Character Dining

[GRandPsMommy]

We are debating doing a character meal and was wondering what is the best to do and what should we stear clear of...We have a DS13,DD8 and DD2...

 

[MommyWithDreams]

My vote is Minnies at the Plaza Inn. We have done Goofy's Kitchen too. It was fun but I just loved the playfulness of the old fashioned characters at Minnies. Mickey, Minnie, Fairy Godmother, Tigger, Pooh, Captain Hooke, Chip and Dale,

 

[Sherry E]

We are debating doing a character meal and was wondering what is the best to do and what should we stear clear of...We have a DS13,DD8 and DD2...

Okay, let's see. This question comes up in different variations about once a week.

Lots of people on the DIS swear by Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn inside of Disneyland. I have not tried that one yet but I have to admit, the character selection looks good. They seem to have Gepetto, Pinocchio, Chip, Dale, Max, Minnie (of course), Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger, Captain Hook and Fairy Godmother most of the time. I have heard mixed reviews of the food quality and the lack of order and structure in the character table-side visits, but it still seems like it would be worth it to try just one time for the assortment of characters. Breakfast only.

A lot of other people love the Lilo and Stitch buffet in the Paradise Pier Hotel. That is sort of a tropical/island-themed buffet, and supposedly they have coconut scones and characters dressed in beachy/surf - type attire (like Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, etc.). I have also not tried this one, but probably will based on all the good reviews I have read. Breakfast/brunch only.

If you love the Princesses, Ariel's Grotto inside Disney California Adventure is the place to go. People say that the food used to be pretty bad, but they changed the menu and now it's great. I don't have kids and am not concerned with Princesses, so will probably not try that one but folks say it is great. If I am not mistaken, you can also have a Princess meal for dinner too, so it is pretty much all day.

The two character meals I have done are:

Storytellers Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel - Chip and Dale Buffet. It is a nice restaurant with a warm and cozy feel to it, AND you can order off the menu if you don't want buffet. The characters are mainly the woodsy/jungly-type Disney characters from Brother Bear, sometimes Jungle Book, sometimes Pocahontas, sometimes Lion King, Tarzan...that sort of thing. I have seen Koda and Kenai, Chip and Dale, Rafiki and Meeko and I think I saw Baloo there once. It is kind of a laid back atmosphere, and if you aren't familiar with all of the characters it can be kind of weird. The food - in my opionion - was okay, but not great. However, it is just a matter of personal choice. Other folks love it. The character meal is breakfast only.

My all-time favorite character meal AND my favorite restaurant in DLR is Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. You can dine with the characters for breakfast, brunch or dinner. It is an all you can eat buffet only (no off the menu). I have only had one or two sort of 'off' meals there where maybe the characters were slacking off or the food was not as fresh, but in 16 years of eating there, the food quality AND variety have always been outstanding, and I have always been satisfied with the characters. Any time I have turned friends on to Goofy's, they loved it too. There is just a lot to choose from food-wise, but I MUCH prefer the breakfast selections over dinner. The regular characters tend to be Chef Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale and Baloo. They are there pretty much all the time. Sometimes, when it is less crowded, there are fewer characters and when it is very busy (like late morning or evening), there are more characters. The 'guest stars' who seem to rotate appearances at Goofy's can include Minnie, Belle, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Jasmine and Aladdin and Aurora and the Prince. In past years at Goofy's, we have mingled with Gadget, the Beast, the Genie, Jafar, Tigger, Eeyore, Roger Rabbit, Timon, Rafiki, Meeko, etc. (If you check my Trip Report - the link is in my signature below - you will get a sense by the pictures of what kinds of characters I have encountered at Goofys from 1992 - 2008).

I should point out that not everyone is a fan of Goofy's because they have not had quality character interaction that they were satisfied with, or the food wasn't to their liking. So it is not for everyone. I love it, my friends love it and I think that most kids would love it, depending on their preferences in characters. But if anyone has been there and had a less than satisfying experience or is on the fence about whether or not they would enjoy it, it is probably too much money to take a risk on. Character meals are costly, and unless you are certain you would enjoy a specific one, it may be a big gamble to spend that kind of money. I know if I ate somewhere, spent that kind of money and felt dissatisfied, I would not try it again. But I can only speak from my own experience, and that has been great 97% of the time at Goofy's over the years.

