Donald's Breakfasarus?

[Maridw]

We did this last year and really liked it. So much so that my DH had us book it again twice since, but we have yet to make it for one reason or another.

We have booked it for our up coming trip and I plan on getting there with or without DH or DD.

 

[TwingleMum]

Great to hear the good reviews. Will try it for the first time in December. DS a huge Donald fan.

 

[soccerchick]

We were very disappointed in this b'fast. We ate there October 1 and the check-in process was so nuts it put me in a bad mood. The service was very poor. DH, who always is the calm, quiet, still one, was up getting OJ and coffee for us himself. Characters were fine. Food was good ~ a decent variety compared to others. My sister had a great experience there in mid-Sept.

I'd have to recommend an early seating too. But I won't go back.

 

[judykay53]

We did this a couple weeks ago. We will probably try it again because it is nice to have buffet breakfast upon arrival at AK. We had to wait a pretty long time to be seated. We really liked the food but our waitress was apparently spread too thin. We did not get our drinks until we were almost through with our initial serving. Have to go back for the things we missed first time around!! Also, had to wait around for the characters. Still a very good meal.

 

[GarrettJD]

We did this breakfast back in June. While we enjoyed it, it was very crowded. We had an 8:00 ADR, and we checked in quickly, but by 8:30 or so it became very crowded and the lines at the buffet got very long. Food was good, characters seemed rushed compared to those at Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern.

My biggest problem with this restaurant wasn't their fault, but mine... I ate too much, and after an hour, with the temperatures hovering in the mid 90's, and very little opportunity for shade or AC at the AK, I started to feel, well... not so great. We ended up taking our break a couple of hours earlier than usual that day. Anyway, that was too much foor for me to handle in that hot weather. Again, not Disney's fault.... my fault.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

Any feedback on this breakfast? I booked it so we can get in to Animal Kingdom before opening.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

we did this last year and it was great. the buffet was good and there are plenty of chartactors. interaction time is a bit fast but still fun. try to get mickey and donald at the same time.LOL its war LOL we will do this again.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

We/I have been big fans of this breakfast since the first time I did this breakfast Jan 2003. We've scheduled it every trip since then- and all up until and thru June trip it was great. Scheduled it again for this past Sept trip and it was awful! You'd think they'd be busier during June than sept but perhaps the free dining plan is what made it busier?

All I know is it wasn't the same experience at all... long wait to get a table, tables way more crowded (although this may be that we were seated on the opposite side that we'd never been seated on before) and we were on a table in the walkway so everyone was constantly walking around us and bumping into us. Characters were rushed and sometimes passed us (and others) so we had to hunt down waitress and ask for him to come back to us. I mean we'd be SITTING there and they'd pass right over us. We were sitting there waiting to get food simply to see the characters and then they walk on by us. By the time we realized they were passing us (because the tables weren't all in a row so we really couldn't figure out the "path" they were going)- they were long past us and not coming back until we asked them to!

Food wasn't as great as it has been many times before either- possibly because it was so busy... things empty and waiting in line for them to bring the food really made the lines long and time consuming.


Service was less than experienced in the past also... absolutely no pleasantries between guests and waitstaff because they were so rushed (possibly shorthanded?) and it was so loud (I'm assuming that's the excuse?) that half the time the waitress didn't hear what we said as far as drinks and such and things were brought wrong or missing- had to ask again. Ticket was tossed on the table just about the same time we sat down with our first plates from first trip to the buffet!

 

[Nancyg56]

I was really interested in this post, as we have added Donalds to our list. This seems to be the best place to meet Pluto, and hopefully he will be there. We are going Jan 8th, I think around 10:00 AM. Hopefully the place will be less busy then some folks experienced, even with the marathon. Our last day, an dnot planning to stay in the park.

 

[PolyGuy]

Sorry if my post came off as too negative on the breakfast...we really did have a decent time there. Heck, there were lines everywhere last week in WDW.

This was our first time there, and with 3 kids under 8, we found the other character breakfasts to be more enjoyable. Its kind of a weird setup, and definately was the most crowded breakfast we attended.

The other thing, which is kinda not that big of a deal, but it was to me for some reason, was when I was online for food, the guy from the back comes out with new pancakes (chocolate chips!, nice). He had a big tub of them, and using his hands (with gloves), just started thowing them were they were supposed to go. Maybe its the most efficent way to do this, but I would of preferred if he took the utensils that we used to grab them and put them where they are supposed to go. It just looked wrong. Maybe I'm nuts.

 

[Cara]

We were there on 10/5 also - our ADR was at 9 am and we got in about 5-10 minutes after that. The place had alot of people, but we were in a room off the main dining room so it didn't feel so bad - when we got up to get the food, there was plenty of everything. They must of refilled the food as soon as you guys left!! There really wasn't a line to get the food - the lines were much longer at the crystal palace on 10/6..

We were ALSO there on 10/5. Our ADR was at 8:05 a.m. We found the food to be fresh and the character interaction to be great. Our server was friendly, but he was a little slow in getting our drinks and refills to us.

 

[Nancyg56]

Sorry if my post came off as too negative on the breakfast...we really did have a decent time there. Heck, there were lines everywhere last week in WDW.

This was our first time there, and with 3 kids under 8, we found the other character breakfasts to be more enjoyable. Its kind of a weird setup, and definately was the most crowded breakfast we attended.

