Character Meal - Lunch or Dinner

[wildflower329]

We are about to make our dining reservations for out end of August trip. We want to do either 1 or 2 character meals, but since we are not breakfast people (and we have a free breakfast at the hotel) we hope to do a lunch or dinner.

Our thoughts are either:

Goofy's Kitchen for dinner the night we arrive
Ariel's Grotto for lunch one of our days there
or Plaza Inn - Minnie and Friends and book the last slot ( I know it would be breakfast food, but hopefully it would be close enough in time to noon that we could call it our lunch)

Any suggestions? Do you think the last slot at Minnie and Friends would still have ok food and character interaction, or would we be disappointed?

 

[figment_jii]

Which character(s) do you want to see the most? For me, I would make my choice based on the characters that are likely to be at the meal.

 

[GatorChris]

We did Goofy's Kitchen for lunch on our last day as we checked out. Same characters as all day but it's brunch which is the greatest meal ever created. As for Minnie's at Plaza Inn, I'm interested to see what it's like at the last time slot of the day.

Honestly, though, I like the character meals at WDW better simply because of the Dining Plan. It just feels like you get more for what you pay. My character meal experiences at DL leave me feeling like I've been mugged.

 

[LeahMLee]

We did Ariel's for lunch and goofy's for dinner out last trip. Goofy's was great for dinner so I am curious to see how brunch is. Ariel's was ok DD enjoyed the princesses but not the food. We are also doing Minnie's this time around and wanted to do as late as possible since we will have early entry every day of our stay.

 

[lorijohnhill]

In my experience, the latest slot at Minnie's is not the best option. The characters start leaving and ALL are GONE by 11:00. The characters that are still there are busy making "special" visits to the customers who have been complaining about not seeing the characters.

I much prefer the first slot in the morning with an inside, middle aisle table. That is where we have had the best experiences.

Ariel's has been pretty bad, in my experience. The food was ok, but the service was terrible. Each princess is announced and will come to each table to snap a quick photo. We had very little interaction.

 

[calilou]

We are easy to please when it comes to character meals because we get to do them often, but still enjoy the experience very much. We also don't pay full price (AP discount), so we always feel we get a good value.

I agree that Plaza Inn may disappoint if you do a later morning reservation. If you enjoy the princesses, you're sure to enjoy Ariel's Grotto. The last we ate there was about 9 months ago, but we enjoyed our food and interaction very much.

I definitely recommend Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. You can also explore the DLH pool and grounds and grown ups can enjoy a cocktail at Trader Sam's too.

 

[LoriLovesDisneyland]

I really like PCH Grill for the Surf's Up character breakfast. It is at the PPH and it is the only meal you get Mickey at. Usually you also see Stitch and Daisy. I know there are at least 2 others you see, buy I cannot remember who they are. Dinner is not a character meal at the PCH Grill.

 

[Xenorye]

Is Donald ever at Goofy's?

 

[LoriLovesDisneyland]

Is Donald ever at Goofy's?

I have never seen Donald there. So sad!

 

[Xenorye]

I have never seen Donald there. So sad!

So, am I correct in thinking that Donald isn't at any character meals?

 

[GusGus77]

So, am I correct in thinking that Donald isn't at any character meals?

You read my mind- I just logged on to ask if Donald is at any character meals!

 

[JessieD]

We are easy to please when it comes to character meals because we get to do them often, but still enjoy the experience very much. We also don't pay full price (AP discount), so we always feel we get a good value.

I agree that Plaza Inn may disappoint if you do a later morning reservation. If you enjoy the princesses, you're sure to enjoy Ariel's Grotto. The last we ate there was about 9 months ago, but we enjoyed our food and interaction very much.

I definitely recommend Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. You can also explore the DLH pool and grounds and grown ups can enjoy a cocktail at Trader Sam's too.

Are the characters at Gooofy's kitchen there for dinner? Everything I've read leads me to believe they are, but I was just told in a different thread that there were no character interactions at dinner time.

 

[violentlyserene]

I really like PCH Grill for the Surf's Up character breakfast. It is at the PPH and it is the only meal you get Mickey at. Usually you also see Stitch and Daisy. I know there are at least 2 others you see, buy I cannot remember who they are. Dinner is not a character meal at the PCH Grill.

That's great to hear. I've been leaning towards Surfs Up for the whole family meal. Mickey and stitch seem the most likely to get a positive reaction from my more reluctant twin.

