By Amy Miller-Mitchell, MMV agent
Topolino’s Terrace at Walt Disney World’s Riviera Resort hosts a character meal for breakfast called Breakfast a la Art with Mickey & Friends. It is the first character meal to reopen since the reopening of the resorts and parks at Walt Disney World. Two weeks ago we dined at the breakfast and want to provide you with an update on the modified experience.
Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted with a sign asking us to complete Mobile Check-in.
This process worked smoothly. You simply log into your My Disney Experience app, click on my plans, click on your dining reservation, and then click on check-in. The app walks you through the rest of the check-in process. You can even select if your family is celebrating a birthday or other celebration. You then wait in one of the waiting areas to the left or right of the hostess stand for your name to be called. The restaurant has plenty of space laid out for social distancing. The hostess promptly called us to our table after check-in.
When walking to the table we noticed the restaurant has tables nicely spaced so that no used tables are next to each other. Tables in-between are marked reserved for social distancing.
When you get to your table there is a paper to scan with your smartphone for the menu,
We could also see the menu in our My Disney Experience account by clicking on our dining reservation in My Plans.
As for the food, Topolino’s has been one of our favorites since it’s opening in 2019.
The meal includes a prix fixe menu for breakfast. Your server brings out chocolate-chip muffins, maple pastries, and croissants with honey butter and homemade jam for the table to share prior to ordering.
Like many other restaurants since the reopening, the menu has been scaled back. We were sad to notice they removed the Butcher’s Steak and Spiced Hash from the menu. This isn’t surprising, however, when looking at other menus of the restaurants reopening. With lower capacity, some cuts have to be made.
On this visit we tried the quiche gruyere served with roasted potatoes and field greens and the sour cream waffles with roasted apples, raspberries, and your choice of bacon, ham, sausage, or plant-based sausage.
Both were great and a nice break from the normal buffet character meal food. This is a major selling point for our family as we like a nice variety when on vacation. The menu continues to provide a more upscale feel than some other traditional character meals. Our server promptly delivered our food and all servers wore masks.
Now, of course, we can’t forget the most important part of the experience - the characters! Let’s face it, this is why most people go here for breakfast. I have been dreaming of a character meal since the closing of the parks. This is the main way the experience has been changed.
Don’t worry-- Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy are all still present for the meal. While they no longer stop at each table, they now come out individually to walk the room and then join together for a character parade.
The characters are very enthusiastic and entertaining. I actually felt like they got into their roles a lot more in this manner instead of being rushed from table to table. During our meal, each character came out on their own about three times and then as a group for the parade twice.
During each time they danced, posed, and really got into their characters. Even my eleven-year-old son loved it.
Now if hugging the characters or getting a personal autograph is a must, it may be a while before these attributes are added back. But, as a group, we concluded we didn’t miss the extra interaction because we felt we actually got to see the characters more as they danced repeatedly throughout the restaurant. When at a traditional character meal the characters spend most of their time at each individual table for just a few seconds.
And, at Topolino's, each guest also receives a postcard signed by each of the characters. My kids continue to name this their favorite character meal. So while modified, this meal continues to provide a lot of the desired character experience and is a great substitute until they can offer the traditional nonmodified meals again.
Amy Miller-Mitchell is an agent with Magical Moments Vacations. Amy specializes in all Disney destinations, Universal Orlando Theme parks, Disney Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Amy's concierge planning services are free to all clients who book with her. Amy is an annual passholder at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. She has stayed in all of the Disney owned resorts in North American and all of the Universal Orlando Resort hotels.
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