We booked a character breakfast at Disneyland Paris in the Plaza Gardens restaurant. This is a restaurant in the Disneyland Park, right next to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It’s a beautiful Victorian pavilion style building, with ornate furnishings to match. Centrally in the restaurant is the large buffet bar. The restaurant is an ‘all you can eat’ style buffet. You take a plate and go up to the counter to help yourselves. The cuisine varies depending on what meal you are there for.
When I’d checked on the Disneyland app ahead of our holiday, the character breakfast was fully booked. When we checked into our hotel though I asked at Guest Services and they managed to get us a slot. Always check at your hotel as there are regular cancellations. We chose the 8:15am sitting as this is before the park opens. It meant we could get some great photos in front of the Sleeping Beauty castle before it opened to the public and got busy. Well worth the early start! If you do choose this booking then make sure you go to the right hand side at the park entrance where Character Breakfast is signposted. They will check your booking and then let you through.
Breakfast
The food on offer covered just about everything you could ask for. Cooked English breakfast, cereals, pastries, yoghurt, fruit, continental meats and cheeses, etc. There are also hot drinks and fruit juice available. You can easily find something to please even the fussiest eaters. Big Bro loves a cooked breakfast like me. The other two polished off plenty of croissants and pan au chocolats. I failed miserably with taking photos here so there aren’t any of the food, sorry! Too busy enjoying ourselves!
I must admit, my cooked breakfast was pretty cold which was disappointing, especially considering the price. For adults character breakfast at Disneyland Paris costs €50 and children are €40. If you have a meal plan then they deduct off the value of that and you pay the difference. I paid €114 for 2 adults and 2 children (over 12s are classed as adults). I think when you contemplate the cost though, this experience isn’t about the food, its about the interaction with the characters.
The Characters
Character breakfast at Disneyland Paris is the best way to see a variety of characters without queueing. We met 6 characters including Pinocchio, Gepetto, Tigger, Eeyore, Goofy and Mr Smee. They each took their time visiting every table in the restaurant without rushing. We were able to get photos and autographs and they played with the kids. Several of them came back to the table a couple of times. It was lovely and relaxed. My youngest was dressed up as Prince Charming so they were all bowing to him. Very cute!
A little tip, take different coloured sharpie pens with you for the characters to sign autographs with. Thicker pens are easier for them to grip. We bought an autograph book in one of the Disneyland shops. They cost €10 each and have a space for a photo on the left, then the character’s autograph on the right. There are loads of different designs to choose from. We also took a photo mount and got all the characters to sign that as well. We then printed a photo of us in front of the castle when we got home and framed it with the signed mount. It’s such a lovely souvenir to have up on the wall!
The Verdict
We absolutely loved having character breakfast at Disneyland Paris. I would say it’s important to bear in mind that this is about the experience, not the food. If you can afford it though, I’d definitely recommend it for making some wonderful memories with your favourite Disney characters. To find out more on the Disneyland website click here: Character Dining
If you’re considering booking a holiday to Disneyland Paris, read our review of Hotel Santa Fe here.
