What to know before you make a Disney Breakfast Reservation
Breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day. There’s not a breakfast food I do not love. So I love dining out for breakfast, especially at Walt Disney World. I also love it because our kids love breakfast, so I also know they’re going to eat a good meal when we dine out for breakfast. But there’s a couple things to keep in mind when you’re choosing to dine out for breakfast during your Disney vacation.
Time
Many of the restaurants that host breakfast open very early. Chef Mickey’s for example opens at 7am, and you may be tempted to grab these early morning reservations if it’s a tough reservation to get. But you need to be realistic. Is the time of day you’re choosing realistic. To get to your reservation on time you’ll need to be up before that time. Which may mean waking up at 6am or earlier. Maybe that’s too early for you and your family. Plus if you’re planning on doing a whole park day after this meal, you’ve just added some unnecessary time to your day. So just be leery of the time you choose and make sure it makes the most since for you and your party. Otherwise you’ll be starting out one of your vacation days stressed out.
Location
Keep in mind the location of the restaurant you’re planning on dining at in the morning. If it’s in your resort area you’ll likely be able to walk there or take transportation. But if you need to get here with bus transportation from one of the parks, this may cause an issue. The buses start running an hour and a half before the park opens, which may be when your reservation is. If your breakfast reservation is at one of the park restaurants then you’ll be fine but if it’s at one of the resort restaurants it may be tricky. So just make sure to choose a time that will allow for travel time.
Cost
Breakfast is one of the cheapest meals of the day, which is fantastic for dining out of pocket. If you want to dine at one of the character meals, or buffet restaurants, than breakfast is going to be your cheapest meal to dine at. You can also enjoy breakfast at some of the signature restaurants, which is again cheaper than dinner. So if you’re paying for your meals as you go, than eating at Disney restaurants for breakfast is going to give you some major savings.
Dining Plan
If you are purchasing the Disney dining plan for your Disney vacation then be leery of dining at table service restaurants for breakfast. Breakfast is a less expensive meal, the items on the menu are not as expensive as the items on the lunch or dinner menu. So the more meals you eat for breakfast decreases your value of your dining plan investment. Also, when you’re on the Disney Dining Plan you receive a drink, entree and dessert at the table service restaurants, dessert isn’t served at breakfast, so you’re missing out on those items and value. If you’re dining on the Deluxe Dining Plan, you receive an appetizer, entree and dessert. Which breakfast doesn’t serve appetizers or dessert, so you’re missing out on your value here as well. So if you’re concerned about maintaining the investment you made on the dining plan be sure to steer clear of breakfast.
Park Hours
The four theme parks generally open at 9am. The restaurants that serve breakfast at these four theme parks actually open before that. Which means you gain early access to the park if you have an early breakfast at any of these restaurants. This gives you a chance to grab beautiful shots with no one around. Depending on where the restaurant is located, you’ll also situate yourself deeper into the park before rope drop getting you to those must do attractions before everyone else. At the Magic Kingdom, there are four restaurants that serve breakfast. Three of which open at 8am and one opens at 7:45am. Two of which give you access into Fantasyland which doesn’t open until rope drop at 9am. At the Animal Kingdom, there’s one restaurant serving breakfast and it’s located in Africa which means you’ll be deep into Animal Kingdom before park open. This restaurant is Tusker House. At Hollywood Studios, you have Hollywood and Vine which opens at 8am. Epcot, you have 2 breakfast choices that open at 8am: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and Garden Grill. Akershus is all the way in Norway, which is a hike. With all of these restaurants, if you have a reservation before 9am you’re going to give yourself an advantage on the rest of the day. Just check the Extra Magic Hours before, because if you’re dining at 8am when there’s Extra Magic Hours, you’d be in the park early as it is, if you’re staying at a Disney resort.
Bring Your Own
Breakfast is the easiest meal for you to bring from home. We always bring oatmeal with us, and pick up some cereal when we arrive. Regardless of if you’re on the dining plan or paying for your meals out of pocket, having breakfast in your own room, is the easiest meal of the day to do that. So if you reserve a lot of breakfast meals, you’re missing out on that chance to eat one of your meals in your room before the day starts.
Snack Style Breakfast
There are many delicious breakfast items found at each of the theme parks and at the resorts, that are inexpensive or only cost snack credits. Some of these are found at quick-service restaurants or counter service restaurants. If you dine out for all of your breakfasts you’ll miss out on some of these Disney breakfast treats.
Again, I love dining out for breakfast, but these are a few things you may want to keep in mind before you reserve too many of your meals at Disney restaurants. For more information on Breakfast at the four theme parks check out these previous posts:
Breakfast at Hollywood Studios
Buffet Restaurants at Walt Disney World
Happy Planning, Friends.