Those of you who've done Ariels recentish, would it be worth it for a 2 1/2year old girl? We have a voucher for a premium meal for her and I and were planning Ariels but if there's not really any interaction maybe a different one would be better.

 

[sillybaer]

At the PCH Grill Minnie and Pluto are usually the other two.

I have never done Ariel's but I have heard the princesses are better with younger children than teens or adults.

 

[LoriLovesDisneyland]

Are the characters at Gooofy's kitchen there for dinner? Everything I've read leads me to believe they are, but I was just told in a different thread that there were no character interactions at dinner time.

Yes, I only have been at Goofy's Kitchen for dinner and we had tons of character interaction. I do know that there are fewer characters than there used to be at Goofy's, but they have characters at all the meal times.

 

[wildflower329]

Awesome, thanks everyone! We definitely want to do lunch or dinner, not breakfast, and based on these recommendations, we will try Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. We did Ariel's Grotto last time we were there (in 2013) for lunch and enjoyed it, but I think it would be fun to do something different.

 

[LalaCoop]

Last December we took our daughter, who turned 3 on our trip, and 7 month old son to Ariel's Grotto lunch and Surfs Up breakfast. Ariel's was by far the bigger hit. The food was good, and there was plenty of it. Hubs had the tri tip, I had the lobster salad, Lala had the octo-dog. She ate all her crudités starter and they quickly brought more, refills were plentiful. We weren't able yo finish all the food, and they were more that happy to box it up for us (fridge back at hotel, made for a great post-nap snack). The princesses were great, we had Rapunzel - by far my favorite, Tiana, Belle, and Cinderella, plus Ariel at the entrance. I really liked how each princess went to each table. Our daughter was in awe, and decided to be shy, but she didn't have to battle "bolder" children for acknowledgement. We picked up a Belle dress at Toys r Us before the trip and had her change into for the meal, cutest pics of she and the real Belle. We had reservations for the first seating, which was great because we were among the first tables to meet, instead of having to watch and wait. This was also our first day, so we were able to get a bunch of meet and greets out of the way in half the time it would take in park.
Surfs Up was not as impressive, in my opinion. The food was good, but the atmosphere was quite chaotic. We met Mickey upon arrival, but that's the only time you see him. Pluto left about 5 minutes after we arrived, the Daisy came out and proceeded past our group of tables (interior seating) out to the atrium area. Stitch came by, then there was a group (guests, not characters) dance, but Lala was too intimidated by the older, more raucous children. After 45 minutes our section still had seen only Stitch, so I went over and spoke with a cast member. They had Daisy over within a few minutes. By then Lala and Coop were done, so we paid and left. After taking a potty break (it's just outside the entrance), Pluto returned. Lala was so upset that she didn't get a chance to meet him, so upon my request (and showing my receipt AND getting permission from a manager), they let us back in to say hello. Pluto was awesome with her, getting her to tickle his belly and scratch his nose.
As you can tell, I much preferred Ariel's over Surfs Up, but I also have a princess obsessed preschooler.

 

[MommyJKM]

So... go to character meals for the characters not the food. Minnie and Friends has decent food, but Ariel's and Goofy's are pretty awful. We go to Ariel's for lunch for the Princess interaction for my DD4, We knock out 5 princesses without having to wait in line at the Princess Faire. You can also do the WOC for lunch I believe.

Goofy's Kitchen food is by far the worst. Greasy food sitting under heat lamps but they have Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale so your kids may enjoy seeing them. And you can use your PP+ there. The characters take their time and you can get some great interaction. I usually just eat salad and fruit so spending $45 is annoying but again, I don't have to wait in line at the parks to see those characters for my DD.

 

[MommyJKM]

That's great to hear. I've been leaning towards Surfs Up for the whole family meal. Mickey and stitch seem the most likely to get a positive reaction from my more reluctant twin.

Those of you who've done Ariels recentish, would it be worth it for a 2 1/2year old girl? We have a voucher for a premium meal for her and I and were planning Ariels but if there's not really any interaction maybe a different one would be better.

You usually get 5 princesses at Ariel's! My DD LOVES it! Be aware the food isn't good but your little one's smile makes up for it

 

[hootey]

We have went to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner two times. Both times the food was surprisingly good for buffet food. As far as character interaction goes, both times the interaction was better than it was at breakfast! Our two boys L O V E Goofy's They like the food and love the character interaction. We have only had dinner at Ariel's but, the food was Great!. The wife and I eat out a LOT for business mostly in high end places, we really enjoy the food at DL. Maybe we just get lucky and always get real nice meals