Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
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- Sep 12, 2008
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- 13,825
We attended the Superstar Character Breakfast on Friday, April 29th. This is my review of the event 
.
The park opened at 8 am that morning, but our breakfast reservations weren’t until 8:45 (which was the first seating of that particular day). We arrived at Universal, parked the car, and were through the turnstiles by about 8:20 thanks to no traffic on the I4 and no lines to enter the park.
The boys had humoured me and I was thrilled to have us all decked out in matching Minions wear for our final Universal park day
. Jake was clear that his participation in my Minions mania was limited, and he had brought a t-shirt to change into once our breakfast was over 
. Hey, I could live with that.
Since we had lots of time until our breakfast seating, we stopped at the park entrance for a few final pictures with our Photoconnect annual pass. This had offered us AMAZING value over the course of the past year, especially since we had been able to purchase it at a promotional price of $49.95 (for comparison purposes, I think the current price for the same product is somewhere around $150). There’s no better souvenir in my book than memories preserved in photo form
.
We took our time strolling over to Café La Bamba. The park was very quiet and peaceful that early in the morning. I would assume most of the crowds had headed straight to Diagon Alley following the 8 am park opening.
The restaurant itself wasn’t open quite yet, and didn’t open the doors until literally two minutes before our 8:45 reservation time. While we waited, we sat in the courtyard and soaked up the fresh air and warm breeze of the beautiful morning as other guests also began to arrive.
The process to check in for our reservation was very quick, and once confirming our last name against their master list we were ushered to our table. We were very impressed by the inside of the restaurant…..it was bright and airy and really quite pretty.
We also loved that the tables were nicely spaced and not crammed closely together. After many a Disney character meal where we were jammed in so tightly that we could hardly move our chairs out when we needed to stand up
, this was a marvelous surprise. It was refreshing to be far enough away from our neighbours not to hear every word of their conversation during our meal. On that specific day and time, the restaurant was nowhere near at capacity, either…..despite the initial influx of guests on opening, it was only perhaps ¼ full at most.
We had an awesome server for that meal that ensured our beverage requirements (and any other needs) were efficiently attended to throughout our breakfast. All of us ordered glasses of milk: white for Steve and I and chocolate for Jake. Just an aside about the chocolate milk in Florida: we find it very interesting that every chocolate milk we ordered in a restaurant was served as white milk flavoured with chocolate syrup, rather than pre-mixed chocolate milk from a carton or jug. We found that odd. Not a bad odd, just a different odd
.
As we entered the restaurant, we immediately noticed the music playing and it created an atmosphere that was very upbeat and fun.....it had virtually the same effect as when you hear the initial sounds of the parade music before the floats appear from the back-stage area. A most excellent host (who was equipped with a microphone) was milling about the rooms keeping a general flow and control over the whole experience, and she did a fabulous job throughout the morning. She had the perfect personality for this task….friendly, energetic, but firm when needed…..and she really helped with the transition periods between character groups. 4 characters appeared at any given time, and when those four swapped out, an additional set was just minutes behind.
Our server had barely disappeared to fetch our beverages when the first of the characters came bouncing over to our table….and much to my delight, it was Kevin the Minion!
Let me tell you, this guy was a fan favourite: it was immediately clear that despite an incredible 8 different characters at this breakfast, Gru and his Minion were the stars of the show
. Kids and adults alike were clamoring for hugs and photos.
I will also mention that there was something else that Universal did for this character meal that I thought was a really nice touch….each character (or pair of characters) toured the restaurant with their own dedicated TM. While this had multiple benefits (including protection of the character itself…..some people just do not set any boundaries for their children, sadly
) it was particularly nice from a photo standpoint. After capturing pictures with each of the characters individually, the TM offered every single time to get a family shot. So awesome! Wouldn’t it be nice if Disney did the same?
Gru showed up right after Kevin had moved on to the next group of guests, and I have to say…..Gru was a highlight for all of us. His character interaction was simply superb, and was something we will remember fondly for a very long time. Gru, you might be a villain, but we can’t help but love you
.
