Goofy's Kitchen- Brunch or Dinner?

[AnneUCSB]

We are taking our boys (5 yrs, almost 4 yrs, and 5 months) to Disneyland next month for their very first time I made reservations at Goofy's Kitchen for our second day there and am wondering what the consensus is on best meal to have: brunch or dinner?

My boys are SUPER picky eaters and eat very little for breakfast but I do like the idea of starting our day off there rather than leaving the park in the middle of our day for dinner later. However, I think they might eat a lot more of the choices offered at dinner so I am leaning towards going around 5:30 instead of morning.

Thoughts? Is it an easy in-and-out with the monorail to get from the park to the restaurant at DLH or should we do it first thing in the morning?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Our family would vote for brunch. We have been to dinner, but DH and I are always underwhelmed when we do that. We have always felt we have had a better food and character experience in the morning.

 

[Sherry E]

Another vote for breakfast/brunch. The buffet is huge and there are tons of things from which to choose - as well as many kid-friendly items - including pizza, hot dogs, chicken, etc. I would be shocked if your kids couldn't find anything to eat. Plus, it's cheaper at breakfast/brunch than at dinner.

I was not bowled over by the dinner buffet when I did it years ago - but that's okay. I'd be willing to try it again to see what it's like in 2010, but it seems like a lot of folks have been saying kind of negative things about the dinner lately. I feel safer sticking with the breakfast for a while, until more consistent positive reviews come in about the dinner.

 

[NewbieMouse]

We did the dinner on our recent visit in June, and although I haven't done the brunch, I wasn't overly impressed with the dinner. I think next time we would do brunch if we did Goofy's - our kids are around the same age as yours (a little older). The feedback has been better about brunch and I think we'd get more out of it.

 

[marcemc]

Another vote for brunch!! We have always enjoy the variety of food & we usually go early (around 7:00 am) so the kids have plenty of time to interact with the characters and dance with Goofy.

Although we have never eaten dinner there, I have heard many complains about it.

 

[KBelle5]

I just posted about this in another thread, but I've been to GK three times, two of which were for breakfast. I've also gotten sick two out of those three times, and I'm pretty sure it was from breakfast. Now, there's probably not a lot of correlation between GK breakfast and me getting sick, but of course I feel that way, haha.

Both breakfast times, it has been pretty busy, one was August 13, and the other this morning. Dinner was way back in February or Marchish, when there weren't many tourists around. We got there late for dinner, but still got to meet Chip, Minnie and Mulan (and more, but I literally can't remember who else). They spent a lot of time with us, but that is possibly because of the fact that not many other people were there, and I think they were told by their "handler" that we were cast members.

For breakfast last time, it was Goofy, Chip, Baloo and Cinderella. Today it was Goofy, Chip, Dale, Belle (in her blue dress), Baloo and Mulan. Dale and Goofy even came back once each because we clapped and yelled when they came in (we were the rowdy group, lol!)

So, the point of this rambling post is that I prefer dinner, but if you have little ones, I think you get better characters at breakfast and the food is both breakfasty and normal - I ate macaroni and cheese, swirl yogurt, apple crisp, a piece of pizza, and a banana crepe (but I don't think that's why I got sick, even though it's a lot, lol).

 

[goofycathy]

Ive had breakfast there last september, then had dinner there just this last march and the breakfast far outweighed the dinner a million times over, almost seemed like they were just serving left over lunch items (im sure they werent) but either way, I think breakfast was much more enjoyable!

 

[mrswh]

Now I'm just piling on the votes for brunch. I am voting for brunch and I have never even been there for brunch. I have been there for dinner many times, but only because we like to hit the parks before the crowds set in (we have to go at peak times now that DD is in elementary school) and I can't see spending the low-crowd time eating.

Anyway . . . the dinner is. not. good. In fact, it has gotten quite a bit worse the last time or two we have been. Yes, there are a few kids' options that even picky eaters will eat (though curiously, no chicken, just popcorn shrimp?) but it is all junk. Hot dogs, mac & cheese, etc. Even if you can tell yourself it's OK, it's just one meal of junk, the fact remains that you will be eating subpar food too. Dinner is more expensive and the food at brunch must be better. If it works just as well with your schedule, go to brunch!

 

[Sherry E]

It's funny how Goofy's breakfast/brunch is the obvious winner in the race - I used to think I was the only one who really loved the breakfast and preferred it, but I see I'm not alone!

I can't say I've ever gotten sick from eating at Goofy's, as KBelle5 did - but then again, people have said they got sick at Storytellers (the non-character meals) and I've never gotten sick there either. Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future...but I've been very pleased with my Goofy's breakfast food.

The number of characters at Goofy's, however, varies. It's usually anywhere from 5 to 8 characters onsite (and yes, I am including the character at the entrance for the photo op) - and that goes for breakfast or dinner. There's no proven pattern of more or fewer characters being at dinner than breakfast. It just depends on which ones are available on which days. Belle Ella of the DIS just ate at Goofy's for breakfast recently and there were 7 or 8 characters there, I think - three of which were rare (Honest John, Gideon and Wendy).

It's funny to recall that in the old, old days - before there were any other character meals besides Goofy's at DLR - the number of characters at Goofy's was similar to what you can find at Minnie & Friends today. GK used to be just overflowing with characters (to the point of not being able to get a bite of food), but when they started adding more character meals to DLR, they stole some of the characters away from GK and spread them around elsewhere!!

 

[tdashgirl]

Another breakfast/brunch vote. I think the food is much better, and I think it's cheaper too

 

[SplashMo]

It's funny to recall that in the old, old days - before there were any other character meals besides Goofy's at DLR - the number of characters at Goofy's was similar to what you can find at Minnie & Friends today. GK used to be just overflowing with characters (to the point of not being able to get a bite of food), but when they started adding more character meals to DLR, they stole some of the characters away from GK and spread them around elsewhere!!

