I'm confused about DLR character dining

[lisalonglash]

So I looked up the info on the various character dining options (my youngest son's birthday falls within our DLR trip, so we'd like to do something special for either breakfast or dinner that day). Here's what I found on wdwinfo.com:

Plaza Inn - Breakfast with Minnie
2009: Adults: $32.00, Children (3-9) $18

Goofy's Kitchen - brunch or dinner
2009: Adults: $32.00, Children (3-9) $18 (this is the brunch price, I think. There is only this one price listed?)

Lilo & Stitch - Breakfast
2009: Adults: $32.00, Children (3-9) $18

Storyteller's - Breakfast
2009: Adults: $32.00, Children (3-9) $18

So, basically, ALL the character dining options are the same price?! Ariel's Grotto was the same price too, but princesses aren't what my boys are looking for (yet!) LMAO

I've read lots of posts about character dining on the DLR threads, but they all say that Goofy's Kitchen is the most expensive, but includes taxes and tip.

I don't know which one (or even which meal) to choose for our family! The characters that are extremely high on my childrens' "must-see" list are Pluto and Mickey Mouse - do any of the character dining options include both characters? Which one is the best for our boys - ages 10yo and 7yo at time of travel (the 7yo will be the one celebrating his birthday on June 19).

Thanks for your help - I'm confused

 

[DangerMouse]

I'm pretty sure that information on wdwinfo is not completely accurate. I'm no expert on all the character meals at DLR, though, so I'm sure someone else will chime in here with the correct pricing. Have you considered getting your character breakfast meal vouchers ahead of time? getawaytoday.com sells them at a discounted price.

Also, Mickey Mouse does not appear at any of the character breakfasts. Pluto appears often at Minnie's and Goofy's Kitchen.

 

[nancy drew]

I'd check getawaytoday.com for their prices.

We did all of the character dining places last year and I think the best bang for our buck was at Minnie's. Not only is it in the park, but there are SO many characters. I was amazed at the variety of characters in that place. Goofy's Kitchen was good too, but it was a little chaotic and I was very disappointed in the food. The kids had a lot of fun, but some of the characters skipped our table and that irked me. My DD loves the princesses so she loved that (and my son claims he loves princesses too) so we liked Ariel's Grotto but if you aren't into princesses that can be skipped.

 

[hawky7]

LisaP

I'd HIGHLY recommend going to Goofys Kitchen!! Its the best in my opinion. It is a higher price point, but its soooo worth it! The FOOD IS AMAZING!! We go there everytime. And we've seen different characters each time!! It will save you a ton of time in the park not having to wait in lines since you will see a ton of them at breakfast. They do a ton of fun stuff at Goofys Kitchen that I haven't seen at the other buffets, like he goes and does the Macarena with all the kids, and just has fun with everyone.

Also if you have an annual pass, you get a discount there!!
Let me know if you have any other questions!

Have a great trip

 

[Vala]

I'd have to dig out my receipt for correct prices. But in November Storytellers and Minnie's Breakfast were both significantly cheaper than Ariel's and Goofy's.

We paid less than $ 30, and that was before the AP discount.

 

[Queenbillabong]

Depending on when you go, the prices for all of the character dining options change - high season versus low season. The best thing to do would be to call Disney dining and ask for the prices for your exact dates. They are not all the same price - unless you buy the voucher from Getawaytoday.com - then they do have discounted prices and are usually a better deal in the high season.

My vote would be for Minnie's Breakfast at the Plaza Unless you are staying at one of the DLR hotels, it is so convenient, the food is good, and there is usually a wide variety of characters.

 

[21yankees]

I couldn't find a reference with the prices you mentioned but I did find that as of October the Lilo & Stitch breakfast 21.99 for an adult and 11.99 for kids. They also have a menu so if your the members of your family are big eaters they can order individual meals and still get the character interaction. PM me for the link to the menus and prices.

steph

 

[Zoemakes5]

I've found Lilo and Stitch to be the cheapest of the breakfasts, with Goofy's being the most expensive.
The first time we went to L&S I was somewhat disappointed with the character interaction, but loved the food. The second time I was disappointed with our service but LOVED the food and the character interaction was GREAT. The buffet was w/in sight for us, so the boys could go up and get their food/refills and we didn't need to accompany them. The characters there were Lilo, Stitch, Minnie, and we've seen Goofy and pluto, and others. They do a little show where they teach the kids to do the hula, too, if you catch the timing right.
We really enjoyed the food at Minnie's, and while there were quite a few characters, many were "minor" characters (like Hook, Max, etc.) we had to wait quite a long time for Minnie (which is the only one DD wanted to see. The buffet here, like at Goofy's, isn't near the seating, so one of us was constantly having to go back and forth with the kids to the buffet while our food got cold.
I've enjoyed all of the character meals we've gone to. Overall, best "bang for your buck", I've liked Lilo meal the best.

