Hello and welcome to my 2026 WDW Marathon Weekend trip report! You can see all the posts in this report here. Today we’ll be recapping our character breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Onward!
Girls who run marathons get TWO character breakfasts in a trip if they want. Fact!
So, yes, even though we started off our Monday with the character breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace, we finished off our WDW Marathon Weekend trip with the same at Cape May Cafe. We were already at Disney’s Beach Club, so why not?
WHAT’S CAPE MAY CAFE?
Cape May Cafe is a buffet restaurant location just off the lobby of Disney’s Beach Club resort. It’s lightly themed to an early 20th century beach resort, with the sorts of seashell and beach umbrella decor you’d expect. As the child of an escaped Jersey girl, I spent a fair number of summer vacations at the real Cape May, and I’d say as far as the aesthetic goes they’ve pretty much nailed it. Whether or not you like it is a separate question, but it’s definitely got that low-key beach house thing going on.
The restaurant is a character breakfast in the morning, but it transitions to a characterless seafood buffet for dinner. I feel like this is the sort of place that could offer characters at both meals, but believe it or not I don’t have much pull at the Disney company so nobody asked me. 😆
WHAT’S THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE?
Much of my reasoning is that, frankly, the ambience at Cape May Cafe is… fine. The atmosphere and aesthetic are all distinctly casual. That’s not inherently a bad thing, especially for families with young children. Never fear if your kid is a little fussy or high-energy; unless they’re particularly unhinged, no one will notice. This isn’t a date night kinda place, even by Disney parks standards.
Because of that, though, the only thing that makes Cape May Cafe seem at all special to me is the characters. Without that, you’re just sort of at a buffet restaurant that happens to be on Disney property. I’m sure there are families out there with kids who grew up going to Beach Club and Cape May Cafe and therefore harbor nostalgic love for it. Outside of that, though, I can’t see what would make dinner there memorable.
WHAT’S THE FOOD LIKE?
As noted, food at Cape May Cafe is served buffet style. Your server will take your drink order and periodically check on you, but that’s about it. (That can be clutch if you’re finishing up and are missing a character, though.) You’ll need to retrieve your own food.
The upside of a buffet, of course, is that you have lots to choose from. I’ll go into more detail, but here’s the TLDR up front: the food at Cape May Cafe is, for the most part, fine. None of it standout, with one possible exception (see next section).
We’ll start, as every good review does, with my great disappointment: Cape May Cafe does NOT serve lox or smoked salmon of any kind. How am I supposed to make my money back??? This, however, is a personal tragedy and likely not a detriment to most sane people who don’t love lox like I do.
Okay, now what they do have: pretty much everything else. Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles, etc. Vegan alternatives, kid favorites, pastries, the usual. Crepes, ambrosia, and salted caramel beach buns are among their more signature items. It is all fine.
Standard beverages like juice, soda, and coffee are included in the price. There’s a menu of upcharge items including alcohol. For this meal, we stuck to what’s included.
Check out the online menu for Disney’s official lineup, but in my experience buffet restaurant menus are very much subject to change.
THE BEST PART OF CAPE MAY CAFE FOOD
There was one stand out element at Cape May Cafe, and that was the omelet bar. You can get a bespoke omelet at Cape May Cafe, cooked in front of you expressly for you. Choose your own fillings, or select one of the prefab options off a menu.
I got an omelet and it was delicious; easily the favorite part of my meal. I’m not gonna lie, though – a lot of that was thanks to the Cast Member who made it for me. Yes, I will name him, because Stephane was both an adept chef and an exemplary of the Disney difference. He made an effort to engage with everyone who ordered an omelet from him, and his easy friendliness was clearly sincere. I put in a Cast Member Compliment through the app on the spot.
If you make a reservation a Cape May Cafe, don’t skip the omelet bar – and hope Stephane is there!
WHAT CHARACTERS ARE AT CAPE MAY CAFE?
Officially, Cape May Cafe features Minnie Mouse “and some of her friends” decked out in their finest beach attire. I assume that “some of her friends” bit is to give Disney a bit of leeway as to which characters they trot out. We had face time with Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy, each of whom sported a special seaside outfit. These ensembles are only seen at Cape May Cafe, so if you’re looking for beachy photos, you’ll want to come here.
At certain points in the meal the characters would stop the meet and greet portion of the program and transition to a group activity intended for families. We witnessed a dance party and a surf lesson from Donald, among other things.
I could be wrong, but I kinda got the idea that since Cape May Cafe wasn’t as hopping as some other breakfasts, there’s a little more leeway with behavior. At one point Daisy was wandering around just throwing sugar packets on people tables and walking away. Personally I found this hilarious, but I’m surprised Disney allows it. Nobody tell them, okay? I kinda wanna see what else she’ll do.
IS CAPE MAY CAFE WORTH A SPECIAL TRIP?
I think Cape May Cafe is perfectly serviceable if you’re looking for a character breakfast on the Boardwalk. I do not think it warrants a special trip. Perhaps you noticed this theme developing over the course of this post, but here’s my bottom line: Cape May Cafe is… fine.
If this sounds harsh, I honestly don’t mean it to be. I think Disney knows that most guests attending a character breakfast are more there for the characters than the breakfast, and they charge what they do for that, not the food. Most of the character breakfast buffets I have attended over the years have been similar. Chef Mickey’s was fine; 1900 Park Fare was fine. Topolino’s is so good because it is not a buffet, so it gets points for the improved food quality.
Mind you, that then does beg the question: is food quality your most valued metric? It’s not like the food at Cape May Cafe is bad. I can think of a number of times it would be an ideal option. If you’re staying at a nearby resort or spend an early morning in Epcot; if you have a young family and prefer a more relaxed atmosphere; even if you’re enamored of the characters’ beach costumes. Maybe you have a large group with a lot of different food requirements that would benefit from a wide variety of options.
But would I go out of my way for it? Nah. There are other restaurants scattered across Walt Disney World that can do the same thing. Pick the closest one. You never know where a Stephane and his equivalent fab CMs may be hiding!
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!