Conflicting Reviews....

[5 Disney Fans]

I am reading a Disneyland Guidebook (I think it is the "Unoffical Guide" or something like that).

Anyway, they really talked up Ariel's Grotto but I've noticed here that no one here has said anything positive about it.

On the otherhand.... I've read great things on the board about the Breakfast with Minnie at The Plaza, but the book said it was horrible. They mentioned a lot of people who book vacation packages go to breakfast here so it is crowded all the time.

So... can you guys help me balance these opinions. I will be traveling with my 3 year old who LOVES the Princessess... but she is also a Minnie fan. I am wavering between lunch at Ariel's Grotto or breakfast with Minnie and Friends.

We are planning 2 days in DL and 1 day in DCA. We've never been to DLR but are frequent WDW visitors. We are staying at the Grand Californian .

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[audrabolster]

I'm curious because I want to go to Ariel's Grotto so bad!

 

[daannzzz]

I am not a huge fan of character meals though we still go sometimes even though there are no kids with us. I really like the food at Ariel's grotto. The inside section is nicely decorated and the tables are often farther apart than at other restaurants. I didn't like eating out on the patio as much. The character interactions, like all the other places, runs from being plentyful to sparse. You just never know. I like the meat loaf at Ariel's along with the fish and chips, the chicken soup and the hambuger.

 

[mindylovesmickey]

We've been to both Ariel's Grotto (Dinner) and Minnie and Friends Breakfast. We got one of the first dinner seatings and we got to spend time with 4 princesses and Mary Poppins. Dh and I both had Fish N Chips and really enjoyed dinner. DD and DS really enjoyed getting to see all the princesses, and in turn the princesses signed autographs and took pictures and played with the kids a little, much more interaction than they would have gotten at PFF.

Minnie and Friends was great, I'm not sure if we got close to a first sitting or not, but it didn't seem busy hardly at all, I believe it was on a Saturday as well. But it was in early Feb. The food was good and there were no real lines at the buffet and we got to see quite a few characters including Minnie.

We enjoyed them both and would do both again, but we are going to try some of the ones we haven't done, first.

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

We just went on our very 1st trip to DL in December. They give you a ton of food (for breakfast) and they had 4 other princesses (Mulan, Cinderella, Belle & the Fairy God Mother) along w/Ariel when you walked in. You had plenty of time - no one rushing you out, etc. The food was good & again plenty of it, too.
I did notice that there wasn't alot of Characters at all w/in either park at DL, little lone Princess's. And Princess Fantasy Fair is long lines & who knows what Princess, Prince or even Minnie dressed as a Princess that you will get inside. So, if you have a Princess lover - do it, you won't regret the looks on thier faces!

 

[brenda1966]

We ate lunch at Ariel's grotto in 2005 and 2006 and really enjoyed it. I like having my food served to me (and not having to stand in a buffet line or try to time my trips to the buffet line so we don't miss a character). The Salmon BLT is very yummy!

Last year we tried something different: Goofy's buffet for lunch (or maybe it was a late brunch). While we did see a lot of characters, just managing getting our own food and making sure we're at the table for each character takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the process for me. I feel like I'm constantly getting up and going back and forth to get food.

So, this summer I think we'll head back to Ariel's for lunch. DD still likes princesses and I'm not sure how much longer that will last. Plus, I will not stand in super long lines at the Fantasy Fair to see the princesses, so this is a great alternative.

We have not tried Minnie's breakfast because we go during peak season and those morning hours are just too valuable to be spent sitting in a restaurant. (And I also don't like paying top dollar for pancakes LOL).

 

[pixiewings71]

We have not done Minnie's but we love Ariel's Grotto!! It is honestly one of our favorite things to do. We don't do it every trip (we have AP's and have been averaging a trip a month) but we do it often enough. We have done breakfast and lunch and have not been disappointed with the food ever. Even my girls eat everything they are given!! And they are uber-picky! LOL I love the French Onion soup, the pasta was super good and I highly enjoyed the hamburger. I 100% recommend Ariel's, especially if you like Princesses!!

 

[lilsprstr]

We did the Minnie & Friends Breakfast last time we were at DL. It was great! We had the first seating, like 7:30, 8am, something like that. The kids loved it! The character interaction was great. Here are some pics:

We also did Goofy's Kitchen for dinner last time we were there. Also a great experience! We are going again next month and plan to try Ariel's Grotto, since dd didn't see any princesses on our last trip.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

We went to both last summer - and enjoyed both. When we were at Minnie's Breakfast the characters came around but we barely got our pictures and their autographs before they were moving on. Rabbit was down right rude!! I'm still not sure if he was in character or if he was just...rude. Lol. And Eeyore kept totally passing us up. I LOVE Eeyore so when we left we asked if we could see him real quick and they brought him to the entrance for me.