Somewhere along the lines, in the middle of all the fun, we remembered OH YEAH! We’re here to eat
. Before the next characters came dancing over, we sidled up to the buffet to see what was on the menu.
A word of caution that Steve made me promise to extend: see those monitors above the buffet? They pose a hazard to anyone more than 6 feet tall. Steve knocked his head on one so hard that I thought he might be concussed……I felt so bad for the poor guy. Considering at least half of the guests here would be children, and few adult visitors would probably be 6’3, it probably won’t be an issue for most. That said if you’re tall: beware
.
The buffet items were limited in comparison to the super-extensive spread at places like 1900 Park Fare, but all the standard favourites were there and everything was being served up fresh and hot in small portions. The chefs were constantly refilling each items so nothing tasted as if it had been sitting around under the heat lamps. We all found lots of stuff we liked and there wasn’t one negative comment among us in regards to taste or quality.
On my second trip up to the buffet, they had a different item that hadn’t been there on the first run-through, but I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. I inquired to one of the chefs, who said it was an apple-oatmeal flan, so I thought I’d give it a try (it sounded good to me). It’s the item on the right of this picture:
It was SO GOOD
. I would have seriously eaten an entire plate of these if they had been there on my first run through the line. Something quite different and surprisingly yummy….especially when I don’t normally embrace “different” very easily 
.
Once we returned to our seats, Fluffy and EB from HOP were the next to come by for hellos, hugs, and photos.
I seriously have to watch this movie someday. These two bunnies are just the most fun, friendly, playful and energetic pair of characters you will ever meet. I have to also give a HUGE shout out to Fluffy, who captured my heart not just from her interaction with OUR family, but how she handled a young fellow and his mom at the table adjacent to us.
There was an extended family seated next to us, with several sets of parents/grandparents and multiple kids of varying ages (spectacularly behaved with impressive manners, I will add). One little fellow was about 4, and while his siblings and cousins were revelling in the characters as they came by, he was completely overwhelmed and buried his head in his Momma’s shoulder as the tears streamed silently down his face. You could see on his mom’s face that she was crushed: I’m sure she had been eagerly anticipating this experience as well and what a disappointment to see her little one so upset.
Well, poor EB & Fluffy did their level best to engage this little guy but he wasn’t having anything of it…..he kept his arms firmly around his mom’s neck and his shoulders and his face buried from sight. After finishing with photos and autographs with balance of their family members at their table and then making her way around to the other guests in the room, Fluffy returned and gave Momma a much-needed hug from her opposite side. She then quietly pulled up a chair next to where they were sitting, sat herself down, and gently rubbed the little guys back without making so much as a peep. There they sat, with the fun music still playing and all the happy chaos continuing around them, but those three just had a private moment all to themselves. I can only imagine how much Fluffy’s personal attention touched that mother, because the whole exchange nearly squeezed happy tears out of MY heart. So precious
.
Speaking of Fluffy, she’s quite a hoot as well. More than once, she would come sneaking up to our table with only me witnessing her approach (Steve and Jake were seated on one side of our table, while I was on the other), motioning to me with a finger to her mouth in an exaggerated “Shhhh!”. Then she’d pop up behind Steve and start massaging his head, or take Jake’s hat and pretend she was going to toss her pink beret and wear his instead. Gru, too, provided us with some impromptu fun moments, and he especially took a shine to Steve’s pin-laded chapeau, helping himself to it from the corner of our table and parading around the restaurant:
The character interaction throughout the whole breakfast was simply amazing. Unlike the Disney breakfasts where the characters generally visit, sign autographs and pose for pictures, and then they’re gone…..the interaction here happened throughout the meal and in a much less formal and much more spontaneous fashion. It was much more than a one-stop-at-your-table experience.....and it quickly vaulted this to our favourite character meal experience, EVER.
At this point in the morning, we were only half way through meeting all the characters who were featured at the event. Part two of the Superstar Character Breakfast to be continued in the next post.
