Disneyland Character Meals - Which are not to miss?

[pjtm]

Our family of 6 is going in May! yeah! I need to get my character meals booked this week. I am giving up the PC for lent so I only have a week to wrap it all up.

I can't find a list of all the meals to chose from. Where should I start?

We are staying at the Hojo so we won't be on site.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[ballarinamom]

Check out allears.net and the sticky here to see the menus. There are 5

Minnie and Freinds- in the park and only offers characters until the 10:30 am seating. Get your photowith Minnie then go inside. It is buffet and you will see Minnie, Chip and Dale, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyor, Goofy, sometimes Capt Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy. My family likes to do this one on a MM and go at the 10:00 seating as a brunch to skip lunch. They offer a 10% AAA Discount

DCA- Ariel's Grotto- You will get your photowith Ariel ina ball gown when you walk in. You can sit inside or out. You save $2 by sitting outside. They have an awesome menu. You can go for breakfast which is a table served meal. We like to go for lunch but dinner is the same menu. It used to be yukky but now it is very good. First they bring out breads and 3 differnt spreads. Then a 3 tiered tray that has fruited jello on top, relish, meats and cheeses in the middle and salads on the bottom. You then order your entree. DH loved the Tri Tip and I had a yummy chipino. Then dessert is a tray of mixed chocalate based yummies and fruit. 4 Princesses will come by your table. AAA discount

Goofy's Kitchen (at DLH) is also and all day character meal- It is a big Dis fav. All buffet with some really unusual offerings like pb&j pizza! We love taking the monorail over for a 5:30 dinner. The prime rib is out of this worldThey have some dancing with the kids which is fun. You get your picture with Pluto then go inside. You will see Chip and Dale, Minnie, Goofy, maybe Max, Mulan, Mad Hatter and others. 10% AAA Discount

Storytellers (GCH)- Only a character meal for breakfast. I think they have characters until 11:30. They are more of the woodsy based characters- Kenai and Koda from Brother Bear, Meeko from pocahantas, Chip and Dale. You can choose from buffet or al a carte. They have a follow the leader which a funny park ranger runs. The eggs benedict is really good.

Lilo and Stitch- (PP) Only at breakfast too. Take your photo with Daisy Duck. It is also buffet or al a carte. The prices on the menu are much lower than Storytellers. The buffet has cool stuff like flautas and pineapple cocnut scones. The kids take hula lesson and do a follow the leader game with Lilo. You will see Lilo, Stitch, Minnie, Goofy, Daisy. Alot of fun, We do this one on the morning when we are going to DCA so we can just walk through the GCH to get into the park.

Hope this helps! You can buy prepared vouchers from several companies if you want to plan ahead. We used GAT and it worked out very well.

 

[Sherry E]

Goofy's is my favorite character meal/breakfast and my favorite DLR restaurant - I never miss it on a trip to DLR. Great food, both in quality and veriety. There are tons of things to choose from so even the pickiest of eaters can be satisfied. I suggest the breakfast over the dinner, though. I wasn't as thrilled with the dinner options, but the breakfast is fantastic. Mickey-shaped cobbler!! Bananas Foster crepes. Fluffy croissants. Biscuits and gravy. Out of this world bacon. The FRUIT is amazingly fresh, sweet and juicy. The potatoes, eggs and Mickey waffles are great. Pizza (not just P, B & J, but also regular cheese and pepperoni for kids) is available for breakfast too. Worms and dirt for the kids. Delicious min-muffins. Lox and bagels. It goes on and on. I am barely even scratching the surface. There is so much more.

The regular characters who are always there are Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale and Baloo. I always see them. Then there are rotating characters who switch weeks or days so you never know who you will get, but they can include Alice and the Mad Hatter, Jasmine and Aladdin, Aurora and the Prince, Belle, sometimes Minnie and Max, etc. Sometimes, in the early morning there can be fewer characters because the restaurant is not as busy yet. As it starts to get busier, more characters arrive. Dinner can sometimes bring out more characters because it tends to be busier than breakfast, but I just prefer the breakfast. We have had times where the characters were coming so fast and furious to the table that we couldn't get a bite of food - which, frankly, got to be annoying because I wanted to eat! Other times, they seem to visit you at a better pace, where you meet and take pictures with one character, then eat some of your food for a bit, then the next one comes to your table, then you can eat, then the next characters come, etc. I like it better that way. Some other folks like the fast and furious character visits. On days when it is slower and you only have the main core characters, those same characters spend more time with you and come back repeatedly to your table, which seems to please a lot of kids we see. I love it at Goofy's and so do my friends. It is a great way to start our day and has been a 'must' for every DLR trip over the last 16+ years.

If you want to see some of the characters that I have encountered at Goofy's from 1992 to 2008, check out my Trip Report for pictures - the link to the TR is in my signature below. Some of the older ones do still show up once in a blue moon, but are not expected anymore as they used to be.

I have done the Storytellers Chip and Dale character meal twice. The first time I saw Rafiki, Timon, Meeko, Chip, Dale and Baloo (all of whom have been at Goofy's as well). The second time I saw Koda, Kenai, Chip, Dale and I think Baloo popped in at the last minute. It is nice atmosphere in Storyteller's Cafe - nice and cozy, warm, inviting - but I wasn't as thrilled with the food there and I strongly prefer and recommend Goofy's over Storytellers for the all-around experience. Also, even though I appreciate the woodsy-jungly Disney character theme they are aiming for, I prefer the more classic characters at Goofy's.