Mixed Reviews for the New 1900 Park Fare Breakfast

If you are considering 1900 Park Fare’s breakfast in Disney World now that its grand reopening has occurred, you should consider reading this review before you book. You can assess whether it is worth the time and money for you and your travel party.

1900 Park Fare Changes

1900 Park Fare is a character dining experience at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Dinner here was once highly sought after for its delightful and often hilarious interactions with Cinderella’s evil stepsisters. Breakfast was also popular with characters like the Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh to delight guests.

In fact, many people once considered 1900 Park Fare to be the cream of the crop when it came to Disney character dining. However, the restaurant stayed closed long past the park’s reopening, and when it did reopen, it did so with changes.

It has been completely reimagined, and things are VERY different now – some for better and some for worse. Here is a rundown of our recent experience at breakfast to help you decide whether it is worth your time and money to book!

Getting to 1900 Park Fare

Getting to 1900 Park Fare is actually relatively convenient compared to some Walt Disney World restaurants. You can easily take the Monorail from any of the Monorail Resorts. You can also hop on a Monorail for the Magic Kingdom.

If you are not staying at a Monorail resort, you will need to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then transfer to the Monorail to get there. However, some people consider the Monorail a must-do attraction, and so utilizing it in this way can be part of the fun!

Check-In

My travel party and I (Kate) were running a little late for our 9:30 breakfast thanks to an unanticipated transportation delay from the Contemporary. We always recommend giving yourself an hour to arrive just in case, and I didn’t follow my own advice since we were only a Monorail ride away.

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to arrive!

Thankfully, the restaurant’s hostess was able to restore our reservation and check us in as is often the case. And, we waited only a few moments for our table.

Cost

1900 Park Fare is very expensive, which is nothing new for character meals. Breakfast is $54 per adult and $39 per child plus tip. This meant that I paid well over $100 for a single breakfast with just my daughter.

If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, it is only one table-service credit. Character meals are generally a good use of a meal credit, particularly if you are eating lunch/dinner and enjoying an alcoholic beverage.

Atmosphere

The theming of the restaurant is certainly different than it was prior to its reimagining. The most notable change that people might miss is that the carousel of animals is gone.

However, the organ that many people probably remember is still there. But, everything else has been refreshed.

Now, the restaurant is dedicated to Disney dreamers. Portraits of 12 Disney characters greet Guests as they walk in.

In my opinion, it is prettier overall than it was before. In fact, the makeover is probably the most positive of the changes.

Characters

Many of you who keep up with Disney Parks news already know that the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast is a thing of the past. Replacing it is a new “Power of a Wish” theme.

Now, Guests meet Cinderella, Princess Tiana in her work outfit, Mirabel, and Aladdin in his Prince Ali outfit. If you are wondering what these characters have connecting them, Disney has you covered (sort of). An interlude, voiced by Jiminy Cricket, that happens during the meal explains that each character is a dreamer who made their wish come true.

Guests are also instructed to write down their own wishes on the back of the autograph card that comes with the meal at this time. It is part of a little wishing ceremony, similar to the one at Cinderella’s Royal Table but without the cute stars and cool effects.

I honestly would not have understood this to be the theme without the voice-over and the explanation. It felt a bit forced and more than a little bit random.

And you, dear reader, can probably think of plenty of combinations of characters that could have made for a more cohesive and well-connected story about dreamers who took their wishes into their own hands.

Naturally, this may not be a problem for many visitors. But those who are big Disney fans and those who like to be immersed in a story might find it off-putting.

Character Interactions

The characters themselves were charming and fun. Although the interactions felt a bit rushed, most characters were still on point in terms of personality. The experience with characters will vary from day to day and from person to person, but ours was good enough.

Aladdin, in particular, held a fun conversation with my daughter, primarily about Abu, magic carpets, and purple dragons. Tiana was delightful and asked about the stuffed animal friend we had along with us.

Mirabel was quirky, but she came and left quickly. Cinderella was a bit less personable than the others.

I will say, I have noticed that in general the character experiences in general become rushed towards the later part of the meal period when the crowds are there and turnover is occurring. If you book a time closer to opening, you will probably experience longer, more international interactions.

Food

People used to rave about 1900 Park Fare food. There are still some very good options. However, the variety was surprisingly a bit lackluster overall. Let’s start with the highlights. Our server started us off with glasses of POG, which is always pleasant.

The Strawberry Soup is a fan favorite, and it holds that distinction for good reason. It is delightful, unique, and fun. I was not shy about having a second bowl of it.

The eggs benedict is a nice touch as were the made-to-order omelets. But aside from those offerings, there is nothing that stands out as special or interesting.

I did like the cheese grits and the cheesy hashbrowns casserole. And, I always love a Micky waffle, but these are relatively standard offerings that can be found everywhere.

My daughter is pretty much always happy with breakfast as long as there are potato barrels or pancakes/waffles. Both of these were readily available along with pancakes.

She was delighted to find gummy bears available as a topping. She was also pleased that she could have a little bowl of them a la carte, no waffles required.

In terms of protein and non-sweets, there was a ham carving station, eggs, bacon, sausage links, and a breakfast casserole croissant pizza.

Oatmeal and toppings were available as well as yogurt and fruit toppings. There were pancakes, pull-apart bread pastries, toast, and bagels.

Nothing was bad, and most of it was fine. But, again it wasn’t particularly memorable outside of the strawberry soup. The selection was slimmer than you will find at other buffets. I can’t explain what it was, but something felt incomplete about it.

Overall

There was nothing bad about the new 1900 Park Fare breakfast. It was good fun. But it also felt less special and less magical than other character meals I have experienced. Perhaps it was just an off day.

Overall, in terms of both buffet food and overall experience, I prefer both Crystal Palace and Cape May Cafe’s breakfast options for a character buffet. I think I even prefer Chef Mickey’s breakfast now that it has added a few items.

I am glad we tried it, but I am even gladder that part of our party decided to skip this one, and we only ended up paying for two to attend this meal. For me, this one is a one-and-done unless there are eventual changes to the buffet offerings or shifts in the character offerings. It is just too expensive to repeat with the current offerings.

If your child wishes to meet Aladdin and Mirabel without waiting in the parks, this is a good choice for you. This is the only character meal where you will find them. Cinderella and Tiana can be found elsewhere.

Otherwise, unless you are staying at the Grand Floridian, if you are only up for ONE character breakfast, you might consider picking a different one for the best possible experience.

• Cape May Cafe
• Garden Grill
• Topolino’s Terrace
• Chef Mickey’s
• Hollywood and Vine
• Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Akershus
• ‘Ohana
• Crystal Palace

Wondering how dinner is? Stay tuned for a dinner review from Monica soon.

Is 1900 Park Fare Breakfast on your wish list? Let us know in the comments! And, be sure to share this review with your family and friends so they can make the best choices for dining for their own trips.