Would you do 8:30 princess breakfast at Epcot or go later?

[tessieg]

We have decided that Epcot will be our only theme park for a short fall trip(to enjoy free dining!). We currently have a 8:30 reservation for the Princess Storybook breakfast--this is 30 min before park opens. Is this a good idea? I wonder if by the time we are done, we'll have wished we were in line already for one of the big attractions--Soarin' or Test Track. Or will we be done quickly since we are first, and then will be out in the park maybe 30 min after park opening with breakfast already out of the way? What do you all think? We have never done a character meal in a park in the am.
Thanks for your advice!
Tessie

 

[tessieg]

just bumping this up in the hopes someone can help me with this!

 

[BlindTyldak]

I think you will be just fine . . . you'll miss being able to just walk onto the headliners, but that's what Fastpass is for. I'd say keep your ADR, get what Fastpasses you can, and then let breakfast settle on some old favorites before people finish the headliners and head for those. Good luck!

 

[Feigned]

I will just share my experience. Last August, I made a reservation for 8:50am (earliest I could get) for the Princess Storybook Breakfast. It was before park opening. We got there a little early and were seated around 8:45. When we came in, the place was a little over half full and there were no princesses out yet. In fact, it took the princesses about 20 minutes for the first one to even get around to us. By this time, we had already enjoyed most of our meal and were now trying to stretch the meal out so we would get a full rotation of princesses. You might want to keep this in mind when planning the meal. I don't know if the princesses had already made one rotation before we had gotten there or what, but there were none out by the time we got in at 8:45 and the meal only started at 8:30. By the time we got out to the attractions,

This year, we've planned our meal for 10:25, which is one of the latest breakfast seatings. That way, we can do some early morning rides at our own pace and then have breakfast.

Good luck!

 

[mmmears]

We did the princess breakfast in the MK, and booked it for a later time, something like 10:30 or so. We got to the MK, rode lots of rides with no lines (and this was during peak Easter week) and then, as the lines started getting in the way, it was time to relaz and go in for breakfast. I think it is a waste of the first hour, when there are no lines, to be in a restaurant, but that's just my opinion. Do whatever you think your family will prefer -- I'm sure it will be a magical experience either way.

 

[NMW]

I think 8:30 is the best time, because that's when the breakfast starts. You get seated in order of your ADR and the princesses start with those tables. We had an 8:30 for last Dec. We saw every princess before we were even close to being finished with our food and were out of there by 9:15. We got FP for Mission Space and walked onto Test Track. They are both a couple minutes from Norway. We had done Soarin the day before, so we decided to get FP for it and just go back later that afternoon.

 

[sleepydog25]

I think 8:30 is the best time, because that's when the breakfast starts. You get seated in order of your ADR and the princesses start with those tables. We had an 8:30 for last Dec. We saw every princess before we were even close to being finished with our food and were out of there by 9:15. We got FP for Mission Space and walked onto Test Track. They are both a couple minutes from Norway. We had done Soarin the day before, so we decided to get FP for it and just go back later that afternoon.

I agree. We've done the 8:30 seating three trips in a row (the latest just two weeks ago), and it virtually guarantees you the princesses' appearance. For the record, we have found that Wed or Thu seem to be less crowded days at the PSB, too. We're able to eat, get pics/autographs, and then get to the major rides easily. Of course, our daughter currently prefers princesses to rides at this point, so that's more of our focus.

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

I think it is a waste of the first hour, when there are no lines, to be in a restaurant, but that's just my opinion.

I happen to agree with this statement. Whenever I book a breakfast, it's always for the latest seating time I can get so we can get some of the more popular rides done early. When we went to PSB last year, it was for 10 something in the morning. When we were done, we did Maelstrom right away with NO wait. In fact, we were in a boat all by ourselves! (Got a great picture of this btw ). Again, just sharing my experience/strategy but do what's best for you and your family!