Character breakfasts, do they give you an advantage on park touring?

How good are 8am character breakfasts for getting a head start on touring please?

That depends entirely on how fast they get you seated and how fast you eat. They are expensive meals to just rush through, but some people feel like it’s worth it. Of course the park can decide to open 20 minutes early and completely negate your plan lol.

Personally I wouldn’t book it solely for this purpose but if you happen to get one or two extra rides before the lines build then it’s just a bonus.

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My ADR day is next week, so the issue might be mute if I can’t get any. We have the DDP and want to do all the character meals. I did my first excel style plan about 2 months ago, now I have dozens, my rough plan was quite set but with the DP’s not available to book yet, I’m second guessing myself. We have young kids and are coming from the UK so last month I decided against MVMCP in favor of a few pre rope drop ADR’s. Crowds are an issue, so we will pay to avoid them. Now my ADR day is so close, I’m no longer enjoying Disney planning as it feels like I’m back to going round in circles.

One thing to bear in mind is that WDW often changes the park opening hours to be earlier, so your pre-RD ADR is no longer pre-RD. This is a frequent occurrence during busier times. Plus, trying to rush through a character breakfast can be stressful - you end up urging your DS to stop playing with his food and eat up and you are trying to psychically will the princesses to get to your table faster so that DD can meet them all.

I agree with @Outer1 - I would never book a character breakfast solely to get in ahead of the crowds. Book it if you actually want the experience itself, and then if it happens to give you an edge at park opening then that is a bonus.

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I’m interested in them to avoid the crowds, we want the character experience, and in the case of BOG to get ahead of the pack. Someone has just checked for me and nothing for BOG, Tuskers or H&V. Should I assume I won’t be able to pick them up later and plan my ADR’s accordingly, or does an 8am BOG ever pop up? I’ve looked at the historical data and last year MK only opened at 9am on one day, Epcot stayed at 9am, but I don’t want an Akershus as we wouldn’t want to rush that.

I would use my TS credits on dinner character meals. It is a better value. BOG preRD is a great way to get ahead. I wouldn’t rush through the meals though.

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The only time I’ve ever had breakfast at BoG is when I’ve gotten a last-minute (as in, a day or two before) ADR. It definitely does happen, though my own personal experience has only been with 2 person ADRs.

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I won’t give up then, thanks.

Agree with what was said previously. Breakfasts are a terrible “value” on the DDP. They’re generally the cheapest meals, plus you lose out on your desserts, if that kind of thing interests you. Also, if you’re committed to seeing all the characters, you’re probably going to sacrifice the benefit of a PPO breakfast. It takes a while for all the characters to circulate the restaurant. We’ve done a lot of character breakfasts, but thankfully no longer because our son has outgrrown them.

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