Dollywood's new Imagination Playhouse Character Breakfast

This morning we headed to Dollywood for the first ever Imagination Playhouse Character Breakfast. We were a bit concerned because it was also Sevier County Days and the first day of the Summer Celebration, so we parked in preferred parking. 

None of the security officers or the ticket turnstile workers knew anything about the breakfast. It caused some frustration for everyone - guests and workers alike. So, I sought out the answers to make sure if you go to the breakfast, you know what to expect and can have a smoother entrance. 

Because the breakfasts are scheduled at 9 AM on Saturdays, they coincide with Early Ride Time for Gold & Diamond Passholders. NO ONE is able to enter the park until exactly 9:00 AM (after the national anthem). Despite the tickets saying the breakfast begins at 9 AM and the answers many of us received from contacting the park, we are not given a separate or priority entrance, and do not move to the front of the line. We enter with the hundreds of others who come in for Early Ride Time. The difference is, you will walk to the right of Dolly's cabin, near the bridges over the water, and show your breakfast ticket to the security officer at that blocked access point. The officer will let you through, and you will be directed to the hot dog stand, and told to walk beside and behind it to the picnic pavilion. 

Once you arrive at the entrance to the pavilion, you will scan your tickets and show your season pass to verify that each person in your party is a gold or diamond passholder (or preK pass holder attending with a gold or diamond passholder). Then, you are free to make a plate, grab a drink, take photos with characters, or find a seat. 

The food.... it was absolutely amazing. The bacon was cooked to perfection, the cinnamon bread french toast was a tasty treat, and everything was very filling and delicious. 

The menu consists of blueberry muffins, sausage links, cheesy hash brown potatoes, the best bacon ever, slices of ham, the savory cinnamon bread french toast, biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, pancakes with every imaginable topping, waffle bowls, and apples. There is coffee, milk, a berry juice (it was really good), or a soda machine. 

The characters present for the first day of the breakfast were the doll and the clown. Both stood in an area to take photos as people entered, and then walked around to each table grouping and posed for more photos. They were very sweet and interactive with everyone. 

The highlight of the meal was a surprise entry by everyone's favorite chicken lady Miss Lillian! She got the breakfast goers engaged in the event, singing and dancing her way around the hall. She called all the dads up for a special Father's Day chicken dance and blessing, then had all of the kiddos in the room join them, as they paraded around the pavilion dancing and singing. It was fun, energetic and spontaneous, as anything with Miss Lillian normally goes. 

One thing that was blatantly obvious was that there was almost no one there. Many people had not heard about the breakfast yet, and while there appeared to be seating for a couple hundred people, only about 30 were present for this first meal. We thought it was a good start to a great idea, but hope there will be more marketing of the event among the gold and diamond passholders. We all thought it was a great idea that had the potential for expansion (can you say Breakfast with Santa?!), but felt that the event had not received enough publicity to be well attended. 

As far as the value, we found it to be an extremely good value. The tickets were $19.99 each, and no one left hungry. The food was tasty and filling, and there was plenty of it. The culinary staff serving the meal was wonderful. They asked us how things were, if we needed anything, if we were enjoying it, and were so appreciative of the many thank yous called out as we all left. All-in-all, I would highly recommend attending at least one of these character breakfasts this summer if you have a gold or diamond season pass. We felt it was definitely worth it! 

For more information on the Imagination Playhouse Character Breakfast, visit Dollywood's website.

A video from today: