We just returned from a family vacation at Walt Disney World Resort, and my daughter and I had the opportunity to try out the newest Disney character breakfast Topolino’s Terrace! This exciting new experience is found at Disney’s Riviera Resort. Character dining is offered here only at breakfast, so we made a bright and early reservation for when the restaurant opened at 7:30 am.
This amazing new dining venue is located at the top of the (also new!) European-inspired Walt Disney World Riviera Resort. Although open for “signature” fine dining in the evening, at breakfast things are a bit more whimsical! You can feast with four beloved Disney characters… with additional treat of meeting them in unique, artistic roles.
Incidentally… do you know what “Topolino” means? It’s Italian for Mickey Mouse!
Disney Character Breakfast Topolino’s Terrace
This awesome character dining experience has only been open for 3 weeks, according to our server. If you are staying at Riviera Resort or Caribbean Beach Resort for an upcoming vacation… this is a must do ADR (Advance Dining Reservation) to get! It has a fresh, new, upscale feel to it that was highly enjoyable.
For starters, you’ll get to meet classic but uniquely dressed characters (spoiler alert, more details on that below). The 360 degree views are fantastic, and you’ll be able to see two Disney parks: Hollywood Studios on one side of the restaurant, and Epcot on the other. And they finish strong with a delectable menu.
All of these things combine in a delightful way to make this a magical Disney experience.
My kids have a terrible time eating food when they first wake up. Plus, we Western U.S. kids are typically jetlagged from the 2 hour time difference. A 7:30 am breakfast feels like 5:30 am to us! I’ve attempted character breakfasts before, and we just don’t get our money’s worth. My son sometimes won’t eat a single thing. Not one. Single. Thing.
SO… this was a DISNEY GIRLS breakfast! Aaaah, she’s a teenager who treasures her sleep, but she’s also a die hard Disney lover like her momma! So we left the boys sleeping, and headed out bright and early.
Sneaking in the Back Door at Riveria Resort
Because we stayed at the nearby “sister” resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, it was a 5 minute walk over to Riviera Resort for our breakfast reservation time. What a gorgeous and quiet time of day, with peaceful and clear views across Barefoot Bay.
We were a little confused when we first walked into what is apparently the back door of the Riveria Resort. This is the entrance on the side of the water, and inside you’ll find a sparse room with a valet at a desk. I wanted to see the main lobby, which ended up being one floor above us.
So we climbed the stairs one floor, and got a taste of the classy European atmosphere.
How inspiring! I’m not sure if this decor inspired me more to stay here…. or travel to Europe?! At any rate, it was exquisite. Look at those gorgeous marble floors.
We wandered down a short hallway (to my right, from this vantage point of looking out the front entryway) and found the elevator, which we took to the top floor – location of Topolino’s Terrace.
Topolino’s Terrace Seating Tip: On the morning we dined here, all of the premiere tables along the windows were two tops (seating for two). My daughter and I were thrilled with our excellent views and location! Although if your party is larger, don’t fret. It’s such an open layout, that many of the center tables had excellent views as well.
First Customers of the Day at Topolino’s Terrace
A quick video walk through and view of the Topolino’s Terrace restaurant, and our excellent seats by the window. We were the first customer’s welcomed that morning at 7:30 a.m.
Classic Disney Character Breakfast… With a Creative Twist
I love that Disney embraced the French Riviera culture and gave each of the classic characters at Topolino’s Terrace an interesting, individual creative twist. Each has found an artisc calling.
Donald Duck is a sculptor! He sports a work-worn apron, with adorable little carving tools in the pockets.
Daisy Duck is a dancer! She’s quite proud of her leotard and cute little leg warmers, so feel free to compliment her on them.
Minnie Mouse is a writer! She stole my daughter and I’s heart as never before with her striking black, white, and red ensemble and her stylish beret.
Mickey Mouse is a painter! We’ve caught him during a creative session, and his outfit is full of colorful smudges from his latest masterpiece.
I had seen a few photos of these character’s online before our visit. But they were even more vibrant and fun in person, when you could to take in all the details. I was nervous that with only two of us in our party, we wouldn’t be able to have someone take our photo together. But the servers were prepared for this, and assured us ahead of time they’d help take pictures.
Each character received a special, festive introduction and dance when they made an entrance, along with peppy French music that made me feel like we were sitting in a Paris cafe. With amazing views of Disney World. Seriously… how awesome is that combination?!
Plush characters dressed like painter Mickey, writer Minnie, dancer Daisy, and sculptor Donald are for sale. Each have a special “Riviera Resort” satin logo stitched to their foot. At $21, I thought these were a terrific souvenir.
Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast ~ The Food
So what can you expect for food? This is a signature dining restaurant location, meaning fine dining at premium prices, particularly in the evening. If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, the character breakfast (aka “brunch”) will cost you one table service credit. Dinner costs two table service credits.
Breakfast is a pre fixe menu, with your choice of entree. If you’re paying out of pocket, at the time of our January visit, it was $41 per adult (ages 10+), $24 per child (ages 3-9).
Breakfast starts with what our server called “sunshine juice”. It truly was sunny… a delicious mix of passion fruit, orange, and guava juices.
Then came what was honestly our favorite part: the pastry buffet! They brought us an assortment of pastries to share, which included wonderful croissants (we ended up asking for two more of these), mini chocolate chip muffins, some apple filled pastries, and epi bread with three cute and tasty spreads. Oh, my.
So here’s how this went down for me. I have this thing for steak. And also for getting my money’s worth. So I automatically picked steak as my entree. The most bang for your buck… amiright? Why would I pick a waffle, when a STEAK is worth SO MUCH MORE?
My daughter, the more rational one, and also the one who hasn’t reached the point in life where she’s paying for anything, chose the sour cream waffle. She won.
My advice? Listen to your stomach at 7:30 am, not any of your neurotic predispositions.
Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast Menu
Here’s a detailed look at your character breakfast Topolino’s Terrace menu options.
As previously mentioned, I selected “Wood-fired Butcher’s Steak”.
Now don’t get me wrong, this steak had an excellent flavor, and was cooked to perfection, exactly as I requested. But as soon as it was plopped down in front of me, and I took that first admittedly savory bite… my stomach went, “wait, what…??”. I just couldn’t do it.
The upside? I took my steak in a to-go leftover container, and the Sleep-in Boyz got to feast on it once we got back to our room. They were pretty darn happy. They didn’t even have to wake up early.
My daughter loved her sour cream waffle, and highly recommends it.
Two Thumbs up for Riveria Resort Topolino’s
So there you have it! We really loved our experience at the new Disney Character Breakfast Topolino’s Terrace. It was worth the extra effort to go early morning, and it also gave us a better jump start to our day and early park arrival than we normally would have had.
Have you had a chance to eat at Topolino’s, and what did you think?
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