The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast at Islands of Adventure has been a highly-sought after reservation for several years now and I FINALLY had the pleasure of experiencing it for myself! The Grinch Breakfast is offered on select days November 21, 2025 – January 4, 2026 and costs $58.99 per adult and $32.99 per child (ages 3 – 9). There are very limited dates available to book this season but you should absolutely plan to make this a tradition on your next Universal Orlando holiday visit!
The Grinch Breakfast is held in The Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous! in Seuss Landing and is decked out with Who-liday decorations. Guests can enjoy Circus McGurkus as a regular quick-service dining location outside of the Grinch Breakfast hours. You can even catch a glimpse of The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! as it passes through the restaurant.
The Grinch Breakfast does require advance reservations and payment. Guests must also pick-up physical tickets for the breakfast at any will-call window or kiosk. The breakfast includes a sharable appetizer, one entree, one beverage (non-alcoholic), a surprise treat, and of course the chance to meet and take photos with the Grinch plus plenty of Whos!
The Menu
Who Nibbles
Cinn-a Who Welcome Wheels – warm extra large cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting, Biscoff cookie crumbles, and served with fresh fruit
The Feast
Grinch’s Chilaquiles Verdes – corn tortilla chips, hand pulled chicken, fried eggs, avocado, pickled onions, salsa verde, cotija cheese, and cilantro crema
Martha May Whoever Vegan Rancheros Tostadas – refried black beans, vegan chorizo, avocado, pickled onions, vegan feta cheese, pico de Gallo, chipotle aioli, arugula and baby tomato salad
Mayor Augustus’ Everything Bagel – whipped dill schemer, pastrami smoked salmon, cucumbers, capers, shaved red onion, arugula and baby tomato salad, soft boiled egg
Betty Lou Who Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes – three who-mongous pancakes, blueberry compote, and lemon curd creme
Mt. Crumpet French Toast – kataifi, pistachio cream cheese stuffed brioche French toast, dark chocolate ganache, toasted pistachios, and fresh strawberries
Who-landaise Smoked Brisket – coffee and cocoa bbq rubbed beef brisket, crispy potato hash, fried egg, bbq hollandaise, poblano and smoked cheddar cornbread
The Grinch’s Q’licious Quiche – flaky crust, herbed eggs, gruyere cheese, smoked ham, pickled onions, arugula and baby tomato salad
Mrs. Toffee Apple Dapple Clucker Crunch Chicken Sandwich – crispy hand-breaded chicken, maple apple fritters, bacon, arugula, chipotle aioli, cheesy crinkle fries
Beverages
Grinch’s Sour Apple – sour green ICEE with whipped cream and red sugar crystals
Juice, Coffee, and Soft Drinks
For Our Little Whos
The Grinch’s Pancake Stack – whipped topping, fresh strawberries and red crystal sugar, served with bacon and scrambled eggs
Waffle Wonderland – whipped topping, blueberries and strawberries, topped with green crystal sugar, served with bacon and scrambled eggs
Whoville Morning Munch – fluffy scrambled eggs with bacon and crinkle fries
Grinchmas Sour Apple
The novelty and aesthetic of the Grinch’s Sour Apple is pretty great and kids are sure to love it! It’s very sweet and similar to the taste of a green apple Jolly Rancher. The Grinch’s Sour Apple is included with the price of breakfast.
Cinn-a Who Welcome Wheels
This cinnamon roll is giant and so delicious. It’s served warm and is chewy, melt in your mouth deliciousness. There is an abundance of cream cheese frosting underneath the cinnamon roll and the Biscoff Cookies add the perfect amount of sweet/ cinnamon flavor.
Mrs. Toffee Apple Dapple Clucker Crunch Chicken Sandwich
The portion size of this sandwich is massive! The apple fritter “bun” makes it surprisingly sweet so it’s nice to have the addition of bacon and arugula on the sandwich. The fired chicken was delicious on its own and perfectly crispy plus you can’t beat a side of theme park crinkle fries.
Grinch’s Chilaquiles Verdes
The chilaquiles may not look overly impressive but it was my favorite between the two adult entrees we tried. There was plenty of chicken and the flavors of the jalapeños, pickled red onion, and fresh avocado worked so well together. Add two over easy eggs, and this was a filling and flavorful breakfast option.
The Grinch’s Pancake Stack
The kids’ Grinch Pancake Stack was basic in flavor but I love a themed menu item. How fun is it to eat green pancakes?
At the end of the breakfast each guest is given a pack of two Grinch sugar cookies each with a red candy heart. This was a nice surprise and take-away from the breakfast, plus the cookies are much denser than they look!
Throughout of your breakfast, Who friends will visit with each table to talk about the Grinch, how they’re preparing for The Who-lidays, and about their role in Whoville. These interactions are so much fun and The Whos are very excited to share their Wholiday traditions with you. You even get the chance to talk with Cindy Lou Who herself.
You can choose to meet the Grinch before or after or breakfast. Our server was really great about giving us an idea of the wait time and advised us to wait until after breakfast, which was the right call. Your souvenir postcard is your ticket to meet the Grinch who is seated as the “Guest of Honor” inside the restaurant.
I was pleasantly surprised by the breakfast itself but meeting the Grinch is THE highlight. We waited maybe 20 minutes to meet him and he truly took his time talking to us and taking photos. It was the first-time my three-year old had met the Grinch and despite being a big fan, he was obviously a little nervous. The Grinch did a great job of being is usual sarcastic and hilarious self, while also being very approachable to a 3-year old. It’s hard for even the adults to not feel star-struck! When we walked away from meeting the Grinch, we all agreed The Grinch Breakfast is a new holiday tradition.
We visited Islands of Adventure on a rainy-Sunday when the wait times were generally low. All except the Grinch meet and greet line which consistently stayed above two hours. Not only was the breakfast an enjoyable experience but was well-worth not waiting in a two-hour line to meet the Grinch. I was also surprised to see the Grinch Cookies included in our breakfast were for sale in Seuss Landing for $5.29. This small gesture only solidified the value of the breakfast.
I can’t believe it took me this long to experience the Grinch Breakfast but now it will be a must-do for my family every holiday season! Not only is it a great value but is such a unique experience I’ll remember for years to come. This year, The Grinch Breakfast reservations opened on October 8th and I booked our December reservation that day. If you’re planning a holiday visit to Universal Orlando, be sure to prioritize booking The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast!
