My first official DVC event as a member was the DVC Mother’s Day Brunch. The event took place in the Fantasia Ballroom at the Contemporary. Prices are $65.02 per adult, and $32.92 for children (ages 3-9). The price doesn’t include tax and gratuity which puts this closer to the $80 per adult mark. The event runs from 11am to 1pm. The price includes an all-you-care-to-enjoy brunch (with mimosas), fun decorations and Character greetings (with photos).
To be honest, I’m was a bit nervous about this. The last time I trusted Disney with a Mother’s Day Brunch was several years ago with a Tables in Wonderland event at the Coral Reef in Epcot. The event was such an unmitigated disaster that they ended up refunding the money for most of the people who attended – it was that bad. So, I went into this with cautious optimism.
The check-in process at the Fantasia Ballroom was seamless. While the space is very large, they did a nice job of spreading out the tables so you didn’t feel crowded in. Given Disney’s recent propensity for ‘overselling’ events, I was concerned that might happen here, but those concerns were unfounded. While the event was sold out, it never felt crowded in the least.
We were escorted to our table and given a 40% off coupon to any of the Senses Spa locations on property that’s valid thru 12/31/19- that was a really nice touch.
Buffet stations were located throughout the ballroom and featured a salad station, along with scrambled eggs, frittata, turkey sausage, crispy bacon, and pancakes as part of the breakfast offering. There was also an artichoke and cauliflower lasagna, beef tenderloin with bordelaise mushroom sauce and a baked grouper with roasted corn and pepper and tomato broth.
In addition, there was an omelet station as well as assorted pastries and scones.
Desserts featured coconut cream tarts, gluten-free flourless chocolate cake, and marbled strawberry cheesecake.
There were photo opportunities with Suzy and Perla as well as Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother.
There was also a string trio playing classical music throughout the afternoon which only added to a relaxing and dignified atmosphere.
Felicity Goodman, a character often brought out at events like this, was present interviewing children throughout the afternoon about their mothers – this was priceless.
So, let’s get to whether or not this was any good, shall we? The food was very good – plenty of stations around the ballroom ensured that there were no long lines. The food offered was fresh, well prepared and everyone enjoyed what they ate. The complimentary mimosa’s were a hit with my group. It’s especially fun to watch my mother nurse a drink for two hours.
The lines for the character photos were very short (and printed photos were included, not an extra charge). As I mentioned, there was a 40% off coupon for a spa treatment at any of the Senses Spa’s located on property. I thought it was very tasteful that they had a representative from the spa OUTSIDE the venue available to book appointments for anyone who was interested. They didn’t make any announcements, there was no ‘spa sales pitch’ or anything like that. That’s one of the things that went wrong during the Tables in Wonderland Mothers Day brunch I mentioned. We had to sit through a 15-minute sales pitch for Guerlain perfumes. It was atrocious.
Everything about this event was done tastefully. My mother absolutely LOVED it. She kept saying how relaxing it was – no one was rushing you through anything. You could take your time, enjoy your food, talk to your family, get pictures taken – all in the span of 2 hours – and never felt rushed at all.
The only negative – and this was completely out of DVC’s control – was the fact that some people were going around the tables and taking the centerpieces. The centerpieces were free to take at each table, which I thought was another really tasteful touch by DVC. We got up to have our picture taken, and when we returned, our centerpiece was gone, as was our 40% off coupon for Senses Spa. REALLY TACKY. Fortunately, one of the servers working in our area made sure my mother received another centerpiece and the cast member at the front gave us another coupon.
Despite that small inconvenience, this was a wonderful event and was ABSOLUTELY worth every penny of the $80 per adult that was paid. I’ve gone to Disney events that cost much more and provided much less. This is an excellent perk of DVC membership and one more reason I’m glad I joined. I will make this our go-to for Mothers Day as long as DVC continues to offer it!