Breakfast at Disney's Cape May Cafe

By Nick 

I love food, so naturally, I love a buffet. I love characters, and like to "collect" them, meaning I like to get photos with characters in different attire.

So, knowing this, it's kind of surprising it's taken me this long to get the Beach Club Breakfast Buffet at the Cape May Cafe, inside the Beach Club in Walt Disney World, and it wasn't even planned!

My wife, Barbie, and I checked into the Beach Club Villas for one night, October 11th, before going on a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream. Upon check in, we learned our Magical Express pick up time to take us to Cape Canaveral wasn't until 1145 am on the 12th. We discussed what we should do with our morning, and decided to just have a leisurely morning, rather than going to a park. I asked if there were any ADRs available for the Cape May Cafe's Breakfast Buffet, and there were not. We were told that there likely wouldn't be a problem getting a table if we came at opening, at 730am.

So, the next morning we approached the podium at about 720am, were given a pager, and within minutes, we were seated in a nice section near the back of The Cafe.

    

Within moments of being seated, our server, Adrienne, came over and took our beverage order. She was as delightful and friendly a Cast Member as we have had the pleasure to interact with.



We were directed to the buffet, where we were told by Adrienne that the most popular items were, not surprisingly, the Mickey Waffles, Chorizo and Four Cheese Scrambled Eggs, and french toast with banana caramel sauce.



I tried a bit of all of the above mentioned, along with a few other selections. The eggs were indeed delicious, as was the french toast. And you really can't go wrong with Mickey waffles, which went really well with a strawberry sauce and whipped cream. The sausage was very good, the bac0n, well, it is typical Disney buffet bacon.



I also had a bagel with smoked salmon and pastrami style smoked salmon, which was very tasty. There is also Capers, Onions, Lemons, Tomatoes to add to this if you are so inclined.



Other cold offerings include Sliced Salami, Capicola, a selection of cheeses, hard-boiled Eggs, Low-fat Cottage Cheese, Apple Sauce, Healthy Grain Fruit Salad, Diced Pineapple, Diced Cantaloupe, Diced Watermelon, Orange Slices, Grapefruit, Strawberries, Apple Walnut Spinach Salad, Low-fat Strawberry Yogurt and Low-fat Vanilla Honey Yogurt, Macerated Fresh Mixed Berries, House made Granola and assorted cereals.

Along with the hot items I mention above, there are Scrambled Eggs, Frittata, Stewed Roma Tomatoes, Breakfast Potatoes Hand-carved Glazed Ham, Seasonal Vegetables, Hollandaise Sauce, Creamy Cheddar Grits, Biscuits with Home-style Sausage Gravy, Hot Oatmeal and Hot Apple Quinoa Cereal.

Of course, what would a character buffet be without characters?

Donald, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse, ready for a swim in the nearby Stormalong Bay, make their rounds while you dine.



 

As the morning went on, the Cape May Cafe did fill up, so while we are lucky to have gotten a table easily, if this is a character buffet you would like to visit, I highly advise you make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) at 6 months out.

Nick is co-writer and editor of the Disney Musings Blog as well as co-host of The Disney Exchange Podcast.

Cinderella’s Dining at Cítricos

By Nick

I didn't have any idea I'd be going to Cinderella’s Dining at Cítricos – Breakfast and Brunch with The Disney Princesses until just a few days before our wonderful breakfast at my favorite resort, Disney's Grand Floridian.

The breakfast, usually held in Cinderella Castle, has been relocated to Citricos while Cinderella's Royal Table undergoes refurbishment.

We attended this grand affair with our friends Kandi and John, and their children Jazzlyn and Grayson.

Barbie, me, Jazzlyn, Cinderella, Kandi, Grayson, and John

I'm very glad we went, not only for the experience, which starts with a photo with Cinderella herself, and continues into the lovely dining room of Citricos, where we also got to meet Belle, Snow White, Jasmine, and Ariel...

...but also for the food, because we were all very pleasantly surprised by the selection!

To start, we were brought coffees, teas, sodas, and our specialty beverages of choice, which were Mimosas, along with a basket of freshly baked multi-grain croissants, blueberry muffins and apple pastries.

For an appetizer, I had the charcuterie, while Barbie asked if it was okay to order 2 items, the charcuterie and the chicken noodle soup, and our wonderful server said "Yes!" Both were very good.

During the meal, wishing wands and swords were brought to the table for Jazzlyn and Grayson to use in the Magical Wishing Ceremony, where, with a little Disney magic "your prince’s or princess’ wish can come true!"

For entrées, both John and I ordered the steak, but instead of the slow-poached egg, we asked if we could substitute scrambled eggs, and were told that was not a problem. I ordered the steak medium rare, and it was more to the medium side, while John asked for his well done, and it was VERY well done, but still good. In the future, I will have to remember to ask for rare, as apparently, steak prep errs to the side of caution.

Barbie had the grilled ham and biscuits.

Kandi had the scrambled egg whites with hot ten-grain cereal, Greek yogurt topped with granola, a whole-grain croissant and fresh fruit.

Jazzlyn had Mickey waffles with sausage and bacon.

Desserts were a trio of a piece of cake they called crème brûlée, chocolate-raspberry cake, and a vanilla bean cream puff, the standout being, perhaps not surprisingly the chocolate cake.

The experience is not inexpensive, being $50 plus tip, but as far as character meals go, we felt it was absolutely one of the better experiences, and the food was a notch above a buffet.

