Late Reservation Goofy's Kitchen

[Drcbelle]

Has anyone gone to dinner around 7:30pm or 8pm at Goofy's? That is the only reservation that will work for us but I am worried the characters might not be out as much in the later hours. Please let me know your experiences during this time frame. Thanks!

 

[pmaurer74]

I would like to know as well because I have a late ADR fro Sunday brunch and a late one for Minnies fro breakfast.

 

[tomato]

We have never had a reservation that late but we've stayed at the DLHotel and have walked past the restaurant to go back to our room later at night and got to see what was going on . . . There are definitely characters, and lots of them, regardless of the hour.

I remember one time, in particular, wishing we had made a late dinner reservation instead of a breakfast one because Max, Goofy's nephew, always seemed to be there at dinner! (Our son was a huge Goofy fan and we wished he could have had pictures with Max, too.)

Now, this was a few years back, but I can't imagine it would be any different now. I really doubt that there would be fewer characters just because of the later hour.

 

[agamble]

We made reservations for Critter's Breakfast at 7:15am before the park hours were announced, but after the park hours changed up on us I decided we'd go later and make it more of a brunch. So I called the Dis Line to ask about timing. On the website it says that breakfast is served until 11:25 and lunch starts at 11:30. So I asked if people making an 11:25 reservation would get food & character interactions. The CM told me the latest reservation time was 10:50 because the breakfast buffet and characters go away at 11:25. I made our reservation for 10:30am.

It's a different restaurant, but it should give you an idea. They stop making reservations at least 30 minutes before the meal shuts down. You can look at the hours on the website, or call the dine line and find out exactly what time the food starts being cleaned up and the characters leave.

 

[Lizzards]

You will see characters for sure! In fact, one time we dined later at Goofys Kitchen and we had the characters almost all to ourselves. There were only a few tables. I think it was more like 8:30. Anyways the characters just hung out with us and had longer conversations with the kids. It was a magical memory!

 

[ronandannette]

We did; booked the last seating (I think it might have been 8:30) after arriving on an early evening flight. It was a terrible disappointment. There were characters, but they didn't interact nearly as robustly as during our other visits there. The buffet was clearly at the point where it was not being re-filled and many of the trays were crusty and unappetizing. The place was grubby and in disarray and with many sections closed off the cleaning and preparations for the next day were underway. The service was compromised by the CM's obvious desire to have their shifts conclude. All in all it was a poor experience for the price (almost $200 for 4); so much so that we'll be unlikely to go back to Goofy's Kitchen again.

 

[Timon]

I agree with roandannette! We had a 7:30pm reservation this past March and while the characters were still there and awesome, the food choices diminished as the minutes ticked away. I peeked at the desserts while I was getting my dinner and there were several things I wanted to try and by the time I got around to dessert, there were only 5 or 6 choices and not what I had wanted. The only dish I wanted seconds of was the scalloped potatoes and when I went up to get some, they were gone and the cook said that they were not bringing anymore out

I was not a happy camper, especially after I forked over $120 for the three of us

I would go back again but I would make a much earlier reservation!

 

[keltiesmom]

We did a late walk up at surfs up in 2013, we were the last table seated that day. The food was mediocre at best but the character interaction was unreal. Stitch spent so much time at our table and kept coming back, the surf lessons ended not long after we arrived but the kids got to give it a try before it was done. All of the characters kept coming over and playing with our kids. It was great. We will be going back this year, but a bit earlier so the food isn't as old and the selection is better. Hopefully the characters are just as great!

 

[tomato]

I know this thread is a month old but I just read in another thread regarding Goofy's Kitchen that they have changed the character format at GK. Apparently now you will only see Goofy and four other characters. And they no longer dance with the kids in the room, but the characters march through the restaurant once every 30 minutes.

I know things can't always stay the same and have to change, but what a shame ... we saw so many other characters when we were there!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I've seen lots of reviews that people who book a late reservation or a reservation close to the ending of a meal are really disappointed. If a food item is out, it's out and since it's close to the end of that meal they just won't replace it. For the price of character meals I would certainly be disappointed.

 

[agamble]

I've seen lots of reviews that people who book a late reservation or a reservation close to the ending of a meal are really disappointed. If a food item is out, it's out and since it's close to the end of that meal they just won't replace it. For the price of character meals I would certainly be disappointed.

Thanks for the thought. We'll definitely make sure to fill up our plates when we first get to the buffet so as to be sure we don't miss out on anything we want. I also figured then we could stay at the table and enjoy our food while the characters come around. I hate missing them because I'm up getting something else to eat, which has happened .