Has anyone done a Character "Brunch"?

[esdras]

Maybe I'm just second guessing myself - but I remember reading about this as a good idea (here or somewhere else - not sure), but I've never read of anyone's personal experience doing a Character breakfast as close to the final seating as possible.

Essentially, the concept was to book the last seating - the restaurant starts to clear out, but the characters all stay until the guests leave. The thought is that your family gets more time with the characters.

We're going to be at WDW for FD for seven days - but we only booked 5 days in the parks. On our two "break" days, we decided to book character dining breakfasts, but we took the last seating times for Chef Mickey's and Ohana's - this lets us sleep in and have "Brunch" instead of breakfast.

So, can anyone confirm what it's like to be the "last family" in the restaurant. We don't have to be anywhere at a particular time, so we hope we can take our time with the characters.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

 

[amyy]

Last Aug we had the last seating at Ohana's because that was the only time available. It was our first time so I can't compare it to an earlier seating. The characters all came by and didn't seem in a hurry. We are two adults so I thought maybe they would ignore us but that wasn't the case at all. The food was excellent and they kept bringing out more. We didn't feel rushed. Plus we had a window seat which we loved.

 

[mom of princess]

we had booked a few late breakfasts and loved them. my dh has a post about our meals (with pixs) but i'm not sure how much detail he goes into about the crowds.
we did crystal palace breakfast later and not only did they continue having the breakfast on the buffet but they kept refilling it as they started changing some of the foods to lunch. they never told us we had to leave and also never said anything about not being allowed to keep going up for food. the pooh friends kept coming around the restaurant (except for their standard breaks) so we were able to get our dd to continue to eat without missing them. i'll look for his post and try to add it here for you.

here is his link http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1531687&page=8

 

[sandym718]

we did a "brunch" at Chef Mickey's in 2007. It worked out great! Our ADR was for 11:10 I believe? We had to wait awhile to be seated. The food was fresh and plentiful. At first, I was disappointed b/c we had only seen 1 character and we were almost done eating. It seemed like as the restaurant cleared out, people who hadn't seen a character/wanted to see one again - they were going right TO the characters, so basically they were stuck and didn't move for awhile. BUT, this ended up working great, as the rest of the characters all came over right after we finished eating. the kids got to eat uninterrupted and we had plenty of time to spend with all the characters. The restaurant was nearly empty when we left.

I don't think we're doing any breakfasts next time, but if we were, I'd book one of the latest breakfast seatings again, definitely. A brunch works well if you're on the DDP also- snack in the room in the AM, the big TS brunch and then CS for dinner.

 

[sandym718]

Forgot to add - we're not super early risers and rope drop was early enough for us- no way would we do a sit-down breakfast first. So, we went to the MK at rope drop that day, hit several good rides,then rode the monorail to the Contemporary. We planned to all go back to MK after the brunch, but DS wanted to swim, so DH took him back to the Poly and just DD and I went back - for Princesses and the parade. usually our afternoon breaks began by 1 or so, but since we stayed for the parade, this one was a good deal later. But, the brunch "break" helped with that, and since we were just doing CS for dinner, naps could go as late as needed. Just some more info on how it worked for us!

 

[esdras]

Thanks for the replies - and hearing that you would choose to do a late seating again rather than an early one.

Our last trip we did character dining - no breakfasts though - and all our Free Dining TS meals were for either lunch or dinner. We did character dining for both lunches and dinners and tried to get the first seating. That usually worked out well in terms of getting seated (we were the second family seated for a lunch at Cindy's), but not so well in terms of characters. They DON'T come out immediately - usually there's some kind of "grand entrance" - and by that time, at least half the restaurant is full. They then start their rounds, so you get the two minutes and then they're off since by now the restaurant is full.

I figured for this trip - try going at the end - it can't be any worse. From the sounds of the replies (so far), it just might be better. Thanks!

Sandy said: Forgot to add - we're not super early risers and rope drop was early enough for us- no way would we do a sit-down breakfast first.

Okay, our kids get up around 7am - this is perfect for quick CS breakfasts (we're at a value resort anyway) or this trip we may eat in-room since we're trying the Family Suites. This is early enough for rope drop - but (you're right) NOT enough time for a TS character breakfast. For park days we eat light for breakfast, hit rope drop, eat a VERY early lunch (CS or TS), then (with crowds getting thicker) go back to the resort for a break. Then, early dinner (usually in the park we're going back to see) and start back on the rides at the "normal" dinner hour when the lines shorten.

This early dining works really well - except, as I mentioned, for character meals.

We have only one other character meal - dinner at Akershus - and it's an early one - but it was the only way to work it into the day.

Anyway, thanks again for the replies!

 

[missycj96]

We've done a very late breakfast seating for Chef Mickeys. It worked out great. It ends up being more like lunch, and our main meal for the day. We did early morning coffee. It makes the breakfast a great value.

