Breakfast with The Grinch-Universal Orlando

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Breakfast with The Grinch at Universal Orlando is whimsical chaos. The Grinch walks this way, he walks that way, playfully teasing our group. He rings the bell at the top of my Christmas tree headband and calls me “curly” throughout the interaction. Continuously cracking jokes, he orders us to pose for a picture. Our interaction comes to an end. The next party is ushered through. As we walk back to our table, I’m happy we made time to have Breakfast with the Grinch. 

Donning a flannel nightgown, I’m poised in front of the television. It’s one of the best times of year for a kid. It’s Christmas Special time. See current kids, there was a time in history when Christmas movies and television specials were only shown once a year. If you missed it, you missed it. You had to wait an entire year to view it again. You read  December’s TV Guide like a sacred tome. Memorizing the dates and times that your favorite Christmas specials aired. One of the most anticipated was the original animated version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Even now, when you can watch The Grinch any time, in many versions, at the mere touch of a button, he remains one of the greatest Christmas characters of all time. Having breakfast with The Grinch is an ultimate goal.

The Reservation

One of the most sought-after experiences at Universal Orlando during the holidays is Breakfast with The Grinch. The reservations sell out quickly. If your one heart’s desire is to attend the breakfast, sign up for Universal Orlando emails, follow their social media sites, and keep a vigilant eye out for the moment reservations are announced. Reservations sold out in 72 hours the year we visited Universal Orlando in December. Don’t stroll up to the check-in podium without a reservation and be surprised that the server can’t seat you. Plan ahead!

If you can get everyone in your party up and ready, I recommend an early reservation. An early morning reservation means you enter the park early, and although the rides aren’t open, you can get some good pictures of Seuss Landing’s Grinchmas decorations before the crowds descend. An early reservation also means you will have plenty of time to celebrate Grinchmas after your breakfast.

Check-In

Be sure to review your reservations before you enter the park. Breakfast with The Grinch takes place in Universal’s Islands of Adventure park. The breakfast takes place at different restaurants depending on the year. Double-check which restaurant to check in at. During the year we visit, Breakfast with The Grinch takes place in Seuss Landing at Circus Mcgurkus Café Stoo-pendous. Universal provides signs that point the way to the check-in spot. After checking in at the outside podium, we waited for a text message telling us our table is ready. The wait time was minimal.

We are seated at our table, handed our menus, and asked for our drink orders. Everyone in our party is handed an “un-invitation” card.

The cards act as a souvenir and our ticket to the breakfast’s Grinch meet-and-greet. The ticket prevents non-breakfast park goers from sneaking into the meet-and-greet line. Our server explains that we are able to line up for our time with The Grinch anytime during our breakfast.

The Food

***Note that Universal changes the Breakfast with the Grinch menu each year. Before making your reservation, check the online menu to ensure there are menu items that will appeal to your party.

During the year of our visit, breakfast is a prix fixe meal. The meal included a drink, a shared breakfast appetizer plate, a main course, and a Grinch-themed cookie for dessert.

The Drinks

Our drink choices included coffee, juice, and soft drinks. The specialty-themed beverage is the Grinch Sour Apple. It is a green apple ICEE topped with whipped cream and red sugar crystals. As much as I love a themed treat, this was not a taste I craved so early in the morning. I opted for coffee.

The Appetizer Plate

The shared appetizer plate consisted of an assortment of mini-muffins, fresh fruit, and a bowl of yogurt and granola.

It’s the perfect amount for a party of four. Our goal is to leave the breakfast satisfied but not stuffed. One, you don’t want to be too full when you have a full day of riding rides. Two, there are a lot of special holiday treats to try throughout the park, and you need to save room to try them. The appetizers are tasty and culinarily friendly for the whole table.

The Entrée

The entrees range from sweet to savory, depending on your breakfast proclivities.

It was the childhood dream of this Seuss book fan to eat green eggs and ham. A plate of pesto scrambled eggs, bacon, Canadian bacon, and tater tots topped with breakfast gravy is set before me.

I’m ecstatic. I’m also shocked that the entrée was removed from the most current menu. This is a Seuss staple. I’m sure there are plenty of kids and adults who dream of trying green eggs and ham. Pesto scrambled eggs are yummy, and I wish I saw them more on restaurant menus.

At the end of the meal, each party member is presented with a Grinch-themed sugar cookie. Though colored green, the homemade cookie is a basic sugar cookie. The texture is soft and chewy. The cookies come packaged, which we appreciated. You can eat your cookie immediately or toss it in your backpack for later.

Breakfast was a good amount of food, so we took our cookies to go.

Though perfectly fine, the food isn’t the main focus of Breakfast with the Grinch. It’s all about the character interactions.

Seuss Themed Fun  

While dining on our morning meal, Whovians flit from table to table. We got to meet the Mayor of Whoville, as well as two other citizens. All of the interactions are improvised. They may chat, they may sing, they may dance. You never know. They will always pose for photos.

On the day of our breakfast, Sam I Am had his own photo op spot.

Many breakfast visitors either didn’t notice him or didn’t care, so when he wasn’t occupied, he also strolled around tables.

There was also a fun photo setup at the restaurant’s entrance/exit. A friendly staff stood nearby, ready to take a picture of visiting groups.

You can’t choose your table at Breakfast with The Grinch. You sit where you sit. We were lucky enough to have a table near the Grinch’s Thrown area. It was a treat watching  the interactions with guests. Did he make a few kids cry? Yes. Did we laugh? Also yes.  His appearance in general is intimidating. Some kids hid behind their groups while others happily chatted with the green guy. The Grinch is unpredictable. He often stopped chatting with a group to point out and address guests eating breakfast at their tables. Though it didn’t happen the day of our visit, the server told us about times he left his boundaries and performed some antics in the main dining area. Just be sure to have your cameras ready. You never know what The Grinch will do.

Meeting The Grinch

Meeting The Grinch is a goal for visitors during the holidays at Universal Orlando. There are photo ops with the famous children’s book character during the year, but the character is in a full furry costume and doesn’t speak.

During the holidays, the make-up allows him to speak and move around freely. The holiday Grinch is also dressed in his How The Grinch Stole Christmas Santa Claus garb.

A breakfast reservation is your best guarantee for a meet-and-greet and photo. Within Seuss Landing, there is also another Grinch meeting location. We passed the line several times during our trip. The wait time was never under 100 minutes. One day, the wait time was 200 minutes.

A voracious researcher, I read about people also standing in a long line at Breakfast with The Grinch. This was usually because diners waited until the end of the meal, and since reservations are made in timed groups, everyone lined up for their meet-and-greet all at once. Seeing a short line upon our arrival, we informed our server that we were lining up right away. She said that was a great idea and that she would wait to deliver food and drink items to our table when we returned.

The line started outside and circled around to a side door. Staff diligently guarded the line.

The Grinch invites us to his throne area. He’s not cruel or mean. I would say the vibe is sassy, sarcastic, diva. There are jokes and teasing. He makes sure that all attention is on him at all times. The interaction lasts a decent amount of time, hence the longer lines. We giggle and laugh, it’s fantastic. It’s everything you want a character experience to be.

Visitors often bring gifts for the guest of honor. The most popular gift is an onion.

Conclusion

Breakfast with The Grinch is a pricey breakfast. You are paying theme-park prices for an overall experience. For us it was worth it. Christmas Grinch is the best Grinch. Meeting him and spending quality time with friends will remain an enduring Christmastime memory.

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