Does minie and friends have more characters than goofys?

 

[blackjackdelta]

I like both with a slight edge to breakfast. Never had a bad meal at GK, but some have. We always do the first servings(openings) so the food is fresh out of the kitchen.

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

Does minie and friends have more characters than goofys?

Yes. I haven't done the Minnie & Friends meal yet myself (I will do it eventually, though), but from all the photos I have seen in the last couple of years, there are definitely more characters at Minnie & Friends than at any of the other character meals. Why they only have 4 - 6 characters at the Critter Breakfast or at Surf's Up with Mickey is beyond me. There should be more characters at all of the meals. Minnie & Friends doesn't have a huge buffet like Goofy's has, and there have been consistently mixed reviews of M&F food quality for a long time - but people seem to love going there because they can see anywhere from 8 - 14 characters, whereas Goofy's is more like 5 - 8 characters.

 

[SplashMo]

That is great to know.

 

[AnneUCSB]

Yes. I haven't done the Minnie & Friends meal yet myself (I will do it eventually, though), but from all the photos I have seen in the last couple of years, there are definitely more characters at Minnie & Friends than at any of the other character meals. Why they only have 4 - 6 characters at the Critter Breakfast or at Surf's Up with Mickey is beyond me. There should be more characters at all of the meals. Minnie & Friends doesn't have a huge buffet like Goofy's has, and there have been consistently mixed reviews of M&F food quality for a long time - but people seem to love going there because they can see anywhere from 8 - 14 characters, whereas Goofy's is more like 5 - 8 characters.

So do you (or others) recommend the Minnie & Friends brunch over the Goofy's Kitchen? We are only going to do one of them, so I want to do it right

 

[Sherry E]

So do you (or others) recommend the Minnie & Friends brunch over the Goofy's Kitchen? We are only going to do one of them, so I want to do it right

Well, here is what I would say -

If you want a wide variety of food choices for the picky eaters in your group along with classic characters, go to Goofy's Kitchen, even if you choose dinner.

Minnie & Friends has no character dinner - only breakfast - and their food selection is more limited. But if you want tons of characters - and to pay slightly less money - go to Minnie & Friends.

I've been eating at Goofy's since 1992 so you can tell where my loyalties lie!! But I am intrigued by the number of characters at Minnie & Friends!!

 

[karylrocks]

Hmmm.....I was planning to do both (Minnie's breakfast and Goofy's dinner) but now I am wondering if it is worth it. My daughter and I want to take her 1 year old as a good way to get pictures with the characters, but now I am wondering if we should just do Minnie's. We are staying at BWPPI and it just seems like so far to go all the way to Goofy's, especially if we decide to just go back to the room after dinner for an early bath and bed time. Might be better to save the money and do something else.

 

[Sherry E]

AnneUCSB -

Maybe these threads will help you.

This is our dedicated character meal photo thread, in which you will see many pictures from all the different character meals - keep in mind that the characters at each meal could change on a daily basis.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2234435


And here is a link to Page 23 of Disneynerd420's Trip Report - check out Posts #338 and #339 (scroll all the way down the page) - these are comprehensive photos of the Goofy's breakfast buffet from Fall of last year (you can see if your kids will like anything). Some of the items have changed since then, but it's mostly the same:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2268157&page=23


And here is a list (also from 2009) of the Goofy's dinner options (this list was from MousePlanet, I believe, and they mixed in the breakfast items with the dinner items, but you can basically tell what's what):

Menu changes daily, some possible selections include:

create-your-own omlet station including mushrooms, onions, ham, tomatoes, green peppers and olives
whole eggs are available fried to your liking
carving station with roast tri tip and ham
Daisy's scrambled eggs
Max's crisp bacon
Cruella's pork sausage
Donald's bacon potatoes
cereal - Apple Jacks, Fruit Loops, Rice Krispies and Raisin Bran
cottage cheese
creamy garlic red rose potatoes
Pluto's citrus asparagus
Belle's baked ham
Goofy's biscuits and gravy
Aladdin's enchiladas
fresh broccolini
tortellini with marinara
sweet and sour roasted chicken
grilled salmon
Pluto's rice pilaf
meat lasagna
sauteed vegetables
Goofy's chicken noodle soup
Cruella's tomato and garlic pizza
Pluto's pepperoni pizza
Chip's cheese pizza
Goofy's peanut butter and jelly pizza
mini-bagels
smoked salmon
salad bar
potato salad
meat and cheese platter including ham, turkey, swiss and cheddar
Minnie's assorted muffins
Goofy's assorted pastries including danishes and cinnamon rolls
Donald's croissants
Pluto's hot dogs and buns
Mickey's chicken nuggets
Goofy's potato rounds
Goofyroni and cheese
Mickey Mouse waffles and pancakes
Alice's French toast
Aladdin's apple cobbler
Minnie's apple crepes
Donald's English bread pudding
Jasmine's rice crispy towers
Baloo's lemon bar
cupcakes
Mad Hatter's carrot cake
Dale's peanut butter brownies
Max's worms and dirt
Goofy's goof cake
chocolate chip cookies
sugar cookies
fresh Sliced Fruits including watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and orange slices
whole fruit - oranges, plums, red apples, green apples, bananas and lemons
cling peaches
pear halves
dried cranberries
dried apricots
yogurt
vanilla and chocolate soft serve yogurt

 

[SplashMo]

Where is mini and friends located? It is not listed on the dinning portion of the disney website. (or I missed it)...

 

[karylrocks]

Minnie and Friends breakfast is at the Plaza Inn at Disneyland.