We recently discovered a new experience at the Walt Disney World Resort — the Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and His Pals at Ravello, located at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort. Many guests are unaware that there is a Four Seasons on Disney property, hidden away within the Golden Oak community southeast of the Magic Kingdom. Golden Oak is an exclusive private residential community consisting of multimillion dollar homes that offer special Disney perks such as annual passes included in the purchase price. Just driving through the front gate of this community to get to the restaurant was an experience. We couldn’t believe how gorgeous the homes were and that was just the beginning of our adventure.
Upon arriving at the Four Seasons, we opted to pull directly up to the front door and valet park. At the end of our meal, we were able to validate our ticket at the restaurant for a total cost of $5 plus tip. The attendant gave us directions to the restaurant, which is located on the level below the main lobby. The lobby itself was quite beautiful, with crystal chandeliers, tasteful artwork, and fresh flowers everywhere. After a short walk to admire the hotel, we found and took the elevators down to Ravello.
We checked in with the hostess and were asked to wait for a few minutes as they prepared our table. You would never have guessed that this is a location that houses a character meal. It is elegant and tastefully decorated, there was nothing “childlike” about the restaurant. Part of this is due to the fact that the character breakfast is an exclusive event. It is only offered Thursday and Saturday mornings — the rest of the time, the restaurant provides traditional service. We strongly recommend making reservations as they can be hard to come by. You can book them through Disneyworld.com but, as an added tip, you can also book through opentable.com (which offers a wider selection of time slots).
We were shown to a corner booth that was set with modern plates, glasses, and utensils. In lieu of a tablecloth, there were placemats under each place setting. Our server came over to introduce himself and offer us drinks. Ravello offers all the standard breakfast beverages such as milk, coffee, and tea; but, if it’s juice you are looking for, you can help yourself to a juice bar. It features fresh grapefruit, apple, and cranberry juices, but the standout is a house specialty — fresh (nonalcoholic) limoncello. It was similar to lemonade, but slightly sweeter, and very refreshing.
In addition to the juice bar, Ravello offers all the traditional breakfast fare: waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages, and potatoes. There was also a create your own omelet bar (with some unique choices like asparagus and pepper jack cheese) and a large selection of freshly made pastries. There was also a selection of cured meats, cheeses, and fresh smoked salmon. An assortment of fresh fruit, a create your own yogurt parfait bar (complete with granola, dried fruit, and nuts), and boxed cereals rounded out the choices.
While Ravello doesn’t offer as much of a selection as other buffets, it was far superior due to the smaller quantities of food that the staff replaced frequently. Everything was always fresh and tastefully presented (especially the pastries, which were mostly in baskets).
The real stars of this breakfast visit your table! Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy made the rounds to stop for photos, autographs, and playtime at each table. The restaurant is intimate and features indoor and outdoor seating which allowed the characters to visit guests multiple times. We saw each character at least three times.
Goofy was accompanied by a Photopass photographer for professional pictures of the whole family which are available on a Photopass card linked to the resort, but not to the rest of your Walt Disney World pictures. Our server kindly offered to take our pictures with the other characters. Another unique feature is that the characters are dressed in casual “country club attire.” There is a palate of pastel colors featuring plaid shorts for Mickey and a scarf around the neck for Minnie, who also sported a special sunglasses “bow” on top of her head! The characters were fantastic and the interaction was top notch. We have dined at many of Disney’s character meals in the past, but not one such as this where the characters interacted with us multiple times for an extended period.
All in all, this was a delightful character meal. We truly enjoyed our food, service, and experience; and we plan to return in the future. The price is similar to Chef Mickey’s; however, the interaction and food are definitely superior. Don’t miss out on enjoying this “hidden gem”!
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I love reviews like this, of places I've never eaten. Food at WDW (and DLR/UOR) is one of the main draws for me. Thanks for the write-up!!
I'd read about the new/upcoming Four Seasons Residences that start at around $5m (compared to $1.2m for the homes), but I never thought about having a character breakfast outside of one of the parks or typical resort venues.
