Best Character breakfast for two year old?

smk

smk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We will be going to Disney in October, the first of the month thru the 9th. My grandson will be going for the first time! So excited! He will be three in November, so an "older" two year old. Our whole family are seasoned vets of WDW but we have never done a character breakfast! We never took our kids until they were 7, 9 and 11! (yikes, right?). We have been numerous times since.
I want one character meal, does not have to be breakfast but that is one meal he loves for sure, so most likely it is one I will choose. He loves Mickey and Minnie most, likes Pooh too. We will most likely NOT have the DP. We will be one property, have not decided yet, maybe AoA or FW in a cabin, thus the no DP option.
What place is the best?
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
My vote would be Crystal Palace, if he likes Winnie the Pooh, simply because it's slightly quieter and has slightly better food. However, if he's "into" Mickey and friends, a monorail ride over to Chef Mickey's would be fun.

I wouldn't recommend the Disney, Jr. breakfast at HS's Hollywood & Vine, just due to the food being somehow worse than anywhere else (despite many similarities in the menus), the cold and sterile cafeteria atmosphere, and the bobble-headed creepiness of some of the characters, which is more likely to alarm a child who isn't used to costumed characters. Just my personal opinion, but I think the characters at Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace look less threatening and more like huggable stuffed animals.
 
ratherbeinwdw

ratherbeinwdw

Well-Known Member
CP would be my first recommendation. However, if your grandson likes Lilo and Stitch, I would recommend 'Ohana. They have Mickey there, as well as, Lilo and Stitch and others. Another plus is that it's the least expensive character breakfast as it's not a buffet. It is all you can eat, but they bring the food to your table "family" style. They have a delicious juice, and they have Mickey waffles.
 
dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Has your grandson ever seen characters? Meeting them for the first time at breakfast might be risky. I would suggest perhaps doing 1900 Park Fare unless you know they like characters.
 
smk

smk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
dreamfinder said:
Has your grandson ever seen characters? Meeting them for the first time at breakfast might be risky. I would suggest perhaps doing 1900 Park Fare unless you know they like characters.
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No, he has not even sat on Santa's lap. So, maybe a low key approach, later in the trip to see how he tolerates the interaction or even seeing them? Like last day? I am thinking IF he hates them, we still have time to cancel? Of course kids do a lot of growing up in 9 months time, as it now the bobble headed ones would freak him out but the fluffly stuffed ones might not. I am leaning toward CP only because we will most likely spend more time there, MK, and at AK. He used to be so into Disney Jr. but not so much now, sprout is the channel of choice for the time he gets in front of a TV.
 
dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
smk said:
No, he has not even sat on Santa's lap. So, maybe a low key approach, later in the trip to see how he tolerates the interaction or even seeing them? Like last day? I am thinking IF he hates them, we still have time to cancel? Of course kids do a lot of growing up in 9 months time, as it now the bobble headed ones would freak him out but the fluffly stuffed ones might not. I am leaning toward CP only because we will most likely spend more time there, MK, and at AK. He used to be so into Disney Jr. but not so much now, sprout is the channel of choice for the time he gets in front of a TV.
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I would suggest shooting for a last day so you can possibly test the waters earlier. We did a trip with my 1 1/2 yo nephew and his parents insisted he would have no problem with characters. As such, the results were somewhat predictably disastrous. Kid was absolutely terrified of Goofy at CM, balled up fists, bright red face, screaming/crying in terror. The only character picture they were able to get without him in tears was with Pooh & Tigger in Epcot, they backed his stroller in so he didn't know they were there.
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
I have to say, we have two boys and took them to Akershus at 18 months, which they loved. The furry characters can be a little intimidating while they were happy to flirt it up with the princesses. Plus we liked the breakfast food. Win, win!
 
DizneyPryncess

DizneyPryncess

Well-Known Member
My husband and I took our daughter at 2.5 and did Chef Mickey's, Akershus & Hollywood/Vine. We had done Crystal Palace on an earlier trip with her at about 19 months. All were fun, but Chef Mickey's definitely won in our family. Our daughter pretty much loves any character, but she was especially in awe of the Fab 5. We got some wonderful pictures & memories. We enjoyed the food & environment as well, and the character interaction didn't feel rushed. That would be my choice for a first character meal!
 
ExtinctJenn

ExtinctJenn

Well-Known Member
As many others have said... Crystal Palace is a fantastic option. My son was 10m old for his first WDW trip and we took him to CP. He absolutely loved it. In fact, he's now 8 and we've made CP a "must do" on every trip we've taken since (10 more of them), and even have ADRs there for our trip in a few weeks! The characters are sweet for that age and the food is one of the best breakfast buffets on property in our opinion.

For us, Chef Mickey's is a dinner option, for some of the reasons implied above (the breakfast food at CM is just meh). Hollywood & Vine was one we did once back when it was characters from the Little Einsteins, and it was ok too. Both CM and H&V however seem to have a little more chaotic environment than CP however. It may be the theming in general but CP always feels very relaxed for us and thus a great breakfast option!

No matter what you decide, every character meal on property is great fun for a little one and you'll have a blast! Enjoy!
 
Disneydreamer23

Disneydreamer23

Well-Known Member
Arkuses or 1900 park fare, while we were there I feel Tusker house we were very rushed the characters were at the table for no more than 10 seconds, while 1900 and Ark they were VERY interactive. Also very great at Crystal Palace, but there food is just Blah to me.
 
britdaw

britdaw

Well-Known Member
It really depends on what your son likes best. :) Last time we went, we didn't do Crystal Palace, because our girls had "outgrown" the Pooh characters, so we did breakfast at Chef Mickey's and absolutely LOVED it. We were amazed at the variety of food, and the character experience was incredible- both our girls had a wonderful time.
Next time, we will be doing Crystal Palace for breakfast one morning because our son is absolutely obsessed with "Piglet's Big Movie" and the Pooh characters. :)
 
randycolwell

randycolwell

New Member
The experience is much better at CM pooh and piglet looked as if they had been mud wrestling at CP but the food isn't much at either place. Don't go for the food.
 

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