I am not sure if all the character meals' prices go up and down with the on and off-peak seasons, but Goofy's does. Right now, it's off-peak so Goofy's would be at its lowest price, which is still expensive. Having that AP definitely helps to get a discount.
But, yeah, I guess depending on what you ordered at Blue Bayou for your child, you could probably pay much less to eat there than at a character meal. I think we all agree that character meals are costly, so that is why it's so important to make sure you really want to eat at one of them so the money spent is worth it. It is too much money to take a risk on if you are not sure.