If you are planning a meal while visiting Disney World and looking for great character interaction this was one of our favorites on this trip. Though we are NOT breakfast eaters and generally do not enjoy breakfast foods I decided to book us a breakfast at the Garden Grill to get us up and moving on our first full day in Epcot. Another plus to eating breakfast with the characters rather than dinners is the breakfast are generally 1/3 to 1/2 the price of dinner! Bonus!
Garden Grill is located on the second level of The Land pavilion in Epcot. The restaurant is on a slow moving circle over the Living with the Land ride. From the restaurant you can see three of the sections of the ride as you are eating. It offers a nice backdrop for our pictures as it seems like we are the only ones greeting the characters!
Breakfast starts out with a giant hot cinnamon roll and a bowl of fresh fruit. The entire meal is served family style so you can all share and order more as you wish. My son is gluten-free so he had a gluten-free blueberry muffin instead of a cinnamon roll and could eat the fruit too.
The characters started arriving at our table shortly after the cinnamon roll and fruit. We were seated at a half circle booth/table and the kids were on the outside so they could easily get up and hug the characters, get autographs, and have interactions with them. The best for us was Chip. He looked at my son’s lanyard and saw he had a Chip and Dale pin. He got a high-five and a hug. When he turned to my daughter to look at her lanyard she told him that she had no Chip and Dale pins. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. She stood up to have her picture taken with him and he turned away from her. We all laughed. After getting several nice pictures he reached out to shake her hand and as she reached for his hand he did the ‘psych move. We all laughed, he came back and kissed her forehead. He was awesome!
So, we were hungry and I forgot to take a picture of the skillet when it arrived. It had plenty of eggs, bacon, sausage links, tater tots, and Mickey Mouse waffles. My son had his own skillet with gluten-free versions of the same items we had. He ate like a king!
Everything was good. We ordered more fruit, bacon, and Mickey waffles. They bring you plenty of extras when you order more!
It took about an hour and ten minutes to cycle through all the characters (Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale). We were already in Epcot and I had scheduled our Fastpasses for the new Soarin’ ride for after breakfast. We went downstairs and only had a 10-15 minute wait to get on the ride. By the way we LOVED the new Soarin’ film. Missed the scents used in the old movie but this movie was crisp and clean and even at the edges was perfect. Can’t wait to see it again!
What's for Dinner Moms? 
Looks like you are all having a ball. Loving that gluten free was available. My Whitney is coeliac and it’s not easy when we eat out. You have to be so careful. Looks like your sons was as nice, if not nicer than yours. xxx
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He eats like a king at Walt Disney World. For the most part they are amazing with gluten-free meals. There are a few that are spotty especially in the countries and one dessert party we went to that was VERY disappointing of him but for the most part he eats better than we do!
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That’s great for him. Too often coeliacs are left out. I bake a lot for mine, and we all eat it…rhubarb crumble in the oven as we speak 😉
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Yummy!
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That sounds like a perfect first full day at Epcot!
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Thank you! We had a wonderful time!
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I love these pictures! Thanks for sharing Marci!
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Thank you so very much, Lynn!
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Ah! Now I’m hungry for breakfast food:) looks like a fun trip.
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Thank you! It really was.
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That breakfast… gluten and regular looked fantastic! I could play nearly all day long on that feast.
Chip and Dale!!! My favorite chipmunks evah! I collect the pins, but don’t have one of them! I need to fix that! 🙂 I usually agonize over which Tinkerbell I’m going to purchase. I love Tink! “)
Your daughters ears are so cute!! I hope you share all 12 pair she made. Really these two pair have been top notch!
I only have the ears with my name on them, but daughter’s Minnie ears are so cute that I’m flippin’ from a traditionalist “Mickey’s ear” gal to a Minnie’s ear gal! I don’t think I could ever make any as cute and creative as your daughter though.
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Thank you! She loves making her ears! My son collects mostly Star Wars and park pins while my daughter collects princesses. She loves her princesses even at 16.
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She may never outgrow that. I’m old and still collecting Tinkerbell pins! 🙂 It’s all good!
The park pins are great! I’ve been hoping to trade with a park employee a Paris/Euro pin for any pin for a long, long time. Fingers crossed it happens one of my very few and far between visits!
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How amazing that would be!
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Geez! The brain working faster than the fingers again! Heavy Sigh!! Sorry, I hope your brain fills in the missing words!
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All is well!
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