Character Meals Super Thread!!

[DizNee Luver]

I'm sorry if this has been asked already but the thread search didn't have any results for parking validation. We're planning to go to Goofy's Kitchen on our last morning before we drive home. Can we get validated parking at the DL Hotel or should we park at DTD?

When we drove a vehicle to the DLH for Goofy's Kitchen, you will stop at the "gates" and let the attendant know you are eating there. They will direct you on where to park. They will also hand you a ticket or card to place in your dash. When you leave, you will again stop at the gate & hand them back the ticket/card.

 

[lsulindy]

When we drove a vehicle to the DLH for Goofy's Kitchen, you will stop at the "gates" and let the attendant know you are eating there. They will direct you on where to park. They will also hand you a ticket or card to place in your dash. When you leave, you will again stop at the gate & hand them back the ticket/card.

When we arrived, they instructed us at the gate to valet park. They validated the parking ticket at the restaurant.

 

[smiles33]

When we drove a vehicle to the DLH for Goofy's Kitchen, you will stop at the "gates" and let the attendant know you are eating there. They will direct you on where to park. They will also hand you a ticket or card to place in your dash. When you leave, you will again stop at the gate & hand them back the ticket/card.

When we arrived, they instructed us at the gate to valet park. They validated the parking ticket at the restaurant.

THANK YOU BOTH! I didn't want to call and have to wait on hold just to ask that question. Hooray!

 

[Sherry E]

In regards to parking at the hotels to eat at the restaurants, I will add that the Disney hotel Reservations folks give incorrect information about non-guests being able to park at the hotels to dine!

Last year I was clearly told (and I asked and re-asked several times) by the Reservations folks that non-hotel guests could not park at the 3 Disney hotels to eat at the restaurants. I asked the CM on the phone if she was sure about this and she said yes. I said, "Even if they're eating at one of the restaurants - they can't park at the hotel unless they're sleeping there too?" The CM told me that whoever the non-guest was would have to park in Mickey & Friends or in Downtown Disney.

I was already staying at the PPH (without parking) but another DIS'er (Liza/funatdisney) was coming to meet me so we could meet Laurie/DizNee Luver at Surf's Up. Because of the incorrect info I was given by the Reservations people, Liza parked elsewhere. As I was waiting for her at one point, the PPH parking guy out in front told me that the Reservations people continuously give out the wrong info on this topic and that non-guests who are dining at the hotels' restaurants can absolutely park onsite and they do not have to be overnight guests!! Silly Reservations people!

 

[Malcon10t]

We have always valet parked at GCH for Storytellers (dinner) and at DLH for Steakhouse 55. Never used it at Goofy's.

 

[Kilala]

Here's a stupid question. For one of the night for MHP can I do Goofy's Kitchen in costume? I plan on going on a Friday and I want to go in costume before I go to MHP.

 

[RxPhiller3]

Thanks for all the info. Will come in handy on the next trip in June!

 

[smiles33]

We're back from our trip and I thought I'd share that we went to Minnie's Breakfast, Goofy's Kitchen, and back to Ariel's Grotto again. Here's a link to the exact post in my TR that compares the three:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48127443&postcount=92

I would do Goofy's Kitchen again, but plan to skip Minnie's and Ariel's in the future. I just don't think the latter two were a good value given the cost/food quality/number of characters ratio.

 

[Mabel67]

I apologize in advance for not reading all 24 pages...but...

Which character meal would you recommend for a group of 4 adults, one of whom is on her first visit to DL and the other is celebrating a special birthday?

We would be interested more in characters than princesses...and brunch or later rather than breakfast, though would consider a breakfast...

Thanks!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I apologize in advance for not reading all 24 pages...but...

Which character meal would you recommend for a group of 4 adults, one of whom is on her first visit to DL and the other is celebrating a special birthday?

We would be interested more in characters than princesses...and brunch or later rather than breakfast, though would consider a breakfast...

Thanks!

I would probably choose Goofy's Kitchen. Will you be there on a weekday or weekend? If a weekend, then Goofy's usually serves until 2 PM I believe, so that works well for your interest in brunch. It gives you time to visit the parks first then leave to go to Goofy's at whatever time you like to have brunch. If it's a weekday, I believe Goofy's serves until noon which is still later than any of the other character breakfasts.

 

[Mabel67]

I would probably choose Goofy's Kitchen. Will you be there on a weekday or weekend? If a weekend, then Goofy's usually serves until 2 PM I believe, so that works well for your interest in brunch. It gives you time to visit the parks first then leave to go to Goofy's at whatever time you like to have brunch. If it's a weekday, I believe Goofy's serves until noon which is still later than any of the other character breakfasts.

It will be a Sunday...will it be a zoo around 1pm-ish? If the buffet ends at 2pm what does that mean for food and characters? Do they start to disappear before 2pm or are they there right up to 2?

Will we still get character interaction even without kids with us?

Thanks!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

It will be a Sunday...will it be a zoo around 1pm-ish? If the buffet ends at 2pm what does that mean for food and characters? Do they start to disappear before 2pm or are they there right up to 2?

Will we still get character interaction even without kids with us?

Thanks!

I don't have a lot of personal experience with the elements of your scenario. The latest we have been seated there on a weekend was noon. We found the food still plentiful and fresh-seeming and the character interaction adequate. We had two children with us.

PinkBudgie wrote a great Goofy's Kitchen review for couples, and I think that will give you some sense of the experience. She went early in the morning though, so it won't address your questions about going later in the day. Nevertheless, her review is definitely worth a read:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2968463

 

[Mabel67]

I don't have a lot of personal experience with the elements of your scenario. The latest we have been seated there on a weekend was noon. We found the food still plentiful and fresh-seeming and the character interaction adequate. We had two children with us.

