Goofy's kitchen or Ariel's grotto?

[abby4]

We would like to do a character dinner but are confused as to which would be more appropriate for our two girls(age 4 and 6)? Also, we were wondering which one had better food?

 

[hlbtimes2]

For girls that age I would say Ariels. You never know who, other then Goofy, that you'll see there. You know you see the princesses at Ariels! And the rare chance to see Ariel with legs.

We ate at Goofys in Oct. The food was ok, nothing great. My almst 4 year old liked it because there was hot dogs, chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese- all his favorites. I was a bit disapointed with the adult selection, but I know a lot of people really enjoy it. They did have some good salmon and chicken (we went at 1, so I was looking for lunch not breakfast). We have not ate at Ariels but will on our next trip. I would lke to take my daughter for a princess make over at club libby lu, then lunch at Ariels, while the boys (daddy and the 4 year old) go do something else. I know he doesnt want to do a princess lunch. He told me today he hates princesses. I told him they are pretty girls. He said "well, you are the one I love, but I dont like princesses!". LOL

YOu might want to check out the menus for Ariels ( www.dlresortinfo.com ) to see if it is something that appeals to you.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We've done both Goofy's Kitchen (breakfast & dinner) and Ariel's Grotto (lunch) and have liked each for different reasons. Goofy's kitchen is a buffet so there's a wide array of food which we thought was actually good as far as buffets go. My ds (7) has a large appetite so he enjoys Goofy's kitchen more so than the Ariel's Grotto. He's not at all interested in doing another princess meal. My dd(4) however loves the princesses and has everyone of their costumes complete with slippers, crowns and wands. She eats like a mouse and obviously prefers Ariel's Grotto. My husband and I both liked the foods at Goofy's & Ariel's. Since Goofy's a buffet, there's a variety of foods to chose from which my husband enjoys. Both places have good foods. Ariel's comes with a starter, entree and dessert and is completely filling. We had lunch here and pretty much just had snacks for dinner that night. Since you have 2 girls, I would think Ariel's might be the better place for you. We had great princess interaction here and are booking ps's again for our upcoming trip since we're celebrating dd's 5th birthday. Oh yeah, we had ps's for dinner at Goofy's at 5pm (their first seating). We got there at 4:50 and there was a line to check in that was about 7 parties deep. By the time we checked in, paid, waited for our names to be called, and then finally sat at our table it was already 5:25. I don't know why it took so long. Service was a little lacking. We had a great waitstaff at Ariel's Grotto. As soon as we checked in we were seated at our table and they were very attentive.

 

[being-dragged-to-DL]

Talk to your kids about the characters. My daughter, 6, would NOT like the princess meal but would love the Goofy one... so, you never know! And really... is it about the food anyway? I think its the experience for the kids that you want to take home with you! We've planned our character meal for that purpose, and then made reservations for "real" eating where ever we wanted.

 

[CalGal]

I personnally prefer the food at Goofy's Kitchen, primarily because of its variety. I think the food there is a little better than average for a buffet, and my son always finds plenty to enjoy. I found the food at Ariel's pretty boring. The menu choices are pretty lacking, especially for those that like to eat healthy. My son, who loves meatloaf, found Ariels bland; I had the pasta that was also boring. Others like the food though.

The wait to get into Goofy's can be a bit long at times, even with a PS. I've had times when I was seated right away, and other times when the wait was close to 1/2 hour. I've only been to Ariel's once and believe I had to wait about 15 minutes for my seating there, but generally it's not as crowded as GK.

I always love the characters at Goofy's. There's a great variety. Goofy is always a hoot, and there's generally at least one "face" character and/or princess. But if your daughters love their princesses, Ariel's might be the better choice. The character interaction is the primary reason to go to these restaurants.

 

[abby]

We did both last weekend and I would love to go back to Ariel's but not Goofy's. I did not like the food a Goofy's (OK I am not into Buffet's to begin with) My dd did not want to leave the table to get food, afraid she would miss a character. (since it was just us two, she had to)

The food at Ariel's was great. The service very attentive and the characters good. I like being waited on and the food was so much better, and more then we could eat.

 

[Mom2micayla]

The food at Ariel's was great. The service very attentive and the characters good. I like being waited on and the food was so much better, and more then we could eat.

That was our experience too. We loved Ariel's (and the food was great.. especially their pot pie!). It was the one and only time I've ever felt very full from a meal at Disneyland. :lol: We had a great waiter when we went. The Princesses didn't spend as much time at our table as I'd like, but that might have been b/c my girls were pretty shy and didn't talk to them much. But they loved the experience and have been talking about how they can't wait to go back there in 3 weeks.

I can't say much about Goofy's since we've never been. I'm battling with whether or not to go there myself. I am not a big buffet fan, nor do I much care for breakfast foods (we'd do a lunch there). I've heard mixed things on Goofy's so as of right now I'm leaning towards no. But we're definitely doing another lunch at Ariel's Grotto.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I can't say much about Goofy's since we've never been. I'm battling with whether or not to go there myself. I am not a big buffet fan, nor do I much care for breakfast foods (we'd do a lunch there). I've heard mixed things on Goofy's so as of right now I'm leaning towards no. But we're definitely doing another lunch at Ariel's Grotto.

They dont actually have "lunch". They have brunch, that goes from morning to about 2pm. I dont believe there is a change in food. I know it was a mix of lunch and breakfast foods at 1pm. I wasnt impressed, but like you, I'm not a huge fan of buffets.

 

[Mom2micayla]

Yes I knew they didn't have lunch. That's part of the problems I'm having. And we eat our bigger meals midday (husband is diabetic). Not to mention Goofy's is even more expensive at dinner.

 

[abby4]

thank you for all the information. It looks like we will probably go to Ariel's grotto for the princess meal. I'm sure that they will love the princesses.