Disney World Is Updating One of Its Most Underrated Character Dining Experiences

You probably know all of the most popular character dining experiences at Walt Disney World, but one underrated spot is preparing to reveal some major changes.

For many Guests, character dining is a must-do during a Walt Disney World vacation. By booking a reservation for a character dining experience, Guests are able to enjoy a delicious meal while meeting at least three or four of their favorite characters. They do often come at a higher price point than other non-signature table-service restaurants, but it can be worth the splurge to meet characters during lunch or dinner rather than waiting in long lines to see them in the Parks.

Some of the most popular character dining locations include Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Cinderella’s Royal Table (which only recently reintroduced the characters) in the Magic Kingdom, and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT, just to name a few. With character dining available at all four theme parks and several Resorts, some restaurants tend to fly under the radar.

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Perhaps the most underrated character dining experiences can be found in EPCOT’s World Nature. Inside the Land Pavilion, Guests will find The Garden Grill, one of the most unique character restaurants since in addition to the opportunity to meet beloved pals; this location actually rotates (slowly) through the scenes of the Living with the Land boat ride.

The Garden Grill Restaurant has a long history in EPCOT, where it originally opened as the Good Turn Restaurant in 1982, and was changed to The Garden Grill Restaurant in 1993. This location has served lunch and dinner for 30 years now, and in 2015 The Garden Grill started offering breakfast in 2015, and it quickly became one of the best spots to dine with the characters during a morning at Walt Disney World.

Breakfast has not been served at The Garden Grill Restaurant for just over three years now, as it reopened during the pandemic, offering lunch and dinner only. Thankfully, this is about to change, and Disney has just revealed the updated breakfast menu and pricing.

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Breakfast will return to The Garden Grill Restaurant beginning June 14, 2023, and while the characters will remain a part of Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast, the menu has undergone some changes.

What is on the breakfast menu at The Garden Grill Restaurant?

Prior to the restaurant’s closure at the onset of the pandemic, The Garden Grill Restaurant served an admittedly standard breakfast perhaps with the exception of its sticky buns that were a favorite precursor to the main course.

Just like lunch and dinner, breakfast at The Garden Grill is served family-style and all you care to enjoy. Disney’s official website notes that each table will receive a platter with Cinnamon Breakfast Loaf, Scrambled Eggs, Smoked Bacon, Mickey-shaped Waffles with Syrup, Seasonal Fruit, Cheesy Potato Casserole, and Grilled Flank Steak with Ranchero Sauce.

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If you have dined at The Garden Grill before 2020, you may notice some big changes to the menu. Notably, the Cinnamon Breakfast Loaf seems to have taken the place of the former sticky buns (which were delicious, so we’re curious to see what the new option is like!)

In years past, we have also seen The Garden Grill serve sausage links and either standard home fries or tater tots, but the new menu items sound like a major upgrade. While still delicious, we would not be surprised if some of the previous offerings (particularly the tater tots and sausage) were the same as Disney’s quick-service breakfast items you can find at every Resort. As such, Cheesy Potato Casserole and Grilled Flank Steak are noteworthy upgrades that could really bring the food at The Garden Grill up to the same level as the rest of the experience.

Pricing for breakfast at The Garden Grill Restaurant will run $42 for adults and $27 for children when it returns on June 14.

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Which characters can Guests meet at The Garden Grill Restaurant?

Characters are always subject to change at any Disney World dining location, but The Garden Grill Restaurant is home to some of our favorites.

Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast typically includes Chip ‘n’ Dale, of course, along with Mickey and Pluto. This is the only location to see Mickey in his farmer outfit, and that alone could be worth the cost of breakfast as it is quite an adorable look for him.

Reservations are not yet open for breakfast at The Garden Grill Restaurant, but we believe they will open this weekend as it will be 60 days out from June 14. We always recommend making advanced dining reservations for any Disney character restaurant on the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com.