1st time Disneylander- character meals,,,which to choose?

[abbynlindsaysmom]

Hello friends! I have been reading this board for months and have just joined now that I have to get serious about research because our trip is in two months. I just called the Dine line to get some info because I know nothing and I asked specificatlly about the Minnie Mouse meal and the princesses meal. He suggested that the Goofy breakfast is better than the Minnie one so I'm thinking princess dinner at Cal Adv park the first day and then the Goofy breakfast the second day. But I need all of your expertise. My daughter will be almost four and princesses are her life! So, is the Ariel's grotto the best one to do for that? Also, would you do the Minnie Mouse breakfast or the Goofy Breakfast? Which did you find was better? This is my first of many questions but I have to book the meals on 2/2 so I need to take care of this issue first! Thank you so much!

Justine, mom to Abby (3) and Lindsay (1)

 

[bumbershoot]

Unless you are voracious eaters, I wouldn't do a dinner one night and breakfast the next morning. I would split them up between more than two days if you can, or do the b'fast the first morning and then dinner the next night.

In case you don't know, there is a princess b'fast at Ariel's now...

Someone here just had a bad experience at Goofy's, so it isn't always great.

Do you know where to find the menus online? If no, you can find menus at allears.net, and also at dlresortinfo.

There's also the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at Paradise Pier Hotel, and of course the Chip and Dale at the Grand Californian hotel... We've had those two b'fasts and they were both good. About the same food, though Lilo had rice in a rice cooker.

 

[abbynlindsaysmom]

we are only there two days and I definitely want to see some Disney characters and some princesses so I was thinking the princess dinner around 6 and then really lunch at 11:30 or noon not early breakfast. I really would like to hear others opinions too as I read on here that a lot of characters are at the Minnie Mouse breakfast but for whatever reason the guy on the phone said the Goofy breakfast is better because the characters come around and do singing and dancing (I saw that one bad review so am wondering what others think). Also, I forgot to ask if anyone could recommend a place for dinner on our second night? Is it best to get the priority seating for someplace for that dinner and then just not show up if we feel too rushed? I don't want to stand in line forever with two small kids trying to get a table and would rather have a reservation (by the way, is that what priority seating is????????) Sorry for all the questions but I don't want to screw this up! We live in NY and are more apt to do a Disney World in a few years and don't get out to CA hardly ever except that my hubby has a conference out there so we thought we'd tack on a vacation with Disney too. Thank you again!

Justine, mom of Abby (3) and Lindsay (1)

 

[DevilDuckie]

We did Goofy's for dinner and had one of my all time best Disney moments ever with Dale interacting with my son. It wasn't just a pause for pictures, the character spent real time at our table engaging- twice! The food was quite good and we had a wonderful time. This is the only character meal we've done, so I can't compare, but it was fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well with only two days that's understandable!

A priority seating is like ADRs. Not quite a reservation, but you're not a walk-up, either. You might have to wait a bit, since people sitting at tables do tend to just stay there when you're waiting for their table.

It is important to know that the people at Disney Dining aren't actually at the resort, and they don't work at the restaurants. They don't know, for example, that at 11:30 at the GCH b'fast, you can only use the buffet, because they stop using the menu at that time. They also don't know that Chip and Dale are done at 10:30am at that same b'fast. I don't recommend the 11:30 at that b'fast, by the way. t'was a bit "character-lite"!


I found that looking at the menus online is the best first step. Go from the sort of foods you guys like, then find out if it's actually good (for instance, the mac and cheese for kids at Blue Bayou is utter junk, not good at all and a bit scary, unlike the mac and cheese at other restaurants onsite!).

 

[Sally_fan]

We didn't do Ariel's although we plan to on our trip in October.
We did have breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen & it was great! The character interaction was wonderful!! They came & sat at the table, posed for pics & actually had short conversations with our kids. Chip went out of his (or her) way to play & dance with my daughter when she was to shy to go get a pot or a pan to "play" when Goofy came out to play & dance with the kids.The food was really good too. All 4 of us really enjoyed it & are going back again in October.

 

[Ashlotte]

We did Ariel's and Goofy's for the first time last year. This year we are doing Ariel's again (loved it) and Minnie's. We didn't like Goofy's enough to do it twice, if that gives you an idea. Good luck!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i didnt read it all. I would do goffys dinner and then ariels brekfest. I have heard ppl say dinner wasnt to good at ariels.

I loved dinner at goffys they ahd shrimp yeah me finely after 4 days not fidning it.
and Im going to ariels brekfest in oct looks yummy to me and betyter then goffys brekfest.

If you can do minnies do it is fun, had like 6 or so charcters come around and sign and everything, mostly pooh and his friends, caption hook miney and chip and dale.

 

[abbynlindsaysmom]

It doesn't look like the food at Ariel's grotto is good for either breakfast or dinner but since we are only at Disney for half a day the first day and a full day the second day, I wanted to do DCA the first day since it looks like there is so much more to do at Disneyland for my almost four year old. Ugh. Bumbershoot- if I do a 10:00am breakfast at Goofy's, will I be ok with the characters? Is the Disneyland Hotel right in Disneyland? How early do I need to get there if I even get a 10am breakfast time? IT sounds like you get what time you get when you call, can't you get request a time? What does ADR mean? Sorry for all the questions! Learning!!!!!!!!!

 

[ballarinamom]

The food at Goofy's for dinner is much better than Ariels. Ariels does not have much of a selection for lunch or dinner. But Goofy's dinner has prime rib (some of the best we've had) and great interaction. PLUS AAA discount. You can take the monorail from the DL to the hotel. Ariels at breakfast will be similar variety to what the other places will offer

 

[Katink]

I agree with Ballerinamom - Goofy's Kitchen for dinner has some of the best prime rib I've ever had.....and I'm not a big fan of prime rib. No matter what else we do or where we stay, we always go to Goofy's Kitchen when we're at DL. The characters circulate throughout the dining room and each character spends time at each and every table, even if there are no kids at the table.
We're going to DL in March, just DGS and me, and breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen is #1 on his 1-1/2 page "to do" list.

DGD and I went to Ariel's Grotto for breakfast in December. I liked the food, except for the turkey sausage (ick) - it was table service instead of buffe and felt quite elegant with service befitting a princess. The princesses circulate among the tables with plenty of time for pictures and chitchat. We had an early reservation and it was fun getting into DCA before it opened and having the place all to ourselves.

Katink