Character breakfast or at the park or DD?

[mmps108]

We'll be at DLR for two mornings. One is an early entry so we were thinking of doing a chararcter breakfast on the other day.
We usually go to Chef Mickey's when we go to WDW...and my DH favorite character is Goofy...I see there is one at Goofy's Kitchen at the DL hotel...
is it worth it? or should we just eat at the park?
we have only two mornings and so many breakfast options!!

 

[Sherry E]

We'll be at DLR for two mornings. One is an early entry so we were thinking of doing a chararcter breakfast on the other day.
We usually go to Chef Mickey's when we go to WDW...and my DH favorite character is Goofy...I see there is one at Goofy's Kitchen at the DL hotel...
is it worth it? or should we just eat at the park?
we have only two mornings and so many breakfast options!!

Well, here is the thing. I LOVE Goofy's Kitchen, and have eaten there since 1992. It is my favorite restuarant in all of DLR. However, it is costly. For me, the food quality and variety is more than worth the lofty price, and the character interaction has always been great (and I don't have kids; just a bunch of wacky friends!!). My friends all love it too. Goofy is, indeed, at GK, as are Chip and Dale, Pluto, Baloo and usually a princess or two (Bell, Jasmine, Aurora, etc.). Some days Alice and the Mad Hatter show up, as does Minnie. I have seen Rafiki, Timon and Meeko there in the past.

Now I am going to give you the other side. While I have had nothing but good experiences at Goofy's and will continue to eat there for as long as I am able to, some others on DISboards have had less than favorable experiences. I think it really boils down to what each person requires of a character meal in terms of food and in terms of character interaction, so my great experiences may not be considered great to other people because they may look for something else. It is all a matter of personal preference and opinion, so there is no absolute answer for you. All I can tell you is what MY experiences have been, and they have been 98% great over 16 (almost 17) years!! Whatever requirements I have for a character meal are met at Goofy's Kitchen. Some of the other DISboard members who have had bad times at GK have said that the character interaction was bad or that the food was not great. And maybe on those days they were there, the food was bad and the characters were slacking off. Again, I can only speak from my years of experience there!!

Now, if you decide to skip Goofy's, Minnie and Friends is the character meal inside of Disneyland, and though I have never eaten there for the character meal, they have a wide range of characters, including Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Minnie, Captain Hook, Chip and Dale, and I think one of the Fairy Godmothers. I would like to try Minnie's at some point. Lilo and Stitch is the character breakfast in the Paradise Pier Hotel, and they often have Goofy and Donald and Minnie, too, from what I have heard. And then at Storytellers in the Grand Californian, you have Chip and Dale, Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear, often times Rafiki and Meeko, sometimes Baloo - the woodsy and jungly Disney characters! And at Ariel's in California Adventure, you have all the princesses, including Minnie sometimes, I think.

None of them are cheap. In fact, according to the DLR website, all the character meals are currently the same price. Breakfast at Goofy's is cheaper than the character dinner buffet (and better, in my opinion). Goofy's Kitchen is all you can eat, and the breakfast is fantastic. Storytellers has off-the-menu options as well as buffet. And Minnie's is sort of buffeteria style. I think Lilo and Stitch is also an all you can eat buffet too.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

From what I've heard about both, Goofy's is more or less the DL equivalent of Chef Mickey's. Not my cup of tea, but if you like one, then you'll probably like the other.

 

[mmps108]

From what I've heard about both, Goofy's is more or less the DL equivalent of Chef Mickey's. Not my cup of tea, but if you like one, then you'll probably like the other.

d

do you have suggestions for places to eat? breakfast, lunch or dinner? the bakery at DD looks good?
Is the Blue Bayou worth the price?
I've seen the "sticky" with the food pictures...but it's hard to go through all 77 pages...

 

[AmericanItGirl]

My favorite thing for breakfast at DLR are the beignets from the cs at Ralph Brennan's in DTD because those are some good beignets, but they can be messy (powdered sugar flying everywhere). IMO, BB is worth doing once if you're a fan of POTC (their gumbo also happens to be my favorite version of gumbo) but you can get the same food for cheaper at Cafe Orleans. The baked potato soup at the Carnation Cafe is to die for and the pot pies (chicken and beef stroganoff) are good. I would recommend just going through a couple of the pages of the food porn thread, or you can just wait until you get there to see what you're in the mood for since the majority of DLR is CS (and aside from BB and character meals you can usually make ps's in the morning for later in the day). For DCA, I'm partial to the corn dog stand over by Muholland Madness and the soft serve ice cream with the injected flavors near Ariel's Grotto (although I've only been there once, so I don't have the most knowledge of the available food options).

 

[Sherry E]

I agree. In Disneyland, Carnation Cafe is really good. I tend to prefer it for lunch or dinner rather than breakfast, but a lot of folks like the breakfasts there. If you are a meat eater, you might enjoy the delicious "meat loaf stack." They have good apple pie a la mode with whipped cream and strawberries and also a yummy Matterhorn sundae. Good banana split, too.

