Kids Cuisine

My kids recently enjoyed what can only be described as the Ultimate Breakfast Experience for toddlers and preschoolers. We dined at a character breakfast at the Nick Hotel’s Nicktoons Cafe in Orlando.

My three children are all die-hard Nickelodeon and Noggin devotees, so they were pretty excited about meeting Dora, SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick.

As we entered the breakfast for the first available reservation time at 7 a.m., there were very few other families dining. Little did my children know they were about to meet their small-child equivalent to Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.

Then, the music started blaring and SpongeBob emerged. My son got a sheepish grin, my youngest daughter got a distrusting look (after all, SpongeBob isn’t that large on TV), and my oldest daughter yelled out, “Look mom! It’s SpongeBob!”

A Dora sighting was enough to have all three children aflutter with excitement. From then on, it was a steady stream of characters coming by for picture-taking, hugs, and even to dance and carry on in front of the kids.

The breakfast is overpriced (just under $20 per adult, $11 for each child age 12 and under for a buffet breakfast), but the looks on their faces were pretty priceless.

The cafe really has that Nickelodeon vibe down, including funky and artsy orange tables decorated with images of popular Nick characters and Fiestaware-esque colorful plastic dinnerware.

I was also pretty impressed with the food offerings. Since the food isn’t the real appeal, I had low expectations. In fact, there were several healthy food options including a variety of fresh fruits, cheese cubes, yogurt, and a made-to-order omelet bar with options like fresh tomatoes and peppers.

Photo of Nicktoons Cafe character breakfast, © Nick Hotel, and photo of mug, orange juice and cafe table, © Kelby Carr.