My Thoughts on the Character Meals

[Vala]

So you can pretty much count on seeing Chip, Dale, Koda, Kenai and probably Terk at Storytellers. And then there may be one other character.

I wouldn't even count the bears fully there. We did have Kenai missing and Rafiki was there instead last year.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I just made our reservations for AG and GK today. We booked GK on our last morning because we leave at 10 and DD will b sad but I'm thinking of cancelling now if we're going to have a wait and it's not worth the money.

As far as the wait goes...I don't know about the previous poster but my waiting experience was at Dinner...the way I understand it the further into the day you are the more likely you are to have a wait. If you are planning to leave at 10 am I am going to assume that you have and early reservation at GK. I would say go for it I have heard of very few people having the waiting problem with a early breakfast reservation. I think Sherry E and the others that have done breakfast can confirm this.

calidreamz -


The other characters that we always have seen at the Critter Breakfast are Koda and Kenai (who people may or may not care about). Terk is usually there, and people may or may not care about Terk. We've seen Meeko a couple of times (but not every time, and Meeko is sometimes at Minnie & Friends as well). We even saw Pluto at the Critter Breakfast once (but he can be found at other meals). And I think Baloo was on his way in or out of the Critter Breakfast one time when we were there - but we usually see him at Goofy's. We have not been so fortunate to see any Brer characters at the Critter Breakfast thus far.

So you can pretty much count on seeing Chip, Dale, Koda, Kenai and probably Terk at Storytellers. And then there may be one other character.

I definitely think the characters at Minnie & Friends are more appealing/fun (Captain Hook, Mad Hatter, Pooh & friends, etc.) and there is much more of a variety of characters there than at the Critter Breakfast.

We did see Kenai but not Koda on our visit so I don't think you can really even count on the bears.

 

[calidreamz]

calidreamz -
I definitely think the characters at Minnie & Friends are more appealing/fun (Captain Hook, Mad Hatter, Pooh & friends, etc.) and there is much more of a variety of characters there than at the Critter Breakfast.

Thanks ver much for you advise/input, I think we are going to switch back to going to Minnie & Friends. I think that the reason to cough up the big bucks on a Character meal in the first place should be having a great character experience. I think that DD2 will enjoy seeing more of the characters that she knows and loves that frequent M&F, where the only ones she would know at ST would be Chip & Dale and maybe Miko if he was there.

We are also doing a girls breakfast with the Princesses @ AG, just me and my DDs (2&10) later in the week.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

If character interaction is what you are after, give Minnie's a try. It's our favorite character meal. We always see tons and the breakfast is good. My only complaint is that the drinks are self-serve. I like my coffee and hate having to get up and miss potential character interaction for it.

We did not have a good Goofy experience last time. We only saw five characters and this includes Jasmine and Aladdin visiting together.

Ariel's was okay, but I think that is off the list until my boys appreciate a pretty princess again.

 

[Sherry E]

I wouldn't even count the bears fully there. We did have Kenai missing and Rafiki was there instead last year.

Vala - I'm not sure a lot of people would even know who Koda was without Kenai, or vice versa!! I bet there are a lot of people who have no clue who one is without the other! It definitely helps to have them there together.

As far as the wait goes...I don't know about the previous poster but my waiting experience was at Dinner...the way I understand it the further into the day you are the more likely you are to have a wait. If you are planning to leave at 10 am I am going to assume that you have and early reservation at GK. I would say go for it I have heard of very few people having the waiting problem with a early breakfast reservation. I think Sherry E and the others that have done breakfast can confirm this.

We did see Kenai but not Koda on our visit so I don't think you can really even count on the bears.

Sherri - I suppose, much like Chip & Dale, every so often the bears have to take a break from each other!

You know who would be good for the 'woodsy' theme of the Critter Breakfast? Pooh & Friends! To me, they fit better in the woodsy theme than with Minnie & Friends. Now if they started bringing some Pooh characters into the Critter Breakfast to mingle with Chip, Dale, some Brer characters, Baloo, etc., I might have a renewed interest in it. But since the Pooh gang is only at Minnie & Friends now, if I want to see Pooh I will have to go there.

Yes, I always eat breakfast at Goofy's, although we've done the earliest seatings as well as later morning seatings over the years. I've only done the dinner 2 times (and one of the times I'd forgotten until my friend reminded me of it) in almost 20 years. This is not to say that it isn't crowded at breakfast tiime - it certainly is - but for some reason, we've been lucky and have never had to wait as long as others say they have waited for a table, with or without a reservation. Maybe we are just lucky!?