 

[mom2ian]

I'd recommend the Minnie & Friends for character interaction. The food is just ok, but that is not what you are paying for really.

We went when ds was 2 and nephew was 5. Chip and Dale spent a lot of time at our table getting the boys to giggle. All the characters stopped by and posed for pictures and signed autograph books. Tigger was in the most demand, and it was difficult for him to get to every table.

It was a fun breakfast and we'd do it again.

 

[pixiewings71]

Ok, I'll weigh in here....we get this question a lot and there are many different answers. Our favorites are Ariel's Grotto (we have 2 princesses), Minnie & Friends and Lilo & Stitch. We have not done Storytellers yet and we had a bad experience at Goofy's Kitchen. The food was ok but the character interaction left much to be desired. We won't go back to GK if we can help it. At M&F the characters were amazing, they spent time at our table with the kids and with us, they played games with us, Chip & Dale took DBFs hat and played with it, Alice posed for pics with him (he's an Alice collector), the food was also very good. We all found something to eat at M&F. AG is also a lot of fun and they have great food too. The Princesses always spend a few minutes at our table and the girls love to see them. They have 3 meals to chose from so you could breakfast, lunch or dinner here and see the characters. L&S was just fun, games, good food and fun.

 

[evandmp]

Our favorite was Ariel's grotto. It was actually the best meal we had on our trip. The steak was wonderful as well as everything else!

 

[Vala]

I'm with Sherry on Goofy's.
We had planned it once last year and ended up going four times because even my friends who are not exactly Disney fans loved it.

Minnie's was our least favorite. It was the only meal where we actually got skipped by characters and it was the meal with the least amount of characters we did last year.

Ariel's was a surprise for us because the food improved so much compared to 2007. Your DS might find that one a bit boring though because it's all princesses.

 

[MichaelColey]

After looking over the character dining options, I'm looking at booking Goofy's Kitchen for our upcoming trip. It sounds very similar to Chef Mickey's at WDW (good food--for a buffet, good variety of characters making the rounds), which we enjoyed very much. I know not to expect cheap prices, outstanding food (at any buffet, anywhere), a full Disney cast, or a lot of attention from any one character. To me, it's an opportunity to get character pictures without waiting in lines, to eat (which we have to do anyway), and to have a fun experience for the kids (okay--and me too!).

The one thing I'm concerned with, however, is getting from Disneyland to the Disneyland Hotel (where Goofy's Kitchen is) and back. From what I'm reading, it's a 30 minute walk or up to an hour wait for the Monorail. We're not going to walk that far, especially after a full day with tired kids. Surely the Monorail wait time isn't right. Maybe for those coming from the hotel at opening time or heading home at closing time (although I suspect it's still exaggerated), but I wouldn't expect much wait at all heading over there for an early dinner and back afterwards.

I hope someone can provide some feedback so I can pick the best options and schedule the right amount of time.

 

[Sherry E]

After looking over the character dining options, I'm looking at booking Goofy's Kitchen for our upcoming trip. It sounds very similar to Chef Mickey's at WDW (good food--for a buffet, good variety of characters making the rounds), which we enjoyed very much. I know not to expect cheap prices, outstanding food (at any buffet, anywhere), a full Disney cast, or a lot of attention from any one character. To me, it's an opportunity to get character pictures without waiting in lines, to eat (which we have to do anyway), and to have a fun experience for the kids (okay--and me too!).

The one thing I'm concerned with, however, is getting from Disneyland to the Disneyland Hotel (where Goofy's Kitchen is) and back. From what I'm reading, it's a 30 minute walk or up to an hour wait for the Monorail. We're not going to walk that far, especially after a full day with tired kids. Surely the Monorail wait time isn't right. Maybe for those coming from the hotel at opening time or heading home at closing time (although I suspect it's still exaggerated), but I wouldn't expect much wait at all heading over there for an early dinner and back afterwards.

