Best character meal...

[bsjs0708]

I don't care if it's Breakfast or Dinner . I will be taking DGS4,DD24,DD21,DM81 and me, of course to only 1 character meal. I know they are pricey so I really want some good food. I think DGS will be excited no matter who the characters are. TIA!! Julie

 

[dlander]

I have always found the dinner at Goofy's Kitchen to be quite good. They put out the food in small batches so it is not sitting out too long. The variety is really good and I really enjoy their salmon!

 

[Sherry E]

I don't care if it's Breakfast or Dinner . I will be taking DGS4,DD24,DD21,DM81 and me, of course to only 1 character meal. I know they are pricey so I really want some good food. I think DGS will be excited no matter who the characters are. TIA!! Julie

Here is a link to a character meal photo thread (has pictures from all of them) which may help you decide:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2170088

My long-time favorite character meal and favorite all around DLR restaurant is Goofy's Kitchen, which I prefer for breakfast. The buffet has a huge variety of delicious food, including creme brulee French toast, Mickey-shaped cobbler, croissants, mini-Mickey waffles, biscuits and gravy, mini-muffins and pastries, banana crepes, delicious fruit and AWESOME bacon, to name just a few. I have been eating there since 1992. Regular characters include Baloo, Goofy, Chip, Dale and Pluto, with rotating guest appearances by Minnie, the Genie, Captain Hook, various Princesses, Alice and the Mad Hatter, etc.

Here are some fantastic photos of the Goofy's breakfast buffet, take by J.C.andAli'sMom:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1253888&page=82

Here are a few from the Goofy's dinner buffet, taken by Pose2pose:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27365123&postcount=781

Here are some great pictures of the Lilo and Stich breakfast buffet, taken by Got2travel:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18126978&postcount=200

And these three DIS-ers have lots of pictures from Minnie and Friends in their Trip Reports (DizNee Luver has all the character meals but Storytellers in her TR):

DizNee Luver: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2088835

WazowskiLOVER: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1986026

Prettyprincessbelle: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1998221


Check out these threads I linked you to and see which character meal looks like your preference!!

 

[FairyDust2008]

We did Goofy's Kitchen which we LOVED! Great character interaction, great service and AWESOME food! The buffet was plenty and the characters really spent time with us and the special dancing they include the kids in was great We also did the Storyteller's Cafe, Chip n Dale. This was more low key but good character interaction, service and food there as well. Minnie & Friends at the Plaza inside Disneyland was major character interaction, neat to be inside the park and GREAT food! Service was wonderful there too. The omelet station was YUMMMMMY!! You could get whatever type of omelet your heart desired pretty much. The guy making them was awesome! And of course, you gotta LUVthose MICKEY WAFFLES-YUMMO! They had those everywhere at the breakfast. We did the Celebration Roundup & BBQ for dinner. We enjoyed that one too because it was a different experience than the breakfasts we had. Less with character interaction personally at your table. You get your pic taken with either Jesse or Woody. They take turns because one is performing on stage so they switch around. We had Jesse. She is cute and daughter's fav. Woody, Jesse and Bullseye are basically doing little skits with country dressed people on stage that sing, etc. There is a guy on the piano who was good and the guy with the guitar was pretty funny. He would make it around different tables interacting, making songs using the peoples names, etc. He was pretty entertaining. Service was GREAT! Food was all you could eat, grilled chicken, BBQ ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, cornbread and corn cobettes like little wagon wheels. The dessert was these little cake cupcakes in an ice cream cone. They had vanilla, chocolate, red velvet and maybe one other kind. They were filled with fruit and cream cheese. VERY YUMMY Me, hubby and son had the red velvet-DELICIOUS and daughter had vanilla which was good too! The overall food was DELICIOUS too! We were VERY satisfied with our experience I have pics but don't have them uploaded yet. Daughter and I also did the Ariel's Grotto for lunch and that experience was AWESOME! Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty, Great food, Great atomosphere and service there as well. All the character meals were top notch-really! You can't go wrong with any of them in my opinion. The only one we didn't do was the Lilo & Stitch breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel but we have it on our list for our return visit in 2010 Goodluck with your planning! HAVE FUN

 

[DizNee Luver]

We've always loved the food & fun at Goofy's Kitchen!! We prefer the brunch over the dinner, but for the most part it can't be beat!

We really enjoyed our meal at the Lilo-n-Stitch breakfast. They offer a smaller buffet (or you can order off menu) with some different offerings.

We did the breakfast at Ariel's Grotto & found it to be very good. It was served family style & you received fruit, cheeses, pastries/bagels, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon & potatoes. More food then we needed. We've also done lunch there & found the food to always be good.

The Minnie & Friends breakfast we do for the characters....not the food. We've yet to get hot food from the buffet. The only hot food we've gotten is when you get the made-to-order omelet.

Hope that helps!

 

[l’amore bella]

I have always loved Goofy's Kitchen. The characters are great and the food is so good.

 

[Vala]

One more vote for Goofy's.

I'm actually already counting the days until I can make my first PS for my trip - which is going to be Goofy's - and I am travelling late October.

 

[spacemermaid]

Another vote for Goofy's Kitchen! It's more expensive than the other Character meals, but definitely worth it because of the HUGE variety of GOOD food that they have at the buffet. If you go for breakfast, be sure to try the creme brulee french toast; its SO YUMMY!

 

[Huff]

We've been to Stitch & Lilo as well as Minnies. Both are very good. Preferred the character interaction at Stitch but both had equally good food.

I don't think we'll go to very many more sadly. This is because of Disney's policy of charging adult prices for 10yr olds. I usually go with one 10yr old and two 11yr old girls. They never eat more than one small plate of food so really can't justify the adult price for each.

 

[blackjackdelta]

We also vote for GK for many of the reasons described above. Really can not be beat. Many more characters at dinner, IMHO.

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

We've been to Stitch & Lilo as well as Minnies. Both are very good. Preferred the character interaction at Stitch but both had equally good food.

I don't think we'll go to very many more sadly. This is because of Disney's policy of charging adult prices for 10yr olds. I usually go with one 10yr old and two 11yr old girls. They never eat more than one small plate of food so really can't justify the adult price for each.

I think that is becoming a deterrent for quite a few people, Huff. The prices for all the character meals - not just Goofy's - are quite lofty for even adults to manage, but the fact that kids are considered adults and charged adult prices at young ages is baffling to me too. It is easier for just two adults to have a character meal than it is for a family of 4 to do it, and yet, it is very much a family-oriented environment. I am not sure at what age I think they should begin charging adult prices, but 10 does seem too young. I guess the only option for taking kids to character meals and not paying the buffet prices is to just go to Storytellers or Lilo and Stitch, where you can order items from the menu and not have to get the buffet. But I don't think the prices of the menu items at Storytellers' Critter Breakfast are a good value. Almost $17 or $18 (with tip) for a plate of food that is essentially the size of a Denny's Grand Slam or smaller is outrageous. So the prices sting you whichever way you look at it.

It is very handy to have an AP and get discounts on the meals (15% with a Premium AP), but it's still a lot of money to spend even after the discounts are applied. Good thing I love Goofy's so much or I probably would resent having to pay those prices, but pretty much all the character meals are expensive so if I am going to pay that, I want to pay it at a place I love!!