Breakfast Venue

So planning has started for our first trip across the pond to visit WDW later this year. It’s just my wife & I as the kids have all left home now! :slight_smile:

We’re staying in the Pop Century (8 nights) and have the Disney Dining plan which we’ll use for lunch & dinner but we were wondering where is the recommended places to have breakfast?

In the hotel?
In one of the parks?

We’re not that fussy on food, just don’t want to waste money if better options are available!

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Hello! There are lots of great breakfast options. The one that works best for you will have a lot to do with your touring style.

When I’m with my family, we like to make sure everyone has eaten something before we head out to the parks, and we usually try to get to the parks as soon as they open. For that scenario, doing a Garden Grocer order for easy food to eat in the room or using the resort food court is nice and easy.

However, when I’m by myself or not with kids (like you will be) I prefer to just head to the parks and eat more interesting things there. For example, I’ll get a fruit & Nutella waffle from Sleepy Hollow in MK after I’ve done a few attractions. I like Sunshine Seasons for a quick breakfast in Epcot. Each park has a Starbucks location inside, and some of them have a Joffrey’s coffee cart outside.

If you’re wanting a real, sit-down breakfast then there are lots of great options. I love a good breakfast. It’s a trade-off though, because unless you book a really early breakfast, you’ll miss low-crowd touring time while you eat. It’s a perfectly valid choice though, and we’ve done it many times! My favorites are Crystal Palace and Be Our Guest in MK and 'Ohana at the Poly. I’ve also heard great things about Garden Grill in Epcot, the Wave at the Contemporary and Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk.

Thanks for the reply. Certainly made a couple of things click.

I didn’t think about making reservations for breakfast! (I did for the Dining Plan meals, but forgot breakfast!). Will remember to do that now!

Also, we do hope to rope drop to make the most of things so want an early breakfast. In which case I guess eating in the parks is out as they’ll be closed! :blush:

So that leaves:

  1. Eating in the hotel.
  2. Eating in our room with groceries
  3. ??

For 3, are there any other places, in the WDW resort but outside of the park, where breakfast can be bought/eaten?

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Keep in mind there are a couple options in the parks that open for breakfast before rope drop (BOG for one)

Eat in another hotel! Poly before a MK day or AKL before an AK day, etc. I am not sure, but maybe there are some Disney Springs breakfast options? I don’t think it opens until 10am though.

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My suggestion/opinion:

You may want to incorporate a few pre-rd adr’s if that suits you, but if you’re not fussy, groceries/hotel to start your day, then have a few snacks at the parks before lunch. Morning touring hours are very precious. Get a good sleep, be well rested to attack attractions in the am and get stuff done while everyone else is sleeping in and eating fancy breakfasts while the parks are empty. Your reward will be taking a break, or being able to divert to the less crowded attractions while everyone else is waiting in the long lines.

Well there is also the option of trying to get a pre-RD brakfast reservation in the parks. Like 8am BOG if MK opens 9am. Or Tusker House @ AK.

As melcort10 said, hotels near parks can be good. I particularly like all the restaurants at AKL for your AK day.

Ditto what everyone else said. Another thing you could try is to browse My Disney Experience restaurant listings and look through the breakfast and all-day menus for breakfast items that interest you. Maybe note a few options for each general area where you think you are likely to be in the mornings so you have options that don’t require much extra travel.

You can also Uber to a different resort if you want the try someplace other than the food court at Pop and have extra time some morning. The Mara and Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Captain Cook’s and Kona Cafe at the Poly spring to mind as fun options.

There really are tons of options to fit any itinerary - nice, sit down restaurants for slow-start mornings, character breakfasts for entertainment, quick-service counters at every resort and in every park, and snacks that can stand-in for breakfast. You can always find something to eat at WDW!

Take note that there are no microwaves in your room or a coffee maker. The dining didn’t open at Pop Century until 6:30. When EMH start at 7 am, that is a real problem.

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My daughter and I had the same debate about our upcoming trip. She’ll be 16 on our vacation, so it’s almost like traveling with an adult. She and I aren’t huge breakfast eaters, but we do plan to book a 1900 PF and a Boma breakfast. The other days we’ll likely use a snack credit to get something from the food court (there are many options you can choose to do this) or Starbucks in one of the parks. Our other meals will be lunch or dinner reservations. Have fun!

Do you like a big breakfast or are you more, coffee/tea and a snack? That’s my family, so we just grab a granola bar w/ tea or juice while waiting in line. Then we eat an earlier lunch. Which is a good way to avoid the lunch rush. (just for a different perspective)

We had BOG at 8 am and rode 7DMT 4 times before the park opened for the day. BOG breakfast is super fast and then you’re free to ride without the crowds.

Depending on your eating habits, may I suggest that you use one of your dining credits to split a breakfast at the hotel? Then, split the other for lunch or dinner depending on how your ADRs are planned out?

My husband and I are what I’d consider formidable eaters. However, at Disney we find the food so calorie heavy (it’s restaurant food after all) that we were better off spliting meals. No leftovers and no guilt for not cleaning your plate.

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I agree with @disney1974, the meals can be quite large and we often share food, using the other credit elsewhere. Use your snack credits to grab food from your resort hotel for early morning starts. Sometimes we have brunch at about 10.30/11 after an early start.

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