I hope someone can provide some feedback so I can pick the best options and schedule the right amount of time.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the food quality at Goofy's. I don't know about the quality at Chef Mickey's because I have not been to WDW, and there have even been conflicting reports on the quality of Minnie and Friends in Disneyland, but Goofy's is MUCH better than I would expect from a buffet, with a wide variety of stuff to choose from. All sorts of things. The only thing is, I really think the breakfast/brunch choices are better than the dinner selections, and a bit cheaper as well. So if there is any way you can swing the breakfast instead of dinner I would recommend that, and the earliest seating time for breakfast is 7:00 a.m. Not too many people are up yet, the food is hot and fresh and the characters have more time with each table because the restaurant is not packed yet. But any time of the day you go, you should have a great time if you like Chef Mickey's - I have heard that Goofy's and Chef Mickey's are comparable.

I don't know if it is a 30-minute walk from DL to the DLH/Goofy's. I never thought it was that long. If it IS that long, it doesn't seem like it because you are going through Downtown Disney and seeing the sights. I guess it depends on how fast everybody walks. We always eat at Goofy's in the 7:00 a.m. hour, so we never bother with the Monorail. We eat and then walk to the gates of DL just to start 'walking it off.' But if you are doing a brunch or dinner at Goofy's and try to take the Monorail, it may be a long wait in line. Honestly, the walk is not bad. It is not far in the scheme of things, Everything is pretty close together. It may sound bad to you now, but once you are already in DL, walking around and seeing how close everything is, the trek to Goofy's is not going to be that daunting. And walking through Downtown Disney will likely keep the kids attentive enough to last until they get to Goofy's. But I still strongly recommend that you do a Goofy's breakfast instead of dinner - and as early in the morning as possible. Then nobody will be tired yet and you will be all fueled up to start the day at DLR! You can stroll through DTD and see what's there before the crowds hit it, and then before you know it you are at the front gates of the two parks.

 

[fairycat]

After looking over the character dining options, I'm looking at booking Goofy's Kitchen for our upcoming trip. It sounds very similar to Chef Mickey's at WDW (good food--for a buffet, good variety of characters making the rounds), which we enjoyed very much. I know not to expect cheap prices, outstanding food (at any buffet, anywhere), a full Disney cast, or a lot of attention from any one character. To me, it's an opportunity to get character pictures without waiting in lines, to eat (which we have to do anyway), and to have a fun experience for the kids (okay--and me too!).

The one thing I'm concerned with, however, is getting from Disneyland to the Disneyland Hotel (where Goofy's Kitchen is) and back. From what I'm reading, it's a 30 minute walk or up to an hour wait for the Monorail. We're not going to walk that far, especially after a full day with tired kids. Surely the Monorail wait time isn't right. Maybe for those coming from the hotel at opening time or heading home at closing time (although I suspect it's still exaggerated), but I wouldn't expect much wait at all heading over there for an early dinner and back afterwards.

I hope someone can provide some feedback so I can pick the best options and schedule the right amount of time.

Honestly we stayed at the DLH and have gone to Gk and special occasion Buffet's at the hotel and I don't find it that long of a walk.

Realise the walk is straight through DTD, so you can see the shops and things and it's not a bad walk at all. For leaving the park, the monorail tends to have a longer line (in my opinion), though the monorail comes regularly it depends on how many people can fit at a time. I think that sometimes the line back is not as bad, which you can use the monorail to take you right back inside the park to Tomorrowland. My personal suggestion, is leave a bit early to walk through DTD, check out the Lego shop or what ever, hit GK, heck if you have time just walk around DLH, the pool, mini boats, waterfall and Koi Ponds are something to see, then go eat. As you leave hit the Monorail right back into the parks. It really is not that far, if you are used to WDW.

 

[pixiewings71]

I'm with Sherry on Goofy's.
We had planned it once last year and ended up going four times because even my friends who are not exactly Disney fans loved it.

Minnie's was our least favorite. It was the only meal where we actually got skipped by characters and it was the meal with the least amount of characters we did last year.