The other thing, which is kinda not that big of a deal, but it was to me for some reason, was when I was online for food, the guy from the back comes out with new pancakes (chocolate chips!, nice). He had a big tub of them, and using his hands (with gloves), just started thowing them were they were supposed to go. Maybe its the most efficent way to do this, but I would of preferred if he took the utensils that we used to grab them and put them where they are supposed to go. It just looked wrong. Maybe I'm nuts.

Don't worry. I had read other posts that indicated that this meal could be frantic. That's why I did not book it at first. I was looking for more tho, because I know that there is always a bad day or even a bad hour at any restaurant. Thanks for your perspective, as it is appreciated.

 

[meatballsmom]

We just got back from breakfast there on 10/2 and loved it!! I thought the food was good for buffet food and the characters were great. Staff was good too. We had an 8:00 a.m. PR which worked out great since we finished around 8:50 or so and walked on all the rides. I would suggest trying to get the earlies time you can.

 

[3Aumillers]

We just got back from breakfast there on 10/2 and loved it!! I thought the food was good for buffet food and the characters were great. Staff was good too. We had an 8:00 a.m. PR which worked out great since we finished around 8:50 or so and walked on all the rides. I would suggest trying to get the earlies time you can.

Just had to respond -- we were there the same day and time -- wish we could have met up and at least said a quick "hi" -- we were the first table to the left as you came in the door -- where were you seated?

 

[meatballsmom]

Just had to respond -- we were there the same day and time -- wish we could have met up and at least said a quick "hi" -- we were the first table to the left as you came in the door -- where were you seated?

That's too funny!!! Which room were you in?? We were seated at the 2nd table as you walked in to the left. It was me, my DS6 and my DM. Our room was the door on the right. I guess we were the first room that the characters came in to.

 

[Caleb's Mom]

We too had a reservation for October 5 at 8 a.m. When we arrived at the parking lot to get into the park, it was closed!!!! We waited in a line of cars until almost 7:50 before the line started moving to even get into the parking lot. At this point I knew there would be no way we'd make our 8 a.m. RSVP. When we got to the podium people were checking in for 8:20.

Immediately after we were seated the characters came in very quick succession, one right after the other. Donald was first and if he spent :30 seconds at our table I'd be shocked. It was so rushed. The other 3 characters we saw were Mickey, Goofy and Pluto. Bam, Bam, Bam - right in a row. You felt like they had time to shake my 4 year old's hand but to get an autograph & pic too would have been like you were taking up too much of their time. So, after we'd been there 5 minutes and barely had our drinks, we'd seen all 4 characters and felt like, "Wow, that's it, what a whirlwind of activity. Let's all take a breath now and collect our thoughts especially after we sprinted into the park." The rest of the meal no other characters visited us at all.

As for the food, it was tasty enough but to me it really felt like they slapped together a breakfast buffet in a fast food restaurant that really wasn't meant for a breakfast buffet. (It's McDonald's during the day, isn't it?)

We were on the free dining plan and I would have been upset had this been a paid character breakfast, but that's just my personal opinion. I'm sure others have had good experiences here, that's just what happed with us.

 

[kimisabella]

We were ALSO there on 10/5. Our ADR was at 8:05 a.m. We found the food to be fresh and the character interaction to be great. Our server was friendly, but he was a little slow in getting our drinks and refills to us.

Wow, that's too funny - so many of us went on the same day!! Our server was pretty good, gave us our drinks right away and was pretty attentive, can't complain about it at all. I'm so glad we both had such a good experiences, I would hate to spend all the time and money and feel like I received a less than great time!

 

[momsgoofy]

Okay, I know that I've seen the suggestions before, but can't seem to find them through the search so maybe someone can give me the advice I'm looking for.

We will be trying Donald's for the first time on December 23 and have an 8am ADR while AK opens at 9am. I understand from previous posts that we should use the Disney bus to get to AK from SSR, where we're staying. This is fine since we won't have a personal vehicle anyway. All that said...

1. How early can we enter AK to walk (preferably meander slowly to Donald's)?

2. Any idea of when the buses actually will start operating on that date?

3. Any suggestions on how early we actually should check in at the hostess stand/podium or whatever they call it at Donald's before our ADR time?

Well, I think that is about all the questions I've got on Donald's...at least for now. This will actually be the first time we have an ADR prior to park opening time since we have a DS who doesn't care about seeing the princesses at CRT...maybe this is a blessing in disguise when trying to get those ADRs...

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it!

 

[Smydovro]

We were there 9/29. It was our first character breakfast ever. I would say that I thought that it was okay. Not great, not bad. The characters posed for pictures and signed autographs but it was sort of all business. The lines moved pretty quickly and the selection was pretty good. We were also held back by CM until the park officially opened but we hightailed it over to the safari - which is clear across the park and made it with no wait and saw lot's of animals.

 

[dgaston]

We've been at Donald's 3x. We ate near the end of the buffet twice, and in July, had reservations for 8:05. I preferred the later seatings, due to waiting in the line at the parking lot, and feeling like I was really rushing thru the park to reach Donalds. The food has been excellent each time, and even when they took down one of the lines, I had a chance to eat anything I wanted. In July, our server had responsibility for too many tables (someone had called in) but took the time to "squirt" us with ketchup, and get us a coffee carafe. Good thing my DH "Don" has to get his Donald fix!!!