PinkBudgie wrote a great Goofy's Kitchen review for couples, and I think that will give you some sense of the experience. She went early in the morning though, so it won't address your questions about going later in the day. Nevertheless, her review is definitely worth a read:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2968463

Thank you!!

 

[Sherry E]

It will be a Sunday...will it be a zoo around 1pm-ish? If the buffet ends at 2pm what does that mean for food and characters? Do they start to disappear before 2pm or are they there right up to 2?

Will we still get character interaction even without kids with us?

Thanks!

Mabel67 -

PinkBudgie's review is great, so definitely read that when you have time. I should point out that she went to Goofy's largely based on my commentary and reviews of Goofy's over the years, which she has openly stated. I gave Goofy's mostly good reviews for so long (I've been eating there since 1992) that she finally decided to give it a try, and she enjoyed it!

Also, the OP of this thread - Laurie/DizNee Luver - has a lot of Goofy's experience at both breakfast/brunch and dinner, and has posted many Goofy's photos in all of her trip reports, but the most recent ones are up (great food pictures) in these two posts - Post #422 and Post #423.



In all of my visits to Goofy's, there has only been one time when I've been there with a child in tow. Every other time I have been with only adults, and we get plenty of character interaction. In fact, Pluto can sometimes be a little too interactive (depending on who is in the Pluto costume)!

I have photos of all of my Goofy's visits (from 1992 on to the most recent visit) posted all throughout my main TR thread in the DL TR section, but I'm not going to link them here (too many posts to link!). Just take my word for it that the characters will interact with adults too, as long as the adults are receptive!

I would personally not go to Goofy's too close to closing. There are some days when they close at 1 p.m. (it can be confusing because there are other days when they close at noon and some days have 2 p.m. closings). Be sure to check with Dining about when the closing time is on your day, and try to allow yourself a full 90 minutes to arrive before that time so that you will still get some fresh food and character visits before they start trickling out.

I don't know if it will be a zoo at that time, but it could be busy with people having early lunches or late breakfasts. Have fun!

 

[Mabel67]

Thank you, Sherry E, I will definitely check these out...

Sounds like Goofy's it is!

 

[happydisneyfamily]

We just got back from Disneyland and we had the Minnie and Friends breakfast. I must say it was the perfect way to start our day. We did not have early entry but were able to get in at 8:10 and bypass the crowd because we had an 8:30 reservation. There was only one family in front of us and we got to walk right in. We took pictures and got to meet a few characters right before heading in to the Plaza Inn for breakfast.

Since there were not that many families there yet, the characters took a long time with out kids. In fact, Tigger held our kids hands and let us to our table. The characters took their time, some of them sat down at one of the empty chairs at our table, and played around with our kids a lot. My kids were so excited. We saw Pooh, Tigger, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Fairy godmother and Captain Hook and I think that was it. As for food, dh and I always have an omelet made to order so we were both satisfied. He also got his coffee and I got my juice so we were good. The kids loved the Mickey-shaped waffles and being able to get their own bottle of chocolate milk but they were too excited to eat which we knew would be the case. For us it was definitely worth it. We got early entry, a lot characters and a lot of interaction with the characters, and a decent breakfast.

 

[StarPinkTink]

Thank you so much for posting all this info! We have eaten at Storyteller's Cafe and Ariel's Grotto. Storyteller's was great with all the woodland creatures and entrance into California Adventure. Ariel's was great with the underwater decor and being right on the water. We are SO EXCITED for our reservations at Plaza Inn this time around!! The kids will love it

 

[Melda]

I know that if we make reservations and let them know the allergies in advance they can accommodate us. However, I'm wondering what type of food ds will get--will it end up being food from the buffet he's not allergic to (brought from back so there's no chance of cross contamination, of course)? Will they make something extra if needed so that ds can have a more substantial meal? DS is allergic to peanut, dairy, egg and soy (soybean oil and soy lecithin are ok).

Also, if there a particular character meal that would be better for food he could have or would they be similar?

Thanks!

 

[smiles33]

I know that if we make reservations and let them know the allergies in advance they can accommodate us. However, I'm wondering what type of food ds will get--will it end up being food from the buffet he's not allergic to (brought from back so there's no chance of cross contamination, of course)? Will they make something extra if needed so that ds can have a more substantial meal? DS is allergic to peanut, dairy, egg and soy (soybean oil and soy lecithin are ok).

DD3 is allergic to peanuts and fish, so not as many as your DS. I was told by the phone reservation agent that fresh food would be made for her at buffet meals to avoid cross-contamination but that was never the case. At Minnie's, I forgot to tell them and ask for the chef. Thankfully they don't serve fish for breakfast and I didn't see peanut butter near the waffles, French toast, pancakes or eggs (stuff DD eats).

At Ariel's, the chef said he was making her entree special since they do serve fish there.

At Goofy's (which has the famous PB&J pizza and peanuts near its sundae bar), the chef just told me to avoid those areas.

I would hope they actually make fresh food for your DS given his more extensive allergies.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I know that if we make reservations and let them know the allergies in advance they can accommodate us. However, I'm wondering what type of food ds will get--will it end up being food from the buffet he's not allergic to (brought from back so there's no chance of cross contamination, of course)? Will they make something extra if needed so that ds can have a more substantial meal? DS is allergic to peanut, dairy, egg and soy (soybean oil and soy lecithin are ok).

Also, if there a particular character meal that would be better for food he could have or would they be similar?

Thanks!

The chef will come out and talk to you about the allergies, find out the "likes" of the child and then will custom make their meal for them. Disney goes out of their way to ensure that all guests are able to eat a good meal (and one that is safe or within their dietary needs).