Walt Disney World Character Breakfasts, Ranked
My absolute favorites to my least favorites.
Character breakfasts are GREAT. You get adorable photos, the kids are excited, and you can skip those long character lines out in the parks. There are a lot of options, so here are my honest picks ranked from my absolute favorites to my least favorites, each with my quick take on the food, characters, and overall vibe.
Two things that apply to every character meal: give yourself 60 to 90 minutes, since it takes a while for all the characters to make their way around to your table. AND If you want to book a Character breakfast on a park day, I don’t suggest doing it first thing in the morning. Use that early entry you get with your resort stay and then sit down for breakfast around 10 AM.
Topolino’s Terrace Riviera Resort
Characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy in their artist costumes. Mickey’s a painter, Minnie’s a poet, Donald’s a sculptor, and Daisy’s a ballerina.
This is the most popular pick, so it can be hard to book. The food is genuinely fantastic, easily the best quiche on property, and the steak and polenta is delicious too. It’s a la carte, so you’ll get an entree and a beverage, and it starts with the cutest bread service ever, served in a little painter’s bucket with Nutella, butter, and strawberry jam, plus a mix of croissants and muffins. You’re on the top floor with gorgeous views, so step out on the patio before you leave. Because it isn’t a buffet, you’ll never miss a character while you’re up getting food, and with fewer tables it feels intimate and unrushed.
Good to know: It’s an easy Skyliner hop from EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or a Skyliner resort. Breakfast runs until noon, so it’s a great option for a midday park break.
Cinderella’s Royal Table Magic Kingdom, inside the castle
Characters: Cinderella always, plus a rotating mix, often Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine, or Merida. You could see anyone.
This is the bucket-list splurge. You’re dining inside Cinderella Castle, and you’re paying for that magic as much as for the food. It’s a la carte with a limited menu that’s better than it used to be, and it starts with a pastry basket. Important thing to note: you pay in full when you book (or use dining plan credits), and it’s the most expensive breakfast on this list. Some reservations are before park opening, which can make for incredible, crowd-free photos.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall EPCOT, Norway
Characters: Princess Storybook Dining, usually five princesses from a rotating group of Tiana, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, and Jasmine.
If meeting a bunch of princesses quickly and without park lines sounds like a dream, this is your place. The food is better than most character dining, with fun Norwegian touches (I go back for the waffles) The setting has a cool medieval-castle feel, though it does get cramped and loud. It’s not quite as magical as Cinderella’s Royal Table, but for the food and the ease of the reservation, I prefer it.
Tusker House Animal Kingdom
Characters: Donald’s Dining Safari, with Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy in safari outfits.
A great all-arounder and one of the easier reservations to book. The theming is wonderful, full of African artifacts and tapestries, and the buffet blends classic breakfast (Mickey waffles, bacon, eggs, pancakes) with African-inspired dishes like curry and shakshuka, plus a build-your-own omelet station. It’s fun for adventurous eaters and still safe for the picky ones. Don’t skip the jungle juice. It also has reservations before the park opens, so you can get in early.
Fun thing to ask the characters: “I’m going on a safari today. What animals should I look for?” If you miss a character at the buffet, tell your server and they’ll bring them back around, though it may make your meal run a little longer.
1900 Park Fare Grand Floridian
Characters: Wishmakers Enchanted Dining, a rotating group of four, often Aladdin, Mirabel, Cinderella, Tiana, and Snow White.
If you’re here for the food, this is the one. It’s one of the best buffets on property, with tons of variety: the iconic strawberry soup, breakfast pizza, tater tots, eggs Benedict, a ham carving station, cinnamon rolls, biscuits and gravy, and so much more. The characters are fun, harder-to-find faces you won’t wait in park lines for. There’s even a wish card to write down your own wish for a little wish ceremony during your meal. If you miss a character at the buffet, tell your server and they’ll bring them back around, though it may make your meal run a little longer.
Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom
Characters: Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet, at their Friendship Day celebration.
If you have a Pooh fan, this is THE place, because these characters are genuinely hard to meet anywhere else. The buffet is classic breakfast (fresh fruit, eggs, shrimp and grits, chicken tenders, Mickey waffles, pastries, and a churro waffle you have to try), solid and very kid-friendly but nothing super memorable. Beautiful Victorian setting, though it does get loud in there.
If you miss a character at the buffet, tell your server and they’ll bring them back around, though it may make your meal run a little longer.
’Ohana Polynesian Village Resort
Characters: Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.
Lilo isn’t anywhere else on property and Stitch is tough to find, so the character lineup is a real draw here. The meal is family style: a breakfast skillet with sausage, eggs, potatoes, and Mickey and Stitch waffles. It starts with that iconic pineapple coconut bread, which is SO good, though the rest of the food is just average. Great Polynesian vibes, popular but never too crowded. Breakfast runs until around noon, so it’s a lovely midday break from Magic Kingdom.
Cape May Cafe Beach Club Resort
Characters: Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy in beachy outfits (no Mickey here).
An easy one to book and a relaxed pick for a later breakfast. The buffet is generous: fresh fruit, deli meats and cheeses, grits, eggs, Mickey and Minnie waffles, biscuits and gravy, a hashbrown frittata, a build-your-own breakfast taco, crepes, and more. The poached egg over hashbrown casserole was a standout for me. Good food, nothing that’ll knock your socks off, but a nice option you can walk to from EPCOT. If you miss a character at the buffet, tell your server and they’ll bring them back around, though it may make your meal run a little longer.
Hollywood & Vine Hollywood Studios
Characters: Minnie’s Seasonal Dining, with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto in seasonal outfits.
This is the only character dining at Hollywood Studios, which alone makes it worth knowing. The buffet is big and it’s so much better than it used to be, so if you tried it years ago and weren’t impressed, give it another shot. Expect made-to-order omelets, cheesy eggs and potatoes, a chicken station, pancakes, waffles, soft serve, breakfast casseroles, and more. You can meet these characters plenty of places, but the seasonal costumes are a cute bonus, and it tends to be less crowded than the others.
Garden Grill EPCOT
Characters: Chip ’n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast, with Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Pluto.
A fun, unique one. The restaurant slowly rotates above the Living with the Land ride (so slowly you won’t get motion sick), and it uses produce grown right in the ride’s greenhouses, so ride it right before or after to see where your food came from. The all-you-care-to-enjoy family-style skillets start with fresh watermelon and cinnamon bread, then bring waffles, potatoes, steak, eggs, and bacon. The food is just fine, but it’s smaller and unrushed. And please don’t mix up Chip and Dale. Chip has the chocolate-chip nose, and they will be offended. (or do it purely for the reaction)
Chef Mickey’s Contemporary Resort
Characters: the full Fab 5, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto.
The big draw here is meeting the entire Fab 5 in one sitting, which is great for photos and for skipping park lines. Just know going in that it’s loud, big, and chaotic, and the buffet is really catered to little kids, a bit below average and under-seasoned. It runs later in the morning, so it works as a Magic Kingdom break, but come for the characters and keep your food expectations in check.