How long is a character breakfast?

[kditty]

How long would you say a character breakfast usually takes? We will be at WDW for only 2 days before our Disney cruise and have a character breakfast scheduled for both days. One at the Crystal Palace and one at AK. The one at the Crystal Palace is at 8:20am and the park opens that day at 9am. I want to get the most done that we can during those less crowded opening hours and am worried that the character breakfast is going to cut into our time too much since we will only have 1 day at MK.

 

[AngiTN]

I've never had one take less than 60 min. Most of the time is spent waiting on characters, more than eating since most are buffet. You can ask for your check as soon as you order drinks so you have that out of the way, to speed things up a tiny bit. But characters there isn't much to do be done about. If you get lucky and they are at your table when you arrive then you are lucky and out of there faster. We never had that kind of luck and always found ourselves waiting for them to get around to us. Once we had to leave before we got in the last character. Bad luck of timing and a wardrobe malfunction on the character.

 

[minnie mum]

Even those with the earliest ADRs can have trouble finishing their breakfast and visiting with all of the characters before RD. And you may have a delay being seated. It seems a shame to waste money on a character breakfast if you have to rush. We usually allow at least an hour. Once we've been seated.

 

[MyKidzMick]

To optimize your park time, you should try for an earlier reservation or cancel the breakfast. If you've never been on a Disney cruise, you'll be fully immersed in Disney from the moment you step inside the cruise terminal and onboard. You will have a number of character meet and greets during the length of your cruise.

A character meal really isn't necessary if you are planning to do everything ride and attraction-wise within MK.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

You definitely cannot both maximize your first hours in the parks and go to 8:20 and 9AM breakfasts. You have to decide which is more important. The 8:20, you may only miss a little of that first hour, so if you definitely want one, I would say keep the 8:20 and drop the 9AM. Don't rush through breakfast or leave without seeing half the characters to get more out of rope drop. Choose either or. Just my suggestion to make your trip a little less stressful.

 

[Jdismom]

Like others have said, you will see plenty of characters on the cruise, and they are usually pretty easy to see, although I don't believe the Pooh characters are on the ships.

Depending on how many times you have gone or will visit Disney, I would do the rides first thing in the morning since you only have 2 days, unless you know you'll be back again soon to do what you missed.

I personally wouldn't waste time on character meals before a cruise, especially at MK. AK would be a little more doable since it really doesn't take a whole day to visit that park.

 

[Jdismom]

By the way, welcome to the DIS!

 

[ZoZo]

One option might be to schedule a character breakfast later in the morning, say around 10:00 or 10:30. Then you can maximize that "golden" first hour (or 90 minutes) and treat the breakfast as "brunch."

We always do that one day during our trip - have a buffet "brunch." If you think you won't be able to wait that long to eat (since it's mid-morning), you can always grab a granola bar or something to get you started with your day, then have a full brunch mid-morning.

 

[North of Mouse]

How long would you say a character breakfast usually takes? We will be at WDW for only 2 days before our Disney cruise and have a character breakfast scheduled for both days. One at the Crystal Palace and one at AK. The one at the Crystal Palace is at 8:20am and the park opens that day at 9am. I want to get the most done that we can during those less crowded opening hours and am worried that the character breakfast is going to cut into our time too much since we will only have 1 day at MK.

As long as you want to make it! We always relax and don't really notice the time. Have seen some rush their kids with eating a few bites, take some quick pics and 'hit the parks'! Not my idea of 'fun' but to each their own.

Guess it depends on if you're wanting an enjoyable relaxing meal, or just a means to an end - quick pics and autographs.

 

[mountdew1]

Usually between 45-60 mins. If you happen to get seated near the beginning of the section, then that can speed up the amount of time it takes the characters to see you vs if you are at the end of a section. If you aren't dead set on seeing all the characters, you can easily be done in 30 mins or less if you ask for the check as soon as you order drinks. You can try showing up early and see if they can seat you sooner, but there is always a chance you get seated later.