Dinner at Goofy's

[disneynerd420]

Wow! It has been forever since I was on the DIS. I have popped by and left a message now and then, but with my father passing in October, the craziness of the holiday season, getting deathly ill and having to maintain my normal life, I just could not find the time. However, I am making a resolution to get back on the boards!

I had promised a trip report from my dec trip previously. Yeah... not gonna happen. It is difficult to take pictures when you are pushing your mother in a wheelchair. So I really don't have that many good ones. But I will be going in a few weeks with my best friend since 6th grade and I plan on taking lots of pictures! He has not been to DLR since before it was an R. (Did I really need to abbreviate that? Maybe I should have abbreviated abbreviate.) Anyway... I am determined to do everything in my power to make sure that he has a good time. I am planning on filliing the memory card of my camera and doing an awesome trip report. That is another resolution of mine... to keep my promises.


HOLY JEBUS! I was rambling. Well the reason I decided to plop my butt down in front of the iMac tonight and pull up the DIS is this... I have been toying with the idea of going to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. Now anyone who still knows me on here knows I am a huge fan of brunch at Goofy's but I have never been for dinner. I have heard some pretty negative reviews previously so I knew I had to consult the experts. What can you say about the dinner at Goofy's? How is the food, the crowds, and of course the character interaction? Please help me... I may have helped you before. I would love it if you return the favor.

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

I can be a bit of a food snob so the food was not great IMO...you're paying for the character interaction. The kids loved the PB&J pizzas bc...well, they're kids! Characters...Alice, Pluto, Goofy, Jasmine, Chip & Dale .... I KNOW I'm missing like 2!

But in saying that I'd totally go again! My thing...not to bash your brunch - but it's hard for me to like breakfast foods. I TRY..I really do. But yummy pancakes & syrups & jams...just tire me out. Not good at DL. So I tend to like other meals better....which is why I personally would do dinner again even tho the food is not my fave.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I love the brunch too. But I was extremely dissapointed in the dinner last month. Characters were great but the food was mediocre (sp?) at best.

 

[Sherry E]

Disneynerd420 - as you know, I am your soulmate and fellow diehard fan in the Goofy's Kitchen breakfast/brunch fan club! In fact, when I was there on 12/19, they had actually outdone themselves compared to my previous meals. The food was even better than it had been before (maybe it was because I had that lackluster Storytellers Cafe meal in October and so Goofy's seemed miles above that) and even my 'novice character meal friend' who was with me instantly said that the food was waaaaaay better at GK than at Storytellers Critter Breakfast, which she did not care for much at all. Also, we saw 8 characters roaming around, so it seemed like they were trying to increase the characters perhaps, maybe, to compete with the new Mickey meal at the PPH (which they told me was a madhouse, as I suspected) and also with the increasingly popular Minnie & Friends

Because I prefer breakfast foods in general and the selection at Goofy's has always been so vast (when the heck did they start putting out garlic tomatoes? I had never seen those before 12/19!), that the dinner was not as impressive to me. However, I have only done the dinner twice since 1992 and the second time was a very, very long time ago, AND I was not really hungry either time so nothing appealed to me that much. I didn't really give it a fair shot either time. There were a lot of characters around, but, again, very long time ago.

However, I know I have seen DIS-ers on here who have said that they very much prefer the dinner over the breakfast as far as characters and they love the food. So a lot of it is really subjective. Personal taste. If I recall, DisneyMomma81 was not a Goofy's fan at all after her breakfast experience there (very little character interaction and food not so great), but, unless I have my facts wrong, I think she and her family have been to the Goofy's dinner at least twice in the last few months and they like that!

I am so sorry to hear about all the troubles you have been having. I remember you alluding to some of it in your TR, but I am not sure I saw anything mentioned about your dad. Maybe I missed that part. I hope you are doing okay and that you have a strong support system around you to help out. I remembered you were making a DLR holiday trip, and it was going to be your first time ever seeing the holiday decorations at DLR, so I hope that brought you some joy and happiness for the season. When you feel up to it, maybe tell us about it in the TR you already have going - even without photos!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

In fact, when I was there on 12/19, they had actually outdone themselves compared to my previous meals.

That makes me wish we would've chosen differently... We had PS ressies at 1 pm on 12/18, but they called at 9:30 that morning to inform us they would be closing at 12:00. We couldn't make it earlier since we were still driving to Anaheim so we opted to change to dinner since it was DS's birthday. I was disappointed with the meal. In reality, DS is 1 and wouldn't have cared if we celebrated a fabulous brunch on another day.

 

[Queenbillabong]

I have to say, if we go to Goofy's, it has to be for brekkie. Been to both and the dinner is not the best, really. It was basic buffet food, but really expensive. Some of the desserts were good, but not great. The roast was really tough and inedible, so blech on that.

If I had to choose, it would be breakfast. For us, character interaction was basically the same at both but the food was better in the a.m.

