I do agree with DisneyMomma81 that if it is strictly characters you want, Minnie & Friends seems to have the most characters out of all the character meals.
However, having said that, Goofy's Kitchen has been my longtime favorite place to eat in general in all of DLR since 1992, so clearly that is the one I would always recommend first, both for food quality and variety (huge variety in the all you can eat buffet). I prefer Goofy's for breakfast because I tend to need a bigger breakfast and a lighter dinner. Other folks like the dinner, though. Breakfast is cheaper than dinner somewhat, so that also influences me.
The standard characters you find at Goofy's for breakfast are: Goofy, Baloo, Pluto, Chip and Dale (all the regulars) and a couple of guest stars, which could range from Belle to Jasmine to Aladdin to Alice and the Mad Hatter to Aurora and the Prince to Snow White to Captain Hook to the Genie to Minnie Mouse, etc. You never know who exactly will be there. For some reason, Goofy's seems to occasionally get a bad rap for lack of characters, but seeing that they usually have at least 4 - 5 'regulars' that I have seen (and from what other Goofy's fans have reported), and also 'guest stars,' it doesn't appear to me that there are any fewer characters than what you can find at Ariel's Grotto Princess meals, or even Storytellers & Lilo and Stitch - just some different ones. Again, Minnie & Friends trumps them all in number of characters.
As for best times, even though we usually go early in the morning, like 7:00 a.m., I would say that eating at Goofy's a little later in the morning may be better for characters, but as Ballarinamom said, not the last seating. Probably your best bet would be somewhere in the 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. range for breakfast. Some folks have said they were at Goofy's at 5:00 p.m. for dinner and saw tons of characters, but others have said they went a little later in the evening and saw more.
Anyway, in case you want to check out our character meal photo thread to either get an idea of Goofy's characters or perhaps look into the other character meals as an alternate option, here is the link:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2234435
As far as food pictures, no one seems to post too much in the way of the other character meals' food, but there is lots of Goofy's:
Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast/brunch buffet photos links:
(From Mareeld86)
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32671739&postcount=1658
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32671747&postcount=1659
(From J.C.andAli’sMom) -:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1253888&page=82
Goofy’s Kitchen dinner buffet photo links:
(from pose2pose) –
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27365123&postcount=781
And finally, some
Lilo and Stitch!
Lilo and Stitch Aloha breakfast buffet photos link:
(From got2travel) -
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18126978&postcount=200
You will have a great time. Minnie & Friends is very popular, and, truthfully, more often than not, everyone really enjoys Goofy's (aside from just ME!
). Most of the DIS-ers that I have knowingly referred to eat there have ended up loving it. There are some DIS-ers who have not enjoyed it for whatever reason, but more often than not it is a big hit. All the other character meals have their fans and 'non-fans' as well, so I think it just kind of comes with the territory. Personal preferences. That's why photos always speak volumes because you can see the characters at all the restaurants or see the food in photos for yourself and it is not just our opinions to go by! But I think if you were going to do two character meals at DLR, Goofy's and Minnie & Friends are the two best ones to pick for that 'classic Disney' experience!
at how many people were out in the lobby waiting to be seated. Besides the lobby, there's also a small waiting room next to the check-in desk with a TV. I looked inside and it was completely packed! I don't know how long everyone had to wait, but I was so grateful we went early.