.The park opened at 8 am that morning, but our breakfast reservations weren’t until 8:45 (which was the first seating of that particular day). We arrived at Universal, parked the car, and were through the turnstiles by about 8:20 thanks to no traffic on the I4 and no lines to enter the park.
The boys had humoured me and I was thrilled to have us all decked out in matching Minions wear for our final Universal park day
. Jake was clear that his participation in my Minions mania was limited, and he had brought a t-shirt to change into once our breakfast was over . Hey, I could live with that.Since we had lots of time until our breakfast seating, we stopped at the park entrance for a few final pictures with our Photoconnect annual pass. This had offered us AMAZING value over the course of the past year, especially since we had been able to purchase it at a promotional price of $49.95 (for comparison purposes, I think the current price for the same product is somewhere around $150). There’s no better souvenir in my book than memories preserved in photo form
.
We took our time strolling over to Café La Bamba. The park was very quiet and peaceful that early in the morning. I would assume most of the crowds had headed straight to Diagon Alley following the 8 am park opening.
The restaurant itself wasn’t open quite yet, and didn’t open the doors until literally two minutes before our 8:45 reservation time. While we waited, we sat in the courtyard and soaked up the fresh air and warm breeze of the beautiful morning as other guests also began to arrive.
The process to check in for our reservation was very quick, and once confirming our last name against their master list we were ushered to our table. We were very impressed by the inside of the restaurant…..it was bright and airy and really quite pretty
.
We also loved that the tables were nicely spaced and not crammed closely together. After many a Disney character meal where we were jammed in so tightly that we could hardly move our chairs out when we needed to stand up
, this was a marvelous surprise. It was refreshing to be far enough away from our neighbours not to hear every word of their conversation during our meal. On that specific day and time, the restaurant was nowhere near at capacity, either…..despite the initial influx of guests on opening, it was only perhaps ¼ full at most.
We had an awesome server for that meal that ensured our beverage requirements (and any other needs) were efficiently attended to throughout our breakfast. All of us ordered glasses of milk: white for Steve and I and chocolate for Jake. Just an aside about the chocolate milk in Florida: we find it very interesting that every chocolate milk we ordered in a restaurant was served as white milk flavoured with chocolate syrup, rather than pre-mixed chocolate milk from a carton or jug. We found that odd. Not a bad odd, just a different odd
.As we entered the restaurant, we immediately noticed the music playing and it created an atmosphere that was very upbeat and fun.....it had virtually the same effect as when you hear the initial sounds of the parade music before the floats appear from the back-stage area. A most excellent host (who was equipped with a microphone) was milling about the rooms keeping a general flow and control over the whole experience, and she did a fabulous job throughout the morning. She had the perfect personality for this task….friendly, energetic, but firm when needed…..and she really helped with the transition periods between character groups. 4 characters appeared at any given time, and when those four swapped out, an additional set was just minutes behind.
Our server had barely disappeared to fetch our beverages when the first of the characters came bouncing over to our table….and much to my delight, it was Kevin the Minion!
Let me tell you, this guy was a fan favourite: it was immediately clear that despite an incredible 8 different characters at this breakfast, Gru and his Minion were the stars of the show
. Kids and adults alike were clamoring for hugs and photos.I will also mention that there was something else that Universal did for this character meal that I thought was a really nice touch….each character (or pair of characters) toured the restaurant with their own dedicated TM. While this had multiple benefits (including protection of the character itself…..some people just do not set any boundaries for their children, sadly
) it was particularly nice from a photo standpoint. After capturing pictures with each of the characters individually, the TM offered every single time to get a family shot. So awesome! Wouldn’t it be nice if Disney did the same?
Gru showed up right after Kevin had moved on to the next group of guests, and I have to say…..Gru was a highlight for all of us. His character interaction was simply superb, and was something we will remember fondly for a very long time. Gru, you might be a villain, but we can’t help but love you
.
Somewhere along the lines, in the middle of all the fun, we remembered OH YEAH! We’re here to eat
. Before the next characters came dancing over, we sidled up to the buffet to see what was on the menu.
