Plaza Inn’s Minnie and Friends character breakfast is one of the hottest tickets at Disneyland California and we snagged a reservation on a recent visit. The Breakfast in the Park combines three of our favorite Disneyland treats – character dining, breakfast and a sit-down meal in the park!
For those of you considering reserving Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park, we wanted to share our 2024 review and our thoughts on whether this character dining experience is worth it at Disneyland California.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park tip: we dined with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn most recently in January 2024.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park
The Minnie and Friends Breakfast at Plaza Inn is the only in-park character dining experience at Disneyland California. The buffet-style all-you-care-to-eat spread is served between 8am and 11am daily.
Minnie and Friends breakfast in the Park tip: we’ve dined at the Minnie and Friends breakfast both early and late in the morning. Our most recent reservation was for 10.40am and we didn’t enjoy it as much as the earlier reservations. The counter food was still plentiful but the pastries and fruits were limited. The characters were also wrapping up and weren’t really doing walk throughs – however, as soon as we mentioned we hadn’t seen specific characters, the Cast Member with the characters had them come out to our table.
The Characters
Minnie Mouse is undoubtedly the star of the show at the Minnie and Friends Breakfast! After checking in at the kiosk outside Plaza Inn we were directed to wait in line for our meet and greet with Minnie Mouse.
After around a 15-minute wait we were ready to meet Minnie Mouse in front of her herb garden! She was dressed to impress in a red polka dot dress with a pink apron and yellow shoes. Our time with Minnie was so much fun and she made a huge fuss of our 4 and 1 year old Minnie Mouse fans and her tribute red polka dot tutu and all the kids’ Minnie ears!
Minnie was accompanied by a PhotoPass photographer who captured some wonderful shots of us all with Minnie Mouse.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park tip: Minnie Mouse doesn’t stop by the guest tables like some of the characters at the Plaza Inn. We only saw Minnie Mouse while entering and exiting our breakfast.
We were then directed into the restaurant for our breakfast.
Over the course of our breakfast, we met Tigger, Daisy Duck, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, Chip and Dale and Perla.
Food
Breakfast is served buffet style at Plaza Inn.
The food is split across a number of serving stations directly in front of the entrance to the restaurant. There are hot food stations along the back wall and separate areas with pastries and fruits.
The food options include:
- a made-to-order omelet station
- cooked foods including scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes
- fried chicken with biscuits and gravy
- Mickey (or Minnie!) Mouse Waffles (gluten-free waffles are also available on request)
- pastries including croissants, pain au chocolate, muffins, Danish and bread rolls
- cereals and fruit
The food was all really good. The famous Plaza Inn fried chicken was a firm favorite in our family along with the omletes and Mickey Mouse Waffles.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park tip: the omelets are so good but, as they are made to order, the omelet station can get busy. Keep an eye out for a short line and place your order!
Drinks
Regular breakfast drinks including coffee and fruit juices were included with breakfast at the Plaza Inn. Unlimited sodas were also available.
The Restaurant
The Victorian-style Plaza Inn is a lovely setting and Lilian, Walt Disney’s wife, handpicked many of the interiors. The stained glass ceiling is beautiful.
Is the Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park work the cost?
Like most character dining experiences in Disney, the Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park commands a premium price ($41/adult and $24/child + tax). Of course, upon reserving, we did wonder if it would be worth it!
For us it was! Although the food is standard American breakfast fare, the addition of the characters and the opportunity to enjoy a sit-down, leisurely breakfast in the park makes it worthwhile.
The character interactions are fantastic fun and are typically much less rushed when it’s part of a dining experience compared to in the parks. As a bonus, aside from Minnie Mouse, we hadn’t seen any of the other breakfast characters in the parks during our visit. And we love Minnie Mouse so we’re happy to see her multiple times!
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park tip: with three young kids we really value having some downtime after a busy morning (inevitably involving a super early start for rope drop because we can’t resist!) in the parks and the Plaza Inn breakfast is a great opportunity to recharge and have a ton of fun with the characters. We always come out ready to hit up the parks with a new energy!
Everything you need to know about the Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn
Here’s everything else you might be wondering about the Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn:
Which characters attend the Minnie and Friends breakfast?
As the star of the show, you are almost certainly guaranteed to meet Minnie Mouse! As noted, she greets guests in front of her little herb garden outside of the restaurant as they arrive for breakfast – she does not walk through the restaurant or meet guests at their tables.
The other characters are dependent on the day. We had Daisy Duck, Suzy (one of the mice from Cinderella), Goofy, Tigger and Dale! These characters circulate through the restaurant and stop by the guest tables to meet and greet – the characters are wonderful and friendly and spent time interacting with our kids. They moved through the restaurant a few times during our breakfast so there were a few opportunities to meet them if we missed them on the first pass.
What days/times is the Minnie and Friends Breakfast served?
Currently, the Minnie and Friends Breakfast is offered daily and runs from 8am to 11am.
How much is the Minnie and Friends Breakfast at the Plaza Inn?
As of 2024, breakfast costs $46/adult and $27/child (aged 3 and over) + tax.
Children under 3 are free of charge.
Breakfast is paid for upon entry to the restaurant, prior to eating, and a gratuity is not added to the bill – aside from being shown to your table the meal is entirely self-service.
Do I need to reserve the Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park in advance?
The Minnie and Friends Breakfast is among the most popular dining experiences in Disneyland so we’d definitely recommend reserving well in advance. Dining reservations typically open 60 days in advance at 3am PST/6am EST. We reserved while in the UK so have an 8-hour time difference with PST for most of the year.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park tip: don’t despair if you don’t manage to make a reservation when they drop at 60 days out. We only decided to go to Disneyland three weeks in advance of our trip and easily grabbed a cancellation at a great time. The cancellations were coming in right up to the day before dining but they were snapped up quite quickly.
Breakfast must be cancelled at least 2 hours in advance or a $10 per person cancellation fee applies.
Is there a PhotoPass photographer at the Minnie and Friends Breakfast?
On the morning we attended there was one PhotoPass meet and greet spot outside the restaurant capturing guests meeting Minnie Mouse as they arrived at the Plaza Inn. Our PhotoPass was included in the cost of our Genie+ reservation for that day.
How long does the Minnie and Friends Breakfast take at Plaza Inn?
I’d say allow around at least 1 hour to enjoy breakfast. We spent around 1hour to 1.5 hours in the restaurant and enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast. We also had plenty of time to meet the characters.
Do I need a theme park reservation to attend the Minnie and Friends Breakfast?
Yes, a park reservation is required as the breakfast is held in Disneyland Park. You will need to have reserved Disneyland Park as your entry park as the last breakfast reservation is at 11am and you cannot enter the park hopper park until 11am.
Other Character Dining Experience in Disneyland California
As well as Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park, the other character dining experiences available at Disneyland California are:
- Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose in Grand Californian – read about our most recent experience here!
- Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet at Storytellers Cafe in Grand Californian
- Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel
We’ve dined at all 4 character meals in Disneyland California. You can check out our guide to the best character dining at Disneyland California for an overview of all the character meals.
