Goofy's Kitchen?

[eargal]

For our upcoming trip we will have a non-park day on arrival. I was thinking of hiting a restaurant in Downtown Disney but now, I'm wondering about maybe doing dinner at Goofy's kitchen.

I'll give some pro's and cons and see what you think.

Pros:
We've never been and I'd love to experience it.
My daughter who will almost be 4 on this trip LOVES characters and has only done Ariel's Grotto before.
My parents love buffets.

Cons:
My husband will be irritated to have to eat at a character meal.
The cost will be a slight issue. Is there a way for me to pre-pay so that certain members of the group don't realize how much it costs and can just enjoy it?
My son, who is six, is just now out-growing his fear of characters. He is still rather nervous around them.

Alrightie then, what do you think? Am I being inconsiderate to my my family/making a bad decision?

 

[tinkerbelt]

We just went on Saturday night. It was expensive (it was $250 for 8 of us), but the food was really, really good - not your typical buffet food. Overall, I was dissapointed though. They sat us in the very back corner of the restaurant, so we were away from everything. You are given 90 minutes from the time you sit down, and in that time, all of the characters did not make it to our table. There were also several times where the characters would go and sing and dance with the kids, but we were unable to see it from our table, and usually by the time we realized what was going on and we made it over there, we had missed it. A couple of characters also skipped over our table and never came back.

It was also very crowded. Our server was really busy, and we had to get up several times to find someone to clear our empty plates to make room. In 90 minutes, she only came back once to refill our drinks. We had also ordered a birthday setting for DD (balloons, cupcake, treat bag), and they forgot it. I had to hunt down our server and remind her so that we could have it before we left.

I think that the character interaction is better at Ariel's (though I don't like their food that much!). We did Storyteller's for brunch, and it was much better than Goofy's - great food, great character interaction, great service. They even brought us coffee in to go cups when we left!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We just had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen last Sunday. Maybe I can help with a few of your questions/concerns.

First, I don't know if you can pre-pay. I would think probably not but you could call Disney Dining and ask. When you check in, they hand you a receipt showing how many adults and kids in your party. You then walk over to a register and pay. After you pay, you wait for someone to call your name and take you to your table. There's also an option to take a picture with a character before you're seated. Pluto was in the photo spot the day we were there but he was on a break so we didn't take a picture. I saw them coming around with the pictures during breakfast and trying to sell them to people.

The buffet was good, at least for breakfast. There was practically every breakfast food you could think of (except donuts which my boys wanted). Since we went in the late morning on a Sunday, there were also lunch items including salads, pizza, chicken strips and a carving station. We stuck to the breakfast items since it was only 10:00 a.m. Servers brought whatever drinks we wanted and came around with refills.

There weren't as many characters walking around as we'd expected. Chef Goofy came around as did Belle and Brer Bear. Chip and Dale were walking around too. But when Dale entered our room, my kids were up getting food and he never did come back to our table. Chip never came into our area. So we really only had 3 characters come to our table.

My 12 year old son has a mild form of autism and is still freaked out by characters coming too close to him. He likes to watch them from a distance and watch his 8 year old brother interact with them but he doesn't want them getting too close. When a character comes, my 12 year old usually leans over on me and I tell the character he's shy. They can usually tell he has issues with characters and they back way off. If you just tell the character your son is shy or scared, they will keep their distance. They might try to reach out and get the kid to give them five or shake hands but if the kid is visibly freaked out, they won't push the issue.

There were several little shows during the hour or so we were there, usually around the buffet area. At one point they played music and encouraged everyone to dance with Goofy. Another time they gave a few kids near the buffet some plastic pots and pans to hit together with the music. Each time they did this, the buffet area was very congested and we couldn't walk to and from our table. Our 12 year old went to get ice cream and got trapped in that area during one of the little shows. He couldn't get back to our table because people and characters were standing around in a crowd. I thought my son would get freaked out so I went to see if I could get him. It turned out he was fine. He was watching Goofy dance and eating his ice cream and he waited patiently until he could come back to our table.

I thought Goofy's Kitchen was fun, but not as fun as the characters meals we did at WDW (Chef Mickey's was a lot better). I did have a little fun with Brer Bear. I asked him where Brer Rabbit was and he pointed at his stomach and belched. Being a bunny lover, I started scolding him. My husband told Brer Bear he was dealing with a bunny fiend and should watch out. Brer started backing away from me and knocking his knees together like he was scared of me. I told him to cough up the rabbit and he belched again. It was really funny! I try to mess with at least one character per trip. At Chef Mickey's, I created a little scene by telling Donald he needed to wear pants. My kids tell me to knock it off but I think it's hilarious!

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. I think it was nice to do it once and we did it on a non-park day so we weren't using any ride time. Hope you have fun on your trip whatever you decide!

