking. Speed of characters coming around ridiculously slow. In the US parks I would have complained, but seeing Inventions staff has been completely immune to that in the past I didn't bother. Starters and main courses average. At least this time I couldn't complain about the temperature of the main courses, that was an issue in the past sometimes for my visits.

Overall rating: D, and the only reason for that is the above mentioned enthusiastic chipmunk.

I left feeling very worried about the quite pricey Halloween Brunch which I was due to attend 2 days later.

 

[Mum to Belle]

The title of this thread alone had my mouth watering....!!

 

[Vala]

So now let us get to the Halloween brunch.

As stated above I was a little worried about that one after the experience two nights before, especially as the price tag ended up being a stunning 74 Euro.

Contrary to what the price seemed to indicate the restaurant was almost fully booked.

I was seated at a different table this time, across from the dessert buffet. The CM who guided me there had just tried to seat me and when I turned around I saw something pink coming in from the other dining area that I learned to hate so much two days before. The pink thing was wearing a Halloween costume and was holding the hand of something blue that was also wearing a Halloween costume. Stitch and Angel. I apologize so much if you were in that area and I scared you. I'm not sure if I screamed, squealed or what else. The next thing I somewhat remember is the CM looking at me with a very worried look on her face and her asking if I was alright. Yes, of course I am alright. I was always wondering what getting a nervous breakdown felt like. Stitch and Angel. I swear I tried to squee mentally from that on. I'm not sure if I managed that, but at least the mother of all happy dances I felt like doing happened only in my mind. I was told Stitch and Angel had been out in Discoveryland all day on Halloween, but for some obscure reason I had completely managed to miss them.

The CM finally managed to get me to sit down and I was told asked if I wanted a complimentary glass of champagne. Okay, I will admit that it was probably so not the smartest move to have alcohol in the hyper state I already was in, but I drank it anyway.

Stitch and Angel made it to our table at around the same time Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Minnie arrived too. Those four were all wearing their costumes from the Mickey's Trick or Treat in the Street show. It was slightly manic and I had a blast for the next couple of minutes.

Donald managed to escape for now and also Chip and Dale plus Goofy (also in their show costumes) had to squeeze through because the others were causing a serious congestion. Also somehow Mickey and Minnie got away while I was so totally freaking out at the sight of Angel. I don't think I've ever been that happy to meet a character.

I did get a picture with Daisy first though

and then Stitch

I was asking for a picture with him and Angel, but somehow Stitch got away after that too. So I got Angel all for myself:

Total brain overload. I even left my signed drawings on another table, I was so out of it.

 

[Vala]

As I was sitting across from the dessert buffet I decided to run over to get a few photos before the rest of the characters hit. Does everyone have their drool buckets ready?

The red stuff in the glasses was a trifle-like pudding. Delicious.

As you see... Halloween decorations galore!

Panacotta, chocolate mousse etc.

Cute little ghosties.

Rice pudding, some more cakes.

A couple of things were even specially named, I remember something "Cruella de Ville" pudding.

 

[Vala]

I saw the chipmunks and Mickey and Minnie were coming back already, so I took my chance and rushed for the starters:

I loved the way they used the pumpkin to decorate the salmon.

Small filled peppers, made up to look like witches hats.

The seafood area:

I ran back with an only half full plate because the characters were coming back.

Fly garlics Disney style.

 

[Vala]

Donald stopped first:

Mickey and Minnie and the chipmunks arrived, but then villains showed up!

Hook squeezed through, same for Frollo and Ratcliffe. But Jafar stopped.

Mickey almost got away again.

I still had barely touched my starters when Goofy appeared:

Pluto was next, but the only picture I have with him is blurry.

Frollo came back real soon. I guess he was dealing with the usual "I don't know who you are" problem again.

 

[Vala]

No characters closeby, so food it was.

The main courses:

I absolutely loved those. "Witches fingers" - cookes sausages in flakey pastry with an almond as fake fingernail.

Beef with a sauce I couldn't identify.

Asparagus risotto. Yummy.

The cheese pizza got "frightening". Wonder if it was a leftover?

In the middle of me piling stuff on the plate Ratcliffe showed up, so I had to take a forced break:

Meanwhile I had spotted Prince John going on a break. This was getting really, really good.

I sat down to eat and another CM stopped by and gave the adults one Park 10 vinyl each as a keepsake. Wow. There was a balloon artist around for the kids too.

After this I was invited to sit with a group in one of the other rooms, so unfortunately I missed out on meeting Captain Hook, Pinocchio and Prince John. But I had met Pinocchio that morning, and thankfully Prince John and Hook were at the Magical Moment later that afternoon, so I caught them there. But instead Stitch came back, and that is never a bad thing.

Summary: Wow. Most of you who have read my reports/reviews know that I am a pretty huge fan of the brunch events at Inventions. But this one seriously topped everything. The only slight fault I could find - and that problem was solved when I moved to sit with the group - was that the balloon artist was blocking the way a lot in the other area at the buffet. And even that was doable.

Rating: A++

 

[DLPDreams]

WOW Vala - that brunch looked amazing - and looked way better than the normal dinner. What is the difference in the price these days? Was the Halloween brunch more than the usual Sunday brunch? As for the characters - well there is no comparison is there . What fab photos and such amazing costumes. They clearly pulled out all the stops!

Thanks so much for posting. Are you going to post your Sunday 'Royal' brunch too please?

 

[Vala]

The Halloween brunch was 10 Euro more than the usual Sunday brunch and I think 18 more than dinner.

The Royal Brunch part will be up some time later today. I came home with a cold and was too tired to continue last night.

