Eating breakfast at Walt Disney World Resorts can be tricky. Do you want to spend the vacation time – and money – on a big, sit-down meal before heading out into the Florida heat?
Maybe you prefer to grab something light or a quick bite of something sugary like a cheese danish?
Do you eat at the hotel? On the way to the park? Maybe someone left a muffin on the Disney bus.Â
Our family likes to hit the ground running at rope drop. You get ahead of the heat and often the crowd. We’ll grab some fruit, a coffee or juice and a pastry and then plan for a relaxing lunch in the air conditioning or shade.
The only time we stray from the path is when we plan character dining.
We’ve done several of Disney’s options for a character dining experience with breakfast. It’s especially nice if you can make reservations in the park before it opens, have breakfast and then be ready to go when the crowds are unleashed.
We did this at Tucker House in Africa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom once and it worked out great.
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Can you do a character breakfast at EPCOT?
Not currently, but that is expected to change. Disney recently announced that character dining lunch and breakfast is returning to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion effective May 14, 2023.
Breakfast is expected to include the traditional Disney breakfast with bacon, sausage links, eggs, biscuits, assorted fruits, breakfast potatoes and more. The waffles are heart-shaped instead of the more Disney-friendly Mickey waffles, and everything looks great.
It is not clear whether it will be buffet or family style.
Who will you be having breakfast with? Some selection of Disney princesses or princess adjacent characters such as Belle, Mary Poppins, Alice, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Pocahontas, Mulan, Cinderella or Ariel.
Now that Akershus is changing, you have to wonder if the Garden Grill Restaurant in the Land Pavilion will be the next on the agenda. Nothing has been announced, but you’ve got to think a Garden Grill breakfast with Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale and Pluto is on the horizon.
There has also been no word on the Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria Al Forno at Disney’s Boardwalk. The popular character breakfast was one of the few places you could meet characters like Prince Eric from “The Little Mermaid” and Flynn Rider, Rapunzel’s prince from “Tangled”.
The restaurant, located a short walk from EPCOT’s International entrance, still serves a mean breakfast there with Oak-grilled Steak and Eggs, Sunrise Breakfast Pizza and the Caprese Omelet. But you can’t meet any of your Disney heroes there at this time.
What if you want a quick service breakfast?
If we’re not doing character dining, then our family’s breakfast is always quick service and not table service.
At Magic Kingdom, it means the Cheshire Cat Tail at the Cheshire Cafe at the intersection of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
If you are at Hollywood Studios, that means the breakfast Ronto Wrap.
At EPCOT, that means Starbucks at Connections Cafe or similar.
What time does EPCOT start serving food?
Basically, there is food available for purchase as soon as the park opens. However, many of the food booth restaurants open closer to lunch from about 11 am to noon. Others are dinner-only and open around 4 pm.
As always, check with the My Disney Experience app or website-specific restaurant times.
Can you eat at a restaurant in EPCOT without park admission?
No. Therefore, if you want to do Disney dining without paying for a park ticket, consider one of the many restaurants at the Disney resorts like Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary or Ohana at the Polynesian.
There is also a bevy of great options at Disney Springs.
Does Disney sell breakfast?
Absolutely. Some of it is quite good. Breakfast options range from buffet-style – coming back soon – to grab-and-go carts with fruit and/or pastries or coffee shops.
Where are the best places to get breakfast at EPCOT?
There are a lot of options for breakfast in EPCOT. My recommendation if you want an EPCOT breakfast is to use the International entrance near the World Showcase and the France Pavilion. That’s where you’ll find the good stuff.
With all of this in mind, we’re going to break these down based on food quality and not factor in the precious Disney time you’ll trade in sitting down to eat a big breakfast.
6. The Land Cart
The Land Cart is a great place to grab fruit and cheese, a Mickey pretzel or hummus.
My family uses this snack cart for emergency breakfast service only.
