superstar character breakfast

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Just booked this for our upcoming visit and for the price, it has some great perks:

One hour early entry to US to ride Despicable Me or Shrek 4D

Breakfast at La Bamba with the charaters from the afternoon parade (Despicable Me, Dora, EB from Hop, Spongebob)

VIP seating for the afternoon parade

Seems like a great deal and the rep I spoke to on the phone said it was a fairly new offering.

I'll let you know if it was worth it.

[Boom Baby]

How much does it cost?

[DizneyFreak2002]

How much does it cost?

From Universal's website:

Universal’s Superstar Character Breakfast

Start your day at Universal Studios® with a delicious breakfast featuring some of the stars from Universal’s Superstar Parade. Then, later in the day, party with your new friends as the parade takes to the streets with one-of-a-kind music, incredible floats and opportunities to interact with some of the characters.

PLUS, enjoy FREE Early Park Admission to these rides & attractions:

• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
• Shrek 4D

Location: Cafe La Bamba
Time: First Seating June 15th (Dates and Times subject to change)
Characters From: Nickelodeon; the hit comedy Hop; Despicable Me
Price: Adults $26.99, Children $10.99 (Separate Theme Park Admission Required)


RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Well, Universal threw me a curve ball last night and I am a little ticked off at them.

We booked our breakfast on a Tuesday morning and had planned to spend 4 concurrent days at Universal and rent a car to cut down on transportation costs.

I received a call last night that they had changed the breakfast and were now only offering it on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. I'm assuming they were not getting the attendance they needed and tweaked the offering to boost reservations on these days.

In any case, my DD (10) had her heart set on meeting the characters and having the VIP seating for the parade so I was forced to split up the visit days and take the Thursday reservation. (my son is performing on CityWalk on Sunday)

[DizneyFreak2002]

That's horrible... When were you planning on going??

[Roger's #1 Fan]

The original reservation was for 8/14. It is now 8/16.

[DizneyFreak2002]

The original reservation was for 8/14. It is now 8/16.

Ah OK... I called them and they told me starting August 12, the breakfast goes from every day to Thursday, Friday, Saturday...

Something tells me the breakfast isn't doing so good... At least they called you, but still, in the over all picture, it stinks you had to change plans... Hopefully it is worth it...

[MizMissy]

Something tells me the breakfast isn't doing so good... At least they called you, but still, in the over all picture, it stinks you had to change plans... Hopefully it is worth it...

I think Universal is not that great at getting out the word/promoting their offerings. Or, maybe the breakfast really isn't that good and it's not worth it?

Personally, I would not change my plans for a character breakfast. When we were at Universal last summer, we saw a parade going on down the street ... it seemed a little awkward and forced and really wasn't well attended. Seems like lots of people (like us) saw it was going on and walked in the other direction. I doubt that VIP seating is necessary to have a good view of the parade. Also, if you are in Universal for several days in a row, you should catch the parade a few times.

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Well, I have heard good things about this daytime parade, which is new this year, and the 1 hour early access to ride Despicable Me was another big driver since we are at AoA for our entire stay. That and my DD(10) begging me to change the reservation rather than cancel.

Hopefully it will be worth it....

[Roger's #1 Fan]

I'm happy to report back that the breakfast was good and very well done. With the one hour early admission we were able to ride Despicable Me twice and it was a walk-on (compared to the 60-80 min wait during the day). We got to see 8 different characters during our meal (Spongebob, Squidward, Dora, Diego, EB, pink beret, Gru and a minion).

The only disappointment was the parade since it was delayed by rain and rushed through. If they had waited another 10 minutes, the sun was back out. Who in the heck schedules a parade during the peak time of day for thunderstorms?

[DizneyFreak2002]

I'm happy to report back that the breakfast was good and very well done. With the one hour early admission we were able to ride Despicable Me twice and it was a walk-on (compared to the 60-80 min wait during the day). We got to see 8 different characters during our meal (Spongebob, Squidward, Dora, Diego, EB, pink beret, Gru and a minion).

The only disappointment was the parade since it was delayed by rain and rushed through. If they had waited another 10 minutes, the sun was back out. Who in the heck schedules a parade during the peak time of day for thunderstorms?

Glad to hear the breakfast was good... What time of the day is the parade scheduled???

[Roger's #1 Fan]

The parade is scheduled at 5pm which, given the scenario that happended 12 of the 14 days we were there, was about the time when it rained for 20-40 minutes depending on the humidity and cloud formations. They also need to try and wait things out better. They ran through the parade, and then the sun came out.

Disney has their parades earlier: 3 pm at DS and 4 pm at AK. Even though they got an early rain the other day at DS, the parade still went off about 3:30 without a hitch. Similarly, their Disney Channel rocks show at 5pm got started and was rained out before they could finish their set.

[DizneyFreak2002]

The parade is scheduled at 5pm which, given the scenario that happended 12 of the 14 days we were there, was about the time when it rained for 20-40 minutes depending on the humidity and cloud formations. They also need to try and wait things out better. They ran through the parade, and then the sun came out.

Disney has their parades earlier: 3 pm at DS and 4 pm at AK. Even though they got an early rain the other day at DS, the parade still went off about 3:30 without a hitch. Similarly, their Disney Channel rocks show at 5pm got started and was rained out before they could finish their set.

Agh, I wouldn't have been happy... The parade, on video doesn't seem rushed... Too bad they felt the need to rush through it... That takes away from the experience (though it is a short parade already)... Hopefully they are still working out the kinks and get things on more firm ground next summer...

other than that, was the parade worth it???

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Well, here's my honest opinion....
During the day, they brought out both the Spongebob and Despicable Me floats onto Sunset Boulevard (never saw Dora or Hop) and ran through a small show and then allowed the characters to pose for pictures.

These are the same characters that drive by on the same floats and wave to you. Since you can get up-close and personal during the day, what is the advantage or special feeling of seeing them drive by?

I think the concept of getting them out there and available is great, but it makes the parade almost an after thought if you've already seen and interacted with them.

[DizneyFreak2002]

That does kind of take away from the experience... I always thought Hop was a weird choice... Did that movie even do good at the box office??? I don't think it was all that popular...

Since it is new, and let's face it, Universal really has not been good with parades, hopefully they work out issues and bugs, up the ante next year, and add new floats... With Woody Woodpecker getting an animated movie, maybe Woody can be given a float... And Popeye is being rebooted, so maybe they can work out something for a Popeye float, and they always have Dr. Seuss... Imagine an interactive Jaws float??? A King King float, or something with the Universal classic monsters??? They have endless possibilities...