Review: Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends
Topolino’s Terrace serves character breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Walt Disney World’s Riviera Resort. This dining review shares food photos, a look at the chic costumes, thoughts on the atmosphere, how this compares to other comparable meals, and more. (Updated May 14, 2023.)
Let’s begin with background. Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is offered at Topolino’s Terrace, the restaurant at Disney’s Riviera Resort that offers this character breakfast and a Signature dinner. This venue is located on the rooftop of the tower hotel, and offers picturesque views of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Although Riviera Resort is the newest standalone Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World, it’s open to everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re walking over from Caribbean Beach, taking the Skyliner from Pop Century, or even an Uber from All Star Sports or off-site. All that matters is that you make an ADR, which can be a Herculean task in its own right…
As intimated above, ADRs aren’t easy for the character breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace. Although it’s gotten slightly easier to book as of 2023, you’ll still need to make reservations early or luck-out last minute. See our Top 10 Tips for Difficult ADRs at Walt Disney World. Topolino’s Terrace is one of the “difficult ADRs” that title references.
For Walt Disney World first-timers, it might come as a surprise that making Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) is such a challenge. After all, there are literally hundreds of table service restaurants that are bookable two months ahead of time at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and the two dozen-plus resorts at Walt Disney World. Yet, it is.
If you’re already planning ahead to 2024, expect Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends to become an even more challenging ADR (again). That’s because Walt Disney World has announced that the Disney Dining Plan will return in 2024, and that’ll almost certainly rekindle dining demand–especially at “good credit value” character meals.
As for why Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera is already so beloved, it’s because this breakfast is basically a continuation of the newest wave of character dining at Walt Disney World. This began with Bon Voyage Adventure at Trattoria al Forno (still temporarily suspended as of May 2023) and continued with Storybook Dining at Artist Point. Not so coincidentally, those rank as the #2 and #1 options on our list of the Best Character Meals at Walt Disney World.
These meals felt like a thoughtful foil to the experience you might find at Chef Mickey’s, Crystal Palace, or ‘Ohana. All of those character restaurants feature buffets and emphasize quantity over quality. Also not so coincidentally, that trio all made our list of the Worst Character Meals at Walt Disney World. So, which list does Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace make? Let’s dig in!
In terms of ambiance, Topolino’s Terrace is a great venue for Breakfast à la Art. I’ll hammer the design and decor more in our dinner review, as the characters are the star here. Suffice to say, the atmosphere at Topolino’s reminded me of a more family-friendly version of Brunch at the Top at California Grill.
There are various things with which we could quibble about the setting, but those are more appropriate for the full resort review. In isolation, Topolino’s Terrace is light, airy, and inviting. The finishings, light fixtures, seating, and decor are all elegant and refined. The views are stellar.
Topolino’s Terrace is perfect for a refined and slightly upscale character meal. It’s also worth noting that unlike Storybook Dining and Bon Voyage Adventure, Breakfast à la Art is not a retrofit. At times both of those restaurants feel a bit ‘off’ for the meals they’re hosting, and that’s absolutely not the case with Breakfast à la Art at Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera.
Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends crushes it when it comes to the character wardrobe. Here you have Poet Minnie, Sculptor Donald, Ballet Dancer Daisy, and of course Artist Mickey all mingling amongst guests at Topolino’s Terrace.
Minnie and Daisy look like they’d fit right in with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, or perhaps on the pages of Tender is the Night. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit too dark and bleak. The point is that they look look chic and sophisticated, wholly appropriate for the nebulous “Riviera” theme. (In reality, it’s more like anything European.)
Mickey and Donald don’t exactly look debonair, but they nonetheless fit the setting, as well. They’re the blue collar counterparts to the fashionable female socialites, and these costumes are also great. Whether they’re supposed to be Parisian/French or Italian, the costumes simply work, and are something fresh and original.