I really like how you mention that the food is swapped out frequently, allowing it to be fresh. As long as there is a decent variety, it's definitely the quality that matters more than the quantity, and this looks like a good place to start your day, though it seems a little bit of a hassle to get to, no matter the beauty of the homes you drive past to get there.
I was a Main Entrance/International Gateway Cast Member at EPCOT for almost a year, and twice, I had the pleasure of interacting with Golden Oak residents. They just looked like any other wealthy tourists, but those gorgeous red annual passes....ack!
On a related note, I believe I read those annual passes actually only last 5 or 7 years. I can't remember. But they're not in perpetuity (a word I learned from Shark Tank - lol).
A five-star hotel such as the Four Seasons should be ashamed to serve cheap Kellog's junk cereal such as Fruit Loops and Rice Krispies. They should be serving something healthier and better quality such as Nature's Valley cereals.
A five-star hotel is all about service, and I'll bet you the kids at this character breakfast would rather have Kellogg's over Nature's Valley almost every time.
I agree with you in that I wouldn't make that choice, either, but the hotel needs to deliver what the customers want.
Now, now, now Tony. If it's a character breakfast, there is bound to be a few kids involved. Kids don't always have the most cultivated pallets. I was a bit surprised to see the cereal presented in single serving boxes, but I do not fault any restaurant for providing its clientele what they want, and kids can be super picky eaters.
I have a few questions and comments...
I never knew a Disney-sanctioned character breakfast existed outside of the Disney-owned/managed properties, so it's interesting to read about something completely new. However, is there any Disney transportation to the Ravello for those who may be on-site and don't have a rental car or are off-site and rely on buses/shuttles?
You mentioned that there was a PhotoPass photographer, but the pictures from this event were not with the rest of your WDW pictures. If that's the case, how would you get them through My Disney Experience, and if you pre-purchased Memory Maker would these photos show up in your account? Your description of the photography is confusing to someone who has used PhotoPass extensively since its inception.
From what I can tell from your description and limited pictures, it seems as though the advantage of this breakfast is that it's a smaller and more laid back venue than the other popular character breakfasts. From your description, it seems as though the choices are far more limited than Disney-run character breakfasts such as Chef Mickey's. Personally, I've really enjoyed that breakfast in the past, and have not experienced the lack of food quality that you've described. I felt some of the dishes at the Tusker House breakfast were slow to turn, but that was mostly because those were the more exotic and less popular African-inspired dishes. However, I'd rather have more options (even if they've sat for 15-20 minutes under a heat lamp) than have so few breakfast choices. The options at both Chef Mickey's and Tusker House are far more diverse than what you've described here, and considering it's a similar price and off-the-beaten-path location, I'm not sure how it could be touted to be superior unless you're completely turned off by the hectic, near chaotic, atmosphere of the Disney-run meals. Certainly if you're off site, particularly at hotels near and north of Downtown Disney (sorry, Disney Springs), this might be a good option due to proximity if you can't get your kids up early enough to get to an in-park or monorail resort meal before the parks get crowded.
Honestly, from what you've presented, if you take away the characters (of which there are only 3 when all other Disney character meals are 4), the meal doesn't sound that much different from a standard breakfast buffet at an upscale hotel. At least the character meals in Disney-operated restaurants have a few food options that are unique (like the bread table and African specialties like Bobotie at Tusker House or the blintzes and breakfast pizza at Chef Mickey's). Also, is it just me, or is there something not quite right about the characters in the photo? Maybe it's just the lighting, but Minnie and Mickey's ears don't look quite right.
It's the Four Seasons, they could at least put the cereal into ceramic or glass dispensers, not single-serving boxes. That's just tacky for a five-star hotel. And my kids wouldn't touch Kellog's either, they know it's junk.
Tony, I prefer the single serve boxes as they are always fresh, as you pointed out many people staying at the four seasons would not be eating Kellogs. So for the few who do want Kellogs it will be nice and fresh. Muesli and similar cereal should be in large glass bowls.
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I've been to Disney so many times over the course of my short life that it's actually kinda sad; and yet it always seems like there's always something to do there that I never heard of before. Turns out it isn't a small world after all.