vicki@wdwtravels.com
Cape May Cafe is located inside Disney's Beach Club Resort. It offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with buffet options. Along with the rest of the Beach Club, Cape May boasts a New England design, invoking a beachside community in Nantucket. Both the interior and exterior are washed in cool colors, and the trim is always a crisp white. It makes you want to wear your white belted chino shorts, and your white canvas deck shoes!
Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast at Disney's Beach Club Resort was our first stop when we got to the resort early that morning. Goofy's Beach Bash is a character breakfast buffet that is all-you-care-to-eat.
The restaurant has a New England seaside atmosphere with colorful beach umbrellas. I thought it was a really good value, under $20 per person, and is also included on Disney's Dining Plan. You can enjoy many of your breakfast favorites, such as scrambled eggs, omelets, eggs to order, bacon, sausage, Mickey-shaped waffles, pancakes, potatoes, biscuits and gravy, French toast, seasonal fruits, pastries and breakfast bread pudding with vanilla sauce. While you are enjoying your breakfast, the characters stop at each table.
Minnie and Chip'n'Dale join Goofy in the fun. So, there's no need to rush around to get all of the autographs and photos. I love their costumes at this character dining experience! They are themed as the restaurant, and their costumes are unique to this restaurant. It makes you feel like you could join them on the beach.
Then you are ready for a day in the parks! You can make your dining reservations up to 180 days advance. Enjoy your visit to the Cape!
Know your budget and have a plan. Be prepared for expensive water and pretzels. Have an idea of where you’d like to eat and how many meals you’ll need for your party (Your travel agent can book those meals right away to ensure availability). Also, realize that even though you say you won’t buy many souvenirs, it will be hard to pass up that adorable stuffed animal or Mickey t-shirt. Prepare yourself for Disney prices before you visit. 
Speaking of prices, simple items like sunscreen, batteries, diapers, etc. are available at the resorts, but you’ll pay a premium price for them. If you visit during the spring or summer, remember that you’ll be in Florida. It’s called “The Sunshine State” for a reason! Remember to pack being conscious of the weather, and you’ll avoid having to buy them once you arrive. While packing, consider taking a backpack or small bag that will fit items like an extra bottle of water, sunscreen, wallet, etc. However, your bag will be inspected at the entrance of every theme park. Choose a backpack or diaper bag that is easy to look through and doesn’t have too many compartments. Yes, they will look through every single zippered section!
The weather can play a huge role in deciding when to visit. If you despise the heat, the summer would probably not be ideal for you. Other people don’t mind the heat and like the business of the parks. A good tip for first time visitors (and for veterans as well) is to bring ponchos! Most rides stay open while it’s raining and people will be looking for shelter. But not you! Put on a poncho from the Dollar Store and you won’t even notice! You can still enjoy the parks in the rain. In fact, the parks were built with Florida weather in mind. There is plenty of overhead shelter so leaving the park isn’t necessary…and you could even end up walking right onto some rides with no waiting!
You will need time to rest and take a break from this enormous World. When the urge strikes you, sit down. There are benches everywhere. If you have young children, even if they’ve been out of your baby stroller for a while, consider renting a stroller inside each park. These strollers are hard molded plastic, and even children who are 5 or 6 (sometimes older) could benefit from a ride in the stroller. (And, it will probably save a tantrum or two when they tire out.) Use your break time to enjoy a Mickey shaped ice cream or a turkey leg. Kids and adults alike will need some rest time. Taking advantage of your resort’s amazing pools or taking a power nap will recharge you for some night time fun!
Since you’ve never been to Disney before, you may not know where to expect character sightings. Even if you have been, they can still surprise you anywhere. If you have your heart set on a photo with the characters it would be smart to have your camera ready at all times. There are also Character Meet and Greet locations in each park. These will be noted on your park maps. Encounters can be quick, and if you aren’t prepared you might miss it altogether. Cameras and autograph books should be readily available…not buried in your backpack.
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My favorite is Port Orleans Riverside. This resort is designed with the old world charm of rural Louisiana in mind. In my opinion, this is the most romantic of the Disney resorts. The walkways along the river give the illusion of quiet and solitude, which is astounding among the hustle and bustle of Disney. 
