Disneyworld, Fl--character breakfast and Epcot fireworks
 

Which character breakfast is the best one for 4 yr. & 8 yr. old girls? I've been there often as an adult, but now we are taking the grandkids. Staying at the Swan. Also we heard to make a reservation at California Pizza Kitchen at the Contemporary Hotel to watch the Epcot fireworks. Has anyone done this and is one day of the week better than others? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I think there is still a character breakfast at the Swan which might be easiest for you. When we stayed it was with Mickey and a few other characters.. I'd call the hotel and check.

Otherwise I recommend the Crystal Palace in WDW with Pooh and friends. The food is very good and we prefer to go for brunch (early lunch at 11) for the better food options as we don't enjoy a large breakfast and this is a buffet with a special buffet for the kids (kid favorites but they can choose from the reg buffet too).
This is our family favorite but with two small girls they might prefer a 'Princess' breakfast!

We went to the Mary Poppins Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. Mary was there, along with Alice and the Mad Hatter and Tigger. They all went from table to table visiting and posing for pictures. The food was good and our whole family loved it there.

Another vote for the Crystal Palace. It is a nice place and the food is good. Try to include it sometime in your visit.

Restaurant at the Contemporary is the California Grill, not Pizza Kitchen. The California Grill is a fine dining restaurant, probably not for 4 and 8 year olds.

The California Grill would have a fine view of the Magic Kingdom fire works, but poor view of EPCOT.

Thanks, I'm checking all of these out. What time is the breakfast served, is it really early?

By all means, see Epcot and Magic Kingdom Fireworks from the parks themselves, not from 4 miles away. The sound, lasers, etc are all excellent. Grand Floridian would get my vote as the best, but really any of the character meals at any of the restaurants are good and all are priced about the same. Even the character breakfast at animal kingdom is good, plus you get in the park before everyone else does.

Check out the Norwegian restaurant in Epcot for dinner. I think they had a tough time selling Norwegian food, so they turned it in to a Princess dinner. They do a nice job of having all the princesses come to the table while you eat and you get a nice photo with one of them on the way in. The Norway boat ride is cool also. And then you can watch the Epcot fireworks right outside the door on your way out.

Oh, and it didn't seem bad getting out of Epcot after the fireworks. We had a car though, but we just walked right out no problem.

kelliebellie or others----what kind of food does Norway have?

I was there a few years ago as an adult because it was easy to get in, but the food wasn't what we normally would like to eat. Plus we will have a 4 yr. and 8 yr. old. I lke the idea of a princess dinner though.

Also if you have a dinner reservation to Norway, do you have to have an Epcot park pass to get in? Can you just stay for the fireworks?

Another question is about "Ohana" at the Polynesian? It sounds like a fun dinner for the kids.

By all means do the lunch at Akershus (sp?) at Epcot - yes, you'll need a ticket to Epcot. Don't do a breakfast - you waste all the good first thing in the morning touring time.

For girls nothing beats Cinderella's Royal Table, it's two or three times the price of other character breakfasts though. The Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at EPCOT's Norway Pavillion is also very nice. My girl (almost 5) loved both.

We all liked Crystal Palace, the food is great, location is fantastic but there is just something about eating in Cinderella's castle.

For fireworks - nothing beats being in the park (in front of the castle if you're in the Magic Kigdom). If you want to watch the fireworks in comfort you can also go to the "Wishes Dessert Party".

For all character breakfasts you'll need to make reservatiosn 3 months in advance (especially Royal Table) and buy a ticket to enter the park.

One piece of advice, at least one day schedule a very early breakfast in the Magic Kingdom. You get to enter the park before it opens and get some great photographs in an empty park.

Agreeing here with stumpworks - it's probably California Grill that you are referring too. We took our kids for a late dinner there and enjoyed the best view when the fireworks started.

Nothing beats being right "beside" the fireworks though - which is what we did in EPCOT. Another night, we had dinner at the restaurant in France (World Showcase), and then made our way to the country closest to the exit to wait for the fireworks. After the fireworks, it was an easy trek back to the hotel.