For us, these are the best character dining costumes at Walt Disney World outside of Minnie’s Seasonal Dine. We’re particularly big fans of the attire at Minnie’s Holiday Dine at Christmas and Minnie’s Halloween Dine. I’d still give those the edge in terms of both costumes and interactions, but it’s a really close call.
It’s totally a matter of personal preference, but the character choices at Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace definitely surpass those at Artist Point and Trattoria al Forno for us. While we’ve had solid interactions at both of those restaurants, face characters put us on edge.
We’re infinitely more comfortable around fur characters, so even mediocre interactions at this meal would’ve put it ahead of those offerings (again, at least for us; YMMV), which had strong face character interactions. If you or your kids prefer princesses, princes, or dwarves, that might give one of those other two top tier character meals the edge. There are a lot of comparisons among the three because they’re all essentially the top tier trio.
Fortunately, our experiences with the characters at Topolino’s Terrace were anything but mediocre. As each character arrives to the restaurant (which happens about once per hour), their arrival is announced and they’re greeted with a bit of fanfare.
Also approximately once per hour, a Disney interpretation of “Funiculi, Funicula” plays and the characters do a little dance around the restaurant. It’s cute, and together with the arrivals helps Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends be more than a simple “pose, smile, and quickly move on” character meal.
Our table-side character interactions were positive. Each of the characters was playful, acted the part of their occupation, and was enthusiastic to see us. We (and by we I mean Sarah) had some fun and playful greetings, which we (me) managed to capture poorly via photos. (Pro tip: video is always going to be better for a character’s arrival and initial hug or whatever, followed by photos for the poses.)
There were not any hijinks like we’ve experienced frequently at Minnie’s Seasonal Dine, but it’s also worth noting that those happen organically, and often center around children or first-time guests. The opening day crowd for Topolino’s Terrace was more of a blogger bash than the normal audience would be.
The meal begins in ‘traditional’ Walt Disney World character breakfast form with a glass of POG (Passion, Orange, & Guava) juice.
A variety of other specialty drinks are also available for purchase. We stuck to the included POG juice and Joffrey’s coffee.
That’s followed shortly by an artist’s palette of pastries. These include Chocolate-Chip Muffins, Croissants, Epi Bread plus Honey Butter, House-made Jam, Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse. These are fine as “filler” pastries go, but they’re no better in quality than what you could pick up at Publix.
We’ve now done Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace several times, so we’ll compile all of our entree reviews from the various meals here…
First up, the Quiche Gruyère: House-made Pancetta, Roasted Potatoes, Field Greens, Lemon Vinaigrette.
This was also really good. The quiche was decadent and rich, with the field greens providing a vesting and refreshing counterpart. I’d recommend this even when the menu is back to normal.
Next, the Wild Mushroom Scramble: Spinach, Plant-based Eggs, Plant-based Sausage, Tomatoes.
This was fine–too light on mushrooms. There’s nothing wrong with it, just not a particularly ambitious or noteworthy dish.
Next up is a look at the Two Eggs-Any Style with Roasted Potatoes and a choice of Smoked Bacon, Ham, Sausage, or Plant-based Sausage.
We didn’t have a chance to try these, but were told this dish was solid. (Apologies for the poor photo–the “light and airy atmosphere” also means uneven lighting at window tables.)
If you want something lighter, the Fruit Plate is your best bet. This includes Fresh Fruits, Honey Yogurt, Seed Granola, Toasted Sunflower Butter.
This is a “what you see is what you get” type of thing. Obviously, it offers poor value for money, but you might be able to request it for the table in addition to your normal entrees. In which case, it’s a nice way to round out the meal.
Sarah’s go-to order at Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is the Sour Cream Waffles with Roasted Apples, Chantilly, Orange-Maple Syrup, and Plant-based Sausage. (Smoked Bacon, Ham, or Sausage were also options–in judging other plates around us, sausage is the best pick.)
These were our server’s recommendation, and she was on the money with this. These waffles were fantastic, with the waffles themselves being thick and a light exterior crunch giving way to a light and almost gooey (but not quite) interior.