Ariel's was a surprise for us because the food improved so much compared to 2007. Your DS might find that one a bit boring though because it's all princesses.

That is what happened with us at GK. I'm sorry your M&Fs experience was bad. I know how disappointing that can be.

Mike, the monorail is longer for exiting the parks. When we have PS at RFC or the Jazz Kitchen we don't take the monorail, we just walk. The wait times vary based on how many monorails they are using and how hot it is that day, the new monorails don't have AC so they can't fill them as full as the old ones could be filled. I hope you have a great time at GK and enjoy the parks!

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

We've done Minnie's, Ariel's, & Goofy's. Goofy's Kitchen was definitely our favorite. The food selection was good and DD loved dancing with all of the characters (there was a lot). Our least favorite was Minnie's. Granted we showed up late but hardly any characters came to our table and my daughter was really disappointed. We are doing GK again this time but for breakfast (we did dinner before).

 

[mystic_path]

I am a big fan of Goofy's. Great interaction and pretty good food.

 

[evandmp]

The DLH is not 30 minutes away from the dl gate. It's maybe a 10 minute walk.

 

[MichaelColey]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! We definitely wanted to walk through Downtown Disney (and especially shop at the Lego store - do they have the fill a cup for a fixed price offer like the one at WDW?), so we'll probably leave the park at 5pm, walk through Downtown Disney (making a few stops), and eat at 6pm. Then we'll either take the Monorail back or walk.

Does anyone know if the Lego store and/or Goofy's Kitchen accept the gift card that you can get for your birthday?

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! We definitely wanted to walk through Downtown Disney (and especially shop at the Lego store - do they have the fill a cup for a fixed price offer like the one at WDW?), so we'll probably leave the park at 5pm, walk through Downtown Disney (making a few stops), and eat at 6pm. Then we'll either take the Monorail back or walk.

Does anyone know if the Lego store and/or Goofy's Kitchen accept the gift card that you can get for your birthday?

I don't think so (about the card). I think the Fun Card is for merchandise in the parks only. I could be wrong, but I think that is the deal.

Make sure you make Priority Seating plans for Goofy's - dinner time tends to be quite busy.

 

[pixiewings71]

The Fun Cards cannot be used at restaurants and I don't know about the Lego Store. I know World of Disney will accept the Fun Cards.

 

[pixleyyy]

I also vote for Goofy's Kitchen. Lots of choices there which is helpful for our picky family. Lots of different characters too.

Second choice would be Ariels, but with a teenage boy... i dunno. My son would be embarassed to hug all the Princesses but also wouldn't want to be left out of the character fun.

 

[mama2twoluvbugs]

We have ONLY been to Goofy's Kitchen but we love it so much we don't want to mess with a good thing and be dissapointed with another. Goofy's kitchen is the only character b-fast that I have never heard anything bad about...Good luck and happy moments with whatever choice you make...

 

[Sherry E]

We have ONLY been to Goofy's Kitchen but we love it so much we don't want to mess with a good thing and be dissapointed with another. Goofy's kitchen is the only character b-fast that I have never heard anything bad about...Good luck and happy moments with whatever choice you make...

Oh there are definitely a few people on DISBoards who have not had good experiences at Goofy's - or even if the Goofy's visits were not 'bad,' necessarily, they didn't feel it was worth the money. It happens. Goofy's has off days too, like every other restaurant. And it is a matter of personal preference and taste. And I certainly wouldn't return to a place that I was dissatisfied with when it costs that much money. I just wouldn't take a chance a second time on a meal that was so expensive and risk not enjoying it a second time. Not worth it.

But I am with you, mama2twoluvbugs - I love Goofy's. I became hooked on it when I first ate there in 1992, and it has become a staple of every trip since then (see my Trip Report for pictures) - sometimes more than once per trip, and sometimes we have even gone to Goofy's separately without going into the parks. So they have a lifelong fan in me. But if any of my friends were not gung ho to go there too at any point, I would just skip it and pick someplace that we all agreed upon because, again, it is a lot of money to spend if you are not going to definitely enjoy it. However, the food variety at Goofy's is so wide that it is almost impossible to not find something to eat there for everybody.