 

[MissSkellington]

Oh my....there does seem to be a considerable difference.

But I love all the photos...it's because of posts like this that make it easier for folks like me (first timer) to make more informed choices (thusly, less disappointment! Lol)...so thank you!

And I am SOOOO very jealous of you meeting that adorable Donald with his fangs...

 

[Vala]

And I am SOOOO very jealous of you meeting that adorable Donald with his fangs...

You may want to read my trip report then. There's at least two versions of that Donald out there. He sure likes his devil costumes.

 

[Vala]

We've made it to the last part of my comparison now, the Royal Brunch on November 4.

The booking hotline had informed those calling that the cast would be "princes and princesses" meeting, some CMs had even said the theme was "Princes Brunch". Which made me quite excited considering the food quality and amount of characters at Auberge have gone down a lot too.

If I only had known how close I was with my Auberge idea. The brunch basically turned out to be Auberge reloaded, with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla visiting. I even heard two kids asking if Cinderella had closed down Auberge. Smart kids. Completing the characters were Mickey and Minnie in prince and princess costumes plus Chip and Dale and Pluto, the latter not wearing special costumes. Don't get me wrong, this for sure was not a bad character line up. But after the hotline had promised "princes and princesses" it was a bit of a letdown for me, especially after having been assured myself that this brunch would be "nowhere near the Fairy Tale brunch with Rapunzel" - which it was, they just switched the couple and added the mice.

I was sat at the table I originally had for the Halloween brunch and again was offered champagne or the non-alcoholic cocktail. I chose champagne for good luck.

The non alcoholic cocktail looked a lot like the prince cocktail from Auberge.

Again the characters started coming quickly, first being Suzy and Perla.

I was really lucky and Cinderella and Prince Charming arrived just as I had taken the photo with the mice, and the nice CM snapping the picture for me did ask Cinderella and Charming to join the picture.

Figures my eyes are closed on that one, but I guess that's what Photoshop was invented for.

I kindly asked Cinderella if I could borrow charming and she stepped aside.

 

[Vala]

The first wave of characters out of the way I went to check out the buffet:

A little warning about the dish to the left. The label only says "rolled speck and cheese" - the cheese is goat cheese. I like goat cheese and think it was delicious, but the little girl at the table next to me was not impressed.

Some dishes from the Halloween brunch were missing, but they had added others (like the cheese), so I'd rate those sections equal for both meals.

The seafood and salad area was still spotting a few Halloween decorations:

Minnie and Mickey arrived almost at the same time as Chip did. So of course it was ladies first:

And then I ended up with a nice group shot because Mickey and Chip couldn't agree who got to go first.

 

[Vala]

On to the main courses:

This is the kids corner - it was exactly the same at all three meals, so I am only posting this picture:

Chicken fingers, fish fingers, meatballs in sauce and Mickey potatoes.

The pasta dish to the left contained salmon. The tomatoes looked quite good, but I didn't try due to my allergies and no one could clarify what exactly they were filled with.

The asparagus risotto returns... me = happy camper.

Lamb and vegetables.

Today's choice happened to be chicken, but it was quite fatty and not very good. The right dish is labeled "beef meatballs" although it was normal beef with sauce.

Yumm... not sure what this actually was, but it was really good. It didn't look like fish, so I decided to be brave.

Chip and Dale had been separated and it was now time to meet the other chipmunk:

Dale was very sweet. He signed my picture "Tac" and then started waving at me that he wanted the pen back after we had taken the photo. He then added "Dale" to his signature, obviously having realized too late that I spoke English.

 

[Vala]

Pluto wasn't around yet. That meant dessert time it was!

I think those are called profiteroles in English, aren't they? They had a chocolate filling and were smothered in chocolate on the outside too. Delicious. I died and went to dessert heaven.

Tons of mousses and yello and everything.

Ta-da... the eclairs are back. As mini-eclairs, but I have not seen them in ages.

I was happily munching my way through dessert for quite a while, but Pluto didn't reappear forever. So I decided to leave a little early as he was not wearing a special costume and the weather was so good that finally characters were out in the parks again.

That made me bump into a nice surprise in the lobby:

Summary: It was a good meal, but not quite as good as the Halloween brunch. But I will admit that I probably had different expectations for the character line up after being given wrong info by the reservation hotline. Food and character interaction were flawless, with the exception of Prince Charming being a bit insecure when I asked him to sign a picture. I'll blame that on this being his first visit to that restaurant.

Overall rating: B+, mainly due to the wrong info from the hotline.

 

[DLPDreams]

The Halloween brunch definitely wins doesn't it, but I guess it was an extra 18 euros on dinner (which for us would have been an extra 72 euros, so a fair difference). Having said that, the character interaction alone would have been worth paying for!

Have to say, in comparison, your photos of dinner look quite bare . We've always gone early to Inventions, by 6.30 pm and never had a problem with lack of food, I wonder if it's because they don't refill often enough. We found the food great on our last trip though. However, I do agree that the character interaction for the dinners has suffered over the years. Our June trip was definitely not as good as previous years visits (previous had been 2009). I think I mentioned at the time of my review, Goofy had to be the worst I've ever seen - he clearly just didn't want to be there . But other characters, like Minnie & Pinnochio were fab . They do seem to be becoming very 'samey' at the dinners though (but I found that in general across the park - couldn't decide if it was down to laziness/ease of using same characters or they genuinely think people just want to see the 'fab 4' and other very well known characters?).

Thanks for the reviews - they are very informative. Hope your cold is better soon x

 

[Mum to Belle]

Great reviews and photos - soooooooooo excited about going back again! Thank you for sharing