 

[kldmom2000]

We had a 10:30 ADR @ CRT last August. I know that wasn't the "latest" seating, but by the time we were finishing up, we were one of the few families left in the dining hall The servers quickly turned over the other tables to get ready for the lunch crowd and it was so cool to see the restaurant EMPTY on our way out with tables freshly made up

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It works out great in the sense that you won't be hungry for lunch, and you can usually survive just fine until 11am without any food. Esp. knowing that you can fill up at lunch.

The only thing I'd say as a downside is that under DDP, breakfast isn't the best use of credits. Also, you lose some park time at kind of a good time to be in the park - low crowds. Before your brunch there will be very low crowds, by they time you are done they will be at peak.

You'll also get to peek at what they serve for lunch (If they do; they do at CP where I've done this).

As for character time, I think they've streamlined their policy on this. If there is no lunch, they might linger, but don't count on it. Certainly it won't happen at CP - the lunch crowd will be standing at the door waiting to come in!

 

[esdras]

It works out great in the sense that you won't be hungry for lunch, and you can usually survive just fine until 11am without any food. Esp. knowing that you can fill up at lunch.

We'll probably eat as soon as we wake up - but probably just a light cereal-in-our-room breakfast.

The only thing I'd say as a downside is that under DDP, breakfast isn't the best use of credits.

Generally, this is true. Character breakfasts are a little more expensive though - almost as much as a lunch in some cases. We're on Free Dining, so it isn't as though I'm trying to actually get my money's worth.

Also, you lose some park time at kind of a good time to be in the park - low crowds. Before your brunch there will be very low crowds, by they time you are done they will be at peak.

Ah, I only mentioned this in passing in the OP, but our two character "brunch" days are on our "break" days. We are at WDW for 7 full days (the other two are travel days). In those seven days, we just have regular non-hopper, non-water park or more 5 day passes. We decided to take two days off while there - considering the heat, it isn't a bad idea. On our two off days, we plan on sleeping in, having a very light bowl of cereal, swim at our resort and go for brunch. After that, maybe wander around DTD for a while. Just totally "whatever" days - except for the brunch ressies.

You'll also get to peek at what they serve for lunch (If they do; they do at CP where I've done this).

As for character time, I think they've streamlined their policy on this. If there is no lunch, they might linger, but don't count on it. Certainly it won't happen at CP - the lunch crowd will be standing at the door waiting to come in!

Yeah, and I purposely tried to avoid this - which is why we initially picked Chef Mickey's and Ohana's. We're still fine at Ohana's - there is no lunch served at that restaurant (AFAIK - unless something ELSE has changed). When we booked our ADR's back in April, there was no lunch at Chef Mickey's either. They announced at the end of June a lunch service there during Free Dining to offset the demand. I'll admit I'm thinking of changing the ressie for that one - not sure to what though.

 

[TakeMe2Disney]

We picked a CM brunch so that we wouldn't need three meals that day. We can snack at the park and save more time that way. We also won't feel stuffed all day either.

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

We did the very last seating at CRT, can't remeber the exact time, around 11 am I believe. It was great. The place got really quiet, and our son got a lot of one on one time with the princesses and Fairy God Mother. He was only 2 at the time, but he loved it!

 

[FJJM0621]

We are doing the "late" breakfast seating & calling it brunch when we go in September. I have CRT booked at 10:15am - the CM told me that was the last seating time for breakfast. It is still a bit early, but I wanted breakfast food & hopefully what they serve will keep us full & we'll just lightly snack it till dinner.

I also have CM for 11:15am on our last day with the same thought in mind.

We are in the family suites as well & will be doing the cereal in our room.

I realize the use of TS credits for breakfast during FD can be what they call a waste but I love breakfast out and we are only doing the brunch thing twice.

 

[PrincessBride07]

I did a brunch at CRT. I don't think we had any more character time than normal, but I haven't been there any other time either. We were the very last people out of the restaurant. It was pretty cool to be in there all by ourselves.

DH and I also did brunch at CM. We were 10 minutes before last seating. Most of the characters did the normal interaction. One skipped us twice. The second time he skipped us, end of the breakfast hours, he completely walked by our table and bee lined it to the break room. Also, our waiter was somewhat pushy to get us out. Why I'm not sure because no one was coming in behind us.

 

[Connears]

We have done this most often. We did it 3 times at AK, each time getting to AK for early morning touring and then eating at 10:45am(when it had Donald's Breakfastsaurus). We got so much done before the meal and the food was still hot and plentiful and characters were just as fun. For the past 3 years we have done this for xmas day eating at 1900 PF at 10:45am, after the craziness of those wishing to go to the parks that day(we chose to avoid all parks on xmas day). We have also done this at Boma on New Year's Day. We only have 2 real meals that day and an occasional snack thoughout the day(especially if we have late adr).


Connears