Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera – Disney’s newest signature restaurant that is a  Character Dining location by morning and Signature Dining experience by evening Disney’s Rivera Resort.  This is my NEW favorite Character dining experience!  I promise you won’t want to miss it.  

Dinner is just as great at Topolino’s but in my mind when you can add the characters with a plated signature food experience, rather than your typical character dining buffet (family style during Covid times), it one-ups everything else!

Let’s get started exploring all that Topolino’s Terrace has to offer!

Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera 

Topolino’s = Mickey in Italian. 

And this right there was an immediate reason for me to love it!

Disney’s Rivera Resort is inspired by Walt and Lilian Disney’s Grand Tour of Europe in 1935.  Throughout the resort, you’ll find photographs from their travels which is a really fun addition to the decor especially if you love the legacy of Disney. 

The resorts nod to classic Disney inspiration with transitional furnishings and decor is warm and welcoming the moment you walk into the resort.

Topolions Terrace is located on the rooftop of Disney’s Rivera Resort with views of Hollywood Studios and Epcot in the background.  Guests will enjoy Disney’s Skyliner whizzing by and enjoy the bustle of resort life below.

The outdoor terrace has seating for dining guests only with a private bar and the perfect view of the Florida sunset.

What You Need to Know About Topolino’s Terrace:

Disney’s Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera is a table service restaurant at Disney’s Rivera Resort.  

Reservations are suggested and can be made on the My Disney Experience app beginning at 60 days prior to arrival.  This reservation can be hard to get so make sure to login right at 60 days prior to arrival for best availability.

Topolino’s Terrace is open daily for breakfast and dinner only.  Exact times are available on the My Disney Experience app. 

• Breakfast
• Dinner 
• Character dining offered during breakfast hours only

Tips for getting a reservation at Topolino’s Terrace:

• Reservations can be made 60 days prior to arrival on your My Disney Experience app.
• 407-WDW-DINE can help if you’re having issues with the website however they do NOT have extra availability and wait times can be long.
• Disney’s preferred method of making reservations is on the My Disney Experience app.  Call centers do not have availability outside of what is shown on My Disney Experience.
• If you’re unable to find a reservation check again each day within 2 weeks prior to your arrival.  Many times cancellations will become available as guests finalize their travel plans.
• Be flexible with your dining times.
• Break the party into smaller groups to arrive within 20 minutes of each other.  Remember, you’re dealing with a computer system that is trying to seat people.  It doesn’t actually *think* or problem solve.  So try as many combos as possible to see if you can get it booked.
• If you’re breaking apart your group you will need multiple My Disney Experience account logins.  You can not book two or more dining reservations for the same time period.

Where is Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera? 

Topolino’s Terrace is located on the rooftop of Disney’s Rivera Resort in the Epcot Resort area.

How to Get to Disney’s Rivera Resort – Topolino’s Terrace

There are many ways to get to Disney’s Rivera Resort from all over Disney World.

Traveling From Disney’s Theme Parks:

Traveling from the Magic Kingdom or the Animal Kingdom:

• Guests traveling from the Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom can take a bus to Disney’s Rivera Resort.

Traveling from Hollywood Studios or Epcot:

• Guests traveling from Hollywood Studios or Epcot can use Disney’s Skyliner or bus to Disney’s Rivera Resort.

Note:

• Buses from Disney’s Skyliner Resorts such as Disney’s Rivera Resort and Skyliner Parks  (Hollywood Studios and Epcot) have limited daily runs to the resorts.  The fastest mode of transportation is via Disney’s Skyliner or Ride Share service.
• Disney’s Skyliner access from Epcot is on the backside of the park outside the World Showcase.  Guests arriving at Epcot via bus or monorail will not be able to access the Skyliner without a valid park ticket.

Traveling From your Disney Resort:

Traveling from Pop Century and Art of Animation:

• Disney’s Rivera Resort is easily accessible by the Disney Skyliner from Pop Century and Art of Animation

Traveling from Caribbean Beach Resort:

• Guests staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort can take a 5 to 10-minute walk to Rivera Resort.

Traveling from other Disney Resorts:

• If guests are traveling from another resort and do not want to utilize a ride share service they will need to take any available mode of transportation to the nearest park and then transfer buses to get to Disney’s Rivera Resort.