In California Adventure, we really like Wine Country Trattoria. Good meatball sandwiches and an ENORMOUS pizzetta salad that could feed three people. They also have a really cool orange sorbet that is served inside an orange peel. Also, for counter service, Taste Pilots Grill is excellent. Great BBQ chicken sandwich and soft criss cross fries that look like Ruffles potato chips.

In The Grand Californian Hotel, we really liked Storytellers Cafe for lunch (not a character meal; just off the menu). Great burgers (both meat and veggie) and a thick, hearty turkey and bacon sandwich.

In Downtown Disney, we really like Naples - even the smallest pizzas are a very generous size, and they have other good Italian food there. ESPN Zone has great food. Rainforest Cafe has good food for breakfast or lunch/dinner.

I have not eaten here yet, but many folks swear by Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel - for breakfast, especially. And if you want something with a Japanese flair, try Yamabuki in the Paradise Pier Hotel. People speak highly of it.

 

[LavenderPeach]

For DCA, I'm partial to the corn dog stand over by Muholland Madness and the soft serve ice cream with the injected flavors near Ariel's Grotto (although I've only been there once, so I don't have the most knowledge of the available food options).

What is the soft sever ice cream with "injected" flavors. This intrigues me.

 

[mmps108]

Thank you all for the great info!!

Am I correct, the only places we need to make PS reservations before we leave for is the Blue Bayou and a character breakfast? The rest we can make the morning of when we decided what we feel like eating?

I'm so used to making every ADR before we leave for WDW...

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you all for the great info!!

Am I correct, the only places we need to make PS reservations before we leave for is the Blue Bayou and a character breakfast? The rest we can make the morning of when we decided what we feel like eating?

I'm so used to making every ADR before we leave for WDW...

The only restaurant that Disneyland Dining says "requires" a Priority Seating before hand is Blue Bayou. All the other table service ones - even the character meals - don't require a PS, but it is recommended you get one. As I am sure you know with Chef Mickey's, the character meals can get quite busy. You could walk up and wait to be seated, but you could be waiting a long time, so better to have a PS. Also, for Carnation Cafe in DL, the seating is limited and I personally have never been there when there wasn't a long line of people waiting to be seated. So I would suggest making a PS for that one too, if you decide to eat there. It is really a quaint and charming little place, right on Main Street, so you can see the sights and people watch while you eat. When there is a parade, it does right by there. Otherwise, you should be okay making a PS on the morning you want to go for any of the other places. I always make all my PS's beforehand, because you can never anticipate what kinds of crowds there will be, but others like to sort of get the lay of the land and assess the situation first and then make a PS.

By the way, PS's were down some during the holidays for character meals. The Blue Bayou was even taking walk-ups here and there, and that NEVER happens. Usually they don't allow it because they are SO busy. But because fo the economy, spending was down for the more expensive meals, which would be character meals and Blue Bayou!! So PS bookings were down. I have no clue if they are still down now, but that may affect where you decide to eat!

Have a great time!!!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

What time does Disneyland open on your non MM day? If not till 10am you could easily go to a character breakfast prior to park opening. For our upcoming trip we're having breakfast @ GK at 8am ~ Disneyland opens at 10am that day. I plan to spend an hour at GK and then head over to the gates.

 

[mmps108]

What time does Disneyland open on your non MM day? If not till 10am you could easily go to a character breakfast prior to park opening. For our upcoming trip we're having breakfast @ GK at 8am ~ Disneyland opens at 10am that day. I plan to spend an hour at GK and then head over to the gates.

DL opens at 9 AM on the non MM day, and 9 AM on the MM day; we are early risers, we could get breakfast before...good idea!

 

[Sherry E]

DL opens at 9 AM on the non MM day, and 9 AM on the MM day; we are early risers, we could get breakfast before...good idea!

The first Goofy's Kitchen seating time available is 7:00 a.m. That's when they open, and not too many people are up yet so it is not that crowded (meaning not as many folks standing in line, loading up their plates with eggs). Of course, sometimes it takes the characters a while to arrive and get in the swing of things (Goofy is there at opening, and Baloo was also there at opening when we went in December, but Chip and Dale, Pluto and whoever else is on the roster that day sometimes show up closer to 8:00 a.m.). They serve breakfast/brunch until noon, and then close for a few hours to prepare the dinner stuff. Then they reopen, I think, at 4:00 or 5 p.m. - can't recall exactly.

 

[mickey&arielsmom]

We're going next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and have priority seating for 9:40at Minnie & Friends on Monday. The park doesn't open until 10:00 that day so how does that work?
We've been to Lilo & Stitch, Chip & Dale, Goofy's Kitchen, and the Princess Lunch so we're looking forward to Minnie & Friends!

 

[Vala]

We're going next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and have priority seating for 9:40at Minnie & Friends on Monday. The park doesn't open until 10:00 that day so how does that work?

There's a sign up outside the gates. I think it's to the left side of the gates, at least I saw it there in November. There's cast members there who will check you off the list and then get you in.

 

[mickey&arielsmom]

There's a sign up outside the gates. I think it's to the left side of the gates, at least I saw it there in November. There's cast members there who will check you off the list and then get you in.

Great. Thank you!!