One of my favorite Disney Dining tips for saving money in Disney World is to exchange two meals for one — especially when you’re trading breakfast and lunch for an awesome brunch!
In the past, a main planning focus for many guests has been getting to the parks early so that they can grab fastpasses for favorite rides — or ride things before the crowds arrive.
But now that MyMagic+ is going to make reserving later-in-the-day ride times that much easier, you might be able to take a few days to sleep in — and save some dough at the same time!
So I’m adding to our Best Disney Restaurants Series and outlining a few of my personal favorite places to start the day off slow at Walt Disney World. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions, too!
Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk Resort
In spring of 2017, Trattoria al Forno introduced a brand new character brunch experience called the Bon Voyage Character Breakfast. And this character breakfast isn’t just about the princesses. In addition to character meet and greets with Rapunzel and Ariel, diners also get to meet Flynn Ryder and Prince Eric, making this one of the only character meals with princes!
Prince Eric
And the food is pretty exciting, too! Pastries and entrees are designed to reflect themes and icons from Tangled and The Little Mermaid, making this meal as fun to look at as it is to eat! We particularly enjoyed the Tower of Pancakes meant to represent Rapunzel’s tower!
Pastry assortment
Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
Your African adventure begins the moment you arrive at this exotic resort and take in the splendor of the lobby. As you make your way to Boma, dark woods and thatched roofs mingle with the delicious smells to make you feel like you’ve entered an African marketplace for breakfast.
Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge
The buffet here is stocked with popular brunch options like omelets, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, carved ham, breakfast potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs; but they also serve up more multi-cultural dishes, including African pastries, quinoa porridge, and bobotie — a type of quiche.
Seriously, you could totally go for that cinnamon roll right now, couldn’t you??
Boma Breakfast Pastries
Be sure to try some of the specialtyJungle juice as well!
Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort
While guests in the Magic Kingdom line up for a ride on Space Mountain, visitors at the Polynesian Resort can soak up the Hawaiian ambiance at Kona Cafe.
From the first “Aloha,” you’ll feel your stress melting away, especially if you make your Advanced Dining Reservation for after 10 a.m.
Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes with Bacon
The restaurant has warm woods, colorful mosaics, and tropical artifacts, but it’s the out-of-this-world breakfast foods that really make this a must-try in Disney World.
Just about everything on the Kona Cafe breakfast menu is a cult favorite or Disney guests!!!
Banana Stuffed, Cinnamon-Sugar Covered Tonga Toast
I recommend the restaurant’s super sweet signature dish, Tonga Toast: thick sourdough French Toast stuffed with bananas and then rolled in cinnamon sugar. Or try the luxurious specialty pancakes with macadamia nut butter and pineapple!
French Press of Kona Coffee
The Rollicking Raglan Sunday Brunch at Raglan Road
Don’t forget the Rollicking Raglan Sunday Brunch at Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs!
Full Irish Breakfast at Raglan Road Restaurant and Pub
With a focus on traditional Irish breakfast fare, you can’t go wrong with the new brunch menu. The Full Irish offers a little bit of everything, and the black and white puddings are incredible. We can also enthusiastically recommend their amazing Eggs Benedict, with its lemony, luscious hollandaise.
And what would brunch be without a Red Eye — Raglan Road’s answer to the Bloody Mary?
Red Eye at Raglan Road
Brunch is served 10AM to 3PM every Saturday and Sunday. Raglan Road also offers live music and traditional Irish dancing from 12-4 p.m. each Sunday.
Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs
Morimoto Asia puts its own delicious spin on brunch with a Dim Sum Brunch! This offering of small plates allows diners to try several different dishes — one dish for the first course and three for the second. Dishes include favorites like Hot and Sour Soup and Pork Ribs.
Hot and Sour Soup
With so many exquisite options, you might want to try more than the included four — and that’s possible! For $6 each, you can add other options from the menu. And we recommend it as everything we tried was superb, and sharing these small plates is a fun way to interact with your family and friends and this great food!
Fried Spicy Pork Dumplings
Dim Sum Brunch is available from 11:30AM to 3PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
California Grill at the Contemporary Resort
For an upscale brunch experience, look no further than California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. From complimentary mimosas to a make-your-own-bloody-Mary bar, this is a brunch that’s made for grown ups (although the kids are welcome too — and receive kid-friendly ‘mimosas’!).
More Bloody Mary Garnishes
The buffet includes bountiful charcuterie and multifarious cheeses, sushi, pastries, Greek yogurt parfaits, salads, and classics like grits and pancakes. There’s something for everyone — and plenty of gourmet options you might not have tried before!
Charcuterie Station
California Grill — with its priceless view of the Magic Kingdom — is a relaxing and special place for a meal, and the brunch is amazing! Make your reservation for brunch on Sundays from 10Am to 1PM.
The Wave at the Contemporary Resort
Tucked away on the first floor of the Contemporary Resort, The Wave is a sleek, modern retreat that’s quiet and comfortable.
With its upscale decor and focus on seasonal and sustainable foods, it’s a fantastic brunch pick for a more relaxing, grown up experience.
Multi Grain Mickey Waffles from The Wave
The a la carte menu, includes an avocado toast and other breakfast favorites prepared with “naturally-raised” eggs.
What better way to spend the morning at Disney World than with sleeping in followed by an awesome — and money-saving! — brunch?! Even if you’re a fan of doing the parks “commando,” everyone needs a break now and again. Planning for a leisurely morning one day during your vacation could be just what the Mouse ordered! 😉
For more information about breakfast options on property, check out “The Best Thing I Ever Ate at Disney” for breakfast as well as our Breakfast Specialty Showdown. If you’re in need of a more speedy morning meal, explore our readers’ favorite quick service breakfast options.