Ride Share Service:

• Guests traveling from all on-property resort locations can use a ride share service such as Uber/Lyft or Disney’s Minnie Van Service to get to Disney’s Rivera Resort.

Note: 

• Guests who require car seats should opt for Disney’s Minnie Van Service which can be accessed via the Lyft app when you’re on Disney property.

Traveling From Disney Springs, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Wide World of Sports

• Guests traveling from Disney Springs, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and Disney’s Wide World of Sports will take a bus to Disney’s Rivera Resort.

A look inside Topolino’s Terrace

In my opinion, the decor of Topolinos Terrace is nice but nothing that takes your breath away.  It’s the views from the top that accomplish that. 

For a full Tour of Disney’s Rivera Resort and Topolino’s Terrace please visit my Instagram Stories until I can return to Topolino’s Terrance to take a few more pictures.  Truly, I think video tours are much better anyway!

Don’t get me wrong, the restaurant is upscale and well designed.  I truly love the lighting but its the floor to ceiling windows that do the talking.  You will want to request a window table upon arrival as long as you don’t mind heights.

Make sure you arrive early for dinner to enjoy drinks on the outdoor terrace or in the lounge next to the dining room.  When we visited we ate in the lounge due to us not having a reservation and the dining room being full.  The full menu is served in the lounge.

If you are not able to make a dinner reservation and can easily check lounge availability, this could be an option.  However, I would not rely on this.  The lounge is small and will fill quickly. 

Topolino’s Breakfast A La’ Art with Mickey and Friends – Character Dining Experience 

Let’s review the breakfast menu and character dining experience at Topolinos first.  If you’re only interested in the dinner menu, scroll on down for the review on it. 

Character dining happens daily from 7:30 am to 11:30 am.

Characters You May See Topolio’s Terrace

Dining with characters is one of my favorite experiences at Disney World.  At Topolino’s Terrace you’ll have the pleasure of meeting:

• Mickey Mouse
• Minnie Mouse
• Daisy Duck
• Donald Duck.

It should be noted that the only character guaranteed to be at a character meal is the one who’s name is on the dining experience.  In this instance, “Topolino’s Breakfast a la’ Art with Mickey and Friends”.   Therefore you’re guaranteed a Mickey appearance.  But generally speaking, you’ll also meet Minnie, Donald, and Daisy as well in their artful outfits!

Character Experiences in Covid Times

Character experiences have been modified during Covid times.  Characters will “parade” around the restaurant and pose for socially distant photos and selfies.  Don’t panic if you don’t’ get the exact shot you want.  They will come around multiple times making it easy to perfect your selfie game!

 

 

Character dining at Disney World is part of THE Disney experience.  You should absolutely have at least one character dining meal each visit. 

Most character meals include all you can eat buffets.  There are only a handful of character dining experiences at Disney World that include a menu and a plated meal.  Topolino’s breakfast is the newest of them. 

The others for reference are Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom, Be Our Guest, dinner only, in the Magic Kingdom, and Storybook Dining at Wilderness Lodge, dinner only, and Trattoria al Forno, breakfast only.

Personally I prefer a menu and plated meal over a buffet-style meal any day.  

Topolino’s Terrace Breakfast Menu

I was immediately wowed by what the breakfast menu offered and the amount of food that was served.  It’s a definite favorite.

All menus are now on the app and can be pulled up on your phone with a QR code at the table.  Make sure your phone is charged for a better experience.

*TIP* The breakfast menu is a pre-fixe price meaning you pay per person to eat at the restaurant.  Pricing is similar to a buffet in that it’s all you can eat even though it’s not served that way.  Order as many drinks and entrees as desired!  You DON’T have to choose.

The food is SO good here and the price point fairly low for a character meal that this one is a definite MUST do while on your Disney vacation!

These Shared Pastries are delivered to each table upon arrival.

Disney’s gluten-free pastries are always yummy!  It was no different at Topolino’s Terrace

Allergy-Friendly pastries and Bloody Mary at Topolino’s Terrace Character BreakfastMom enjoyed this Croissant and said it was 100% worth all of the calories! lol

I opted for the Wood-fired Butchers Steak and was not disappointed.  The polenta that accompanies it was out of this world!