 

[PHXscuba]

I will preface this all by saying I haven't done the breakfast at Goofy's. But we really enjoyed our dinner there in October. We did it on our arrival night (w/o park tickets) and it was a wonderful way to "kick off" the visit. We had a party of 15 and they were really accommodating. We originally had two tables five feet from each other and they didn't get Grumpy when we wanted to put them together (squishy but fun).

I ate well but kept stopping every three or four minutes with a new character to take a picture of. I just looked at my camera and I have pictures of my kids with 7 characters -- and I think I missed a couple. So with my kids and other guests with us, my priority was character interaction and everyone being fed.

DisneyNerd: I know dining is a huge part of your trip enjoyment. I'm not a food critic so I won't judge the food, but I thought it was good and above what I had hoped for after reading everything on these boards leading up to our trip.

We went at 5 p.m. when they opened (worried about the large group getting in even with a PS). Two of our group were late (grr) and we had to wait a little, but my camera has us posing with Pluto out front at 5:37. I have a picture of DD7 with Jasmine as we were leaving just before 7 p.m. I felt like the only time the restaurant felt crowded was when Goofy had all the kids up dancing and it was hard to access the buffet.

PHXscuba

p.s. Sorry to hear about your father; I hope your holiday still had some magic and that your next visit turns out how you want.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

However, I know I have seen DIS-ers on here who have said that they very much prefer the dinner over the breakfast as far as characters and they love the food. So a lot of it is really subjective. Personal taste. If I recall, Disneymomma81 was not a Goofy's fan at all after her breakfast experience there (very little character interaction and food not so great), but, unless I have my facts wrong, I think she and her family have been to the Goofy's dinner at least twice in the last few months and they like that!

Hi ~ that's me, and yes I prefer dinner at Goofy's over breakfast/brunch - I enjoy very much Storyteller's for B/B ~ I order from the menu, early last month I had the Buttermilk Griddle Cakes ~ yum! And the Old Fashioned Banana stuffed French Toast is fabulous ~ both meals I split with DD. Back to GK ~ we tried dinner there for the 1st time last Sept. and returned again during our most recent trip ~ we hadn't planned to but with DL closing early (CM party night) and it being so cold that we didn't feel like going to DCA for the evening so we decided on dinner at Goofy's. I think we'll stick with breakfast/brunch @ Minnie's, Storyteller's and the new Mickey meal (excited to give that a try) and leave Goofy's & Ariel's for dinner ~ however with DS turning 10 in April character meals might not happen as often (he does eat more than I do but still it's a lot of $$) ~ but for DD's B~day trip it's just the 2 of us so we'll eat at a few I'm sure.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Wow! It has been forever since I was on the DIS. I have popped by and left a message now and then, but with my father passing in October, the craziness of the holiday season, getting deathly ill and having to maintain my normal life, I just could not find the time. However, I am making a resolution to get back on the boards!

I had promised a trip report from my dec trip previously. Yeah... not gonna happen. It is difficult to take pictures when you are pushing your mother in a wheelchair. So I really don't have that many good ones. But I will be going in a few weeks with my best friend since 6th grade and I plan on taking lots of pictures! He has not been to DLR since before it was an R. (Did I really need to abbreviate that? Maybe I should have abbreviated abbreviate.) Anyway... I am determined to do everything in my power to make sure that he has a good time. I am planning on filliing the memory card of my camera and doing an awesome trip report. That is another resolution of mine... to keep my promises.


HOLY JEBUS! I was rambling. Well the reason I decided to plop my butt down in front of the iMac tonight and pull up the DIS is this... I have been toying with the idea of going to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner. Now anyone who still knows me on here knows I am a huge fan of brunch at Goofy's but I have never been for dinner. I have heard some pretty negative reviews previously so I knew I had to consult the experts. What can you say about the dinner at Goofy's? How is the food, the crowds, and of course the character interaction? Please help me... I may have helped you before. I would love it if you return the favor.

First, welcome back. I am not a food snob, but I do like good, well prepared food. That said, going against the grain, I have never had a bad dinner there. We always go at 1700 and have had all we could possibly eat and it was hot and good. I do not expect it to be SH55 or Napa Rose.
Character interaction was contineous to the point it was hard to get a break.

Have a good dis day,

Jack

 

[Disney Dider]

I am shocked!! When we were at Goofy's for dinner, the food was excellent!! Much preferred over breakfast for us!

 

[carebee21]

We just wentfor dinner in Oct and we enjoyed it. In my opinion it is overpriced but so are many things at Disney. And if you look at it from just a food standpoint, for that same amount of money you can get a much better meal elsewhere. But if you take it for what it is, all in all it is good. The salad and fruits were fresh and good quality. Everything I ate was hot and pretty good tasting. There were plenty of childrens choices and lots of yummy desert choices. We all left extremely full and satisfied with the food. We had reservations right when it opened and had wonderful long character interactions and good service(but the place wasn't even close to full so I'm not sure how it would be if it was full) and my son loved getting up and doing the songs and dancing with Goofy. He still talks about the "baking a cake" song

 

[Sherry E]

