Makahiki Character Breakfast Review

Makahiki reopened for breakfasts starting May 7th. The restaurant is open daily, but characters are only there on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The breakfast has changed from a buffet to a 3-course meal, pastries and fruit are counted as 2 of the courses. We went on a Saturday at 11AM. This is the last time slot of the day so it wasn’t very busy. Your experience may be more hurried if you are going at a busier time of day.

Upon our arrival at the Makahiki check in desk, we were first asked our room number but since we had just arrived at the resort, we didn’t yet have one, so they asked us for our name and they confirmed our reservation that way. Next, they took the temperature of everyone in your party by scanning our wrists. After that, we were led out to the ‘Olelo room patio where Mickey and Minnie were waiting up on the stage to take pictures with us. There was a photopass photographer there, who ended up taking 12 photos. He also stepped aside and told us we could take our own photos, but he couldn’t take any for us.

After taking photos, we were sent back to the desk and they asked us to wait on the side for someone to take us to our table. After a few minutes, our guide said we were going to meet two of the chefs and we were led down a hallway which used to be where the buffet was located. At the end of the hallway, Goofy and Pluto were there behind some of the old buffet stations, acting as if they were cooking. Of course, they stopped take some photos with us and then we were led to our table. That was our final interaction with characters for the meal, although we could see them from our seats.

There are three seating areas at Makahiki, one is entirely inside and this is where Aunty or Uncle sits and plays music and entertains the crowd from a small stage area behind a glass shield. The next one is a covered lanai and the last one is fully outdoors with tables covered by umbrellas. The majority of the tables are in this last section and this is where we were seated.

After a minute, glasses of water, three plates of fruit (kiwi, melon, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries), and two baskets of pastries were brought out. Each pastry basket contained a croissant, cinnamon roll, blueberry muffin, and an apple croissant. The fruit was surprisingly good. In the past, most of the fruit we’ve gotten at Aulani has been under-ripe, but this was all perfect and delicious. The pastries were ok, but we all really liked the muffin.

Our server arrived quickly and introduced herself and took our drink orders. The beverages are not listed anywhere, instead, she rattled off a long list. Our child ordered the pineapple juice and the adults both ordered the plantation iced tea (non-alcoholic. A mix of iced tea and pineapple juice). It wasn’t on the list she gave, but it’s an option. It’s a delicious mix of the bite of tea with the sweetness of the pineapple juice.

We noticed that the adults were served their drinks in glasses while children were given theirs in to-go cups with lids and paper straws, which was very much appreciated. Looking over at another table, we noticed a very pretty drink and asked about. A moment later, we had ordered a pineapple juice mimosa and an Aloha Isles Bloody Mary.

The menu was viewed by scanning a QR code sticker that was stuck to our table. We ordered the kid’s Mickey and Minnie waffle, the cinnamon bun french toast, and the hawaiian-style loco moco.

While we waited, we reveled in the lovely setting and listened to Uncle. I think we heard the Happy Birthday song about 5 times while we were there. We noticed it went silent after a while though and realized Uncle had left for the day. There was still the lovely background music that plays all over Aulani to set the mood.

Also during this time, a cast member came by with a tablet to show us our photopass pictures. While the photos were nice, we opted against buying any. There were three packages. For $35 you could get a single printed photo that you select from the ones taken, or for the same price you can get all your photos in digital downloadable form. The final package was both of the previous options for $45. She said if we changed our minds we could go to the photo table at Kalepa’s and tell them our name and the date to bring up our pictures. Our food arrived fairly quickly. Upon dropping off the loco moco, we were asked if we wanted any salt, pepper, ketchup, or tabasco sauce. We said yes to the salt and pepper and it came in little packets. Everything was soon pronounced to be delicious. The cinnamon bun french toast was the standout winner and I ended up losing half of it to my family members. The loco moco was better than we expected. The eggs were perfectly poached with a runny center and the fried rice was surprisingly good given we’re picky about our fried rice. The copious amounts of gravy may have had an effect on that. The kid’s waffles were exactly what we expected as it’s what you would get at any other Disney establishment, the two regular waffles were Mickey and the Minnie waffle was red velvet.

When we were finishing up, the server brought out containers and a bag for our leftovers. For us, that was some fruit, pastries, and one Mickey waffle. Our server offered to top off our (non-alcoholic) beverages and put them in to-go cups. The bill came out to $150.78 before tip, for 2 adults and one child. While the expense makes it something I wouldn’t do frequently, particularly without the draw of characters wandering the restaurant for up-close interaction, it was a lovely start to our stay and I’m glad we did it.

For images of the restaurant and more information, see our Makahiki page.