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What are your tried and true breakfast spots in Walt Disney World? I’d love to hear your tips for a leisurely late breakfast.
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OMG!!! The Wave has sweet potato pancakes with pecan honey butter?!?!?!?! I used to get this breakfast item at Boatwright’s Dining Hall, until they stopped serving breakfast. I am thrilled that this fantastic dish is now being served at The Wave. I will be at WDW the first week of March — you can be sure that I will be having breakfast at The Wave! Thank you so much for the head’s up!
You’re killing me AJ. Pineapple pancakes, tonga toast and kona coffee in three consecutive photos and me a thousand miles from WDW.
Did someone say hollandaise? Hi ho hi ho – it’s off to Raglan Road I go! As soon as I clean my monitor from where I licked it…
Deborah — YES! They’re wonderful! 🙂 Be sure to check the menu before you head over there as menus do change often, but the sweet potato pancakes are a bit of a signature item for the Wave, so my guess is that they’ll be there.
Pudge — Ha ha!! I know. I’m IN WDW and not eating at Kona today…very sad about that. 😉
Joy O — If you click over to the review of that breakfast you can see a pic of the eggs benny!! It’s GORGEOUS!
I adore brunch, it’s the best meal of the day by a mile, and Disney do it so well! However, I was wondering if you guys could clear something up for me?
I’ve only had buffet or character breakfasts at Disney, how do more a la carte ones fit in with the Dining Plan? For example, somewhere like Kona Cafe (that Tonga Toast is a-calling me!), do you essentially just get an entree if you use the DDP? I usually can’t walk after all the food at these places anyway, but just wondering how it fits, especially since dessert menus aren’t usually displayed at breakfast.
We had Boma breakfast for the first time over the holidays in December. It was out of this world! The bread pudding is fabulous but the feta scrambled eggs are purely sinful.
We’re going to Kona in August and I have wondered, is the pineapple a topping on the macadamia pancakes or is also baked inside? They look great, but too much pineapple is too acidic for my stomach.
Do any of the Parks offer brunch options?
We really love to take one morning during our trips and go over to Fresh at the Dolphin. You can’t use your room key for charging, but they do give you a DVC discount!
Love Love Love Boma and Kouzzina. We went in December on the Deluxe Dining Plan (WAY TOO MUCH FOOD). Those Mascarpone Waffles @Kouzzina’s are divine so much better than butter!
Boma is such a great value for the money – custom omelets, hand carved meats OMG! Roasted asparagus…Happy Girl!
Unfortunately we did not have the best time at Kona Cafe (sad since everyone seems to love Tonga Toast – I found it too sweet – SHOCKER). The service was not what I consider the Disney standard either. I am not sure what was going on with both O’hana and Kona this trip (will avoid those restaurants on future trips for awhile). My father got so mad at O’hana he left the restaurant – soured the day.
Looking forward to trying brunch at The Wave and Raglan Road we loved these restaurants for lunch and dinner (awesome one credit values!!!)
So you do a brunch review and only list 1 place that’s open for brunch. Let’s be honest and admit his is a breakfast review.
Erica, the crushed pineapple is on top and only the macadamia nuts are in the pancakes, you can also request the butter and crushed pineapple on the side so you can add as much or as little as you want. They are quite yummy:) Enjoy!!!
Gasparilla’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian is probably the best value with the Bounty Platter – Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, small Mickey waffle, pancake, and biscuit.
Thanks, DznyDal, we went 6 months ago and I got everything on the side. It was great!
These are breakfast places; brunch is a combination. Best place for a TRUE brunch is Tusker House and Crystal Palace. These two places go right from breakfast into lunch without a break. Tusker House is the best for your money because you get the full breakfast and the full lunch menu and it is all fresh out of the kitchen. Pace yourself because you will want to eat lunch there. Crystal Palace is great for a MK day and you can get reservations. Both offer Character dining for breakfast and lunch.
I heard that Kouzzina is closing. Is this true?
Jennifer — Yes; it’s closing September 30, 2014.
Enjoying all these suggestions, we’ll be visiting in November 2014. When we brought kids, we loved Admiral Goofy’s brunch at Cape May Cafe, and we’re also big fans of Boma. But, I think the best brunch in Disney World is the Gospel Brunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. You get a great selection of buffet style, “all you can eat” breakfast and/or lunch choices featuring good old Southern style cooking, plus a fantastic show.
We like Kona, The Wave and Boma very much. We used to not be big on breakfasts at WDW, but lately we have really enjoyed these type meals. Another honorable mention, IMO, is Trails End. They have the standard fare, but they also have a couple of specialty type pastries that are standouts.
You have got to stop with the Kouzzina recommendations. I know it is an old post. I just miss the restaurant so much it was one of my favorites.
The best brunch is at Narcoossee’s @ Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Everything is delicious.
AJ thanks so much for the input!! We really wanted to try out the california grill for brunch but found out its only on sundays. We are going everyday that week except sunday lol. From the looks of it I’d say the Kona Cafe hands down stoll our hearts! It looks so good!
If you love Trattoria Al Forno but not character meals, you can sit outside on the boardwalk and order a la carte off the Bon Voyage breakfast menu. I’ve never had a wait, it’s more affordable, and brunch on the Boardwalk can’t be beat!
Kelly, fantastic tip!