Character dining where/when??

[Lissame]

Wow, if all I had seen were two characters, I would have complained. ? We've always had fantastic character interaction at Minnie's breakfast. Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Mad Hatter and Alice, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Captain Hook...I know there are more--oh yes, usually Chip and Dale. Once I remember Rafiki too.

 

[pixiewings71]

Those restaurants don't exist at Disneyland...

excuse me?

Those are WDW restaurants, Mal is right, they do not exist at DLR.

Last time we went to Plaza Inn, we were there from 915a to 1030a. We saw 2 characters, Captain Hook and Piglet. We have always had better interaction at Goofy's, rarely have fewer than 8 characters in the same time frame. I also prefer Goofy's because they have servers to refill drinks and to bring needed items. When drinks go dry at Minnie's you have to send someone back inside to get more.

Our experience was polar opposite, we had tons of characters at M&S's but only 4 at GK, we saw plenty of characters leaving but only 4 came to our table.....it may have been 3, I'm remembering SW, Jasmine (both remembered us from eating at AG earlier in the week so that was neat) and Chip......

This just illustrates how much people's experiences can differ from each other. We have been to Minnie's a couple of times and had so many characters visiting with us that it was hard to just get a few minutes peace to scarf down the food. We went during MM both times and sat indoors. Also, during these visits we never felt we had to wait very long to get food, and I've seen others complain about the long buffet lines at Minnie's. We visited during spring break last year and summer. Perhaps we got lucky.

We have also been to Goofy's probably half a dozen times now. During the last four visits, we have never seen more than five characters. Sometimes we have only seen two or three and have had to ask a server to send over a few more since we'd been there so long and were ready to leave. We have sat in all different locations in that restaurant and eaten both breakfast and dinner there at busy and non-busy times. Other people consistently report having much better experiences than this at Goofy's. Despite what our experiences have been like, my boys still love that place and ask to go back.

We've tried Storyteller's a couple of times now and were not impressed by the experience either time. That venue seems to suit some people very well though.

I look at character dining as your mileage may vary and usually recommend to people to try whichever one they think has the best characters for their family and is in the best location to fit in with their plans for that time of day.

Your experiences at M&F's and GK are just like ours. Except our server wouldn't get characters for us, he just shrugged and said "sometimes they can't make it to every table" and we were there with young girls so it wasn't like they saw a table full of adults and just assumed we were ok with them skipping our table.....

Thanks for the info, I still have no idea what we'll do

Seriously though I think we'll definitely do Ariels Grotto, I also want to take my younger DD to BBB before we go there. For the other one I'm not sure yet... Breakfast is included in our hotel stay so a little reluctant to then pay for breakfast, but it's Disney, for us probably once in a life time thing so not totally ruling it out.

OP we like AG for lunch/dinner very much. I like the idea of doing BBB before eating at AG, that would be so cute. For your other meal my suggestion is M&F's, we had many many characters that repeatedly came to our table to play, we enjoyed the food and had items custom made for us (waffles, omelettes, freshly scrambled eggs (I hate eggs that sit under a warmer lol), there were times I got up and went and refilled the drinks for everyone but for breakfast we really enjoyed M&F's. We get free breakfast at our hotel as well, but IMO it's worth it to skip one free meal if you can do the character breakfast.

 

[scrapshappen]

We had never done a character meal until our last trip there in October last year. It was included with our Costco package so we decided to do Goofy's Kitchen. Our PS was for 1 p.m. on Sunday so it was about an hour before close and we treated it as our BIG meal for the day.

We will definitely be going back. The food tasted great (I was worried since it was so late in the day that it might have been under food lamps too long, but everything seemed fresh).

My DS (6&8 at the time) loved the characters. We saw seven different ones (Snow White, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Donald and the Mad Hatter). Since we were some of the last people there for the day, we even got special attention at the end with three characters at our table at the same time.

We plan to do the same thing on our next trip in November. And we had so much fun, we'll probably add a second character meal to our trip (but not AG since my boys are too old for princesses now.) I was thinking Story Tellers because they love Chip and Dale, but they are not familiar with Pocahontas and have only seen Brother Bear a few times so probably not. So it looks like MF or Surf's Up.

 

[DisneytheKid]

Thank you so much for posting these with the locations!

From the Disneyland website on the available character dining, just to round out what was posted above.

"Ariel's Disney Princess Celebration" at Ariel's Grotto
Location: Disney California Adventure Park Cuisine Type: American, Healthy Selections, Vegetarian
Dine on dishes fit for royalty while you spend quality time with some of your favorite Disney Princesses. Make a reservation to join Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella for breakfast and lunch. While the princesses have other engagements at night, a prix fixe dinner may include tickets to a Preferred Viewing section for World of Color.

Surf's Up! Breakfast with Mickey & Friends at Disney's PCH Grill
Location: Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel Cuisine Type: American, Healthy Selections, Vegetarian
Share breakfast with some of your favorite Disney Characters at Surf's Up! Breakfast with Mickey & Friends. For dinner, fill up on selections like quesadillas, pizza, cheeseburgers, fountain treats and more. Kids can even design their own pizzas

Goofy's Kitchen
Location: Disneyland Hotel Cuisine Type: American
Rub elbows with Chef Goofy and his pals at this whimsical all-you-care-to-eat buffet with inventive culinary surprises. Goofy's Kitchen is a great place to celebrate birthday parties too — so if you are celebrating a big day, be sure and come party Disney style!

Plaza Inn "Minnie & Friends - Breakfast in the Park" hosted by Kellogg's
Location: Disneyland Park Cuisine Type: American, Vegetarian
Step back in time to a beautiful Victorian restaurant with ornate interior detailing, offering a grand setting for classic cafeteria dining. Enjoy delicious pastas, fried chicken, pot roast, salads, specialty desserts and a special Character Breakfast.

Celebrate a "My Disneyland Birthday Party" with Mickey and Minnie!
Searching for a magical way to enjoy your big day? Make plans for a "My Disneyland Birthday Party" at Disneyland Park's Plaza Inn! Join your host, Pat E. Cake, for a happy, fun-filled celebration featuring music, merriment, laughter and cake decorating — with a special appearance by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. All Guests receive a party hat, souvenir sipper cup, mini birthday cake, icing and cake toppings.​

Chip 'n Dale Critter Breakfast at Storyteller's Café
Location: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Cuisine Type: American, Healthy Selections, Vegetarian
Hearty home-style favorites like wood-fired pizzas, fresh salads, grilled sandwiches and scrumptious fish highlight the rustic menu, while the storytelling tradition is saluted in beautiful period murals depicting tall tales from early California. Don't miss the Character Breakfast!

 

[ExcitedSam]

Just wanted to say hi, Sam! I lived in Canberra for a couple years in the 80s and loved it-still have good friends there and am planning a trip back when my youngest is older-not a flight I want to do with a 2 year old .

Hi! Small world!

I think I'm leaning towards Minnie & friends....now to just work our WHEN! too much to think about, I wish DH would do some planning and I just turn up and have the fun!

 

[hootey]

Pick the top character or two your children would like to get autograph/meet/photo with, call disney dining, and they can help you with reservations at the correct restaraunt. The nice people at disney dining are most helpful when planning an unforgetable dining experiances. Several years ago, the oldest son wanted to meet the Aladin Jeanie. We made reservations at Goofies through DD, right on schedule the Jeanie appeared.
We were able to get some great pictures.