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Looking for your next Disney World character breakfast? After a long three years, one of the most beloved character dining experiences is about to return. Here’s what you need to know to book your next reservation.
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Character dining at Walt Disney World
Booking a reservation for a character dining experience during a Disney vacation is a great way to see multiple characters without spending time waiting in multiple lines for a traditional meet and greet. Restaurants offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner with beloved characters can be found at several Disney Resorts as well as in each of the four theme parks, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Typically character dining comes at a higher price point for the premium of seeing several characters at once, though the meals offered are usually buffets or a family-style “all-you-care-to-enjoy” setup.
Character dining locations at Walt Disney World include:
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, EPCOT
- Cape May Cafe, Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Chef Mickey’s, Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Cinderella’s Royal Table, Magic Kingdom
- The Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom
- Garden Grill Restaurant, EPCOT
- Hollywood & Vine, Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- ‘Ohana, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Story Book Dining at Artist Pointe with Snow White, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera, Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Tusker House Restaurant, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
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Breakfast and lunch return
Having dinner with the characters is certainly a popular option for Guests booking a meal at a character restaurant, but breakfast and even lunch can be great, too. Breakfast in particularly is a fun way to start the day with “the most important meal of the day” and greetings from the characters.
At EPCOT, one of Disney World’s best princess dining experiences has been operating without breakfast and lunch offerings since the Park opened during the pandemic. Thankfully, this is about to change as both meals will return to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall this weekend on Sunday, May 14, 2023.
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Lunch and dinner offer delicious Norwegian-inspired cuisine, too, and all meals at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall come complete with princess greetings, but breakfast just might be the best time to book your reservation. Here’s why.
World Showcase typically opens at 11:00 a.m., and the only way to get into this neighborhood of EPCOT prior to its official opening would be to take a backstage tour or book an early dining reservation. Breakfast at Akershus begins as early as 8:30 a.m. While you may not be free to explore the rest of World Showcase beyond the Norway pavilion that early, dining at this time will give you views of a nearly empty World Showcase, and perhaps even a ride on Frozen Ever After with little or no wait time before the crowds really begin to set in.
Akershus regularly features characters like Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, Belle, and Jasmine; however, Guests have also met Cinderella, Mary Poppins and Mulan on occasion. Pricing for breakfast runs $53 per adult and $34 per child (plus tax and gratuity), and reservations are available now in the My Disney Experience app.
Don’t see a reservation time? Check the app closer to your visit as you may find reservations opening up later. Or, try for a walkup table when you head over to EPCOT.