However, it was the various fruit accompaniments that were the stars here, with the distinct flavors of apple and orange zest coming through and elevating this dish from “just nicely done waffles” to something more.
These Sour Cream Waffles are a great pick if you want something filler, but a bit on the lighter side than the heartier, meat-centric options above and below.
Next, the Spiced Sausage Hash with Poached Hen Egg, English Muffin, Potatoes, Pearl Onions, Choron Sauce, Fines Herbes. (Currently unavailable.)
It was excellent; a rich and hearty option that also had some nuance thanks to the sauce and spices. This seems like the kind of thing Gaston would order if we were a bit more sophisticated. While I loved my entree, I think this is the sleeper hit of the meal–I’d strongly consider ordering it next time.
Finally, the Wood-fired Butchers Steak with Polenta, Pomodoraccio Tomatoes, Roasted Onions, Wild Mushroom Conserva, Watercress.
The steak was perfectly-cooked, tender, and had a mildly smoky flavor. Onions and tomatoes were fantastic and fresh, with wild mushrooms providing a nice, earthy flavor. Finally, the polenta was creamy and rich, like icing on the proverbial breakfast cake.
This is very similar to the marquee entree on the Bon Voyage menu, right down to the flavors. This is definitely the bang for your buck option, and would likely be ~$10 more expensive than everything else on an a la carte menu. While I really enjoyed the hash, this is would be my top recommendation. Takes a bit of the sting out of the price!
Speaking of which, this superlative experience comes at a cost. Currently, Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera costs $45 per adult or $29 per child. Aside from regular Joffrey’s coffee, drinks cost extra. Topolino’s Terrace offers a 10% Disney Vacation Club member discount.
Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is one table service credit on the Disney Dining Plan (when available), which makes it a reasonably good value if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan. We paid out of pocket, and our total after taxes and tip (minus DVC discount) for the two of us was right around $95. That sounds like a lot for breakfast, but considering the quality of the food, characters, and setting, we felt it was fair.
Overall, Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera moves to the top of our personal list of the best character meals at Walt Disney World. Thanks to the spectacular views, airy atmosphere, and elegant design–plus those chic character costumes–it definitely feels like the most upscale character meal. Your personal preferences might skew more towards princess dining or buffets, but if upscale a la carte with Mickey and friends is what you’re after, there’s no beating this.
With food that’s on par with Bon Voyage plus a setting reminiscent of California Grill and character quality that nears Minnie’s Seasonal Dine, Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace is an absolute winner. Sarah is already ready to book another ADR here, and I’d have to say this is the character meal I’m most inclined to return to again for fun. Even knowing that Walt Disney World has been stepping up its character dining game, this exceeded our expectations.
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Your Thoughts
Have you booked ADRs for Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera? Planning on making the Skyliner ride over here from Pop Century, Art of Animation, or walking over from Caribbean Beach? (Or do you have an elusive Disney’s Riviera Resort room?) Already dined at Breakfast à la Art? Do you agree or disagree with our WDW dining review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
So last night after a long day at Animal Kingdom followed by pool time at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, we were undecided about what to do for dinner. Figuring we could find something at Epcot, we took the bus to Hollywood studios then boarded the skyliner. While passing through the Riviera station I remembered that there was a new restaurant, Toplino Terrace. So I quickly made a reservation, got off and quickly back on the Skylinet at Epcot and we enjoyed one of the better meals we have had in Disney World. Afterwards we went back to Epcot to grab dessert in France.
Good information but too many darn ads. Annoying.
Can we just talk about how adorable Sarah is?? I need that dress!! Tom, be a dear and ask her where she got it 🙂
Made reservation for our trip in April after reading the reviews. We are staying at Carribean Beach so it will be easy to get to for us. My boys love Donald Duck and Mickey, can’t wait to see their faces when they realize they are having breakfast with them! Think I will keep it as a surprise : )
How many dining plan credits is breakfast?
Breakfast is 1 Table Service Credit in 2020.