We will for sure be back to try additional menu items although it will be hard to not order these again!

Kids Breakfast Menu

When I dined at Topolinos Breakfast A La Art with Mickey & Friends we didn’t have the girls with us.  Sad for them.  Less expensive for me!  But I did grab a few pictures of the menu for those of you that will have your kids with you.

All most all of Disney World’s dining locations have kid-friendly items on the menu regardless of what the restaurant-style is.  This makes it easy for Mom and Dad to eat like foodies while the kids can stick to their chicken nuggets and mac n cheese.

The kid’s menus always have plenty of activities for them to do while they wait on their food.

Topolino’s Terrace Breakfast Gluten-Free Menu Options

Disney World allergy menus are a little different than most locations.  If the item note reads “FOR” and the allergy listed, that means it’s safe to consume if you have that food allergy.

For example, “Two-Eggs-Any Style” says “For Gluten/Wheat, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies”.  This means if you have one of these food allergies, like Gluten for me, that item is “FOR” you.  You are safe to consume it.  It took me a while to get used to this style of allergy menu.

If there is an item you’d really like to try but it’s not listed as one you can have, check with your wait staff who will check with the Chef.  Many times your requests can be met with small modifications.

Dinner at Topolino’s Terrace

Dinner at Topolino’s Terrace is a Signature Meal and therefore requires 2 table service credits on the dining plan.  Signature Meal simply means a more upscale dining experience.  Mickey and friends are not at Topolino’s Terrace for dinner.

Cocktails

Begin your evening with cocktails either in the lounge at the front of the dining room or outside on the Terrace.  Guests without a dinner reservation will not be able to access the Terrace.

Topolino’s Terrace Dinner Menu

I am a huge steak lover and almost always opt for the Filet Mignon if it’s available.  Partly because I’m gluten-free and don’t’ eat much pasta but mostly because I LOVE a restaurant filet with a great sauce!  This did NOT disappoint.

Jeremy and I shared a meal this evening so there isn’t more to share picture wise.  If we had added an appetizer to the meal it would have been enough food.  We were fine because we’d eaten earlier but in typical circumstances, appetizer, entree, and dessert are great for a small meal.

Topolino’s Terrace Dinner Gluten-Free Menu Options

The allergy-friendly menu at Topolino’s Terrace is very robust and has a lot to offer.  As you saw above, I opted for the Filet Mignon that was gluten-free without modifications.  The menu items that don’t have to be modified to be gluten-free are often times my favorite because they’re served as the Chef intended them to be.

 

Gluten-Free Dessert

The Dessert Menu at Topolino’s Terrace is not very extensive, to begin with, and the options for gluten-free dessert options are even more minimal.  I always hope for chocolate or something cake-like on the dessert menu and Topolino’s Terrace did not have an option like that for me.

I selected the Pistachio Mousse which was the only gluten-free dessert option.  The dessert is beautifully presented but didn’t make my favorites list.  It was not bad but I don’t’ need to order it again in the future.

Next time I’ll have dessert elsewhere.  That is one of the great things about Disney World.  You can easily dine at multiple places for each course of your meal.

From Rivera Resort we could hop on the Disney Skyliner and head to the Boardwalk area where we could have ice cream at Ample Hills Creamery or something from the Boardwalk Bakery!

Even better if you have a park ticket you could wander the Epcot World Showcase and eat desserts “around the world” before catching the evening fireworks.

If you prefer a more laid back evening, order from the menu and enjoy the fireworks from the outdoor terrace.

Disney Dining Plan

Disney Dining Plans are accepted at Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera.

• Breakfast/Brunch – 1 Table Service Credit per person
• Dinner – Signature Dining – 2 Table Service Credits per person
• Gratuities are NOT included in the dining plan.

Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Rivera Take-Aways

I loved the views and food from the rooftop of Disney’s Rivera Resort and Topolino’s.  I’m anxious to get to eat there again for dinner and be able to enjoy an evening on the terrace for drinks and fireworks.  

The food at both breakfast and dinner was to die for good and between the two I don’t think I could pick a better meal.  I thoroughly enjoy the character dining experience and therefore probably loved breakfast more but it’s strictly related to characters and not the food.  Mickey and friends dressed in their European artsy costumes are a fun addition to their massive closet of costumes!