Social Distance Character Dining Experience at Topolino’s Terrace

My family and I weren’t sure what to expect from the new social distance character dining experience at Topolino’s Terrace, located inside Disney’s Riviera Resort. We will compare the dining experiences of old and share lots of colorful photos and videos from Topolino’s too!

Past Character Dining Experiences

Past experiences with character dining at Walt Disney World were a mishmash of chaos, excitement, and sticky hands. My husband and I would strategize between bites of food. We’d watch the characters make their rounds in the dining room to figure out how soon they would reach us. The time estimate helped with the next few hurdles ahead. Who will grab the camera? Who will wipe the sticky faces and hands? Should we take them out of their high chairs or just leave them in? Do we need a group photo? Maybe just a photo with the kids because we don’t want to crowd the table next to us? Do we need an autograph? Can you think of anything clever to say to the next character? Are we taking up too much time with our interaction? Whew! The pressure is real!

Topolino’s Revised Experience

The new social distance character dining experience was so much better than we could have imagined. We were over the top impressed with how amazing Disney designed this character experience without losing the Magic we all know and love.

The characters were introduced as a group dance followed by solos. The character line up: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. They come out in a single file during the groupset and each takes a corner in the dining hall to perform a dance. Mickey dances and gestures to a dancing Minnie, and the same for Donald and Daisy. Then in a single file, they go back to where they entered. In short order, each character is introduced with a solo act. During the solo act, each character has a unique narrative and song. They dance past your table twice. On the first go-around, we waved and said something sweet, like ‘We missed you, Mickey!’. On the second go-around, we asked for a quick selfie with both sides of the table.

No awkward moments during this new social distance character dining experience, like in the funny video clip I shared above. We experienced family-friendly Disney entertainment during a very delicious (and safe) breakfast. This experience was better than we were expecting. If I had to compare this to the character dining of the past, I’d vote this one as my favorite experience yet. There, I said it.

Delicious Food & Ambiance -New social distance character dining experience

Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera offers French and Italian cuisine. The setting is somewhat reminiscent of California Grill. The chandeliers are very similar to those found in Enchanted Rose at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort if not the same.

You are given shared pastry and croissants to start. The kids loved the apple bacon danish – as did I! We ordered two fruit plates and two mickey waffle breakfasts for the kids. Don’t laugh at our sad fruit plates, but we had just begun our Disney eating and needed to leave room for later!

Let us know what you think of this next dining experience! Have you tried it yet? Does this make you more or less excited to revisit Disney World Character dining?

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