Need help picking places to eat.

[Krisj]

There will be 8 of us. Me, Dh, FIL, and the kids DS 10, DD 8, DS 6, DD4, and DS who will turn 2 on our last day there.

Okay, we have a 5 day pass, but probably will be spending only 4 in the parks. I figured on Blue Bayou for lunch the first day. I can make reservations by calling Disney, correct? But somewhere I read only people staying in a Disney hotel call make priority seating. Is that true? We are staying at FIL's house.
Now, do they still have the Tea with Mary Poppins? I read they have it on Wed. maybe? Is it worth it? What about with a 2 yr old? Will my 10 yr old son be completely embarrassed? He did admit that the Cinderella breakfast at WDW last year was cool. If it isn't that then I thought we would do Rainforest cafe. SO, which is the better of the two?
Then I figured on PCH grill character breakfast.
Next day is either Goofy's grill or Paradise Pier. Okay, this is my 2 yr old's birthday. I want to have some birthday party there for him at the park with the 8 of us. Which is the best place to do that for a 2 yr old? Anyone have any experience with birthday parties there? I saw all the info at the top, but it didn't go into great detail.
So please help. I feel like I am at a stand still planning the rest of our days until I get seating for sure for us on those days and times. I found it is hard to get seating for 8 people.
Thanks!

 

[hookedup]

My thoughts -
no you dont need to be staying at the hotel to make a reservation for eating - I do it all the time.
From what I have heard the tea with MP is no longer offered
If you are not staying at the hotels then I strongly recommend that you consider trying the Plaza Inn for breakfast instead of at the hotels (at least one of the days) it is more convenient and I personally like it much better. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and others are there and there is great character interaction. I have really good photos of it and Avalon Cove online - if you PM I will give you my URL to check them out.

Also the birthday celebration at the Plaza Inn for lunch is something to check out too.
Maybe consider taking the monorail over to the DLH and having lunch at Goofy's Kitchen and ordering the birthday bucket and cake for your celebration over there. That is what I would do.

 

[Krisj]

Does the Plaza inn take reservations? I read somewhere on a forum that they don't.

 

[hookedup]

No Plaza Inn does not take reservations but we have never had a problem walking right in at opening and eating a nice relaxed meal with the characters. It is a good buffet with tons of food - something to please everyone!

 

[Sonya in Boise]

We were there last week and we had breakfast at Goofy's and it was great. The food was medium rate, but the character interaction make it 5 stars. We saw Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Mad Hatter, Balloo, Gepetthio, and Snow White. Snow White stood by this wall near the Desert Bar and was able to spend a lot of time with the girls. We got many photo's with her and went back 3 different times to see her. (Her line in the park was always the longest, so I was very happy to see her at breakfast.)

We were seated near the exit where the character go out and get some fresh air so there was always someone patting the girls on the head, snaching a piece of thier food, coloring on the table cloth, or in the case of Pluto, licking them. They had tons of fun and we laughed and took plenty of photo's.

Here is a link to my photo's. Bottom of the first page is where Goofy's kitchen starts.


http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4058586&a=30394654&f=0

I want to go to Plaza Inn, but I didn't want to give up those first few hours in the park of low crowds to eat. So we made reservations at Goofy's before the park opened so we could be at the gates right when they opened. It took us a little over an hour to eat breakfast.

 

[LuvTigger]

Just wanted to add that there are some really great restaurants in the resorts and DD. Some of the places we enjoyed are:
* La Brea Bakery, DD - breakfast (pastries and lox and bagels)
* Naples, DD - lunch (lasagna, salad, and pizza)
* Storyteller's Cafe, GC - breakfast buffet and dinner off the menu (salad, AWESOME corn chowder!, and a rib entree)
* Hook's Pointe, DLH - dinner (scallops, and I forget the other one, I think it was either pork or beef)

We also ate at ESPN, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. It was the only place that disappointed us, mostly because of the service, and the food was just "okay." The portions were humongous though.

We didn't eat in DCA, but in DL we had lunch at Blue Bayou and Rancho Del Zocalo. Rancho is a buffeteria with two lines, either Mexican, or BBQ. We chose the BBQ, which was good, but I was really envious of the people eating Mexican! Next time we'll try that.

Have a great time, I don't think you'll have any problem finding good eats there!

 

[Krisj]

So what ia Plaza in like in the afternoon? Are there any characters there? My kids love the character meals and it helps to have have to stop to see them later on when we are in the park.
I was thinking about maybe doing a meal in the afternoon there and then the birthday thing with DS right after?

 

[Rajah]

Unless it's closed, I've always loved the breakfasts at River Belle Terrace in Disneyland. Good portions, rather quick, nice atmosphere. Not a character breakfast, though. I really hope the River Belle hasn't closed, I haven't heard much about it recently.

 

[hookedup]

The River Belle Terrace is nice and good because you are deeper in the park, but I heard it was closing to cut costs. We used to always eat there for a quiet breakfast, reasonalbly priced.
Not sure the status of being open now and there are no characters there.

Also if you are not staying at the hotel it think that the Plaza Inn is a lot more convenient for breakfast - I would try it at least one morning. I prefer it over Goofy's Kitchen - less crowded and better food IMO.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

We were just there last week and River Belle was only open on the weekends (Friday-Sunday) It was very hard to find food places open Wed and Thurs when we were there. Plaza Inn was about the only one open. Rancho del Zocalo was also closed so when we were trying to get seats for the parade our choices were limited.

 

[almostGoofy]

Krisj,

At the Plaza Inn, the only Character meal is at breakfast. In the afternoon around 2 and 3 p.m., they have birthday celebrations where you decorate your own cake (maybe cupcake?). I believe there is also a character present although I don't know which one. I believe you can and probably should make reservations for that.

 

[Krisj]

I did call and the Plaza inn birthday party sounds fun! You each get to decorate a cake and there are songs and activities she said. I have to wait a few more days to make the reservations but she said it is only at 2pm during the week. We decided on this one for sure for DS's birthday. Now I can't decided if we should eat there for lunch beforehand or eat somewhere else.