Which character breakfast is best?

[1stTimeDisneyer]

My friend is planning a trip with her kids next year and cannot decide on a character breakfast. She does not want to do a girly breakfast since this is more for her son than her daughters. We have never done a character meal, so I cannot really help her here. So in the planning phases we have it down to Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, and now Tusker House.

Please let us know the good, the bad, and the ugly about all of these places. Also if you feel something else is better let us know that too, as this is new for both of us. I know what I would choose, but it is not just my choice.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

My friend is planning a trip with her kids next year and cannot decide on a character breakfast. She does not want to do a girly breakfast since this is more for her son than her daughters. We have never done a character meal, so I cannot really help her here. So in the planning phases we have it down to Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, and now Tusker House.

Please let us know the good, the bad, and the ugly about all of these places. Also if you feel something else is better let us know that too, as this is new for both of us. I know what I would choose, but it is not just my choice.

Thanks in Advance!

Well, I can't comment on Chef Mickey's or Tusker House. I've never been there. But, I have been to Crystal Palace on several occasions, and I love it. I've taken my (then 13 yo) godson and my (then 12 yo) cousin there on seperate trips. Both were rough and tumble boys. Both loved the characters, and I got some great pictures of each.

There was plenty of interaction, especially with Tigger. I thought the food was perfectly acceptable, but I'm more of a glutton than a foodie.

 

[canopynut66]

My friend is planning a trip with her kids next year and cannot decide on a character breakfast. She does not want to do a girly breakfast since this is more for her son than her daughters. We have never done a character meal, so I cannot really help her here. So in the planning phases we have it down to Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, and now Tusker House.

Please let us know the good, the bad, and the ugly about all of these places. Also if you feel something else is better let us know that too, as this is new for both of us. I know what I would choose, but it is not just my choice.

Thanks in Advance!

Tusker House is Donald Safari and is very large selection of foods and very good

Crystal Palace is Winnie the Pooh and friends and is good

Cape May is Goofy and pals (also good for dinner but no characters)

O Hana's is Lilo and Stitch and is family style and good

Whispering Canyons Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge is good but they do things with the kids so no characters...take the boat from MK over to WL for this..is cowboy themed and fun

Hollywood & Vine in HS is great food and has Handy Mandy or Dora the explorer

we no longer do Chef Mickeys as food and service a close tie for bad---it used to be a have to do each trip for one meal of the day but we had to stop...we love Mickey but not enough to pay those prices for food we can not eat...Mickey the main character there

good luck

 

[Disney DieHard]

Hello there FirstTimer!!!

Okay, so we have Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House on the menu.

So, since I've never written to you before keep in mind that these are MY opinions and experiences ... I can offer suggestions but ultimately it is your decision to make ... well, your friend's anyway ... and not mine. If there is something that you REALLY have your heart set on don't let me dissuade you because YOU might enjoy it ... regrets are souvenirs nobody wants to bring home!

ANYWAY ... now that my disclaimer is out of the way ... let's begin shall we?

Tusker House - My family and I went there once and found the food to be mediocre at best. There was nothing memorable about it ... it was simply, okay ... and for the price you'll be paying it should be an experience!

Chef Micky's - We did this for a couple years and then it slowly faded on us. The atmosphere is nice and watching the Monorail zip through the Contemporary is cool for kids of any age . The food is good, it's a buffet so everyone should be able to find something to please their taste-buds. The downer of the place is that the volume is turned up to 11! In my opinion, Chef Mickey's is thee noisiest restaurant we've ever been to! I'm not sure if that would mean anything to you or your friend but I just want you to be aware.

Crystal Palace - Fun place, right in the center of the Magic! It too has a high noise level; not as high as Chef Mickey, but still up there. Food is excellent plus you have the added little perk of having a cook on duty in the middle of the buffet making custom pancakes and omelets for you!

Out of the three places you have listed my choice would be for Crystal Palace. Good food, a lower than blasting noise level, and once your done eating you are all ready in the park and can just go about your day!

If I may, I'd like to offer a suggestion! Not sure if you saw it or considered it and I'm not sure if your friend would be up for the drive or getting transportation over there but The Cape May Cafe over at the Yacht & Beach Club is an outstanding character breakfast as well!

Cape May Cafe offers the same buffet style dining and goodies as Crystal Palace but without the cook making custom eats for you. Compared to Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's it is a more relaxed atmosphere, no towel waving or parades, and the noise level is EASILY halved! This character meal features Goofy, Donald, and Chip & Dale.

I hope I was able to help you or at least give you something to think about. If you should need or want my assistance on ANY topic you are always welcome to send me a message ... been going to Disney every year for over 20 years so I do have some experience under my belt ... besides, if I can't be there then helping others get there is the next best thing!

I hope your friend has a Magical Vacation!

Stay Safe and Be Happy!

Frank
Disney DieHard

 

[DDM101]

I've been to them all and vote for Crystal Palace as the best character meal hands-down. I would recommend Crystal Palace breakfast at 8:05 a.m. The food is wonderful, service exceptional, and ambience second to none. We have done the breakfast several times over the years, and the quality of the food and experience has always spot-on.

 

[DVCconvert]

Which character breakfast is best?

This may not help you...but having done all of them...it's definately at Shutters - Vero Beach.