Hi ~ that's me, and yes I prefer dinner at Goofy's over breakfast/brunch - I enjoy very much Storyteller's for B/B ~ I order from the menu, early last month I had the Buttermilk Griddle Cakes ~ yum! And the Old Fashioned Banana stuffed French Toast is fabulous ~ both meals I split with DD. Back to GK ~ we tried dinner there for the 1st time last Sept. and returned again during our most recent trip ~ we hadn't planned to but with DL closing early (CM party night) and it being so cold that we didn't feel like going to DCA for the evening so we decided on dinner at Goofy's. I think we'll stick with breakfast/brunch @ Minnie's, Storyteller's and the new Mickey meal (excited to give that a try) and leave Goofy's & Ariel's for dinner ~ however with DS turning 10 in April character meals might not happen as often (he does eat more than I do but still it's a lot of $$) ~ but for DD's B~day trip it's just the 2 of us so we'll eat at a few I'm sure.

Good! At least I know I am not imagining things! I thought it was you who had had two favorable GK dinner experiences recently after not liking the breakfast at all! That stuck out in my mind as an example to use because that doesn't seem to be the norm. Usually, when we hear about the folks who don't like one GK meal for whatever reason, they don't go back and try a different one, so I was impressed that you did try the dinner (especially since it is so $$) and ended up having a better experience! I am not even sure I would try an expensive character dinner again if I was not thrilled with the breakfast, so that is great that you did that!

And again, James (Disneynerd420), my experiences with the GK dinner were so long ago - I am sure many of the food selections are much different now - and it wasn't the fault of Goofy's that I wasn't thrilled with it. It was more the fact that I was not that hungry either time and so I was finicky and annoyed to have to spend that money (a whopping $18 or whatever it was at that time! lol!!), so nothing appealed to me. But that was my mood more than it was sub-par food. I am sure the food was fine. If anything, I would assume that since the breakfast food seems to be improving over time, the dinner can only get better too. And they definitely seemed to have a couple extra characters roaming around for breakfast a few weeks ago, so maybe that is a good sign for dinner! I think you should give it a try - just go with a healthy appetite because that hefty price tag will seem very, very daunting if you are not that hungry! (My friend nearly had a heart attack when she saw the price for the Goofy's breakfast in December, and having never done a character meal other than the Storytellers meal we had back in October, she wasn't sure what she was getting herself into and why she was paying such a lofty fee. Thank goodness she loved it, or I would have felt so guilty for dragging her there!)

 

[Sherry E]

That makes me wish we would've chosen differently... We had PS ressies at 1 pm on 12/18, but they called at 9:30 that morning to inform us they would be closing at 12:00. We couldn't make it earlier since we were still driving to Anaheim so we opted to change to dinner since it was DS's birthday. I was disappointed with the meal. In reality, DS is 1 and wouldn't have cared if we celebrated a fabulous brunch on another day.

Yes, I don't know what it was but the breakfast/brunch food seemed so much more delicious compared to the last time I had been there - and of course, I always love the food there. The fruit and bacon is always amazing! It could be that I just stumbled upon a fresh batch of everything and got lucky. I am sure they still have occasional 'off days' with the food, like any of the character meals. But everything was yummy. Plus, they seem to have added in a couple of new dishes that I don't recall seeing before. My friend went for some bread/pastry items and she grabbed what she thought was banana bread and it turned out to be pumpkin bread (I suppose they put it out for the holidays?). Now she is normally not shy about complaining if she doesn't like something, so I expected to hear all about how she didn't like the bread or whatever. She LOVED it. She said it was incredible, and she normally doesn't even eat a lot of bread/pastry items. I am normally a big fan of those scrumptious mini-muffins, but this was the first time I was ever tempted to smuggle some in my Baggallini to take with me (I didn't do it, though I wanted to!!)!!! The blueberry muffin I ate was so moist and the blueberry inside it tasted juicy and ripe! Yum!!!

 

[disneynerd420]

Thank you everyone for the stories of personal experiences! I really appreciate it. I think I am leaning towards trying Goofy's dinner. Now If I can convince my friend who is traveling with me. Unlike my normal Disney partner in crime, Chris420, he is not a huge Disney person but he is wanting to give it a shot to make me happy for my birthday.

At this point it is a toss up between dinner at Blue Bayou or Goofy's. I know I like BB, but I am worried that my friend won't. He is kind of a picky eater. I know there are things he will eat at Goofy's but I think he would love the ambience of the BB. Oh well, I will figure it out.


Can anyone recall some of the items that are offered on the Goofy's kitchen dinner buffet?

 

[Vala]

Can anyone recall some of the items that are offered on the Goofy's kitchen dinner buffet?

Some of the items may change. We went to dinner twice, and one night they offered the prime rib while another night they didn't.

I remember grilled asparagus and some sort of fancy potatoes from the Chef's counter, also vegetarian spring rolls and Teryaki Chicken.

The standard items that are always there seem to be cheese pizza, hot dogs, maccaroni and cheese and one other pizza choice that I can't remember. Plus the salad bar and the desserts. These are pretty much the same as breakfast/brunch, I did not notice any differences there.