No ADRs for Garden Grove character breakfast?

[bangzoom6877]

I called Garden Grove today to see if they take ADRs for the weekend character breakfast, and I was told that they don't. The person said it is a first come first served basis, and the restaurant opens up at 6:30AM. She also told me that Goofy and Pluto are the characters at the weekend breakfast.

Has anyone had experience as a walk-in for the Garden Grove weekend character breakfast? We would be either a party of 4, or a party of 10 if the rest of the family joins us. We would like to try this breakfast at the Swan for a few reasons. It is very close to Boardwalk Villas where we will be staying, I hear the food is excellent, they have an omelette station, we get 20% off because of our DVC membership (if the discount is still in effect in 2010, but even if not we would still go), and my kids love character breakfasts.

Does it get extremely crowded, and is there a certain time you would recommend going? I would guess it's not that bad because they do not accept the DDP but I wanted to make sure. It would be a non-park day, and a Saturday morning so no rush to get to a park but I would not want to wait an hour and a half to have breakfast either!

 

[Robert P]

I called Garden Grove today to see if they take ADRs for the weekend character breakfast, and I was told that they don't. The person said it is a first come first served basis, and the restaurant opens up at 6:30AM. She also told me that Goofy and Pluto are the characters at the weekend breakfast.

Has anyone had experience as a walk-in for the Garden Grove weekend character breakfast? We would be either a party of 4, or a party of 10 if the rest of the family joins us. We would like to try this breakfast at the Swan for a few reasons. It is very close to Boardwalk Villas where we will be staying, I hear the food is excellent, they have an omelette station, we get 20% off because of our DVC membership (if the discount is still in effect in 2010, but even if not we would still go), and my kids love character breakfasts.

Does it get extremely crowded, and is there a certain time you would recommend going? I would guess it's not that bad because they do not accept the DDP but I wanted to make sure. It would be a non-park day, and a Saturday morning so no rush to get to a park but I would not want to wait an hour and a half to have breakfast either!

We stayed at the Swan last Fall, and walked in for a Sunday character breakfast at 8:30 a.m., party of five. Place was less than half full, and the advertised characters of Pluto an Goofy had a couple of friends with them, Chip and Dale. I would say it got a little busier, maybe 2/3 full, around 9:30, but otherwise, it was slow. Even Goofy was bored, and he visited our table 4 or 5 times. The food was excellent, and the DVC discount is a gem. We'll be trying it again this Fall, and I'll post a review afterward, in case you are interested. The reasons you listed are the same reasons we had for trying it out, and we were not disappointed, and I even say pleasantly surprised.

 

[bangzoom6877]

OK, thanks! Sounds good. I'm not worried about walking in if it is just the 4 of us, but if everyone else decides they want to go there too, we will be a party of 10 and I am worried about a long wait. Do you think they would allow a reservation for a party of 10 since it is a larger group?

 

[Robert P]

Can't say for sure. I'm still surprised that they don't take ADR's. Most of the other S/D restaurants do. I would believe that a large party would have a better chance of them making an exception to that ADR situation, though.

Really, I don't believe you will have any problems getting in. We called from our room, and they were quite insistent that we would have no problem being seated any time that a.m., even during what I would say is a 'prime time' for hotel breakfasts. We showed up a bit later, and went right to our table, no wait. Seriously, I think you'll be fine. If I run into anything to the contrary, I'll PM you after our trip this Fall and give you a heads up.

 

[MinnieLee]

We love the Garden Grove for breakfast and have walked over from BCV many times for the character breakfast (weekends only). The longest we waited is 15 minutes. Even though this is a character breakfast, we only have seen Pluto and Goofy and a couple of times was Chip & Dale. Great place for breakfast.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Can't say for sure. I'm still surprised that they don't take ADR's. Most of the other S/D restaurants do. I would believe that a large party would have a better chance of them making an exception to that ADR situation, though.

Really, I don't believe you will have any problems getting in. We called from our room, and they were quite insistent that we would have no problem being seated any time that a.m., even during what I would say is a 'prime time' for hotel breakfasts. We showed up a bit later, and went right to our table, no wait. Seriously, I think you'll be fine. If I run into anything to the contrary, I'll PM you after our trip this Fall and give you a heads up.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!

 

[webray]

That is correct. No reservations. It is not a Disney restaurant.

The buffet is wonderful, fresh and hot. Yes, made to order eggs/etc.

Depends on how busy it is by the time of year. We have never had a problem getting in with a party of 2 or 12. Always minimal waits, if any at all. Enjoy! It is one of our favorite breakfasts'

 

[Robert P]

We love the Garden Grove for breakfast and have walked over from BCV many times for the character breakfast (weekends only). The longest we waited is 15 minutes. Even though this is a character breakfast, we only have seen Pluto and Goofy and a couple of times was Chip & Dale. Great place for breakfast.

ITA, a great place for breakfast.

I was digging through some previous trip info, and I came across some helpful info for anyone else who might be interested:

According to the published BW info I found with my trip notes, the Saturday breakfast is Pluto & Goofy, while the Sunday breakfast is Pluto, Goofy, Chip & Dale. This was from a WDW printed advert, about restaurants on the BW area. I was wondering why the characters had varied based on previous reports, and this may explain it. Our last visit was on a Sunday, and there were definitely 4 characters at that meal.

 

[bangzoom6877]

ITA, a great place for breakfast.

I was digging through some previous trip info, and I came across some helpful info for anyone else who might be interested:

According to the published BW info I found with my trip notes, the Saturday breakfast is Pluto & Goofy, while the Sunday breakfast is Pluto, Goofy, Chip & Dale. This was from a WDW printed advert, about restaurants on the BW area. I was wondering why the characters had varied based on previous reports, and this may explain it. Our last visit was on a Sunday, and there were definitely 4 characters at that meal.

Interesting, but you're right, this would explain the mixed reports. We would be going on a Saturday so it would only be Pluto and Goofy for us. That's fine though. I will talk to my parents and sister about it some time soon. They are coming back tomorrow from a cruise so I am gonna give them some time first! I mean, you know...at least a few hours!

I think once I tell them about the omelette/eggs to order station and the Starbucks coffee they will be sold. The only thing, like I said, that makes me a little skeptical is the lack of being able to make a reservation for a party of 10. Makes me a little nervous and it may stop them from wanting to go as well. We'll see. It will be an early Saturday morning, no one is going to a theme park that day, and they are taking the auto train back that afternoon. It leaves from Sanford at 4PM and they have to be there by 3PM the latest, so plenty of time to eat breakfast even if there is like a 30-minute wait.

 

[peacefrogdog]

Has anyone been there over the Holiday break? Is it hard to get in during that time?