Favorite or Best Character meals...

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

We went to WDW for the first time w/our daughter in 2006, we did 3 different Princess Meals. We liked them, food was ok to good, character interaction was ok-good, but a once in a lifetime thing that just really wasn't worth the money (some were, but the Castle one wasn't)

Any Character meals (Princess or other) that you would say is a do not miss. We live in Illinois, so this DL trip (in December 2007) will probably be a one & only.

If you can please list the name of the meal, place its held, approx price pp, characters present and why you think it is worth it.

I know its alot, but I really appreciate all the help!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

 

[got2travel]

I agree that the castle meal at WDW is not worth it. But we've enjoyed most of our character meals at both WDW and DL. In fact a trip to Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel is a must do for us. Really just because we have fun. The food is not spectacular (it's a buffet) but it's not bad either. We always see 6-8 characters each time. We've never felt rushed although on a few occaisions we had to wait around to see everyone. The usuals are Goofy and Pluto (stays at the front), then we've seen on various visits, Aladdin, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, Alice, Balou, Donald, Mad Hatter, Chip, Dale, Mulan.

We prefer a late breakfast/brunch. Hit the parks at opening, then head over about 11:30 or 12. It's about $27/adult $15/child. Dinner is slightly more. We did dinner once and didn't enjoy it as much.

We didn't care for Ariel's Grotto. It's a fixed price lunch $20/adult, $13/child, you choose from 3 or 4 starters, entrees and a dessert. The food wasn't that good and the service was horrible. But there are those who love Ariel's so maybe we had an off day.

We're trying the Lilo and Stich breakfast this weekend. This will be a first for us at this one. But we'll be using our same late breakfast strategy.

There's a Minnie and Friends breakfast inside Disneyland. We haven't done this one, but did one in the same restaurant when it was a Princess breakfast. We were a little disappointed. It didn't live up to Goofy's in our opinion. The food was not as good, was not as quickly replenished and the omlete station took forever even though there were only 2 people ahead of me. (The guy wouldn't cook more than 1 at a time even though he had 3 burners).



With all that being said. I'm not sure that any of the character meals would be a must do. Especially since you've done them before (although a different park) and were not that impressed. The ones at DL are not really any different than WDW.

 

[DangerMouse]

I have had character breakfasts at Goofy's Kitchen (DLH), Minnie & Friends (at the PPH at the time), and Storytellers.

The only one that I thought was worth it and will repeat is Storytellers. It was just the best Disney dining experience we have ever had. From the menu (you don't have to do the buffet), to the service to the character interaction. It was just perfect for us. We did go during an off season time and had one of the first seatings of the morning, but we really felt pampered.

 

[CalGal]

I completely agree with got2travel.

Goofy's is always quite fun. We've gone to GK nearly every trip for well over a decade. The character interaction is great, and there's a good variety of characters. The food variety is good also; something for everyone. The food quality is above average for a buffet. I also prefer going around lunchtime after hitting DL at opening. Like got2travel, I'm not a big fan of Ariel's Grotto in DCA. Some people like the food, but I found it bland, plus I would prefer some healthier choices. I used to love eating at the Plaza Inn when they have character meals, but that was before character meals got so popular. Now, I worry about the character flow. Last I checked, it was buffeteria style but otherwise kinda similar to Crystal Palace. There are also breakfast character meals at GCH and PPH. Both are pretty good buffets (although I believe you can also order off the menu at both). There are not nearly as many character meal options at DL as WDW.
.

 

[minniefaye]

We tried 3 different character meals on our last trip which was in October. We went to Ariels Grotto for dinner and to celebrate dd's 4th birthday. Food was bad! The characters were nice, but rushed. We ordered the birthday bucket, but they brought it out so late that we were the last ones in the restaurant and only two waiters came over to sing to dd. She wanted to know why all the other little girls had their cake before her!!!

We also did breakfast at Chef Goofy's. We thought the food was okay, kinda cold actually, and we were done eating but still had not seen all the characters. We finally just left without seeing everyone as they were moving too slow.

We then did the Minnie and Friends breakfast. The food was yummy, and hot! But, this is a slow moving breakfast! If you want to see the characters, you'd better not be in a hurry to go anywhere else. The characters have the entire time to come around as this is not a continual seating breakfast. Does that make sense? I think we all had reservations within 45 mins of each other, so we all basically ate at the same time. We did a LOT of sitting and waiting. However, the characters were great and Tigger even sat down at our table and played with all of my kids. My oldest ds was picked to walk around with Tigger and hand out balloons to all the other children. Some characters even came around twice, like Minnie Mouse and Captain Hook. The reason we chose to sit and wait was because the Fairy Godmother was out and we really wanted to meet her.

We are going back again this October and we are not going back to any of the meals we tried before. We are going to try the character breakfast at Story Tellers so I hope it will be better.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Agree completely with DangerMouse, Storyteller's is a favorite of ours and we try to go every trip (although lunch and dinner is ggreat too) so we try to get in atleast one meal there, character or not!!

The food is fabulous, you can order off the menu and don't have to do the buffet, the atmosphere is cozy and inviting and warm, just gives me a great start to the day. The character interaction is all critters, Brother Bear, Chip and Dale, etc. but when we get in there early, we have had full blown character interaction for the ENTIRE meal! I am talking we had atleast two characters at our table the whole hour we were there. They sat by the kids and played around with them, pretended to eat their food, etc. It was priceless and I have yet to be dissapointed there.


Andrea

 

[MATTERHORN]

Agree completely with DangerMouse, Storyteller's is a favorite of ours and we try to go every trip (although lunch and dinner is ggreat too) so we try to get in atleast one meal there, character or not!!

The food is fabulous, you can order off the menu and don't have to do the buffet, the atmosphere is cozy and inviting and warm, just gives me a great start to the day. The character interaction is all critters, Brother Bear, Chip and Dale, etc. but when we get in there early, we have had full blown character interaction for the ENTIRE meal! I am talking we had atleast two characters at our table the whole hour we were there. They sat by the kids and played around with them, pretended to eat their food, etc. It was priceless and I have yet to be dissapointed there.


Andrea