BTW, my kids (when they were little) thought that the monorail was the coolest thing. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and they always got excited everytime they found out that we were riding the train. You could go hotel-hopping and visit the Contemporary and the Polynesian too. There's really nothing much to see at the Contemporary except to marvel that the train actually goes inside the hotel, but the Polynesian is a nice place to unwind and walk around.

Another big hit for the kids was when we rented two little boats (called Sea Racer?) and 'raced' each other, one parent and child per boat. I think that was at the Polynesian.

Of course, the Grand Floridian is so pretty you can spend hours just walking around, specially after you've had your quota for the day of mouses and dogs and bears and tiggers. And I almost forgot, we had high tea at the Grand Floridian - maybe your girls would like that?

When are you going to Orlando? If you're there close to Thanksgiving, they most probably will have all their holiday decorations put out. One time we went in December for the holidays (stayed at the G. Floridian) and couldn't believe it when we saw the huge gingerbread house. And the gigantic Christmas tree in the lobby!!! For New Year's Eve, my husband danced with my daughter in the lobby to greet the new year (there was an orchestra playing). It was really special!

tpayt: we had the luau dinner/show at the Polynesian - that was another hit with the kids. While the tasty food was a carnivore's delight, much to the joy of my husband, it was the show that captured the kids though.

Regarding the character meals - we went to two of them: the Crystal Palace (the food was a little better) and the Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

We were walking around the Grand Floridian's lobby and discovered a portraitist who did the most charming pastel portraits. He had his easel tucked close to one of the back staircases. We observed him working on a portrait and were so impressed that we had the kids pose for impromptu sessions. They must have been only 8 and 6 yrs old then, but the sessions were over before they even became bored or fidgety. I guess, maybe 20, 25 minutes? Then they were dismissed and the artist did the finishing touches. We got back and claimed the most adorable pastel portraits. Don't remember how much we paid for it - it was kind of pricey, but they're priceless treasures.

Regarding the question about the food at the Norway restaurant - the last time we were there, it was still the regular Norwegian buffet - herring, salmon, lots of cold salads, etc. The kids weren't too thrilled but they found one or two things on the buffet that they could eat. They both loved the Viking boat ride on the maelstrom.

Thanks for the advice----it's all so overwhelming! I've been there as an adult several times, but never with young children and it's only about a month until we go---beginning of Nov.(what kind of weather can we expect?) Our daughter has a business conference and we decided to tag along.

We'll just be there 3 days at The Swan. Any and all suggestions are most welcome.

I checked out the Royal Table---WOW! We plan on spending a lot of money, but that's a little over our budget.

To watch the night parade and fireworks at The Magic Kingdom, what would you suggest for dinner beforehand?

tpayt:

Yes, the Cinderella's Castle character meal is a little bit overpriced. When we found out how much it would cost, we ended up going to the Crystal Palace instead.

Check out this link for more info about the Norwegian princess buffet:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/par...ning/akershus/

Before you get your heart set on anything, you should call and see what is still available. Some of these things book up months in advance. Definitely have reservations in place before you go. We didn't plan enough in advance and had a hard time getting in places.

Norway does have a kids menu and I thought the food good, but we are adventurous eaters. And yes, you will need a ticket to enter Epcot for dinner.

Another great Epcot dinner is Germany. They have a good buffet and a nice band and all the kids go the front and dance.

I've been to a lot of character breakfasts recently (2002ish?) and they were fabulous.. the one I liked the best was in MGM (now Hollywood Studios I believe?), I believe the restaurant was called Hollywood & Vine... they had an ice cream bar at breakfast [: Lots of fun!

The fireworks are amazing, just make sure you get there early enough so you can actually see them (20 mins-half hour-ish).

The luau at the Polynesian was INCREDIBLE. I didn't like a lot of the food they had there, but the show itself was incredible. I would definitely recommend it for kids.

Enjoy your trip!

I agree with others that you should be IN the park for the fireworks. We saw the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and they were great! Be patient when the fireworks end...everyone will rush out of the park and it will get very crowded. Take the time to ride one more ride, and by the time you leave it won't be nearly as crazy.

I should have said, "Everyone will TRY to rush out of the park..." Instead they'll all wait in line for the tram.