Character meal shock

[dianaore]

Okay I've been askign all kinds of charcter meals questions and I am now in shock. I called yesterday for prices for
Goofy's kitchen.

Breakfast
24.77 adults
13.62 kids

Dinner
34.69 adults
14.86 kids

Oh my, I expected to pay more but not MORE!!!!

Did I miss something here? Family of 4 77.00 for breakfast and 99.00 for dinner not including tax and tips! I so wanted to do this but am thinking it is not for our budget which is so sad. I'm glad I've not told the boys yet.


Diana

 

[Buttercup]

You should consider the Storytellers Cafe at Grand CA. They have a character breakfast which is so cute. The kids play follow the leader to a Peter pan song w/ Chip, Dale and some others. You don't have to get the buffet. You can order off the menu. I usually get a fruit/cottage chz/yummy bread meal for about $9-10.
Buttercup

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Another cheaper option is Ariels Grotto in DCA- its about 10 an adult 7/8 per kid its a set "choose 1 out of each catagory" meal but Ive heard good things about it-

Its for lunch and I believe dinner -em

 

[bhillier]

The character meals are fun but your right $$$ It's too bad they charge so much for everything.

 

[SKFamily]

WOW

I'm glad I didn't plan one of those... dh is already wondering if I'm over budgeting, I can just hear it if I told him I wanted to pay that much to eat breakfast.

 

[HenDuck]

Yeah, they are pricey. We did both the breakfast at Plaza Inn and Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. A tip, use your AAA card and get 10% off. When we went, DS was 3 but the CM didn't charge us for his breakfast at Plaza Inn.

It is expensive for a whole family. My suggestion would be to see if you can save for that expense separately, like with your change, dollar bills, ebay, etc. We only went to 2 character meals because we made some good garage sale money and that went to our "splurge fund".

Then, if you can afford it, go and make it a surprise for your kids. Once you have gone and have seen how much fun your kids had, you will feel that it is worth the cost.



you shouldn't feel like you have to do a character meal to see the characters, though. the princesses are usually out in front of the castle first thing in the morning. also, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy are often in front of Toontown when that opens an hour after the park opens. And there's a queue for Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore in Critter Country. THey are there all day and night.

Your kids should be able to see the characters in the parks, if you just know where to look!

Good luck!

 

[vellamint]

I just added it up for my family and breakfast will cost 115.17!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BREAKFAST.....I dont think we will be going which is a shame.....anyone know of an all you can eat buffet breakfast (not necessarily Disney) that is in the area. The kids are getting older and we have been to quite a few character meals in WDW. (Cheaper than DL too). We just like breakfast buffets.......

Does that price include tax.....sheese with tip added in.....egad!!!!

 

[scanmom]

They have a character b-fast at a restaurant there. I cannot remember the name of the place right now. I thing the main character there is Minnie Mouse. I have never been to it, but I have read several posts that say you can order al-a-carte from the menu OR get the buffet. If you are light breakfast eaters, you will probably save big bucks by ordering a little something al-a- carte!

 

[GrumpyMom1]

We are going next week and I had just made reservations for Goofy's Kitchen before you posted this. That was more than I was planning on paying so I called to find out the prices for the other character breakfasts.

I found out the prices for Goofy's Kitchen INCLUDE tax and tips. The others (Plaza Inn and Minnie and Friends) are $19.99 for adults and $10.99 for kids 3 - 11 but that does not include tax and tips. So it works out to be about the same.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Always do Goofy's for dinner, its a little less painful to pay that much for dinner. Also Ariel's is not $10 for adults its more like 20 plus tax and tip making it not a lot cheaper than Goofy's and it is NOT all you can eat. The character meals are pricey which is why we always eat cheaper everywhere else. Also before going to DL I always tell the kids when they want McDonalds that we are saving for Goofy's!

 

[maci]

I will agree it is alot of money!! But I must say we LOVED goofys kitchen! We were there just 2 weeks ago! The buffet was large! They had breakfast and lunch items on the buffet and we were there at 9am. Lots of desserts too!
We saw goofy, pluto, donald, mulan, rafiki, and capt hook! That is alot of characters I think!
They do the macarena every once in a while there too. Just wanted to say it was really a good time...all though quite expensive.

