are Characters Meals worth it?

[pinktink83]

I'm debating whether or not to add a Character meal to our package- they are all about $90. Does that include food for everyone- or is that on top of the $90?

And which one is best IYO? What characters show up? We have a DS5 and a DD3 so something they can both enjoy. We'll be going to ToonTown Madness on Sunday morning, and using EE on Monday morning. Thank you!

 

[Dukland]

We think they are worth it.
We went to Disneyland last year, for the first time as a family. At the last minute, on a free day, we decided to go to Goofy's Kitchen. We totally had a blast! We are going to Disneyland again this year, and we have 2 we have paid for. We will probably add Goofy's Kitchen as a third, for the morning we are leaving. It was just too much fun!

yes, that price includes food, and yes, I think the character interaction is great. The two pictures in my signature are at Goofy's Kitchen. As for who shows up, it depends on where you go, and even when you go. At Goofy's Kitchen when we went, we saw The Mad Hatter, Sleeping Beauty, Chip, Dale, Max (Goofy's Son), and Goofy. Those are who I remember off the top of my head. We came back later in the evening and saw Pluto. He has a place of his own right outside that anyone can go to. Oh, and we saw Rafiki, from the Lion King, too.

Hope that helps. I know we all had a great time, especially our kids.

 

[pinktink83]

Thank you! It does sound fun. Does anyone have any info on the other Character Meals offered? Do I need to make reservations ahead of time, or can you just walk in?

 

[happyrebster]

I have never taken a trip to either WDW or DL without booking a character breakfast. To me, it takes so much pressure off of our time in the parks to have already seen the characters, taken our photos with them, etc. This way, I relax in air conditioned comfort, eat my meal and wait for characters to come to me, rather than waiting in the sun for over an hour in the hope of scoring five seconds with Pooh bear . .

Plus, it's fun and so cute! We have done Chip N Dale at the GC and loved it! Beautiful restaurant, great food, adorable characters who do spend some quality time with your little ones!

I remember the cost as roughly $30 per adult. Given the cost of everything else Disney, I think it is fair for what you get (usually an all you can eat set up ).

 

[Dukland]

Thank you! It does sound fun. Does anyone have any info on the other Character Meals offered? Do I need to make reservations ahead of time, or can you just walk in?

You should definitely make reservations ahead of time. I'm not sure how we got lucky enough to make it in to Goofy's Kitchen. We had one free day planned, in the middle of the week, and I called the night before to see if they had any openings for breakfast. I think they couldn't fit us in until 11 AM. Everything else was booked.

You can call and make reservations ahead of time. Call Disney Dining at (714)781-3463, and you can make reservations up to 60 days ahead of time. There are a few different places you can have a character breakfast at. You can have one at Ariel's Grotto, in California Adventure. They do breakfast lunch and dinner, and has all the Princesses. Great for your dd, but your ds probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.

The Plaza, at Disneyland, does only breakfast. They have Minnie Mouse, and characters that go along with Minnie (We've never been, but will be going this time). I think they close, or the last reservation, is maybe 11 AM?. We will be going around 10 AM when we go. So we can enjoy all the rides early in the park, yet still get to The Plaza early enough to enjoy all the characters (and eat "second breakfast" for my always hungry hobbit-children! LOL)

There is Paradise Pier Hotel, that has character meals with Lilo and Stitch, at the PCH Grill (Pacific Coast Highway). Others here who have attended this one say it has a Hawaiian style to the meal, which sounds cool. And it's the only character meal to have Stitch, I believe.

Storytellers Cafe, at the Grand Californian Hotel, features Chip and Dale. They do serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I am pretty sure that just breakfast includes characters.

Then, of course, there's Goofy's Kitchen. This is the one we attended last year, and had a great time.

Don't forget about The Rainforest Cafe, in Downtown Disney. It's not a character meal, but it's a nice atmosphere. It features a jungle-theme, with animatronic animals throughout the restaurant. We have one here in western Washington, too, so perhaps you have one near you? If so, it's up to you if you want to take the family somewhere you can enjoy near your own home.

There is also Blue Bayou, which is actually in the Pirates of the Caribean ride. We ate there last year, also, and it was very nice. It's closed at the moment, due to the work being done on Pirates right now, and others here have said they will not be taking reservations before July 1st. I'm not sure when your trip is planned for. But it's a nice atmosphere. I'd recommend it for a cool place to have a late lunch, when the park is really hot and extra busy. We didn't sit near the water, but it didn't take away from the experience at all for us.

