How many is too many Character Breakfasts?

[deannanb]

I'm working on my ADRs -
is 4 days in a row of Character Breakfasts too many?
we have the Deluxe Meal plan - and my kids (boys 1, 5 and 14) and Husband have never been to Disney before.

Monday - Chef Mickey (staying at CR) - first morning then heading to MK
Tuesday - Ohana's (going to Epcot)
Wednesday - Donald's Breakfast (going to AK that day)
Thursday - The Crystal Palace (going back to MK) - it is an EMH day

I'm way behind in getting reservations.

Thanks!

 

[treehugnmama]

when we went our first time I booked character meals for everyday for our entire trip. I was so done with the buffets. I had a 2 and 4 year old so I felt like I was always running up to the buffet to get one or the other child food so they didn't miss a character. We enjoyed the character meals but on our next trip we limited the buffets.

I wouldn't worry about too many characters. When the kids are little that is what is all about. I have found now that we have been twice in a year the kids don't care too much about the characters except the princesses so I have made different choices. we do one buffet Ohana character breakfast. We do crt and norway which are characters but not buffets.

My kids enjoyed coral reef to see the fish and turtle as well as tepon edo. If your family enjoys buffets go for it.

 

[Nadjalu]

Personally I would split and do dinner ones too. But I like dinner more than breakfast.

 

[catne]

are your kids big on having large breakfasts every day? And how will that work with going on rides immediately after...most Disney rides are not crazy/fast/spinny but when you're stuffed with typical breakfast buffet food even the mild kiddie rides can upset tummies. Also, unless you're going to breakfast before the park opens, you're going to miss a lot of early morning park time (which can be the absolute best time to do parks...in general, right when the park opens will be the shortest lines at the most popular rides, like Toy Story in Hollywood Studios, and all of Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom.) If you are going to breakfast before the parks open every day,you'll be getting up early...can your family handle that every day?

Agree that character meals are great way to meet characters without standing in line, but I would choose some dinners instead of all the breakfast.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I would go to Ohana at dinner. Yum!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

When my kids were little we booked lots of character breakfasts. Saved us from having to line up in the parks to see the characters.

Now they are a little bit older so we don't do quite so many. We're doing the deluxe plan too (2 weeks worth!). I made breakfast ADRs for Cape May BUffet (stayig at BC), Ohana, Chef Mickey's, PSB in Norway, Crystal Palace, and then non-character breakfasts at Captain's Grill and Kouzzina. I figure the rest of the breakfasts we'll either order room service or use snack credits.

I like having an early breakfast so you don't spend half our park time looking for something to hold the kids over to lunch!

 

[Mom2Elliot]

We are doing a lot of character breakfasts this summer, but each one is before park opening time as my little one gets up way early. He is also under 3, so I wanted to get him food without having to pay even more than we already are on the deluxe plan! He tends to be "wiggliest" in the morning too, so I thought the buffets would be good for that. Plus you can g at your own pace (which is fast for us!) and you get to see a lot of characters!

In summary, I think it is good if you can get them before park opening and you don't mind if you are ready to leave and not all of the characters have been by your table. If you are cutting into park time, the kids probably won't be happy.

 

[japeer1980]

We try to do a character breakfast everyday too!! We actually do like the buffett's. We are not big eaters either and we are usually not big breakfast eaters. However when we go to disney we get to enjoy breakfast!!!! It usually keeps us full until late afternoon and we usually grab a very light snack for lunch and then have an early dinner!!!

The food has been really good at all the breakfasts we have been to so far except for chef mickeys!! It wasn't that chef mickeys was horrible, the others were just so much better ie, crystal palace, ohana, tusker house, 1900 park fare!!!

 

[mkleinbe]

We have three scheduled before park opening: Crystal Palace, CRT, Tusker House. My girls get up really early and they do their best eating at breakfast. There is no "rule" about how many is too many. There are always going to be people who tell you that you're wasting your time/money and there will always be people to tell you to go for it. I say, if that's what your family wants to do then go for it and enjoy!

Have a great time!!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

We thought character meals were amazing when our kids were small. Adults took in turns to 'enjoy' their breakfast so that one day I was on the buffet/restroom run next day DH was. Also means you make sure you catch all the characters. Worked for us and also we had a deal that a day with a character meal meant only one character line. Now the children are getting older we don't worry so much as they're not so obsessed with the photos and autographs thing.

