Character dining
Cape May Cafe
The short answer
Two different restaurants sharing one room at Disney's Beach Club. Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast is $49 per adult; a New England seafood dinner is also $49, and $4 cheaper for children; snow crab legs are extra at $29 a pound. Characters appear at breakfast only. Disney says so in plain words on its own page.
- Where
- Disney's Beach Club Resort, on Crescent Lake. Walk to EPCOT's International Gateway in about ten minutes, or take the Friendship boat; boat or a longer walk to Disney's Hollywood Studios. · about the resort
- Cuisine
- American, seafood, character dining at breakfast, buffet
- Reservation
- Book at 60 days
- Booking opens
- 60 days ahead, 6:00am Eastern — and if you are staying at a Disney resort, day 60 books your whole stay, up to ten days. Off site, it is 60 days for each date separately, so the same table is gone before your window opens. Work out your date.
- Typical meal
- about $49 a head before tax · Disney’s set price, read Sep 21, 2026
- Dress code
- Theme park casual
- Noise
- moderate
- Non-resort guests
- Yes — you do not need to stay here
- Dining plan
- Table-service plan, 2026 and 2027 · Disney’s own listing, Sep 22, 2026 · what a credit buys here
- Characters
- Minnie Mouse · confirmed Sep 11, 2026
Is it worth the money?
Yes at both meals, for opposite reasons, and it is the best-value room on Crescent Lake.
Understand which meal you are booking, because they are not the same restaurant. Disney's page states it twice: Cape May Cafe offers "2 distinct dining experiences" — Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast with Minnie Mouse and some of her friends, and "a dinner buffet with flavors from the New England coast (Characters do not appear at dinner)." Families book dinner expecting Minnie and do not get her.
Breakfast at $49 ties the cheapest character meal we have priced — level with Hollywood & Vine's breakfast, and $9 below 1900 Park Fare's $58. Minnie and friends appear in beach clothes, there are autographs and photos, and it is a ten-minute walk from EPCOT's International Gateway. Disney does not publish who "some of her friends" are, so plan on Minnie and treat the rest as a bonus.
Dinner at $49 is still good value for the steam boil and fried seafood, but the crab legs that made its name are now $29 a pound on top. Two adults adding a pound each pay $156 before tax and gratuity, not $98. Compare it to Bourbon Steak in the Dolphin, where sixteen mains average $87.50 before a side; or to Yachtsman Steakhouse around the lake. Neither is a fair fight on price.
The $4 child discount at dinner is worth naming because it runs against every other restaurant we have measured. A family of two adults and two children pays $164 at breakfast and $156 at dinner.
One dated thing to plan around, and it is not about this restaurant: Disney's page carries a notice that the Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment from 24 January 2027 through 30 January 2027, with complimentary bus service in its place. If you are staying at a Skyliner resort and eating on this side of the property that week, budget the extra time.
Who it’s right for
Seafood eaters, knowing the crab legs are extra by the pound. Families on Crescent Lake wanting a character breakfast without a bus. Anyone comparing character meals on price — $49 is the floor. Larger families, where the $4 child difference and the $49 flat adult rate add up. Plant-based eaters at dinner.
Who it’s wrong for
Anyone booking dinner to meet Minnie — she is not there. Shellfish allergies at dinner. Anyone wanting a big hot breakfast, which is a shorter list here than at 1900 Park Fare or Hollywood & Vine. And plant-based eaters at breakfast, who get nothing named.
What is actually good
Read from Disney's own pages on 11 September 2026, and the dinner menu re-read through Disney's menu service on 13 September 2026.
The adult price is the same at both meals — $49 — and the child price is lower at dinner. $33 per child at breakfast, $29 at dinner. Every other restaurant we have priced charges more for the later meal; this one charges less for half the table. Breakfast runs 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM, dinner 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Dinner is a New England seafood buffet and it is not pretending. Snow Crab Legs with Clarified Butter, a New England Traditional Steam Boil, a New England Captain's Fried Seafood Selection, Paella, Sustainable Catch of the Day, a carving station, Roasted Chicken, New England-style Clam Chowder and a Seafood Pasta Salad. The snow crab legs are not in the price. Disney's dinner menu lists Snow Crab Legs with Clarified Butter at $29 a pound. All-you-care-to-enjoy crab legs ended in 2022, Disney Food Blog reported; reviews that praise endless crab describe a meal that no longer exists.
