Is it crazy to do this?

[bangzoom6877]

Originally, we were thinking of doing the Hollywood & Vine character breakfast at DHS for the kids on our July 2010 trip, but the characters are still the same and very outdated for what is on Playhouse Disney currently. So, DH and I have crossed this off our list, unless somehow they change the characters to some that my kids are more into.

So now, since I have read such terrific reviews about it, I am thinking of Crystal Palace for breakfast. It seems like a great choice on a non-EMH morning, an hour before MK opens. Both my boys love all the Winnie the Pooh characters too. However, we are already planning dinner at Crystal Palace and it would be that same night. Do you think this is crazy to do, to go to breakfast and dinner with the same characters, at the same place, on the same day?? We really loved the dinner at Crystal Palace on our last trip and I am longing to have that salmon again from their buffet, along with their desserts...I know this sounds crazy, but we really do enjoy the dinner food there (but we never went to breakfast there yet).

**Warning...tangent coming***

So even though we are going to MK 2 days of our trip, let me explain why these would have to still be done on the same day if we want to do both the breakfast and the dinner at Crystal Palace...the first MK day, my sister, nieces and parents will be with us too, and they are also staying on property. They would like to go to MK on an EMH-morning, so breakfast at CP is out for that morning, as I refuse to sit inside a restaurant during the extra hour (I feel it is a waste of time and the park will only get more crowded as the day goes on anyway). I know we could plan a late breakfast, but we want to stay with everyone that day, and we all agree that we want to get in as many attractions as possible in the morning hours, and then take an afternoon break when the park gets very crowded. This has worked for all of us very well in the past, no problems. DH and I had planned to go to CRT one night for dinner, and my sister would also like to take her girls there, and my parents will join us as well. So the CRT dinner will also take place on the day that we are at MK with the rest of the family. They will only be at WDW for the first 4 nights of our 10-night trip, so our second MK day will be just the 4 of us.

***Tangent finally over!***

OK, so is it crazy to go to Crystal Palace for breakfast AND dinner on the same day? Or am I just being plain silly and should I do a different character breakfast that morning, like 1900 Park Fare or Chef Mickey's, or even a non-character breakfast at Kona, since they are close to MK and we can still make it for rope drop (I love my rope drops!)?? These are also places we are interested in for breakfast, but the convenience of actually being in the park before it opens and not having to rush out of a resort and onto the monorail is what I am thinking about.

 

[tinkerfan1]

Not at all! It's different food for breakfast and dinner and you know you like the characters. I say go for it. You are going to have an awesome time!!!

 

[Disney Princess]

Hi Bonnie!

I don't think it is "crazy" to eat at the same restaurant each day, but I would lean towards a different choice to keep things "interesting." I love your idea of eating at a monorail resort that day. That keeps you close to MK, yet gives you another option. If you are interested in the breakfast at CP, and you are willing to try another dinner since you've already had CP, there are many options that get great reviews in the monorail resorts. O'hana, the Wave, Kona, Grand Floridian Café, 1900 PF are all options. Of those, only 1900 would offer characters if you are interested in meeting more.

On the other hand, if you really want that CP dinner and you'll meet Pooh and friends at night, you could try another breakfast on the monorail loop. We love Chef Mickey's and we are trying O'hana this next trip. At O'hana, you get to meet Mickey and Pluto, but you get the addition of Lilo and Stitch. I don't know if your boys have seen their movie, but many young boys loooooove Stitch. It might be fun. And as you suggested, Kona is a non-character option that is DELICIOUS as well.

You could do a late breakfast that day after rope drop and collecting some fast passes. That gets you out of the park for a bit too. Not to mention, if you eat a late breakfast, you could have an "earlier" ADR for dinner and only have two official meals that day. You could snack if you are interested, but that saves you a meal credit for another day.

In the end, you need to eat where you want to eat. Hopefully you'll find a plan that sounds like fun to you.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi Bonnie!

I don't think it is "crazy" to eat at the same restaurant each day, but I would lean towards a different choice to keep things "interesting." I love your idea of eating at a monorail resort that day. That keeps you close to MK, yet gives you another option. If you are interested in the breakfast at CP, and you are willing to try another dinner since you've already had CP, there are many options that get great reviews in the monorail resorts. O'hana, the Wave, Kona, Grand Floridian Café, 1900 PF are all options. Of those, only 1900 would offer characters if you are interested in meeting more.

