If you want an earlier character meal, before the park opens you do indeed have to go to either Goofy's, Storytellers, or Lilo and Stitch. Its a bummer they don't open Minnie and Friends early like they do the ones inside MK at WDW. If the park hours are 10-8, you must be going during the week, off season. So even using up some of that magical, uncrowded time at the park duing first hour or two of the day shouldn't affect you too much since crowds should hopefully be pretty low.