Thanks ver much for you advise/input, I think we are going to switch back to going to Minnie & Friends. I think that the reason to cough up the big bucks on a Character meal in the first place should be having a great character experience. I think that DD2 will enjoy seeing more of the characters that she knows and loves that frequent M&F, where the only ones she would know at ST would be Chip & Dale and maybe Miko if he was there.

We are also doing a girls breakfast with the Princesses @ AG, just me and my DDs (2&10) later in the week.

calidreamz - You're welcome! I think that you will get the most bang for your buck character-wise at Minnie & Friends if it's a choice between that and the Critter Breakfast. There is no denying that you can find the most characters at M&F, above all the other character meals. That is clear from every photo I've seen or review I've read. And I think the ones at M&F are much more recognizable and classic than the Storytellers crew. Most likely you will see Chip and Dale at Minnie & Friends (or at least one of them). Your DD2 should have a wonderful time!

If character interaction is what you are after, give Minnie's a try. It's our favorite character meal. We always see tons and the breakfast is good. My only complaint is that the drinks are self-serve. I like my coffee and hate having to get up and miss potential character interaction for it.

We did not have a good Goofy experience last time. We only saw five characters and this includes Jasmine and Aladdin visiting together.

Ariel's was okay, but I think that is off the list until my boys appreciate a pretty princess again.

Halloweenqueen - How many Princesses did you see at Ariel's? Probably no more than 5, I'd guess (I say that because there never are more than 5 Princesses there, from all I've read)?

Other than Minnie & Friends, all of the character meals average around 5 characters. Goofy's sometimes has more than that - maybe 7 or 8 - and every now and then the Critter Breakfast will sneak an extra one in. But I really think the average number of characters for all the meals tolled (except Minnie & Friends) is probably 5.

 

[Vala]

Vala - I'm not sure a lot of peple would even know who Koda was without Kenai, or vice versa!! I bet there are a lot of people who have no clue who one is without the other! It definitely helps to have them there together.

We've had a lot of people sitting within earshot who didn't even recognize the poor bears when they were both out.

The Rafiki incident will be stuck in my mind forever though because my room mate wanted to see the bears so much and actually voluntarily wanted to do a photo with them. And then we're left almost bear-less.

You know who would be good for the 'woodsy' theme of the Critter Breakfast? Pooh & Friends! To me, they fit better in the woodsy theme than with Minnie & Friends. Now if they started bringing some Pooh characters into the Critter Breakfast to mingle with Chip, Dale, some Brer characters, Baloo, etc., I might have a renewed interest in it. But since the Pooh gang is only at Minnie & Friends now, if I want to see Pooh I will have to go there.

I've been to Disneyland Paris last weekend and funny enough I saw Eeyore and Pooh hanging out at Sequoia Lodge (which is kind of their version of the GCH) a lot.

Yes, I always eat breakfast at Goofy's, although we've done the earliest seatings as well as later morning seatings over the years. I've only done the dinner 2 times (and one of the times I'd forgotten until my friend reminded me of it) in almost 20 years. This is not to say that it isn't crowded at breakfast tiime - it certainly is - but for some reason, we've been lucky and have never had to wait as long as others say they have waited for a table, with or without a reservation. Maybe we are just lucky!?

We've done both (probably even dinner more often) and never waited more than 5 minutes like I said.

Halloweenqueen - How many Princesses did you see at Ariel's? Probably no more than 5, I'd guess (I say that because there never are more than 5 Princesses there, from all I've read)?

With one exception (and that was in 2007) for me it's always been Ariel at the entrance and four others. Back then the sixth one was Princess Minnie.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I've noticed that all the meals, except Minnies average 5 characters. I think that's probably what Disney schedules during a typical meal. In WDW this is usually the case as well. We have experienced most character meals at WDW and I think Akerhaus may have had 6 princesses, but all other meals usually have 5 characters.

That is why we were so surprised/amazed by Minnies. We usually have over a dozen visit during our breakfast. We get there at the first reservation of the morning. TONS of characters there to greet us! My kids usually walk to the table, arm in arm with a fuzzy friend! And I have a lot of kids!

Plus they are very generous with their time. We have never felt rushed there. I've got some terrific photos with the kids and multiple characters.

 

[pixiewings71]

Now I'm torn I was originally thinking we'd do Plaza Inn because I know they have a great Character turn out, but we read some reviews that said the food was bad. So we changed to Storyteller's because we have been told that the food was better, but if the character's aren't as good...now I don't know.

