WDW Dining Review: Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends
Today, I wanted to share with you all a look at one of the newer breakfast dining options at Walt Disney World. Located at Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney Vacation Club’s newest location, it opened in December of 2019, mere months before the entirety of WDW was closed due to the Covid pandemic. When WDW started phased reopening in late June 2020, Disney’s Riviera Resort opened, along with their high-end sit down restaurant: Topolino’s Terrace. Along with the reopening came a revamped version of their Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends character breakfast.
I went to breakfast with my friends Dave & Lauren one morning during my trip in September & October to celebrate WDW’s 50th Anniversary. They had been there before, and it has become a must have spot to eat breakfast during their trips. That had me intrigued, because sometimes I feel that Lauren especially is hard to please. I will say this: I was not disappointed.
Breakfast starts off with a paint bucket filled with pastries, along with a trio of spreads that comes with a paint brush shaped knife. A variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are also on hand, including the fan-favorite pog juice.
When it comes to the entrée, Topolino’s offers a smathering of adult and child options… but’s there’s a twist. You basically can write your own ticket. They don’t go as far as to say “all you can eat”, but if you order it you get it. When it came time for us to order, we each got the Wood-fired Butcher’s Steak, which came with Polenta and roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. However, we were allowed to add things to it. For me, I added eggs, bacon, sausage, and a side of their sour cream waffles. Dave and Lauren did similar orders, including delicious home fries (not pictured).
Everything was absolutely delicious. We could have even added more if we wanted to, but we were definitely full after everything that came with our first, and only, round. But in addition to the delicious food, we got to say hi to four Disney characters (from a distance), each with a costume exclusive to this dining experience.
For this dining experience, first all four characters come out and parade around (alone, guests aren’t invited/allowed to parade with them). Then, each character are introduced and they proceed around the dining room. They have a set path that they need to follow. Guests, at this time, cannot stray onto that path when a character is in the area. Pictures and selfies can be taken from afar, but nothing up close.
As you can see from above, Mickey Mouse is a painter, Minnie Mouse is a writer, Donald Duck is a sculptor, and Daisy Duck is a dancer (particularly a ballerina). All four of these professions have been highly respected in the French and Italian Riviera sections of the Mediterranean over the years, so these costumes fit perfectly in this resort.
Also, because the characters aren’t currently signing autographs due to social distancing, Each guest is given a special autograph card.
After eating breakfast and meeting with the characters, before leaving the restaurant guests can take in the view and snap photos on the rooftop terrace. From this terrace, one can see three of the four theme parks, a few of the resorts, and the Disney Skyliner. On a clear day like the one we experienced, the views were amazing.
This was also the first time that I was about to venture around the Riviera Resort. While we didn’t have a lot of time, I did get to see the beautiful mosaics featuring Peter Pan and Tangled, as well as some beautiful Disney Princess paintings in one of the hallways.
The next time you are on vacation at WDW, or live locally, I would suggest getting a reservation to visit Mickey and his friends at Topolino’s Terrace. There you will find festive times and delicious food.