Editor’s Note: This blog is from our agent Nicole Riley, who just returned from a sailing on the Disney Magic out of Galveston. She brings us her report on the character breakfast, available on the 6, 7 and 8 night sailings.
We recently returned from a sailing on the Disney Magic out of Galveston. We had heard rumors that there would be a character breakfast before leaving, but didn’t see anything official. We were just happy to be on the ship, so we didn’t think another thing about it. So, we were pleasantly surprised on the night before our second sea day that our servers told us the next day would be our day for the character breakfast.
Now I love Mickey Mouse just as much as everyone else, but it was nice and sunny and I didn’t want to spend my day in a restaurant waiting to see characters. This was a very fun experience on our cruise, and I’m glad we took the time to do it.
The good thing about this character breakfast is that you don’t have to sign up for it. Being on the ship gives you a time slot. The breakfast is held on sea days. Each dining rotation is assigned a day. Our day happened to be the second sea day. We learned about the timing from our server the night before at dinner. Early dining attends the first breakfast and late dining attends the second breakfast. If you want to find out when you have the character breakfast, once on the ship stop at guest services. Also, I do know that some people missed their breakfast. It doesn’t hurt to ask if there is an opening at another one of the time slots if you would miss.
The procedure was exactly like dinner and takes place at Parrot Cay. We lined up outside the restaurant and sat at the same table we were assigned for dinner. The menu is a special menu just for the character breakfasts. It has something on it for everyone.
Shortly after we were seated, there was an announcement about special guests for breakfast. Included in the announcement was notifying guests that each family would be allowed two pictures per character, and they asked that each we be ready with autograph books. For anyone who has ever been to a Disney World character meal, this process went much quicker. We did not feel rushed at all, yet we didn’t feel like we had to wait around to see all of them either.
The handlers offered to take pictures of our family, but the two picture limit seemed to move things along. We did notice the characters playing with people at other tables. Because our children are older, they didn’t do a lot of playing. Dale did catch his shirt on the chair and the velcro stuck. It pulled his shirt open and started coming off. He acted embarrassed, and we asked him if he was part of the Chippendales. He joked around a bit. I share this not so you are impressed by my wit, but to reassure that it wasn’t a whirlwind process. To me, it was just a smooth process. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale. All traveled around to the tables on their own. We were finished seeing characters by the time we were done eating. Just a note about the picture taking. We are a family of four. We were seated with another family of four. Each family at our table was allowed two pictures.
As an added bonus to our breakfast, our servers made us hats out of the napkins. This was not limited to our table, but seemed to be the entire dining room. We even saw some people wearing their hats out and about, but we left ours behind. What made this the best meal onboard for my husband was not the characters. As much as he loves a kiss on the cheek from Minnie Mouse, there was something that made it even better. There is no need to dress up for this breakfast. This is a casual meal and what you are wearing for the day is fine. Shorts and T-shirts work for this meal.
Great post, Nicole! I felt like our breakfast was very relaxed! I didn’t feel like we were rushed in anyway! And Emma got plenty of time with each character. I do think a lot of people missed our breakfast, the dining room was half empty. I think it was due to the confusion with our late departure.
I was only on a 6 night cruise. So, there was much confusion as to whether or not there would be a breakfast. But with three sea days, the character breakfast was possible.
It would be interesting to know where the “rumors” originated from … suggesting there was no character breakfast.