Thanks Tom 🙂 Good to know this is worth trying, plus it gives us a reason to stop by and see the resort. I’m loving Donald!
Since we love fur character greets especially Mickey and Friends in unique costumes, this will be a must do on future trips.
We went yesterday as well. It was outstanding. I totally agree with your “California Grill” light assessment. This is head and shoulders above Chef Mickeys’. The décor, atmosphere, views are spectacular. I don’t know any character meal that compares.
My 13 year old and husband both had the steak and pretty much licked the plate.
My 8 year old had the waffle dippers and he loved those. We all loved the pastries and asked for more bread. We’ll definitely be back and would recommend it to anyone.
I am so glad you put up a review on this dinning experience. We have reservations for the breakfast with the family in April and dinner for our date night. We usually stay at the Grand Floridian once a year for our Disney vacation. Hopefully, we made a good decision staying at the Riviera this year.
Great review! How would you compare it to Cape May Cafe, in terms of character interaction and value?
We’re staying at Caribbean Beach in Feb and have an ADR for breakfast on our go-home day. I’m excited to check out the Riviera Resort and enjoy the character meal.
We have a reservation for this on our March trip. It’s on our non park day which will make for a perfect way to add character to the day!
Love your reviews on all the adult food, but I would love to see more info on kids menus and if the food is worth it for the kids too! Storybook Dining at Artist Point had amazing adult food but the child’s chicken breast looked awful, it was not cooked all the way and the only thing my kids ate off their plate was a string cheese. I could have gotten a pack of string cheese for $4 instead of paying for 2 kids plates at $25+ a piece kids need kiddie food, probably why they love Chef Mickey’s
My son had the waffle dippers and they were a hit. He also loved the mini muffins they brought at the beginning. He also told me he was happy there was real fruit and not all the honeydew melon filler lol
Thank you so much! I have a 2 year old and 6 year old so they definitely would eat waffles and they love fruit! Just booked it for February, thanks!!
Hi all. I’m looking at making a reservation for early feb as part of a short stay at the Caribbean beach resort. I’ve booked the deluxe dining plan….. does anyone know if you get a speciality drink on the dining plan as you would with a lunch / dinner table service meal? A Bloody Mary with brunch is always a winner!! Thanks all, Chris
Yes
This all looks nice, but I do wish they had done something unique for characters like Bon Voyage (inclusion of princes with the princesses) or Storybook Dining (princess plus sidekicks and villain). To see Mickey and Friends, I can go have an excellent breakfast at convieny-to-patks locations like Cape May, Tusker House, or Hollywood & Vine, a not-bad breakfast at Garden Grill or Ohana, and if all else fails, Chef Mickey. I don’t think food alone is enough to get me to trek to Riviera, since if I just want better food I can get that at countless WDW restaurants without characters. I think the newness will keep them busy for a while, but I predict interest dropping off after a year or two.
Riviera Resort is on the Skyliner path, so you’re actually conveniently located to 2 parks, epcot and hollywood studios, but I can understand not wanting to head there if you’re not staying at one of the other Skyliner resorts. I personally don’t like the character breakfasts, especially using a dining credit for them, since they’re less expensive than the dinners, but I do like the challenge of seeing how many different costumes I can find Mickey and friends in during a single trip, and the costumes here, I gotta say, look fab5lous.
Perhaps I should have explained: we rode the skyliner on our recent trip and with all the starting and stopping, plus the required transfer at Caribbean beach for most routes, I don’t find it to be convenient at all. I understand Tom has posted he had a better experience, but it took us 45 minutes to get to hollywood studios–even the buses are faster than that. Adding my dislike of heights, it was a “never again” for me.
That makes sense. I can definitely understand all those frustrations as well as the fear of heights. I’m hoping it won’t be so bad for me inside the enclosed car, unlike traditional open ski lifts, but I doubt it, though still excited to check it out.