Breakfast is smaller and simpler: Salted Caramel "Beach Buns", waffles and crêpes, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, oatmeal and grits, fruit, and omelet and carving stations.
Plant-based eaters are covered at dinner and thin at breakfast. Dinner lists a Plant-based Seasonal Soup and "Plant-based Seasonal-inspired Dishes" as named items; breakfast lists none.
Disney bands both meals $$$ ($35 to $59.99 per adult) and $49 sits inside it either way — one of the few restaurants where the band and the printed price actually agree. Disney's footnote defines the band as the average adult price of the whole meal including non-alcoholic drinks, so the real figure lands nearer the top of it than $49 suggests.
Portions
All-you-care-to-enjoy at both meals, apart from the snow crab legs at dinner, which are charged by the pound. The steam boil and fried seafood are the volume; the carving station is there for whoever at the table does not eat shellfish.
Allergies and dietary needs
Better at dinner than at breakfast, which is the reverse of most buffets. Dinner names a Plant-based Seasonal Soup and plant-based seasonal dishes on the menu itself, alongside a carving station and roasted chicken for anyone avoiding seafood. Breakfast names no plant-based item at all. An Allergen Guide is provided on arrival. A shellfish allergy is a poor fit for the dinner buffet specifically — crab, a steam boil, fried seafood and paella share serving space.
Common questions
- Are there characters at Cape May Cafe dinner?
- No. Disney's own page says it plainly: "A dinner buffet with flavors from the New England coast (Characters do not appear at dinner)." Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast is the character meal, 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
- How much is Cape May Cafe?
- $49 per adult at both breakfast and dinner, plus tax and gratuity. Children are $33 at breakfast and $29 at dinner — the only restaurant we have priced where the child pays less at the later meal.
- Does Cape May Cafe have crab legs?
- Yes, but not in the buffet price. Disney's dinner menu of 13 September 2026 lists Snow Crab Legs with Clarified Butter at $29 a pound. Unlimited crab legs ended in 2022, Disney Food Blog reported; the rest of the buffet is $49 all-you-care-to-enjoy.
- Which characters are at Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast?
- Disney names only Minnie Mouse, "and some of her friends", dressed in their beachy best. The supporting list is not published and does change, so plan on Minnie.
- Is Cape May Cafe better than the other character meals?
- On price, yes — $49 ties the cheapest we have priced and beats 1900 Park Fare by $9 at breakfast. On characters it is the thinnest, since only Minnie is named. Dinner is the stronger meal and has no characters at all.
Sources
- Walt Disney World official — Cape May Cafe dinner menu, read in a browser on 11 September 2026. "$49 per adult, plus tax and gratuity" and "$29 per child"; buffet listing including Snow Crab Legs with Clarified Butter, New England Traditional Steam Boil, Captain's Fried Seafood Selection, Paella, a carving station and named plant-based dishes. Dinner menu re-read through Disney's menu service on 13 September 2026: snow crab legs $29 per pound. — Disney official · checked
- Walt Disney World official — Cape May Cafe breakfast menu, read in a browser on 11 September 2026. "$49 per adult" and "$33 per child, plus tax and gratuity"; Salted Caramel "Beach Buns", waffles and crêpes, omelet and carving stations, oatmeal and grits. No plant-based item named. Dinner menu re-read through Disney's menu service on 13 September 2026: snow crab legs $29 per pound. — Disney official · checked
- Walt Disney World official — Cape May Cafe restaurant page. "American, Seafood, Casual Dining, Character Dining, Buffet"; the statement that the restaurant "offers 2 distinct dining experiences: Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast with Minnie Mouse and some of her friends" and "A dinner buffet with flavors from the New England coast (Characters do not appear at dinner)"; breakfast 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM and dinner 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, both banded "$$$ ($35 to $59.99 per adult)"; and the notice that "From January 24, 2027, through January 30, 2027, Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment" with complimentary bus service. Dinner menu re-read through Disney's menu service on 13 September 2026: snow crab legs $29 per pound. — Disney official · checked
- Disney Food Blog, 16 February 2022 — say goodbye to endless crab legs at Cape May Cafe: snow crab legs moved from all-you-care-to-enjoy to an add-on charged by the pound. — reported by · checked