 

[kimis]

For our upcoming trip we will have a non-park day on arrival. I was thinking of hiting a restaurant in Downtown Disney but now, I'm wondering about maybe doing dinner at Goofy's kitchen.

I'll give some pro's and cons and see what you think.

Pros:
We've never been and I'd love to experience it.
My daughter who will almost be 4 on this trip LOVES characters and has only done Ariel's Grotto before.
My parents love buffets.

Cons:
My husband will be irritated to have to eat at a character meal.
The cost will be a slight issue. Is there a way for me to pre-pay so that certain members of the group don't realize how much it costs and can just enjoy it?
My son, who is six, is just now out-growing his fear of characters. He is still rather nervous around them.

Alrightie then, what do you think? Am I being inconsiderate to my my family/making a bad decision?

I have always been a huge fan of Goofys Kitchen. That is until this last trip. We always go for breakfast. This time we went for lunch and I didn't realize they only serve breakfast. The charactors were slow coming around and Goofy was in a terrible mood. The bad part is I was with my grandchildren and I wanted them to have the same fun memories of the place but not now. I am seriously thinking of writting disney over the experience.

 

[eargal]

Wow, I'm so sorry about your recent experience!
I just called to check on the costs for Dinner on Oct. 1st and was quoted $39.64 for adults and 17.34 for kids. I imagine this includes tax and gratuity?

We could probably have a pretty nice meal at one of the Downtown Disney restaurants for substantially less. Urgh, I'm just not sure...

One more thing I meant to ask earlier. My best friend who will be with us is a vegetarian. Are there many good options for her at Goofy's kitchen or would I be paying $40 for her to have salad and dessert?

 

[disneegrl4eva]

One more thing I meant to ask earlier. My best friend who will be with us is a vegetarian. Are there many good options for her at Goofy's kitchen or would I be paying $40 for her to have salad and dessert?

I go to GK pretty much every time I go to DL on the first night I get there...and I have an AP so I go every few months...Ive gone at busy times and slow times...if you go at busy times you can expect what some of the other posters have said but during offpk season its the best imo...the food is amazing...now do you have AAA? if so they have a 10% discount off of each person...you cannot prepay for your meal...sorry I think its totally worth going to...based on your pros and cons...the only bad one is your husbands issue...the others arent really cons to me at all...also remember...kids are around $15....as for your last question...here are some of the things your friend could eat...
cottage cheese
creamy garlic red rose potatoes
Pluto's citrus asparagus

Aladdin's enchiladas..cant remember if there is meat in this
fresh broccolini
tortellini with marinara
Pluto's rice pilaf
sauteed vegetables
tomato and garlic pizza
cheese pizza
peanut butter and jelly pizza
salad bar
potato salad
cheese platter swiss and cheddar
pastries including danishes and cinnamon rolls
croissants
potato rounds
Goofyroni and cheese
apple cobbler
English bread pudding
rice crispy towers
lemon bar
carrot cake
peanut butter brownies
worms and dirt
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

they also have an asian station ...hope this helps but I really think you should go

 

[eargal]

Thank you everyone for the detailed responses. I will make a PS and then feel my family out a little bit in the meantime. If I can get my son to "want" to go, that will have a lot of pull in getting my husband on board. Plus, it sounds like there are a lot of good vegetarian friendly options.

Thanks again!

More opinions are welcome and if anyone thinks of a way to pre-pay let me know. I thought I remembered someone buying character meals on line but I can't find the post.

 

[chrisn]

The cost will be a slight issue. Is there a way for me to pre-pay so that certain members of the group don't realize how much it costs and can just enjoy it?

Even though he's come a million miles from when we first met 21 years ago, my honey is so tight he squeaks. He's a saver, I'm a spender. He's stingy but I'm greedy so we balance each other out!

Anyhoo, he cringes spending 80ish for the character breakfasts at WDW. He would FRRREAK if I pulled out $140 for breakfast so I am getting vouchers from my TA. I hope it will work. I thought it would be better this way. Even if he sees the pricing I can just say "look Honey, I have vouchers. It's all paid for and taken care of." Good luck!

 

[mt mommy]

The way I sold my DH on Goofy's was to tell him it would save us a TON of time in the parks. We could get a LOT of autographs at Goofy's in one shot, and we wouldn't have to waste time in lines for the Characters at the parks. He doesn't love to splurge on food either, but he thought it was well worth it. Their breakfast is wonderful!!! Good luck.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

More opinions are welcome and if anyone thinks of a way to pre-pay let me know. I thought I remembered someone buying character meals on line but I can't find the post.

oh your talking about the vouchers you can buy with vacation packages...getawaytoday.com, AAA.com, WDTC they all give you the option to add it to your package so yes you would prepay for it but the voucher still shows the cost for each one

 

[eargal]

Darn those upstanding companies who print the cost on the voucher!

