Goofy's bfast - need park entry?

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Ok, lemme see if I have this straight. goofy's bfast is held at the Disneyland Hotel, correct?

Now, I have planned a "day of rest" away from the park in the middle of our vacation (can also be used as a "rain day" if we need it) - we are in Anaheim for a total of 7 nights (knock off the days we arrive and depart - won't be playing those days....) and are planning on a 5 day parkhopper. We want to visit the park for 4 days during the week, and save our last day for a weekend to take in the fireworks and parades and such (since we are going in April, it will be off season, so most large shows will be only on the weekend.)
Here's my real question (I know, I know - I'm getting to it!!) Can we do the character b-fast on a day we don't actually intend to use a park entry day? Is it possible to do the breakfast without being officially in the park, then just play around DTD, tour the hotels, hang out at our hotel pool, etc....?

About as clear as mud, right??

 

[mindylovesmickey]

I gotcha . You do not have to use a park entry for Goofy's Breakfast since you will not be in the park.

 

[lvstitch]

Ok, lemme see if I have this straight. goofy's bfast is held at the Disneyland Hotel, correct?

Now, I have planned a "day of rest" away from the park in the middle of our vacation (can also be used as a "rain day" if we need it) - we are in Anaheim for a total of 7 nights (knock off the days we arrive and depart - won't be playing those days....) and are planning on a 5 day parkhopper. We want to visit the park for 4 days during the week, and save our last day for a weekend to take in the fireworks and parades and such (since we are going in April, it will be off season, so most large shows will be only on the weekend.)
Here's my real question (I know, I know - I'm getting to it!!) Can we do the character b-fast on a day we don't actually intend to use a park entry day? Is it possible to do the breakfast without being officially in the park, then just play around DTD, tour the hotels, hang out at our hotel pool, etc....?

About as clear as mud, right??

Yes, the Disneyland Hotel is not inside of DL so you can just park there and go to breakfast and take a walk around Downtown Disney...what you do need to make sure you have is a reservation for Goofy's...it fills up fast.

 

[DLR29]

Is it possible to do the breakfast without being officially in the park, then just play around DTD, tour the hotels, hang out at our hotel pool, etc....?

Yes. As long as you don't enter the parks, you're good. No entry fee for the hotels or DTD.

 

[Dukland]

We actually did just this in 2005. We originally had thought we might try to go to Universal on our "off" day, but didn't have any plans before we left. We wound up not having any plans, for the "off" day, so the night before, I called and got a reservation for Goofy's. Since we had the whole day, I could make the reservation for any time available, which I'm sure made it easier to get in.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

So here's another question - are the breakfasts/character meals always pretty full? We are thinking of taking our 'off' day as a weekend day (since the parks will probably be busier than during the week, and waiting in lines is not my kids' strong suit!), and doing the character meal that day would still give a "disney" feel to the day. But is it going to be insanely busy and hard to get in? If we try a weekend, how early am I going to have to book for 'preferred seating' or whatever it is?
And a somewhat related question - is it possible to do a 'walk in' character meal? or are they always a prebooking type of thing?

thanks everyone!
Carm

 

[bumbershoot]

I do not know!

But you book your Priority Seatings at 60 days out. Well, that's the earliest you can book. You could book closer to your visit if you wish to, and there's room. And with the character meals you don't prepay, so if you find yourself not wanting to go, you can just cancel (or just not show up).

I think with three kids who don't like waiting in line, I wouldn't chance it to try to walk in. It might very well be possible, but just in case I'd choose a likely time when you'd want to go, and book something. And keep the number on you so you can change things around if you wish and if it's possible!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

So here's another question - are the breakfasts/character meals always pretty full? We are thinking of taking our 'off' day as a weekend day (since the parks will probably be busier than during the week, and waiting in lines is not my kids' strong suit!), and doing the character meal that day would still give a "disney" feel to the day. But is it going to be insanely busy and hard to get in? If we try a weekend, how early am I going to have to book for 'preferred seating' or whatever it is?
And a somewhat related question - is it possible to do a 'walk in' character meal? or are they always a prebooking type of thing?

thanks everyone!
Carm

We've gone to Goofy's Kitchen (dinner) twice. Both times we had the first PS of the evening (5PM) and both times we got there early and still waited about half an hour after our PS time! I've talked with others, and they agree that this seems pretty standard.

The first time we kept the kids close, thinking we'd get called any second.

The second time I wised up, and had DH stand in line while I took the kids to the TV room nearby. They happily watched a Disney movie while I kept an eye on them and DH's progression through the check-in and calling process.

ETA: I don't think you said what date you were looking for, but I'd go ahead and make the PS now. GK is the most popular character meal, so it makes sense to make sure you get the date/time you want. Especially if you are going during the busy spring break time (mid-Feb. through mid.-April)!