First Trip, Character Dining Question

[Pyxie]

A few days ago, I kind of decided out of the blue to plan our first Disneyland trip. I've been to WDW numerous times and am very familiar with it, but I know Disneyland is very different.

I owed my son a mother/son trip as I took his sister on a mother/daughter trip to WDW for her birthday last year and he'd been asking about Disneyland for a few days. I've been wanting to go during the 70th and my son wants to ride Monsters before it closes (yeah, I know that isn't the most popular ride in the world lol). Then, a confirmed DVC reservation for Disneyland Hotel popped up with dates that matched his birthday perfectly so I was like "this is my sign." We aren't going until January so I have a lot of time to research.

Anyway, I'm curious about character dining. I know which restaurants offer it, but I'm specifically thinking about Goofy's Kitchen (because we are staying right there) or Plaza Inn (just because it's in the park and a little cheaper). I'm sure this has been asked before, but which do you suggest? And with Plaza Inn, if you book a breakfast reservation, is that automatically the character meal? I'm kind of confused about that too. Note that my son is 16, turning 17 on this trip, so it's not like characters are a priority for him lol. He doesn't mind them, but I'm really the one who likes character meals. Something else that stood out to me about Plaza Inn is that some of the characters seem a bit different than what we get at WDW.

Thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

Plaza Inn is my favorite! Lots more characters than Goofy's Kitchen. We typically see 8 or 9 characters at Plaza Inn. Goofy's is a set 5 I think.

Breakfast is only a character meal, so just book a breakfast time and you'll be fine. Ask to be seated inside, as characters seem to be more hit or miss outside.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Dont sleep on Storytellers at Grand Californian. That is our favorite. The standout thing for Goofys Kitchen is the free PhotoPass photo with Goofy. We have never done Plaza Inn because we try to do our character meals on arrival day or departure day when we aren't in the parks.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Storytellers recently expanded its buffet area, and we haven’t been since, but previously you could get cooked-to-order food from the kitchen (burgers, tenders, etc.) which makes it our favorite. It’s also a few bucks cheaper than Goofy’s.

But Gooy’s has a larger spread, more dessert options, and its world famous Peanut Butter and Jelly pizza. Once every couple years, I get a craving for it and it makes the visit worth every penny.

 

[Carouselofplanning]

Dont sleep on Storytellers at Grand Californian. That is our favorite. The standout thing for Goofys Kitchen is the free PhotoPass photo with Goofy. We have never done Plaza Inn because we try to do our character meals on arrival day or departure day when we aren't in the parks.

Storytellers. This is the way.

 

[Pyxie]

Storytellers is an option too. I'm actually waitlisted to add a night at VGC through my DVC (yes I do realize I don't have to be staying there to eat there, but it's a very short trip and I'm trying to maximize time as much as possible).

Especially if you can order food like burgers as part of the meal. My son would like that.

 

[GrimGrinningGuy]

Goofys and Plaza both are fantastic but I give goofy an edge up on a huge variety on food choices

 

[Pluto468]

We've done both. I like Plaza Inn for the atmosphere, characters and it's right in the park. I usually book it around 10:20 so it's a brunch and I don't miss any of the morning hours in the park. Goofy's is my kids' favorite and they have a great selection of food. Both locations have fun, interactive characters but Plaza Inn might have some more unique ones.

You could potentially do Plaza Inn for a breakfast and Goofy's for dinner. Or if you don't want to do both, decide which meal you'd rather have. Goofy's does breakfast and dinner but Plaza Inn only does breakfast.

 

[Tinkaboo]

I love Breakfast with Minnie and now do it almost every trip...lots of great girl characters...usually Perla from Cinderella, Daisy, Minnie of course, and then Tigger and Pooh are just of the ones off the top of my head. Best-of all, they have the most delicious bacon ever!

 

[Pyxie]

We've done both. I like Plaza Inn for the atmosphere, characters and it's right in the park. I usually book it around 10:20 so it's a brunch and I don't miss any of the morning hours in the park. Goofy's is my kids' favorite and they have a great selection of food. Both locations have fun, interactive characters but Plaza Inn might have some more unique ones.

You could potentially do Plaza Inn for a breakfast and Goofy's for dinner. Or if you don't want to do both, decide which meal you'd rather have. Goofy's does breakfast and dinner but Plaza Inn only does breakfast.

That's what I like about doing meals in the park. I like to hit a few rides at rope drop and then take a mid morning break for the meal vs. having a later park start after breakfast. I really prefer doing the meal either dinner on arrival day or breakfast on departure day at a resort, but with the flights I'm looking at, we'll likely be coming in late and leaving very early (unless I can find better flight options).