Our family likes the food at M&F, fresh fruit, excellent pastries, I had some eggs made to order, potatoes....I also had pancakes, it was all very good and tasty. We also saw at least 8 characters (it's been a couple of years, I'd have to dig thru tons of photos to find out how many exactly), off the top of my head we saw Max (Goofy's son), Eeyore, Tigger, Alice, Mad Hatter, Cap'n Hook, Gideon, Honest John & Gepetto, Minnie, Chip & Dale...well that's 12 right there and I think there may have been more....M&Fs is the most character concentrated you will get, all other character meals have 5 or perhaps 6 characters. Even with all the characters and all the playing with them we had no problems filling our tummies with yummies. If I were you, I'd switch back...BUT I haven't done a character meal at Storyteller's so take that into account.

What do they have for breakfast at AG?

I'm wondering if that's where we might want to have our character breakfast (so we don't miss out on precious early morning time in Fantasyland). We've done GK and Storyteller's before, and while I liked our experiences there, Chickadee might like seeing some princesses.

Bfast at AG is served family, you will get the 3 tiered plates that will have fruits, pastries and cheeses, then you will get a platter with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, ham and bacon. You can get as many refills as these items as you would like, your server will be happy to bring you more as it is needed. Drinks are also brought to your table by your server, your server will also bring you refills. The food is not great, our family prefers dining at AG for lunch or dinner. And yes, you will get 5 Princesses, you see Ariel every time at the bottom of the stairs, then you are seated and 4 more Princesses are announced and visit your table. We've seen the following Princess, not all on the same visit of course as there are more than 4 we have seen, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White (these are the standard 4, we've seen them a lot), Pocahontas and Mulan (we've only seen them once and it was the same visit, that time we saw Pocahontas, Mulan, Snow White and I have a hard time remembering which other one we saw that time)

I've noticed that all the meals, except Minnies average 5 characters. I think that's probably what Disney schedules during a typical meal. In WDW this is usually the case as well. We have experienced most character meals at WDW and I think Akerhaus may have had 6 princesses, but all other meals usually have 5 characters.

That is why we were so surprised/amazed by Minnies. We usually have over a dozen visit during our breakfast. We get there at the first reservation of the morning. TONS of characters there to greet us! My kids usually walk to the table, arm in arm with a fuzzy friend! And I have a lot of kids!

Plus they are very generous with their time. We have never felt rushed there. I've got some terrific photos with the kids and multiple characters.

This is why we love Minnie & Friends!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Our family likes the food at M&F, fresh fruit, excellent pastries, I had some eggs made to order, potatoes....I also had pancakes, it was all very good and tasty. We also saw at least 8 characters (it's been a couple of years, I'd have to dig thru tons of photos to find out how many exactly), off the top of my head we saw Max (Goofy's son), Eeyore, Tigger, Alice, Mad Hatter, Cap'n Hook, Gideon, Honest John & Gepetto, Minnie, Chip & Dale...well that's 12 right there and I think there may have been more....M&Fs is the most character concentrated you will get, all other character meals have 5 or perhaps 6 characters. Even with all the characters and all the playing with them we had no problems filling our tummies with yummies. If I were you, I'd switch back...BUT I haven't done a character meal at Storyteller's so take that into account.

We have done Storyteller's twice. The first time was years ago. The boys were small and didn't really know any of the characters. We decided last month finally to go back. The food was tasty enough, but the character experience was really lousy. The characters acted rushed. Only three came to our table in over an hour. We saw a forth as we were getting up to leave. DS9 was pretty disappointed in the experience.

We have never done Minnie's, but DS9 has always wanted to. Every time we walk past, he looks longingly through the fence and announces the names of all the characters he sees. We're thinking we'll finally surprise him with a visit next time we go.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I just made our reservations for AG and GK today. We booked GK on our last morning because we leave at 10 and DD will b sad but I'm thinking of cancelling now if we're going to have a wait and it's not worth the money.

The most we ever had to wait at GK is five minutes and that was last August. Time of reservation does make a difference. We have always seen at least 8 characters when eating there also.

Jack

 

[pixiewings71]

We have done Storyteller's twice. The first time was years ago. The boys were small and didn't really know any of the characters. We decided last month finally to go back. The food was tasty enough, but the character experience was really lousy. The characters acted rushed. Only three came to our table in over an hour. We saw a forth as we were getting up to leave. DS9 was pretty disappointed in the experience.

We have never done Minnie's, but DS9 has always wanted to. Every time we walk past, he looks longingly through the fence and announces the names of all the characters he sees. We're thinking we'll finally surprise him with a visit next time we go.

YAY!!!! He will be thrilled!! Your Storyteller's character experience was our GK experience...

The most we ever had to wait at GK is five minutes and that was last August. Time of reservation does make a difference. We have always seen at least 8 characters when eating there also.

Jack

It definitely makes a difference (the reservation time), we waited about 20 minutes for our table to be ready and that was aroudn 10 am.