 

[BrerMama]

Coming from a WDW vacation 3 weeks ago, those prices don't sound bad. We paid no less than $60 for sit-down meals for the 5 of us and character meals ran around $110 with tax and tip. Disneyland is looking so cheap compared to WDW just because DL doesn't have as many sit-down restaurants!

 

[Friend_of_Piglet]

Hi,

I know that sounds like a lot, but I've been to Goofy's for breakfast around 6 times (only once with children) and 3 times for dinner. Whenever we have family that comes into town, I take them there. We always make reservations for around 11:30 am. That way it covers breakfast and lunch. IMHO it's worth it.
I love Goofy's!!!


Sooz

 

[year2late]

I would like to add that we just were there on Friday for breakfast. The characters were plentiful!

Goofy
Pluto
Belle
Cinderella
Brer Bear
Penguin
(I believe there is one more that - will have to wait until pix are developed!)

They were out and well spaced and nicely interactive.

It was a good deal for alot of interaction.

 

[dsnylndmom]

We make Goofy's Kitchen more of a brunch. We have a very light breakfast, hit the parks and have one of the later/latest PS's for Goofy's Kitchen so nearing lunch time when the park starts to fill up we hit Goofy's and miss the crowds at the same time. We usually fill up good! Then we have a light, late dinner.

We also really like Ariel's Grotto. We prefer lunch, it's a little less because you don't get dessert(we're not big dessert people PLUS the cotton candy at the end is dessert enough!!) We like to do Ariel's later in the afternoon and sit outside on the water.

And like one of the above posters said use that AAA card!!! LOL

 

[WebTink]

I don't post very often, but do a lot of lurking and just feel I must comment on this topic. In my humble opinion you have to think of character meals in different terms. It's less about the food and more about the entertainment value. The roaming characters, the personal, almost unlimited interaction with them, is the real draw. No, not very many people would pay $115 to take their family out for breakfast, but to interact with some of Hollywood's most famous stars, of course you would!

I leave tomorrow for Disneyland. First time in almost 20 years, but we have been to WDW several times. Have appreciated all the tips found in these forums for touring DLR. I purchased a Disney Dining Plan that included a character breakfast and a character lunch, as well as an additional character breakfast. Since it was included in the price of my package, I won't have any sticker shock once I get to the restaurants, for which I'm eternally grateful!

 

[mickey4ver]

It is pricey, I do agree, and if it doesn't fit your budget, then by all means try for something else...but with that said...we ate breakfast there 2 years ago on our trip to CA, and I can only tell you the wonderful memory I will have of that place with the character interaction with grandchild and the really, great array of food to choose from. The memory alone was worth the $$, but again, if budget is an issue, I can certainly see wanting to go someplace else. For us, it was something I will have filed away in memories of having done something that made my grandchild soooo happy! And just a side note, I'm by no means "well-off" and have to budget too, so I can sympathize.

 

[JC Butterfly]

thanks all for the great tips and the head's up for prices to expect. Pretty similar to WDW for me . . . after the first day at Disney the "sticker shock" feeling seems to fade . . . not sure if that's a good thing or not

Brenda

 

[lkohawaii]

The character meals beat chasing the characters around the park and having your child rushed so the next child can have a chance. We've been both to Goofy's and Ariel's Grotto. Ariel's is a set menu you chose from a set munu your entree, desert etc. and Goofy's is a buffet. I'd say hands down I'd go to Goofy's. I've always wanted to try Plaza Inn but haven't tried it. We go to Goofy's around 11 ish for breakfast and lunch. The attention my DD gets and the personal converstions make all the money I pay worth it. I know this is a bit off subject but the Disney Cruise Line is coming to L.A. summer 2005. I've opted to do the cruise for the characters next year. No more chasing characters around the park only to almost get there and they have to go "powder" their nose or us the bathroom. No more paying for those character meals. Just enjoy my time on the ship.

 

[lenzs4]

The first time we did a character breakfast at DL no one ate anything - it was to sweet for us so we paid $77.00 for a banana. I will never do it again. I did try a character dinner and loved it - Goofy's Kitchen was wonderful and unlike WDW meals we had the kids get to get up and limbo and dance with the characters - made great photos and film footage! We dod that one every year now.