At any rate, for me, this restaurant would probably be better for a non park resort day or planned half day at the parks, instead of trying to fit it into a full day schedule. But…that’s just my typical view of the resort dining experiences. Too me, it takes too much time out of the day to try to get to a different resort and do a dinner and get back to the park, when, like you said, the parks already have the dining experiences inside. Our next trip, I have a reservation at 1900 for a late breakfast and Artist point for an early dinner with a few hours of magic kingdom stuffed in between, though we’ll take a leisurely stroll through the adventureland area and not plan more than a few rides that day.
I respectfully disagree about too many Mickey and Friends locations. Similar to Tom and Sarah, we are childless millennial couple and we love the Mickey and Friends character meals. The interactions are fun as adults rather than the awkwardness of face characters like princes and princesses. As long as they have different costumes in each location, then its worth visiting no matter if there are already lots of Mickey and Friends greets or if the food is mediocre. Its also very convenient location if you have a car and have breakfast before an Epcot or DHS visit.
We booked it for brunch on Christmas Day. Glad to hear it was great! We’re going to need sustenance after getting up at 5 a.m. to get ROTR boarding passes – and I’ll be very unhappy if our group gets called when we should be at brunch…
Fortunately, you’ll have 2 hours to get back to DHS to ride RotR once your group is called, which should be plenty of time if you’re called after sitting down to lunch. I’ve also seen others coordinate with guest services as well if something happens if they’re called and can’t get to their Boarding on time.
I’d say, if you get called while you’re in the park before you head to the reservation and don’t have enough time to ride, head over to the ride anyway, and mention that you have a dining reservation that you need to get to and see if you could get a fastpass to come back later. Just remember, be very nice and understanding, but persistent.
Seems like Disney is doing a ton to keep as many people as possible happy with the issues that have occurred with RotR.
We have a 7:30 am this Thursday but want it get in line for RofR very early. What do you suggest for timing. We are staying at POR but will use Lyft.
Hi pamela, I think if you show up at HS by 6, you’ll have time to scan in, get a boarding pass, then hop on the Skyliner to get over to Riviera Resort and have plenty of time to make it to your 730 breakfast, at Topolini’s, I’m presuming.
Also, if you read Tom’s Skyliner to Rise of the Resistance post from today, he did something similar, but didn’t show up til closer to 7 am.
We were also there this morning. Food was excellent; Really loved the spreads that come with the pastries. The characters were adorable and so fun. Really can’t beat the view. Overall one of the best available
We were there opening morning as well. The character outfits are adorable!
If I didn’t already have 3 Mickey meals planned, I’d add this to my next trip. Oh well, future trip goals! Also, I love that you are always ordering the exact meal I would order. Helps me know if I should follow through (trattori) or go with something else (artist pointe).
Hoping you get to dine there for dinner there soon to tell us all about it as well. We have ADR there for Christmas at 5:45pm. We didn’t wait to experience it!!!!
We will have to fit in the character breakfast if someone drops it next week. Food looks delicious. Dining room looks stunning and so stylish.
* we can’t wait to experience it!!!
I snagged a reservation for this a month ago for our trip during Christmas/new year’s. I’m excited to try the new restaurant next week! taking my 6yo and the 1yo twins.
We enjoyed breakfast here today as well, thought the food was fantastic! We ordered two of the specialty cocktails and thought they were wonderful! Characters are adorable! I saw you as you were leaving, would have ran over to say hi but my mimosa arrived and I was side tracked by that! 😉
Got an ADR for this in May, very excited. Would love to see a couple of paintings and sculptures clearly done by Mickey & Donald – perhaps outside to not ruin the atmosphere inside. Mickey’s could be classy paintings of the four of them in various settings, and Donald’s perhaps sculptures where it’s evident he’s gotten angry and bashed the whole thing repeatedly.
This is all fine and well, BUT…..
….I need to know where Sarah’s dress is from.
Sorry for off-topic/Thanks 🙂
I made an ADR as soon as it was available for this restaurant on Christmas morning. The food looks great and we can’t wait to try it!
Great review, thanks! Do they have a children’s menu or could a child request a plain waffle?