Otherwise, for the tradition of it, I'd go with chef mickeys.

 

[lemondog]

Tusker House! Food is delish and the characters are great. Chef Mickey's has terrible food, and we are not huge fans of the Pooh characters at CP.

 

[satorifound]

There is also 1900 Park Faire. Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and Tigger all visited with us last time. And then O'hana has Lilo and Stitch...

 

[jimmiej]

We've done all three. My opinion:

1) Tusker House: Good food, calm atmosphere, good character interaction.

2) Chef Mickey's: Wild! OK food, monorail going by overhead, noisy.

3) Crystal Palace: Unique characters (Pooh & friends), food OK. Get an early ADR & you can get into the MK before it opens. Really cool for pics.

 

[nkereina]

The same food and food quality will be found at most, maybe even all of the character breakfasts. We loved Tusker House - the place is cool, you really feel like you could be in a Morroccan restaurant. They had a big selection including the African food and lots of pastries. Chef Mickey's was good too but not as cool of an atmosphere and not as much to look at. We also did Ohana's character breakfast but we did not love the family style serving. I wouldn't go back to that one.

 

[jcriket]

From the 3 you've chosen i would say Crystal Palace, however I think my favorite would be Cape May. It's a more relaxed atmosphere, and I liked the food (even though breakfast is mostly breakfast no matter where). The characters were fun too. especially Chip and Dale.

 

[aussietravellers]

We have done all character meals at WDW. Our least favourite is Chef Mickeys. Last year was our last visit there I think, we won't be rushing back there. The food wasn't fabulous, two characters missed our table completely and we had to ask our server to get them back.

Our favourite is Ohana and Cape Mays, but we also love Tusker House, really yummy breakfast and the characters are so cute in their little safari costumes. Crystal Palace is ok, the food is yummy. My DS is just getting a bit past the characters there, but as I love character meals so much, I always book a breakfast there

 

[EverestSherpa]

Crystal Palace
I've been to The Crystal Palace a half Dozen Times. Pooh characters like everyone has stated they do a little "parade" with the kids. Tigger is fun to interact with. Food is excellent (I can vouch for Breakfast, Lunch AND Dinner).

Tusker House
I have been here for Breakfast twice and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They are now starting to do Character Lunches here as well (If you want to do the Nemo Dining Package this is a good option). Breakfast was pretty good, the had an interesting African Juice (forget what it was called). I actually broke a plate here once and the waiter was super cool "Hakuna Matata, my friend, it means no worries!".

Chef Mickey's
I had heard a lot of hype about this place which is perhaps why I was a tad disappointed after eating here. The Contemporary was always my favorite resort growing up (although I've still never stayed there). Had Dinner here and the food was fine (heard Breakfast is much better).

Since everyone else is throwing in suggestions, I'm voicing my support for 1900 Park Fare. Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner it's all fantastic there. Beautiful Resort, nothing beats the Grand Floridian.

 

[mickeynut1]

We've never had breakfast at Crystal Palace or Tusker House, but we've always loved Chef Mickeys . With that said, Cape May Cafe at the BC is our favorite for breakfast. We love the BC atmosphere and the characters are so cute dressed in beach clothes .

 

[BrerKylee]

Out of the three, I've only been to Chef Mickey's, and I loved it! It was a long time ago, but it was a great experience and I'd strongly reccomend it

 

[nkereina]

Tusker House
I have been here for Breakfast twice and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They are now starting to do Character Lunches here as well (If you want to do the Nemo Dining Package this is a good option). Breakfast was pretty good, the had an interesting African Juice (forget what it was called). I actually broke a plate here once and the waiter was super cool "Hakuna Matata, my friend, it means no worries!".

Jungle Juice! Not really an African juice, they had the same one at Ohana and they tried to pass that off as Hawaiian juice It's OJ, guava and papaya I think? Definitely OJ mixed with two other fruit juices.

 

[Kelblum]

Tusker House in Animal Kingdom!

 

[courtnvm]

Hollywood & Vine in HS is great food and has Handy Mandy or Dora the explorer

good luck

Um, I hate to be "one of those", but Dora isn't at Hollywood and Vine. Dora is a Nickelodeon character.

OP - I've been to Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace, and both are good. However, during our last trip, I was finally able to get an ADR for 'Ohana, and that was our absolute favorite! In fact, we are going for Christmas, and the only ADR my kids wanted was 'Ohana on Christmas morning. The food is not your typical buffet, and everything about the meal was incredible!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Our absolute fave is one you dont have listed...Cape May @ Beach Club Great character interaction...and yummy food.

As far as the ones you have listed...TH, CP, then CM...in that order.

 

[turnlisa]

We've never done Tusker House so I can't comment on that one. However, we have done the other 2. Crystal Palace has the Winnie the Pooh characters and the food is standard buffet breakfast food. When my kids were younger, this was definitely their favorite. So if her son is younger, I highly recommend this one. The characters are great and really make it something special.

Last trip, my DSs asked to do Chef Mickey's again after years of avoiding it. We were pleasantly surprised by the food and the character interaction. Who can go wrong with Mickey and friends? The food was hot and plentiful, the service was good, and my kids loved it. Yes, it's loud but it wasn't so bad that we couldn't talk to one another and really enjoy the experience.