The Wave…of American Flavors is a restaurant located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom. This spot usually serves up fresh, market-inspired meals all day long.

We’ve enjoyed breakfast here in the past, however the restaurant is currently under refurbishment. In the meantime, you’ll find The Wave’s breakfast up at the California Grill on the top of Disney’s Contemporary Resort! We wanted to check out how the dining experience had changed by moving the same meal to a completely different restaurant, so let’s check it out!

Atmosphere

California Grill is typically known for its fine dining, and it only offered dinner before this temporary breakfast option was added. There are both reservations and Walk-up Waitlist available for this spot. If you have a reservation, you can use your phone to do Mobile Check-in and…

…you’ll receive a text when your table is ready!

After we got our text that the table was ready, we headed over to the front desk of California Grill!

We were then led inside. Inside California Grill, the temporary home of The Wave breakfast, you’ll find a sleek, modern interior with lots of natural light!

With windows all around the restaurant, you get the chance to enjoy an amazing view of the Magic Kingdom!

California Grill has sets of tables and chairs as well as booths. You can see that the booths are separated by a divider.

This spot is especially good at taking a look at Magic Kingdom in the morning, and it’s a great spot for fireworks if you visit California Grill for dinner!

We got a table right next to the window, and THIS was our breakfast view! We’ll take breakfast with a view of Cinderella Castle any day!

Okay, so the restaurant itself is gorgeous and has incredible views, but how did The Wave breakfast taste in its new location?

Eats

After we sat down, we scanned the QR code on the table and took a look at the menu!

Taking a look at the menu, we saw Appetizers and Entrées…

…Sides and the Create-Your-Own Kids’ Menu…

…the Kids’ Specialty Drink and Breakfast Cocktails…

…Non-Alcoholic Beverages…

…Allergy-Friendly Appetizers and Entrées…

…Allergy-Friendly Sides and Create-Your-Own Kids Breakfast…

..and the Allergy-Friendly side options for the kids!

For our first drink, we got the Seasonal Spiked Latte for $11. Usually, this drink comes with a little bit of whipped cream, but today there wasn’t any. However, this drink was delicious! It was nice and boozy with a great roasted coffee flavor! We were a little weirded out that it was a hot coffee, we were expecting something iced, but it was an excellent way to start the meal. If you don’t like to taste the booze, you might want to skip this drink.

You can also get Refillable Mimosas with Freixenet Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling Wine and Orange Juice for $19. There are also Pineapple and Cranberry flavors available, and we tried the Orange and Cranberry. Both of these mimosas were great, but we really loved the cranberry one! The balance of juice and booze in both these mimosas was perfect for us, not your typical Disney mimosa (all juice and a splash of bubbles)! You could definitely taste the bubbles in both of these, and it’s one of the better mimosas we’ve had at Disney World. The mimosas are unlimited, but our server told us they would stop if we were having “a little too much fun.”

For our meal, we got The Wave Feast with Eggs Benedict, Scrambled Egg, Bacon, Sausage, Mickey Waffle, Bacon-Cheddar Grits, Breakfast Potatoes, and Fresh Fruit for $20! This platter was so good!!! Just about everything on here was cooked well and was delicious, but there were some definite highlights like…

…The Eggs Benedict. This was like a perfectly cooked little benedict! The egg was soft boiled just right and the yolk had the perfect amount of runniness. The ham, egg, hollandaise, and English muffin all come together to make a delicious bite!

Another highlight was the Grits! With plenty of cheese and bacon bits, these grits were creamy, and a little bit crunchy. The Wave really nailed it with all of these breakfast classics! If you’re a fan of grits or cheese or bacon, you would love these.

And of course, no Disney breakfast is complete without Mickey Waffles! In this case, the feast only came with one, but it was so crisp and fluffy, as usual! We poured syrup on ours and it was absolutely delicious!

The Wave Feast also comes with Bacon and Sausage. The bacon was pretty typical, but it certainly hit the spot. The texture was nice and crispy, which is the best way to eat bacon in our opinion! The sausage was also pretty simple, but there was nothing wrong with it. The sausage is pork sausage, but we confirmed that chicken sausage is available upon request. The Breakfast Potatoes were also pretty simple, but delicious!

We also got the Wave Signature Sweet Potato Pancakes with Pecan-Honey Butter and choice of Bacon, Pork Sausage, or Chicken Sausage for $14!

These pancakes were AMAZING! They were so soft and fluffy — these were everything you’d want in a pancake! The pecan-honey butter was a great sweet spread and really took the pancakes to the next level. You can also get a side of two pancakes for $7 or a side of Mickey Waffles for $5.

Overall, there were some standouts, but we loved everything we tried here! It was a classic breakfast and it was done really well!

Nosh or Not

Stop by The Wave Breakfast at California Grill if…

• You’re on a budget! The prices for this breakfast are really great compared to a lot of other restaurants.
• You want to have breakfast close to Magic Kingdom! Within walking distance of Magic Kingdom, this is a great choice if you’re looking to enjoy breakfast and then head over to the park.
• You want to dine inside California Grill for less money! This offering is basically the California Grill experience, but with The Wave pricing!

Steer clear of The Wave Breakfast at California Grill if…

• You’re looking for a more unique breakfast! This is a pretty standard, continental breakfast. If you’re looking for a more unique breakfast in the area, ‘Ohana at the Polynesian might be the choice for you.
• You want to go back to California Grill for fireworks! Since this is technically The Wave, you cannot get the usual California Grill perk of being able to come back to watch fireworks later in the day.
• You want a fast breakfast! If you’re trying to rope drop Magic Kingdom right after, keep in mind that this is table service and it’ll take a while to have your whole meal! Options like Contempo Café or the Main Street Bakery might be better if you’re looking to hit Magic Kingdom quickly after breakfast.

Overall

This was an excellent breakfast at the Wave (or should we say, California Grill?). For the pricing, you’re getting a lot of great classic breakfast food, an awesome view, and a great experience! The service was excellent and helpful, and it was great to enjoy breakfast from atop the Contemporary Resort. All of The Wave’s offerings were classic breakfast dishes, nothing mind-blowing but they were very well done! Plus, how could we not like a place with unlimited mimosas? If you’re looking to get a filling, classic breakfast near Magic Kingdom, this is a great way to start the day! As long as you don’t mind having a full-length table service meal before a day at the park, this is a good pre-game for Magic Kingdom.

The meal at these prices with this view is a STEAL. Take advantage of this option while it’s here! If you’re looking for something that’ll be quick and convenient before a day at the parks, maybe try a quick service like Contempo Café. If you’re looking for something a little bit more unique, try out ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort! Overall, this was a great meal with a killer view, great service, and good food!

Click here to read our review of ‘Ohana’s breakfast!

What do you think of the Wave’s breakfast at California Grill? Let us know in the comments!