 

[pixiewings71]

The prices do change based on seasons. We've done all but Storytellers and this is our preference order.

Ariel's Grotto
Minnie & Friends
Lilo & Stitch
Storytellers
Goofy's Kitchen

You'll notice I put Storytellers above GK even tho we have not done Storytellers.....that's because we had the WORST experience at GK. We saw next to no characters and the ones we did see were the same ones over and over and over. Cinderella finally came in and our server was telling us our time was up and we had to go, before that we saw 3 maybe 4 characters, so we broke the rules and intercepted Cinderella in between her tables so DD could get her autograph and picture (Cindy is DD's fave). And yes, there were more, we saw them leaving as we were seated near the doors they left thru. So we would see them leave and a few minutes later come back (costumed characters so we would guess they were switching off) but they never came by our table. Goofy did do some game thing but we were never told about it so we had NO idea what the noise was and our kids missed most of what was going on. Basically Goofy dumped a bucket of noise makers out and the kids all played instruments with Goofy, but my girls didn't get anything because there weren't enough and we were late to the "party". We were NOT happy with our GK experience so we won't go back.
Ariel's Grotto, we've done breakfast, lunch and dinner, always had good food and a good experience there. With 2 girls we will go back!
Minnie & Friends had GREAT food, it's in the park and the character interaction was GREAT, we had so much fun there! I want to go back!
Lilo & Stitch, the food was good, characters were great, and the kids played a game with Stitch. So much fun, and the servers told us BEFORE hand so the girls got to play and I got to shot a quick video.

 

[Mycutekitties]

I called yesterday to make reseravtions for Minnies. The price they gave me was $25.?? for adults and $12.99 for kids.
We went in Oct and had a great time!!

 

[pixiewings71]

That is a GREAT price!! Hmmm, maybe I should book that for one morning of our upcoming trip....maybe on Monday before we leave that afternoon.

 

[Sherry E]

LisaP

I'd HIGHLY recommend going to Goofys Kitchen!! Its the best in my opinion. It is a higher price point, but its soooo worth it! The FOOD IS AMAZING!! We go there everytime. And we've seen different characters each time!! It will save you a ton of time in the park not having to wait in lines since you will see a ton of them at breakfast. They do a ton of fun stuff at Goofys Kitchen that I haven't seen at the other buffets, like he goes and does the Macarena with all the kids, and just has fun with everyone.

Also if you have an annual pass, you get a discount there!!
Let me know if you have any other questions!

Have a great trip

I agree 100%!!! Goofy's all the way! It all boils down to everyone's personal preferences/tastes in food and what they require of a character meal, of course, so one person's experience may not be another person's experience. But Hawky, you and I are in the same Goofy camp! If I had ever had a bad time there I would not still be going back 16 years later!! But with the exception of one or two 'off' days, they have hit a home run in my book every time!

I've done Storytellers, but I definitely want to try Minnie's and Lilo and Stitch and some point. They sound too good to pass up!

 

[bumbershoot]

Nice thing about the vouchers is that they include tax and tip.



Lilo and Stitch as well as the Chip and Dale breakfast (at PCH Grill and Storytellers Cafe respectively) both have menu OR buffet options.

We've done both and enjoyed both of them.



The main differences in the meals is what characters tend to show up at them. Many people enjoy the Lilo one b/c Daisy Duck shows up there, and she's often a hard character to find. I've never seen Stitch at the parks (though others have, and recently too!) so it's nice to know he's there if I need him, LOL.

Minnie's breakfast at Plaza Inn tends to include Captain Hook, and that can be a draw for some. Once DS gets over his Hook fear we look forward to attending that breakfast.

 

[lisalonglash]

Wow, thanks to everyone for such great responses!

I got the prices from the DIS Disneyland Dining info page. I think the prices may be correct, though, as I went to getawaytoday.com and the character breakfasts are all lumped together and listed at $32/adult.

Speaking of getawaytoday.com, can I feel confident booking with them? Anyone have experience booking a DLR package with them? They're actually a couple hundred of dollars cheaper than I've been able to find elsewhere (with hotel, park tickets, other theme park tickets, character breakfast), but, as I've never heard of them, I'd like to feel "safe" using them kwim?

Thanks again!

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

If you purchase through Getawaytoday do you print out e-vouchers or do they mail them to you? We are going next week and would love to save a little $, but I don't think we have time to receive them in the mail.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

They also have a menu so if your the members of your family are big eaters they can order individual meals and still get the character interaction.

Or if they're small eaters. When my aunt and I went to Storytellers, it was cheaper for us to order off the menu instead of buying the buffet and it was also a great way to do portion control (perfect amount of food without us feeling like we had to eat more to get the bang for our buck). Plus, it was nice for me to know that my food hadn't been sitting in a chafing dish under a heat lamp for the past half hour (not that I have a serious problem with buffets, but for the price I was paying for my aunt and I to eat there...).