Which Character Breakfast for 8yo with autism?

[hsmamainva]

We'll be making our first ever visit to Disney World January 30th through February 6th and we want to do a character breakfast.

My 8yo has autism and sometimes has trouble in restaurants. She does very well with breakfasts (I suppose it's because it's "first thing in the morning when she's in a good mood") and she does well with buffets, where she doesn't have to wait for her food.

We've taken her to breakfast several times on other vacations and she does well with a Denny's type of restaurant.

She LOVES Mickey and Minnie Mouse so we're considering Cape May Cafe or Chef Mickey's.

Is one better than the other when it comes to dining with a child with autism?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jerseymom473]

I would recommend Cape May Cafe. We chose it because we were staying at Beach Club, but it was really great. It is not too big (like Chef Mickeys), the interaction was good and the meal and service was excellent. I think your daughter would be more comfortable here since it is not a hectic or large restaurant. My son was a bit afraid of the characters at first but by the end of the meal, he was hugging them! enjoy!

 

[Bugsmom73]

My son on the spectrum has done :

Chef Mickey's (2 times)
Cinderella's Royal Table (2 times)
Princess Storybook Breakfast
Playhouse Disney
Crystal Palace

He absolutely LOVES Chef Mickey's.

At Disneyland- Plaza Inn

 

[s&k'smom]

My son loves Chef Mickey's as well, we usually request a seat near the edge so that he can watch the Monorail and we usually go at dinner right at 5pm so that the night is just beginning, we've done it on our last two trips and it was a huge hit.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Chef Mickey's can be a little loud sometimes (with the singing and twirling of the napkins). This may not be an issue for you, but I thought I'd mention it (just in case).

 

[KathyRN137]

Hi Kelly!

I agree with the above posters... Chef Mickey's is loud! Cape May would probably be "calmer," although CMs has a room off the main room that has tables by a window. If you request (and are prepared to wait for) a window seat, I think you would do better.

We sat there in '06 and my then 8 yr-old son did very well. We are planning a CM dinner next time.

I believe that Mickey and Pluto can be found at 'Ohana (thePolynesian), but not Minnie.

PassPorter rates the noise level of these three as:

Cape May Cafe = Noisy
Chef Mickey's= Very Noisy
'Ohana= Very Noisy

Good Luck... you're going to love WDW!!


Kathy

 

[ireland_nicole]

FWIW, we have done pretty much all of the character meals. I will say, for the sake of accuracy, that we had a really bad experience at CM's on our last trip. DD touches everything, she's very sensory seeking, and she reached up to touch plutos nose. The handler immediatly jumped between her and pluto and yelled at her. She was, I admit, stimming a little, her usual hopping up and down and flapping just her hands, but she wasn't at all aggressive or anything; she was completely stunned and overwhelmed by a stranger yelling at her, and we had to leave soon after. I did go seek out another handler and quietly explained what happened, and that my DD has autism, and she apologized and offered to get pluto back for us, but by then she didn't want anything but to go home. I always very quietly let whomever is seating us know, and ask them to pass the info on, and we always have an autism awareness symbol somewhere, but I think it was just missed on this occasion.

It certainly wasn't a lasting trauma, and probably could have happened anywhere; just wrong person, wrong place,, wrong time probably. DD has it on her list of places she wants to go back to next trip; along w/ Akurshus, it's her favorite.

 

[bookwormde]

Garden grill is one of the quietest (except for a little backgroud thunder) and if you sit in the outer ring you are sort of nested in a booth almost like you are in your own world.

bookwormde

 

[clanmcculloch]

We haven't eaten at CM, but we have done the Cape May breakfast twice. Of all of the various character meals we've done, I think this is the most laid back, calmest and quietest. Even the general atmosphere is somehow serene. We're not doing any TS breakfasts this year or we'd return. They really do have a nice selection of breakfast foods as well as the great character interaction which never feels rushed.

One other breakfast that you can consider for Minnie interaction is at Tusker House. We didn't like it as much as we felt more rushed and because we were by a window on a very bright day which made inside seem very dark because our eyes just couldn't adjust properly. The place felt more cramped (I think the tables are much closer together) and the parade was very loud. The character interaction felt much more rushed here as well. The food was wonderful though and it was nice already being in the park. We loved being able to go in before the park opened and then when we were done eating we could head really quickly over to the safari ride before the lines started.

 

[christymarie]

We did Crystal Palace for breakfast since the kids love the pooh characters. We asked for a seat by the windows so DS would be able to look outside, this worked really well. We travel with a service dog so the characters knew right away that we had an unusual situation. I think somehow giving the characters a heads up that the child is autistic helps them since many of them have had training in how to approach kids on the spectrum. Our breakfast was fantastic and even though DS spent most of the time looking out the window and not interacting with the characters, Eeyore spent several minutes sitting with him next to the window and interacting with him. Made me cry, lol.

I hope you have a fantastic time!