5. Connections Café
This restaurant offers mostly a variety of Starbucks coffees and a few breakfast sandwiches like the Double-Smoked Bacon or Cheddar & Egg Sandwich.
The real culinary star – other than the coffee – is the Orange Bird Liege Waffle. But this is a perfunctory, functional breakfast. Nothing more.
4. La Cantina de San Angel
We’re pushing things a bit with this taco stand in the Mexico Pavilion. The menu says lunch and dinner but the place opens at 10 am. Is an order of Tacos de Barbacoa eaten at 10:05 in the morning really breakfast? Who can say?
We’re not about boundaries. Here, we always say, as long as you eat it before McDonald’s stops serving McMuffins, it is breakfast even if it’s nachos or ice cream – especially if it’s nachos and ice cream.
We should make T-Shirts with that saying.
3. Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
Over in the Norway Pavilion, this cafe offers a variety of pastries, cakes and snacks. The School Bread is a sweet roll filled with custard and dipped in coconut.
Lefse is essentially Norwegian cinnamon toast, a soft flatbread rolled with cinnamon, sugar and butter. They also offer a Mickey Cinnamon Roll.
For a morning pick-me-up, they have Joffrey’s Coffee, espresso, cappuccino or a latte. The Kristoff Kaffe is a frozen coffee with coffee-chocolate sauce and garnished with coffee-chocolate crunch.
If you want to start your morning with a little more hair on your chest, the Viking Coffee comes with Baileys Irish cream liqueur and Kamora coffee liqueur.
Read Also: What Is School Bread at EPCOT? Where You Can Find It
2. La Crêperie de Paris
When we were young and didn’t have kids, my wife and I got to take a couple of trips to Paris. We did fantastic things, saw wonderful sights and made memories to last a lifetime.
We ate at some great restaurants. But I don’t think I had anything better than a crepe from one of the many stands scattered about Paris. My favorite was a savory crepe with egg, cheese, ham, mushroom and pepper. Not that we didn’t have sweet crepes, too.
In EPCOT, the choices of galettes – slightly hardier, savory offerings – and crepes skews more towards lunch.
However, I think you could do worse for breakfast than the Classique, which is a ham, egg and Swiss cheese galette or the Savoyarde, which has raclette cheese, caramelized onions, bacon and imported Bayonne ham.
The sweeter options include the Groumande with hazelnut-chocolate spread and whipped cream; the Banane with banana and caramel beurre salé or the Melba with peach, red berries sauce and almonds.
1. Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
Look, I may be swayed by my love of Paris, but you simply can’t beat this Parisian-style eatery for a perfect breakfast.
Sure, the menu may say lunch and dinner, but Les Halles is open at 9 am and you can score an Eggs, Cheese and Bacon Croissant (the perfect breakfast sandwich), a Ham and Cheese Croissant or a Full Baguette to start your day.
Want something sweeter? Try the Pain au Chocolat. There are also a variety of coffees and a yogurt mousse with berries and more.Â
What about French toast? It’s not currently on the menu, but you won’t miss it. There are many better options.
Is there free food at EPCOT?
No. There’s no free food at EPCOT or any other Walt Disney World theme park.
Free food at Disney? Why would someone ask that question? I think it has to do with the annual festivals.
EPCOT hosts four annual festivals – Food and Wine, Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden and Festival of the Holidays. Technically, attendance at those festivals is included in your ticket price. That said, the food and snacks and quick bites are all at an extra cost.
The only time food is “free” in EPCOT is if you attend a special ticketed event like Disney After Hours. In fact, EPCOT has multiple after-hours events planned in June. Tickets range from $129 to $139.
Guests who purchase tickets to these limited number of events will have small wait times and access to shows and characters from 10 pm to 1 am. Popcorn, novelty ice creams and select beverages are included in the price of admission.
Read Also: How Disney After Hours Works, Your Questions Answered
What is your favorite place to get breakfast at EPCOT during your vacation? Let us know in the comments!