Hope that helps!!! And I really wish I had found this place last spring, when I was planning our first trip!

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We've done at least 1 character meal on our last 3 trips. In fact we did, 3 (ariel's grotto-dinner, goofy' kitchen-dinner, and lilo & stitch breakfast) on our last. We love not having to wait in line to meet a character and find that alone worth it. We also love the variety of foods a buffet has to offer and the food really is good. We paid $80 for dinner at ESPN zone (for steak, pasta & 2 kids meal) for dinner on our last trip. The following night for $30 more we all had prime rib at Goofy's, a variety of other food, AND dessert. We enjoyed Goofy's more than ESPN zone. We have a 5yo daughter so we always make a point to do Ariel's Grotto with the princesses. CHaracter interaction and food are both great. This isn't a buffet, it's a 3 course meal. We've seen Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Mulan, Ariel with legs, and Belle We loved lilo & stitch for breakfast. I loved their pineapple scones. Character interaction was fantastic. There are games with Stitch every so often so it is an interactive experience. I believe you have the choice to order off a menu or have the buffet. We saw Lilo, Stitch, Minnie & Pluto. We've done Goofy's for breakfast and dinner, but prefer their dinner menu. This is a high energy character meal. Lots of noise, lots of interactive activities lots of good food. We've seen Goofy, Pluto, Aladdin, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Geppetto, the fox from PInocchio's, Belle, Jasmine, Mnnie, and Alice. We did Storyteller's when we stayed at GCH and loved it. Youhave more obscure characters like Meeko from Pocahantes and the bears from Brother Bear. You can order off the menu or have the buffet. We loved the food here. To see menus for the restaurants ina nd anroudn disney check out www.dlresortinfo.com. There's a wealth of information to be had at this site including menu prices. I would definitely recommend making reservations especially at Ariel's Grotto. When checking in on our last trip. We saw at least 3 families being turned away since they were all booked up.

 

[pinktink83]

Thank you all! Great info, helped me TONS!!

 

[hlbtimes2]

If you are looking for a slightly cheaper way to do a character meal, I recomend either PP for Lilo and Stitch or GC for Chip and Dale at Storytellers. Both offer the option of ordering off the menu. While it still more expensive then breakfast at Dennys, its cheaper then the buffets. Take a look at www.dlresortinfo.com for an idea of menus and prices.

 

[Mom2Joce]

THEY ARE SO WORTH IT!
We did the Princess Breakfast (back when it was at the Plaza Inn), we've done Ariel's Grotto (over at Calif. Ad), and we've done Goofey's Kitchen.
ALL were worth it to me regardless of price. To have the characters come RIGHT to the table and give the kids their undivided attention was so very special!
If you click on the links below you'll find pictures of each character meal we went to
Very special and worth while

 

[cyjmhill]

We have done several character meals and it is worth it!!!

My family and I love Goofey's Kitchen it has good food, fun times and several characters. make sure you make a reservation before going to DL.

Enjoy!!!!

 

[Harmony]

I haven't read the responses but *for our family* they are most definitely worth it! We never stand in line to see characters but we still get to see most every character we want by scheduling a character meal. Our next trip is in 25 days (and counting) and so far, we have 5 character meals scheduled. My toddler absolutely loves them and, for us, it wouldn't be a complete Disney trip w/o those meals!

 

[kandbscloset]

We JUST booked our first DISNEYLAND vacation for our family and THANK YOU for this thread! I was looking at them by cost and not taking into consideration that my kids would be meeting all the characters while eating!

My question is do you think it is appropriate for two youngsters? I have DS4 and DD3 (well, she'll be 3 in Sept when we go) and I just want to be sure that it will be a good choice for us.
Thanks!
Audra

 

[Texasfan]

Your DD and DS should be fine. If they are scared of the characters then just do not push them. My daughter was very shy, but we still had a very good time. Make sure to still get pictures even if your children are not in them. They will enjoy them later.

 

[Harmony]

My question is do you think it is appropriate for two youngsters?

My toddler LOVES them! He is already talking about going to Goofy's Kitchen! Last summer, the character meals at WDW were some of our favorite parts of the vacation! He had such a blast and, at that time, he wasn't even 2 yet. Now that he is 2 years old and 10 months, he can verbalize his excitement! Just seeing him have so much fun, makes me have so much fun!

BTW...the other night I had a dream that we missed our Goofy's Kitchen reservation and that the boys were mad. So now I have to make sure we absolutely make it there on time! LOL