A word of caution that Steve made me promise to extend: see those monitors above the buffet? They pose a hazard to anyone more than 6 feet tall. Steve knocked his head on one so hard that I thought he might be concussed……I felt so bad for the poor guy. Considering at least half of the guests here would be children, and few adult visitors would probably be 6’3, it probably won’t be an issue for most. That said if you’re tall: beware
. The buffet items were limited in comparison to the super-extensive spread at places like 1900 Park Fare, but all the standard favourites were there and everything was being served up fresh and hot in small portions. The chefs were constantly refilling each items so nothing tasted as if it had been sitting around under the heat lamps. We all found lots of stuff we liked and there wasn’t one negative comment among us in regards to taste or quality.
On my second trip up to the buffet, they had a different item that hadn’t been there on the first run-through, but I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. I inquired to one of the chefs, who said it was an apple-oatmeal flan, so I thought I’d give it a try (it sounded good to me). It’s the item on the right of this picture:
It was SO GOOD
. I would have seriously eaten an entire plate of these if they had been there on my first run through the line. Something quite different and surprisingly yummy….especially when I don’t normally embrace “different” very easily .Once we returned to our seats, Fluffy and EB from HOP were the next to come by for hellos, hugs, and photos.
I seriously have to watch this movie someday. These two bunnies are just the most fun, friendly, playful and energetic pair of characters you will ever meet. I have to also give a HUGE shout out to Fluffy, who captured my heart not just from her interaction with OUR family, but how she handled a young fellow and his mom at the table adjacent to us.
There was an extended family seated next to us, with several sets of parents/grandparents and multiple kids of varying ages (spectacularly behaved with impressive manners, I will add). One little fellow was about 4, and while his siblings and cousins were revelling in the characters as they came by, he was completely overwhelmed and buried his head in his Momma’s shoulder as the tears streamed silently down his face. You could see on his mom’s face that she was crushed: I’m sure she had been eagerly anticipating this experience as well and what a disappointment to see her little one so upset.
Well, poor EB & Fluffy did their level best to engage this little guy but he wasn’t having anything of it…..he kept his arms firmly around his mom’s neck and his shoulders and his face buried from sight. After finishing with photos and autographs with balance of their family members at their table and then making her way around to the other guests in the room, Fluffy returned and gave Momma a much-needed hug from her opposite side. She then quietly pulled up a chair next to where they were sitting, sat herself down, and gently rubbed the little guys back without making so much as a peep. There they sat, with the fun music still playing and all the happy chaos continuing around them, but those three just had a private moment all to themselves. I can only imagine how much Fluffy’s personal attention touched that mother, because the whole exchange nearly squeezed happy tears out of MY heart. So precious
.Speaking of Fluffy, she’s quite a hoot as well. More than once, she would come sneaking up to our table with only me witnessing her approach (Steve and Jake were seated on one side of our table, while I was on the other), motioning to me with a finger to her mouth in an exaggerated “Shhhh!”. Then she’d pop up behind Steve and start massaging his head, or take Jake’s hat and pretend she was going to toss her pink beret and wear his instead. Gru, too, provided us with some impromptu fun moments, and he especially took a shine to Steve’s pin-laded chapeau, helping himself to it from the corner of our table and parading around the restaurant:
The character interaction throughout the whole breakfast was simply amazing. Unlike the Disney breakfasts where the characters generally visit, sign autographs and pose for pictures, and then they’re gone…..the interaction here happened throughout the meal and in a much less formal and much more spontaneous fashion. It was much more than a one-stop-at-your-table experience.....and it quickly vaulted this to our favourite character meal experience, EVER.
At this point in the morning, we were only half way through meeting all the characters who were featured at the event. Part two of the Superstar Character Breakfast to be continued in the next post.
. Many were sad to see the minion take a break, but she assured everyone that they would return in about 10 minutes for more breakfast fun. During the brief lull between groups of characters, Steve and Jake both took the opportunity to dash up and refill their plates once again. The buffet line was never busy and they were able to go through quickly each time.
. It was fun to watch and the kids had a ball.
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