We went for three weeks in 2007 and had 10 character meals. All good except 1900PF where the food was appalling but the kids both loved the characters even though DS got sick afterwards.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

We have always done lots of character breakfasts, this is will be our first year that I am trying to limit it to 2 (will probably end up with 3) b/c we're missing rope drops b/c we are sitting in restaurants for 2 hours.
1900 Park Fare is a good character dinner option, food is good too.

 

[ktlm]

Character meals are great and I don't think you can do too many BUT be careful if you have any kind of a time change. We discovered very quickly that there was no way DD was getting up for any kind of pre rope drop character breakfast even though we only had a one hour time difference. We were lucky to get her to the parks every day about 10-15 minutes after rope drop. She is not a morning person though, so that makes a difference. For us, character lunches worked much better and made for a nice break during the day.

 

[shawnh199]

We did the deluxe plan back in December. We did 6 character breakfasts so we would get up and get to the parks early. (Our previous trip we slept in so much we missed out on several hours in the parks.) We also did Garden Grill for dinner. No matter how many times my kids saw Mickey, it was like their first time seeing him! I thought it was great. My kids (DD6 & DD2.5) got plenty of fuel to keep them going until our late lunch. We didn't have any issues with getting on rides as soon as we were done with our meal either.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[mommyoftwinz]

I don't think you can have too many, might as well since you have the deluxe dining plan. Afterall, have the magic of WDW is the characters and that way you don't have to wait in line in the parks to meet them.

 

[aussietravellers]

We LOVE character dining, they are a part of our Disney holiday experience. We were at Disneyland last month and did a character meal for breakfast every morning but two mornings (and a dinner) (and we were there for 14 nights )

At WDW last trip we did character meals at Cape May (three times), Tusker House (Twice), Chef Mickeys, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace (breakfast and lunch), Ohanas (twice), Garden Grill. Thats all in one trip (but it was 21 nights).

Our upcoming trip we will doing much the same but probably some princess dining and Mickeys backyard BBQ too.

So there are never too many character breakfasts, you really just have to do what suits your family and if you love character breakfasts, then go for it I say!

 

[Wendy5055]

We are doing a character breakfast every morning on our trip with DlxDP...I had DD8 pick which ones were most important to her to see.

We do early breakfast times 7:20am and either get into the parks before opening times or make it to the parks for rope drops...something we loved doing on our last trip. I don't worry about how much we eat at buffets as long as everyone has what they want, is satisfied and ready to go.

I think it also makes a difference on where you stay otherwise you have to factor in travel time to/from parks & resorts. We use the monorail system to its fullest potential.

Don't forget for little ones at Hollywood Studios there is the character breakfast at Hollywood & Vine with JoJo, Goliath and Little Einsteins.

 

[caravarela]

I don't think it's too many. DH is a really picky eater, but he likes standard "Americanized" breakfasts, so the bfst buffets are a great value for him. He stuffs himself silly, then isn't hungry again until late afternoon! This trip we are thinking about CP, Ohana, CM, and Princess Storybook all for breakfast.

 

[laura428]

We're doing character breakfasts six out of seven mornings this trip: Hollywood & Vine, Chef Mickey, Cinderella's Royal Table, Akershus, Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House, and Liberty Tree Tavern (b/c Crystal Palace is closed), plus one dinner at 1900 Park.

DS6 and DD4 loved the character breakfasts last time. Yes, it does take a little more time, but they get such a kick out of seeing the characters, it's worth it for us. Plus, the buffets make mealtime easier for us because DD is so so picky. It's nice knowing we have enough options to ensure our kids will actually eat enough to fill their bellies!

 

[Bugsmom73]

We limit to 3 per trip. On our last trip in 2006, the kids had 5 character meals.

 

[deannanb]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! I need breakfast everyday - DH is a big breakfast person - I think the kids and I would be fine eating on the go - so for everyone to be happy we'll sit for breakfast. And I"m sure come Saturday morning I'll be tired of buffet breakfasts - but I didn't have to cook it and I didn't have to do the dishes - so it will be great!

Here is what I've got reserved so far for breakfast
Monday - Crystal Palace (MK Day)
Tuesday - Ohana's (Epcot Day)
Wednesday - Donald's (AK)
Thursday - Hollywood and Vine
Haven't booked Friday breakfast yet -
and Saturday Chef Mickey the morning we leave.