Reservations for Cinderella’s Dining at Cítricos—Breakfast and Brunch with the Disney Princesses can be made by visiting DisneyWorld.com, or calling 407-WDW-DINE.

This article was originally posted on the Disney Musings blog, which Nick co-writes and edits.

Epcot's Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

By: Nick Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

My wife, friends Kandi and John, and I had a late lunch at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion of Epcot on our last trip to Walt Disney World.

Our meal started with a photo with Belle.

Left to Right: John, Kandi, Belle, Barbie, Nick

The meal includes a complimentary imaging package including 4 prints size 4" x 6" and one 6" x 8" print in a Disney Princesses themed folder. Additional photos may be purchased. One image package per group of four paying guests, 2 packages for groups of 5-8 guests and 3 packages for groups of 9-12 guests. The package was delivered during our lunch.

The Royal Feast begins with "A Taste of Norway" which includes sliced deli meats, seafood, and a grand selection of prepared salads and cheeses.

I could have just had the food offered on this buffet and been happy. There was plenty to choose from. The fish dishes were excellent.

Adult Entrees:
Traditional Kjottkake -Norwegian meatballs served with Mashed Potatoes, seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce
Oven-roasted Chicken Breast - with fennel hash, tomato jam and chive oil
Open-faced Beef Sandwich - thinly sliced beef sirloin, wild mushroom-onion ragout, Jarlsberg cheese served with your choice of soup
Open-faced Chicken Sandwich - on Sourdough Bread with Tomatoes, Arugula, Bacon, Mushroom Vinaigrette, Jarlsberg cheese, and Lingonberry Mayonnaise, served with your choice of soup
Seared Salmon Cakes - with pickled root vegetable, remoulade and your choice of soup
Mushroom Stuffed Pasta - with Swiss chard, over-roasted shiitakes and parmesan cream

Barbie and I had the traditional Kjottkake, John the Beef. I cannot recall what Kandi had, but we all enjoyed our meals.

Kids Meals:
Meatballs-with Mashed Potatoes and Corn
Hot Dog- with corn
Pizza - with mozzarella
Grilled Chicken Breast - served with vegetables and roasted potatoes
Cheese Ravioli - served with tomato sauce
Salmon - served with vegetables and roasted potatoes
Dessert, and Choice of 1% milk, small Bottled Water or Juice
Soft Drinks Available Upon Request
Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid light pomegranate lemonade, Barq's root beer
Glowing Character Punch - Minute Maid Light Lemonade Punch served in a souvenir cup with a glowing Disney character Light $6.49

Dessert plate was delicious and included:
Sweet and Savory Chocolate Mousse
Traditional Rice Cream - topped with Strawberry Sauce
Apple Cake with cardamom whipped cream

While not as elegant perhaps as a meal at Cinderella Castle, this is less expensive, the food is very good, and you meet several Princesses. The Princesses on our visit (besides Belle), were Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty).You may get different Princesses at different times, including Jasmine, Mulan and Mary Poppins (who I was unaware is a Princess!)

The price of this meal varies based on the time of year, peak seasons vs regular season, and even on the day of the week weekday vs weekend.


This post was originally posted on the Disney Musings Blog, which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie.
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A Feast with Character at Epcot's Garden Grill

By: Nick, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

How many of you know that there is actually more to The Land Pavilion located in Epcot's Future World than Soarin'?

 

Well, there is! Honest!

On our trip this past January, we ate at the Garden Grill which is located in the Land.

If you've only been to the Land in the morning, you may not even know this is a functioning restaurant, as it is only open for dinner, when it hosts Chip and Dale's Harvest Feast.

The characters:

Farmer Mickey, here with our friends Kandi and John. As far as I know, this is the only place in Disney World where you can get Mickey in this outfit.

Pluto is seen here with my wife Barbie.

 Chip and me.

 

Dale, with our check. There is a great story to go along with this picture.

Our bill came just as Dale walked up. Dale grabbed our check, and tried to give it to Mickey to pay. Mickey passed! 
Then he tried to give it to a family at a neighboring table, but they, of course, also declined! 
He then proceeded to attempt to throw it over the side of the restaurant, but our server stopped him! Oh well. 
It was hilarious. 
The characters spent plenty of time at each table, and this was easily the best character interaction we've had in a long while.

Throughout the evening, the restaurant itself rotates very slowly, so you can see different scenes of the "Living With the Land" boat ride below.

The menu:
Basket of Warm Breads with Maple Butter
Harvest-inspired Farmer's Salad
Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Red Wine Butter
Roasted All Natural Turkey Breast with Lemon Caper Sauce
Sustainable Fish of the Day with Roasted Tomato and Pepper Compote
Garden Fresh Vegetables
Buttermilk Smashed Potatoes
Artisan Bread Pudding
Fresh Baked Harvest Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Non- alcoholic soft drinks are included.
 

The food was very good. My favorite being the Beef. Our fish this evening was Talapia.

A couple things of note.
If you want the meat cooked a bit more, like our friend John, they are happy to bring you more cooked however you'd like it.
Our friend Kandi doesn't eat pork, and the stuffing that comes with the Turkey has bacon. Our server brought out a plate of stuffing minus the bacon.
And when we wanted more of anything, there it was. We were stuffed.
And then dessert came! We didn't get the Artisan Bread Pudding, not sure why, but the fruit cobbler was more than enough!
This was a great meal, and a lot of fun, so I highly recommend it.

Portions of this article were originally posted on the Disney Musings Blog which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie, and on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.