Ariel's Grotto was much quieter and more relaxed. We saw all the Princesses and they all spent a LOT of time with us. Now...there was no one under the age of 16. In fact it was my 16 and 18 year old cousins (16 - male, 18 - female), me (28), DH (33), Aunt (50...something), grandparents (80s). We Loved it and we sat and chatted with them for a bit. Cinderella asked us where we were from and we said "Tampa, Fl" and she said, "Oh! That's why you look so familiar! You must have come visited me at my castle there!"

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Exactly! We had a wonderful time and the food was very good.

 

[silence]

We like both of these character meals.

We rate Minnie's above Ariel's because of the food. Not that we had "terrible" food at Ariel's, just better at Minnie's.

We always go to Ariel's when my DD needs her "princess" fix. We only did the lines at PFF once and I really don't want to do that again.

So I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Good luck, have fun!

 

[Jenn1116]

I did both in 06 and I gotta say we're going back to Minnie and Friend's Breakfast. I missed Minnie last time because I was getting food, so I could not direct the pictures of my DD...I'm a control freak sometimes So I can't wait to do it again. The food is great too and it was not crowded - we were there in July!

 

[mystic_path]

Yeah I know exactly what you mean... All I can suggest is find what could potentially interest you and your family and work with it. Just because something that sounds so fun or delicious has a bad review, doesnt mean that your not going to enjoy it.

Personally though if you want my opinion. I would suggest a meal with the princesses because there you can meet more characters then one in particular who you can go to ToonTown to see. At Ariels you can actually have a meet and greet with the princesses and can take picture and not have to wait in line or spend umpteen million dollars in Princess Fantasy Fair just to catch a glimpse of your own daughter meeting her favorite character.

 

[DesertBell]

We had a less than satisfactory experience at Ariels'. The food wasn't great, and the princesses (Ariel, Belle, Aurora, Jasmine, and Snow White) literally stopped by our table, took a picture, and moved on. It was the worst character interaction of the trip. (They were PACKED, but my dd was disappointed.)

Minnie's was a BLAST. We had much better character interaction there. Peter Pan and Captian Hook were hilarious! We are doing Minnie's again this year, but not Ariel's. We had enough princess interaction other places- we saw Aurora and Snow White and Goofy's Kitchen, My DD danced with Jasmine at the Fantasy Faire, we saw Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora at the Fantasy Faire as well. Plus, we saw Snow White outside the Animation Studios in DCA every afternoon.

 

[Ashlotte]

We loved Ariel's. We did Ariel's and Goofy's during our trip last January and are doing Ariel's again when we go back in two weeks . We saw Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, and Mary Poppins. Most of them just stopped by briefly for a picture and a hello, but Belle was awesome and stayed to talk to us for quite a bit. She kissed my ds 3.5 and he had a pretty red lipstick mark on his face. Despite the fact he had no idea who she was, he was beaming! We are going to try Minnie's this time also because we have never done it before, but are skipping Goofy's. I found that to be overrated and too expensive for the value.

 

[mariezp]

I think we have done all the character meals now! I think I enjoyed Ariel's just a bit more than Minnie's.

I would have to say that Ariel's was one of the better organized. The princesses have a set path they travel to cover each table. They didn't seem rushed when we went and really interacted wonderfully with each child at each table. The food was also very good and I would have to say that I also enjoy having the food brought to the table.

Minnie's sometimes might have a few more and varied characters. However, I have found it too be a little more hectic. We also had to wait quite a bit longer to be sure each character would eventually make it to our table as they seemed to get side tracked often from people wandering around in the resturant who would interupt their route. The food is fine but you have to spend part of your time in line rounding up your food.

If your child loves characters, you really can't go wrong with either one!

 

[5 Disney Fans]

Thank you all for your outstanding reviews and opinions. I think I was just talked into doing both

I'm going to shoot for Minnie's b'fast on one of the days we are in Disneyland and Ariel's for lunch when we go to DCA.

I hate basing my decisions strictly on guidebooks so it was great to hear so many real life experiences with both of these restaurants. Thanks for un-confusing me