On the other hand, if you really want that CP dinner and you'll meet Pooh and friends at night, you could try another breakfast on the monorail loop. We love Chef Mickey's and we are trying O'hana this next trip. At O'hana, you get to meet Mickey and Pluto, but you get the addition of Lilo and Stitch. I don't know if your boys have seen their movie, but many young boys loooooove Stitch. It might be fun. And as you suggested, Kona is a non-character option that is DELICIOUS as well.

You could do a late breakfast that day after rope drop and collecting some fast passes. That gets you out of the park for a bit too. Not to mention, if you eat a late breakfast, you could have an "earlier" ADR for dinner and only have two official meals that day. You could snack if you are interested, but that saves you a meal credit for another day.

In the end, you need to eat where you want to eat. Hopefully you'll find a plan that sounds like fun to you.

Hello to you too!

Lots of great options here! I think when I tell DH he will think it is nuts to go to the same restaurant for breakfast and dinner, since they have the same exact characters. I probably could convince him if the characters were different at each one, since the food is very different.

We also want to go back to Chef Mickey's, preferably for breakfast since we love character interaction there, my older son remembers it from our last trip (he was 3 and a half) and requested to go back there again, but I hear some mixed reviews about the dinner food there (we only had breakfast there and we loved the food). For traveling purposes, it would also be easier to do breakfast at Crystal Palace and dinner at Chef Mickey's, but like I said, I am skeptical and I will be disappointed if the dinner food at Chef Mickey's is not as good as it was at Crystal Palace, and I would regret my decision. I know, it's just food and I overanalyze things...but I am normally pretty strict all year as far as my eating, but on vacation I like to indulge. And I prefer to indulge in foods I love!

Here are the options I have been tossing around in my head:

1. Breakfast at Chef Mickey's and dinner at Crystal Palace
2. Breakfast at Crystal Palace and dinner at Chef Mickey's
3. Quick breakfast in our villa and just dinner at Crystal Palace, and go to Chef Mickey's another morning for breakfast
4. Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and dinner at Crystal Palace
5. Breakfast at Kona and dinner at Crystal Palace (this may not be as hectic as a resort character breakfast since we can get out of there quickly, because we won't be sitting at the table waiting for that last character to come by, and we could make rope drop in a less stressful way)
6. Crystal Palace for both breakfast and dinner

I don't want to do a late breakfast because that's just not our style, especially one at a resort which means getting to the front gate of MK, leaving and hopping on the monorail to a hotel, checking into a restaurant, eating, then getting back to MK. For our family this would take too much time. We tour the park between rope drop and lunchtime (by noon with our kids), grab a quick lunch at a CS, then do a few more attractions, and leave by 2PM or so, go back to the hotel to rest, then go to dinner either at a park or a resort. Then if we want we can go back to the park, either if we have dinner there anyway or after a resort dinner. It just works best for us to do it that way.

Ohana is a place I had considered, and I did record "Lilo and Stitch" onto my DVR a while back, but my boys express no interest in watching it. I still have it though, and I could try again but they just don't seem into it, and I am afraid that Stitch may scare them (especially my little one who will only be 3 in July) since they are not familiar with him. They are both fine with any characters they know.

I don't know. If we go to a resort for breakfast then transportation will be an issue, and crunch-time to get to rope drop. If we go to CP for breakfast DH will probably not be so into going there for dinner. If we do CP for breakfast and Chef Mickey's for dinner I may be disappointed. Don't know what to do...any other opinions? Maybe it is just better not to do a breakfast that morning and save them for other mornings.

 

[bangzoom6877]

OK here's another consideration.....

Is the food at the Crystal Palace that much better than it is at other character breakfasts? If we do 3 character breakfasts at Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare and Cape May Cafe, do you think we would really be missing out on any particular food at Crystal Palace? I know people rave about the puffed french toast, but I have made that before using the recipe from the All Ears site, so in a sense, we have already tried it! Anything else there for breakfast not to be missed, or that makes it stand out more than the other three I mentioned?? Remember, we will already have the great character interaction and atmosphere at dinner there, so I am strictly referring to the food.