Topolino’s Terrace Modified Character Meal Review

Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends at Topolino’s Terrace is one of a few physically-distanced character meals at Walt Disney World. In this WDW dining review, we’ll share photos & video of the modified experience, commentary as to whether it’s worth your time and money, pros & cons, food pics, and info. (Updated January 24, 2021.)

Before we delve into the particulars of the modified character meal, let’s quickly recap what Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends entails. (For more details, some of which have changed, see our Topolino’s Terrace Character Breakfast Review.) This is one of Walt Disney World’s new premium character meals, offered in the morning hours at Riviera Resort’s flagship Signature Restaurant.

This is a trio of upscale new character meals (the others being Bon Voyage Adventure at Trattoria al Forno and Storybook Dining at Artist Point), that offer prix fixe menus as opposed to family style or buffet meals. It’s a quality over quantity approach, which we generally prefer. While the dining style is not entirely why, this trio all rank among the top of our Best Character Meals at Walt Disney World List.

Another big reason why we love Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends is the character costumes: Poet Minnie, Ballet Dancer Daisy, Sculptor Donald, and of course Artist Mickey. They range from artistic blue collar to the fashionable socialites, but all look great, fit the venue perfectly, and are fresh & original.

Of course, the nature of the character “interactions” are different at the modified meal, but that’s something we’ll address later in this review.

Atmosphere is another advantage offered by Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera, which is light, airy, and inviting. As noted above, this rooftop restaurant is the resort’s Signature Dining, and it shows. The dining room and decor are all elegant and refined (but without pretension), and the views are breathtaking.

Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera is also a totally different experience for breakfast and dinner–both are highly recommended.

Now let’s discuss our experience with the modified character meal. Per our Topolino’s Terrace tradition, we arrived for the first seating on (re)opening day. In fact, we were the first guests at Disney’s Riviera Resort, and for a while, the only party in the restaurant.

Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera is one of the restaurants offering Mobile Check-In, and we opted to test that out. Mobile Check-In worked flawlessly for us…but was probably unnecessary. We were actually the first guests in Walt Disney World history to use it, and one of the managers took our photo next to the sign.

For the first 20 minutes, we were the only guests in Topolino’s Terrace. (There were a lot of Cast Members and management, so the restaurant never felt eerily empty.)

By the end of the meal, there were 2 other parties of guests in the restaurant. We were expecting it to be a bit busier since it’s the only character meal–perhaps it’ll get busier after the parks reopen.

As before, the meal begins with an artist’s palette of pastries. These include Chocolate-Chip Muffins, Croissants, Epi Bread plus Honey Butter, House-made Jam, Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse.

Also as before, these are decent but we barely touched them. (In retrospect, we should’ve declined them.)

January 2021 Update: As with several other Walt Disney World restaurants during the reopening phase, Topolino’s Terrace returned with a scaled-back menu. Thankfully, the missing items have been restored, with the Wood-fired Butchers Steak and Spiced Sausage Hash–two of the best items–now back. This may sound like an insignificant change not warranting a review update, but one of our previous criticisms was about the value proposition of this modified meal.

These items offer the best bang for buck, and could definitely help tip the scales for those on the fence about breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace. Suffice to say, we’d highly recommend ordering those if they sound good (you can read our full Topolino’s Terrace review for food photos and more commentary on those dishes). We’ll head back at some point in 2021 for the sake of research to confirm they’re still delicious.

With the two most filling and high caliber options unavailable when we dined at Topolino’s Terrace, we opted to each order two entrees. This is something that is possible at all prix fixe character meals (there’s no charge), even though Walt Disney World doesn’t actively advertise it.

For her first pick, Sarah chose the Fruit Plate. What you see is what you get here.

She also ordered the gluten-free Sour Cream Waffle: Roasted Apple, Chantilly, Orange-Maple Syrup, and served with choice of Smoked Bacon, Ham, Sausage, or Plant-based Sausage.

This was fantastic. Sarah said it’s the best Mickey waffle she’s ever had (I disagree, but it was exceptional.) Note that the normal version of this dish is not Mickey-shaped, but apparently they can prepare it that way upon request.

For my first dish, I ordered 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.

Finally, 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.

Now, let’s move on to the character interactions, which is the main way the meal has been modified (aside from table spacing and the like).

When it comes to the character component of Topolino’s Terrace, a video probably tells the story best:

That’s the main character “parade” through the restaurant, which is not new.

In addition to this, there are introductions with each individual character making two laps around the seating area.

What’s new is that this is the only form of engagement with the characters.

Meaning, they don’t stop at each individual table for photos or autographs. Obviously, this is going to be a big blow for some families, and make the meal a non-starter.

The first couple of laps each character made, they didn’t pause their stroll around the restaurant for photos. On subsequent passes, they paused to pose for socially-distanced selfies. (We have our masks on in the photo above because we were getting ready to leave, but that’s not necessary when you’re at your own table.)

This is pretty clearly a work in progress and will evolve over time. We could tell the characters adapted pretty quickly to our attempts at selfies, and by the end of the meal it was much easier to obtain these than at the beginning.

For many families, selfies will still not be enough to justify booking Topolino’s Terrace. We know many people take photos of their kids interacting with, hugging, or getting autographs with the characters.

None of that is going to be possible here, even once Topolino’s Terrace finds its groove. Best case scenario is fun selfies, but even that may be tougher when the restaurant is busier (if that ever happens).

Overall, it’s difficult to offer a definitive thumbs up or down on the modified character meal at Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends. We had fun at this meal, but part of that was the high of being back at Walt Disney World. It also didn’t hurt that we already have photos with these characters from a previous visit to Topolino’s Terrace, had the restaurant practically to ourselves, and really savored the ‘top of the world’ atmosphere. Our experience and perspective is highly unlikely to be the norm.

Unless your family is character-obsessed, the modified Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends probably will not be worth it for most guests. If you have small children and you’re seeking those priceless photos and memories of your kids interacting with characters, Topolino’s Terrace isn’t going to live up to your expectations. Not only that, but it might be a hassle explaining to your kids why they can’t hug Minnie and Mickey Mouse.

However, if you’re not concerned about cost, there’s a lot to like about the Topolino’s Terrace character breakfast. The food is great, the atmosphere is refined, the views are superb, and the characters have unique costumes and elevate the atmosphere even further. It might not be worth every penny, but it’s a lot of fun and a great way to splurge. Hopefully this review offers enough insight into what the current experience is like so that you can make an informed decision and decide for yourself whether Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends is worth booking in modified form.

If you have questions about the closure, including policy changes and what we know thus far, please consult our Walt Disney World Reopening FAQ & Info, which should answer most inquiries. See our other WDW Closure & Reopening Updates for the latest news. If you’re planning a Walt Disney World trip, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know.

YOUR THOUGHTS

Does the modified character dining experience at Breakfast Á la Art with Mickey & Friends seem like it’s worth the money to you? Will you be booking an ADR for Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera? Is not being able to take photos with each character be a dealbreaker for you? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!

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