For those preferring to stay somewhere a little more upbeat, the French Quarter is for you. Inspired by the French Quarter in New Orleans, this resort is just fun. From the smooth jazz playing to the Mardi Gras inspired decorations, the French Quarter is everything you would expect from Disney. 
So whether you are looking for the relaxed pace of Riverside, or the pageantry of the French Quarter, Port Orleans has a little something for everyone.
There are several venues in which these opportunities are available. The Magic Kingdom has Character Location Guides scattered throughout the park which informs guests as to which characters are in which locations at certain times.
In Epcot, the Character Connection is perhaps one of the prime locations to see the characters. This is located across from Innoventions West and is an indoor meet & greet which is even more pleasant. The characters are also scattered throughout Epcot’s World Showcase. As you tour the many countries of Epcot keep your eyes open for characters wandering around for photo ops.
Over at Hollywood Studios you can find some characters, many of which gather just outside Sorcerer Mickey’s hat, which is located at the end of the main drag. Many of the characters seen here are from the more recently released animated films on the silver screen.
Animal Kingdom offers the opportunity to catch up with some characters at Camp Minnie-Mickey. This is not to say that you won’t find other characters meandering throughout Animal Kingdom.
To many children and adults alike, meeting their favorite characters is all part of the Disney experience. It is not too difficult to see character all around the Walt Disney World property. However, knowing where specific characters will be at certain times will allow you to best schedule your day. Additionally, it enables you to get that photo which will hang on your refrigerator for years to come.
Good luck & happy character hunting!
Visit Epcot's future world and you will find a refurbishment of the old Honey I Shrunk the Audience theater to make way for Captain EO's return. This will be a do-not-miss attraction for all guests! For all of the Star Wars fans, Disney has a great surprise in store for it's wildly popular Star Tours attraction. Scheduled for a massive refurb to begin this September, you can look forward to a state of the art attraction to reopen sometime in 2011. 
When Star Tours reopens, look for some major additions, including an all new 3-D experience that will include additions from the more recent Star Wars Movies. The Force will be with this one, that is for sure! During your stay at a fabulous Disney resort you may find that they, too do need updating from time to time. You can currently expect to see a brand new feature pool being built at Disney's Saratoga Springs. 
This resort is being updated with a massive 3300sf zero depth entry pool complete with a large slide and massive pool deck scheduled to be completed by Mid-2011. Don't worry if you are scheduled to be staying here, you can still relax at the current feature pool or another quiet pool during your stay. Now, we can't talk about resort refurbishments without mentioning a little project called The Art of Animation! 
The Art of Animation is Disney's newest resort scheduled to be built by Pop Century as a larger than life themed value resort with nearly 2000 rooms, over half of them will be made into the ever popular family suites. 
With the popularity of Disney's All Star Music family suites, this is a wonderful addition to the value resorts, offering larger families a great alternative to booking two rooms. This resort will feature art from these popular Disney movies: The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Cars, and The Lion King. 
The massive refurbishment of Fantasyland has begun and is scheduled to continue through 2013! Don't fret; this refurbishment will be taking part in sections, and most of your main Fantasyland attractions will remain open during this project. (Note however, a rehab is scheduled for It's a Small World from Aug 1st-Oct 22nd.) This massive project is going to include various lands themed around most of your favorite princesses, including a new Little Mermaid Ride, Beast's castle, many new restaurants and attractions, and of course even Disney's wildly popular villains will have a place here. 
Dumbo will find himself doubling in size in the new "Circus Grounds", taking the space currently occupied by Mickey's Toontown Fair. You will find your favorite fairies joining the party in the new Pixie Hollow and much much more. Disney is always working to make it's guests experience new and exciting ,and rehabs and refurbishments are just part of the necessity. 
So, the next time you visit Disney and wonder, "Wow, how do they do that? Or, when did they add that?" Remember while magic and pixie dust play a large part all that you see, it's not without lots of hard work and imagineering, that Disney keeps Walt's dream alive for us to enjoy year after year!