Favorite character meal in Disneyland resort?

[TheZue]

I've been to all but Minnie's and I liked them all. I know that's not helpful; but I liked them all for different reasons. We went to Ariel's before it was a princess meal and I loved eating out on the deck overlooking the pier at sunset. I loved the lilo & stitch one because there are a few characters there you just don't see in the park; like Daisy & Stitch. And storytellers I like the atmosphere; but I love the grand...it's much lower key and calmer. Goofy's is predictable and has a massive selection on the buffet. We had a Dale at GK that literally single handedly made my youngest love characters when he was 18 months old...David had been scared the entire trip every time we saw one but this Dale just kept trying for about 15 minutes, and by the end David loved him and the rest of the trip he was all about the characters .

 

[Delilah1310]

Delilah1310 -

There's a 90-minute limit at the character meals - you stayed for 2 hours? Wow! I'm always noticing how the CM's start to subtly hover around us and ask us if we need anything when we have been at the table for almost 90 minutes, as though they are waiting for us to get up so they can quickly clean off the table. I've never waited to see what happens if we stayed beyond the 90-minute mark.

Everyone definitely has a different experiences and expectations. Some days are going to be good and some days will be 'off' at any place, character meal or otherwise, and everyone will have their own outlook on things.

Also, to be honest, some people won't mind if 3 characters come to their table - I know a few of my friends who just like going to Goofy's in general, to eat, and they wouldn't care if only one character showed up. A couple of my friends would prefer not to take pictures with characters at all! They just like the buffet!

Keep in mind, too, that I'm speaking of my overall experience at Goofy's Kitchen in 20 years. I've been there so many times that I cannot even count how often I've been there since 1992. I'm sure there have been quite a few 'off' days in food or in character interaction over my two decades of eating at Goofy's, but because I've been there so many times I cannot recall when those specific days were and I mainly look at the overall experience on a whole as being a positive one.

Whereas, someone who has only been to Goofy's one time or maybe 10 times will remember more about their individual 'off' experiences. Know what I mean?

It's kind of like finding a neighborhood restaurant you really like, and it's just a given that you will eat there every Saturday morning, but sometimes the food is better than other times and sometimes the staff is not as perky. You still like the restaurant on a whole, and you still like the staff in general, so you go back through thick and thin, good times and bad. But it may not be a home run every single time!

Well it may not have been exactly two hours but it was near that, for sure.
We had a table of 10, so that might have had somehting to do with the length of time we were there.
But there was another table of 10 next to us and a table of six not too far, so there were some very large parties in the area.

I'm not knocking Goofy Kitchen - and I acknowledge that very one's experience is different - I just want potential visitors to know that it may not be a constant flow of charcters.

The food was amazing, and still was a very good meal all in all.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Delilah1310 -




PinkBudgie -


Maybe some Breakfast Plutos are more well-behaved, but, as you can see, this one was not...

What did I tell you? Up in my face! And he was growling too! I kept leaning back in my chair to avoid him and he kept moving in closer. And then he made his way over to Molly to bear hug her!

Be afraid of Breakfast Pluto. Be very afraid!

I missed this post earlier! You are right! That is one scary Pluto! I think I might be afraid of dogs after that! I will be watching out for him!

 

[Belle6000]

We did 2 when we were there...Ariel's Grotto and the Surf's Up at PPH. The princess one was great because...well, there's the princesses! It is very popular though and runs on a schedule. The food was great, but it felt a little rushed. I'd still recommend it if you have princess crazy girls though.

The other one we did was the Surf's Up breakfast at PPH. That's where we stayed so we did it the morning we were leaving. I highly recommend it. It was not very crowded at all. We stayed over an hour. It was very relaxed. The characters were plentiful and some came by our table 2 or 3 times. My daughter had on her birthday button so Daisy brought a birthday cake out to her and they all sang to her. They also invite the kids up to a "stage" area to dance every once in a while. They have beach/surf music playing and the food is buffet style. Lots of food too...should be something for everyone! The banana bread french toast stuff was really yummy! This would be a good character meal if you have small children who want a lot of time to see the characters.

 

[8lovesmickey]

By the way... Our experience is that the earlier you can go to the character breakfast the better. We had a res. at Goofy's Kitchen for 7:40 and had the characters practically to ourselves for almost half an hour.

 

[teachU2]

We were at Minnie's at 7:10 (first reservation) last Thursday. We saw Minnie, Daisy, Chip, Dale, Max, Tigger, Eeyore, Rafiki, and Capt. Hook...and maybe one other...The character interaction was great. Actually, it was hard to eat, b/c the characters were always stopping by. We had several visits by each character. They had little Mickey waffles, French toast, omelete station, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, pastries (the pound cake was dry), muffins, fruit (strawberries, grapes, pineapple and honeydew) and drinks (juices, coffee, tea, milk, and hot cocoa). Did we eat enough food to justify the cost? No way! But you're paying for the experienice. It was fun. We took lots of pictures and got lots of autographs all in one air conditioned place.

 

[ValpoCory]

We were at Minnie's ... Did we eat enough food to justify the cost? No way! But you're paying for the experienice. It was fun. We took lots of pictures and got lots of autographs all in one air conditioned place.

Yeah, you're obviously paying for more than the food.

 

[greenkai3000]

Breakfast with Minnie at Plaza Gardens (DL) has the best character interaction and decor, where as Breakfast with Chip 'N' Dale at Storytellers (GCH) has the best food IMO.

 

[Sherry E]

Rumor has it there's a new Superthread in town. It's the Character Meals Superthread, brought to you by our very own Character Meal veteran, DizNee Luver/Laurie!!:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=45514859#post45514859

Feel free to share your own reviews/opinions/experiences/photos and ask questions in this thread. Hopefully, everyone can help each other out by exchanging information but until we really get it rolling and everyone is participating, Laurie will be a great source of help and insight for you. She has experienced all 5 of the character meals at DLR, and has taken many, many photos of the food and everything else.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Great report. We are going in January, when the parks open at 9am for EMH, so it's possible to eat at Surf's Up at 8am before EMH. We have been leaning that way (going to Surf's Up), but with your review and others, combined with the PhotoPass+ and 10% Disney Visa discount there, it's a must do.

Can you please explain the discount for your visa card?
I've never heard of this?

 

[ValpoCory]

Can you please explain the discount for your visa card?
I've never heard of this?

Sure. Just show and use your regular Disney Visa card, your Disney Premier Visa card, or your Disney Reward Dollars redemption card, and you get 10% off. You may have to remind your server when you hand them the card.

Receive 10% off on select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at the Disneyland® Resort.

10% off select dining locations at the Disneyland® Resort.

Disneyland® Park

Big Thunder Ranch
River Belle Terrace
French Market Restaurant

Disney California Adventure® Park

Cocina Cucamonga

Disneyland® Resort Hotels

Steakhouse 55 Breakfast
Disney's PCH Grill <---- Includes Surf's Up with Mickey Breakfast
Storytellers Café Lunch

 

[jl_2004]

Our family loves the Surf's Up breakfast. We have done the 3 different ones outside of the park and by far our best character interaction was at Surf's Up with Storyteller's coming in 2nd.