The funny part is that in real life (while not on vacation), my DH is the spender and I am very frugal. He whines to his friends about how everyone has a nicer car, tv etc. but I won't let him "upgrade". When on vacation though, I just want to have a good time and not worry about the money. I don't care what it costs to see those big smiles on my kid's faces!

 

[tinkerbelt]

cottage cheese
creamy garlic red rose potatoes
Pluto's citrus asparagus

Aladdin's enchiladas..cant remember if there is meat in this
fresh broccolini
tortellini with marinara
Pluto's rice pilaf
sauteed vegetables
tomato and garlic pizza
cheese pizza
peanut butter and jelly pizza
salad bar
potato salad
cheese platter swiss and cheddar
pastries including danishes and cinnamon rolls
croissants
potato rounds
Goofyroni and cheese
apple cobbler
English bread pudding
rice crispy towers
lemon bar
carrot cake
peanut butter brownies
worms and dirt
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

they also have an asian station ...hope this helps but I really think you should go

They didn't have a lot of this stuff on Saturday night when we were there. If I were veg, I might go somewhere else. The veg options that we had were:

Butternut squash soup
Zucchini
Fruit (assorted melon, peaches, apples, bananas, pineapple)
Salad bar (assorted pasta salads, some veg, some non-veg)
Mashed potatoes (might not be vegetarian)
Dessert bar (assorted pastries, dirt cups, cookies, ice cream)
Pizza (I didn't check, but I'm sure there was at least one kind of veg pizza)
Spaghetti (not sure if it was meat or marinara sauce)
Mac 'n' Cheese
Sourdough rolls


For the price, I that's not really a great vegetarian selection, especially if you consider that anything made with broth is not vegetarian, so some of the things that seem vegetarian (mashed potatoes) might not actually be vegetarian.

 

[bumbershoot]

"rice crispy towers"...

If that's rice krispy treats shaped into a tower, it's a no-go for the veggie person. marshmallow = gelatin.

probably the same issue with worms & dirt, if the worms are "gummi".

 

[tinkerbelt]

"rice crispy towers"...

If that's rice krispy treats shaped into a tower, it's a no-go for the veggie person. marshmallow = gelatin.

probably the same issue with worms & dirt, if the worms are "gummi".

Yeah, same with the jello at the dessert bar. They didn't have the rice krispy towers the other night, but they did have rice krispy treats.

 

[eargal]

You guys are correct, gummy candy/jello are not o.k. options for her. I try to be very careful about making sure she has options. Sometimes it can be very difficult. If I didn't like her so much, restaurant planning would be so much easier!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We have been to Goofy's for dinner twice and personally we didn't think the food was worth it at all and one time I got sick from the fish I think. Not worth over $30 per person for us.

But to answer your question, yes you can pre-pay. You can pre-pay through getawaytoday.com for $33 for adults and $14 for children, much better prices. If you are only purchasing these tickets you have to call and place your order that way.

If you want to do a character meal and are worried about the budget, you can do the Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn or Goofy's for breakfast and that is $25 for adults and $14 for kids.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

They didn't have a lot of this stuff on Saturday night when we were there. If I were veg, I might go somewhere else. The veg options that we had were:

Butternut squash soup
Zucchini
Fruit (assorted melon, peaches, apples, bananas, pineapple)
Salad bar (assorted pasta salads, some veg, some non-veg)
Mashed potatoes (might not be vegetarian)
Dessert bar (assorted pastries, dirt cups, cookies, ice cream)
Pizza (I didn't check, but I'm sure there was at least one kind of veg pizza)
Spaghetti (not sure if it was meat or marinara sauce)
Mac 'n' Cheese
Sourdough rolls


For the price, I that's not really a great vegetarian selection, especially if you consider that anything made with broth is not vegetarian, so some of the things that seem vegetarian (mashed potatoes) might not actually be vegetarian.

well you went more recent than I have...I went Dec., Feb., and March and they had all the ones I listed I had each time...I didnt know vegetarians didnt eat gelatin they didnt have the asian bar set out???

 

[Adam&Alex's Mom]

We went to Goofy's kitchen on Monday night Aug 6. It was the day we arrived and a non-park day for us. We had res for 5 pm and the restaurant was pretty empty when we went. We have 2 four yos and we really enjoyed it. We saw Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale, & Alladin ... and each came by our table more than once. Our waitress told us about the dancing and told us what to listen for so we would know to go up. The boys received all the autographs and it did save us time when we visited Toon Town. Pluto was there and was posing for pics up front... they took pics but they also let us take pics with our camera as well. We really enjoyed it and it was a good alternative to being in the park for us. We would def do it again.

 

[tinkerbelt]

well you went more recent than I have...I went Dec., Feb., and March and they had all the ones I listed I had each time...I didnt know vegetarians didnt eat gelatin they didnt have the asian bar set out???

They had fried potstickers next to the carving station, but that was it as far as Asian food goes.