Originally Posted By dlport My wife and I, along with our 3.5 year old, recently returned from a trip to the DLR, from Dec. 9-13. I may post other comments, but I did want to give a report from the Princess Breakfast that we took our daughter to in DCA. We purchased the character breakfast as part of our vacation package. The DLR telephone operator mentioned it, and since I was putting the trip on our Chase Disney Visa, it allowed me to put this expense at 0% interest for 6 months, with the rest of the vacation, so I went ahead and booked it. Along with our vacation packet, received a month before the trip, came 3 paper bar-coded coupons for the breakfast. We could choose any available character breakfast with the coupon, although the coupon only listed Minnie & Friends at the Plaza Inn, Chip & Dale at GCH, or Goofy at the DLH. The Princess Breakfast IS an option. The coupons advised us that we could reserve our choice up the 30 days prior to the date we selected. We failed to do this, expecting DCA to not be crowded, and only called the Disney Dining line 2 days before, from our room at the GCH. We almost had a problem, because they had ONE slot open at the Princess Breakfast at each time (8:30 and 10:00). We selected the 8:30, as our daughter was dealing with a two hour time difference (Texas), so she was up EARLY every morning anyway. We queued up at 8:10 outside of the entrance to DCA, as the park did not open until 9. I was a little irritated that there was not a more convenient option for those in the GCH, as we had to walk all the way out, into DTD, and to the main entrance. Not a big deal, but it sort of cancelled out the convenience of the room. We were let in to DCA around 8:20. Yes, seperate admission is required. A CM was at the Plaza to direct us into Condor Flats, around Grizzly, through San Francisco, and to the Pier and Ariel's. Once outside of Ariel's, a CM confirmed your reservation, and gave you pager. There was a good reason for this. We waited outside under 5 minutes. Why the wait? Because they allow about 3 families to queue at the bottom of the spiral staircase, to then get a picture with Ariel (post-legs Ariel, in a blue dress.) It was nice not to have 30 people crushed in, so I liked the pager idea. The photo does NOT use PhotoPass, which I later learned is because they want to sell it to you AT breakfast, which was fine, but I wish the various divisions would just all convert to Photopass. We took some pics, including the DLR photog, and our own, before being seated. That restaurant really is beautiful, and a hidden gem in DCA. Once seated, there was a 3-tier rack, with croussant, bagels, muffins, sweet rolls, and spiced bread on the bottom, 3 kinds of cream cheese (garlic, normal, and strawberry), chedder cheese, a mild bleu cheese, and salami on the second level, and fresh fruit on the top level. Fantastic! A wonderful waitress came by, explained the process, and took our drink orders (no soda, drat!) My daughter was happily putting stickers onto the provided paper crown, when a Herald arrived: Hear ye, hear ye, please welcome the belle who tamed a beast.. BELLE. Cue the applause. She slowly worked counterclockwise around the room, stopping at each table. About 8 tables in, the Herald came out again and introduced the Princess who saved a kingdom, Mulan. Cue more applause. At that point, our food arrived. Wow. They bring a large skillet, with at least 8 eggs worth of scrambled eggs, cubed breakfast potatoes with cheese, turkey sausage (actual plump sausages, in casings), and bacon. Very tasty, and freshly prepared. As we ate, a photog came by and showed us our pictures from earlier with Ariel. We bought, which was $30 for an 8x10 and 4 4x6. The next princess was Cinderella. By now Belle had made our way to our table. All the princesses interacted at length at each table, allowing the parents to take video and snaps, as well as talking to the kids. My daughter loved it. Mulan was right behind, who also did a nice job. As we finished breakfast, and were packing up, Cindy came by, and she is my daughter's fav. Her pen was not working, so Cindy signed her the paper crown, and drew a little crystal carriage! The last of the 4 princesses (there are 4 at each breakfast) was the Fairy Godmother. My daughter, and about 1/2 of the other kids, were not interested. She knew who the character was, but wanted a classic one. I wished it was different too, although the CM was great. The cost was about $80 for the breakfast, plus $30 for the picture. Was it a lot? Yep. Was it worth it? Every penny. The food was great, and was actually good value in terms of quality and volume (by DLR standards.) Plus, you cannot price individual face time, which was huge. You could actually save yourself time in the parks if you wanted to, because of the meeting them at this location. Tips: Book earlier than we did, choose a schedule at which your child will be well-behaved (every kid is different), choose your location based on what characters your child likes best (example- the GCH breakfast has Chip, Dale & Koda), and above all else, enjoy the special time with your kids.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x Awesome report! I've been considering the Princess breakfast because I have 2 girls, 6 and 3. I was there the 9-13th, too, along with various other LPers. Glad you had a great time.
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer I was one of those various other Lp'ers! : ) dlport, It sounds like you and your family had a great time. The DW and I have shied away from Ariel's Grotto because, by most reports, it is a little overpriced and the food isn't all that great. I do however love character breakfasts but, not having any daughters of the right age to use as an excuse, have never been to the Princess Breakfast. I think I know where I might be able to borrow a 6 and 3 year old... Great trip report! Thank you so much for sharing.
Originally Posted By lbrackjo thaks, dlport, you answered about 7 of my questions. Question 8--what are you allowed to do between the time you finish the breakfast and DCA opens?
Originally Posted By dlport ploeb909- Chase Disney Visa does have a free photo, but it is a separate location, actually in the old winery show building. Beyond that, that free photo is a coupon tied to PhotoPass, and the Breakfast doesn't have PhotoPass, they run the photos themselves. I think the Disney Visa thing was once at Ariel's Grotto, but no more. lbrackjo- Nothing! The Park is still closed, and you are pretty much limited to wandering from Ariel's Grotto to the GCH entrance (ropes still up.) But to be honest, even at the 8:30 Breakfast, you only have a few free minutes after you leave. We wandered through the trails of Grizzly Peak, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery, until the 10am opening.
Originally Posted By MouseBear Salutations dlport, Now this is something my daughter (who is 13) might still enjoy. Thanks for the report, MouseBear
Originally Posted By Mrs Nurmi Mousebear!! Good Lord, she is 13??? Oh, we do need to see you guys!! We have a new email address, in my profile. Drop us a line! So sorry for the hijack dlport!!
