Cape May I, Please?

My brother teases me that I can't be satisfied with the regular and mundane, that I always seek out the different and exotic. That was in regard to the Japanese snack of Pocky. While I won't say no to the original chocolate version, I will shout in triumph when I find a pumpkin, blueberry or chocolate banana flavor.

It works with characters too. Everyone else is narrowly focused on Mickey and I delight in spotting a rare character or in running up to less popular characters. Which brings me to Cape May at the Beach Club Resort. The Cape May character breakfast has neither Mickey nor Cinderella, the rulers of the character meals. It has Minnie. A mouse only sought out when she's paired with Mickey or when Mickey's line is too long and the Castmember has closed it off. And Goofy. A character who never has a line at all. Chip N' Dale are there too, but they are everywhere, so no one is ever really interested in seeing them much either. All in beach attire.

Compared to other themes and decor, some might be put off by the rather plain looking butcher paper table cloths used at Cape May. It has a purpose. Each table is provided with crayons and invited to draw all over the table until the time comes to go up to the buffet or while waiting for a character to visit. Each table cloth is replaced after a party leaves. It's a brilliant idea that's tailored for kiddie clientele, but it's not so bad as a way for an adult to pass the time either.

The characters spend a decent amount of time with each party, even coloring on the table cloth with the kids. The buffet is one of the better ones. The selection is as extensive as the more crowded Donald meal in Animal Kingdom, but everything is much quieter and less crowded here.

One of the best parts of the meal, is that when it's all over you can just take a leisurely walk over to Epcot and enter through the International Gateway rather than the more crowded front of the park. That puts you straight into the World Showcase, which is perfect if you plan your breakfast to be at around 9:30 and get to the World Showcase when it opens at 11 am. Everyone else will have to traverse the length of Epcot to get there, and in the meantime you can stroll around relatively free of crowds going the contrary counter-clockwise direction. Guidebooks say to start with Mexico and go clockwise, but that's always been the more crowded way in my experience. Then, once World Showcase has filled up, you'll be able to go see Future World and get any Fastpasses you want for late afternoon crowd free. This is the time to ride Space Ship Earth (aka Giant Golf Ball) without much of a line.

All thanks to Minnie, the mouse who gets less love than even the sewing Cinderella mice in the hierarchy of Disney characters. Perhaps you just May broaden your own character hunting horizons beyond the mundane and regular as well.