Need help with character dining suggestions?

[FairyDust2008]

I'm getting ready to book today and I don't want to miss out on what you consider the "not to miss" character meals. Please give me your FAVS. I need to book today and just wanted some opinions on what is your "NOT TO MISS" character meals. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vala]

Definitely Goofy's Kitchen for me.

Delicious buffet, lots of characters, great character interaction.

EDIT: Did I beat Sherry with saying "Goofy's" for once?

 

[hlbtimes2]

Our family fav is the Plaza with Minnie and friends. We love being in the park and we've had the best character interaction at that meal. We like to book for a late breakfast, around 10-10:30 and make it more of a brunch. Gives us a couple hours of play time in the morning, then a nice relaxing meal.

 

[Sherry E]

Definitely Goofy's Kitchen for me.

Delicious buffet, lots of characters, great character interaction.

EDIT: Did I beat Sherry with saying "Goofy's" for once?

Yes, you did, you sneaky devil! Sometimes, because there are so many similar threads, I just begin to skip a few here and there, and I haven't been on DIS as much in the last few days.

But yes, Goofy's for me too (though I prefer breakfast/brunch over the dinner buffet).

 

[reynmagsmom]

goofy's hands down was the best.. if you hit minnies at the right time it can be a character bonanza but food at goofy's beats all the rest!!!

 

[Monica D]

We're fans of Goofy's Kitchen as well. Good breakfast and lots of characters.

Ariel's Grotto: food is so-so but if you are into princeses, this is the place to go.

Storyteller's Cafe: we did brunch, and while the food was good, I thought the characters were just ok. The only one I really remember was Koda from Brother Bear, but there were a few more as well.

We've never done the Plaza Inn w/ Minnie, so no advice there. Haven't done the Lilo & Stitch at PPH either.

 

[pixiewings71]

In order of our preference,

Ariel's Grotto for lunch or dinner
Minnie & Friends breakfast
Lilo & Stitch breakfast
Goofy's Kitchen breakfast
Storyteller's breakfast

Storyteller's is only at the end because we haven't done it yet, after we do it I know it will bump GK down to the bottom. We did not enjoy GK at all, the best part of GK was the bacon. LOL

 

[swimrsal]

We have only done Goofy's Kitchen and Storytellers. Granted, my experience is from 2005.

Goofy's Kitchen is the total character meal experience for sure. Lots of characters... great food! We like to go as early as possible so we can still get to the park by opening.

Storytellers was quieter and the characters were lesser known. Brother Bear, Chip & Dale, Jungle Book. The plus here is you can order off the menu if you don't want to do the pricey buffet. The atmosphere is a nice relaxing start to the day.

We also plan to do Lilo & Stitch and the Celebration BBQ with Woody & Jesse this year. Lilo and Stitch you can also order off the menu (but apparently you have to tell them this... they won't ask). If you do some searching you can see some reviews on the BBQ thing.

Yes, we have a lot booked... however, my kids wake up super early and we need something to do!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We visit with the most characters @ Minnie's for sure. Our breakfast at Goofy's in early March was not so great ~ we visited with Pluto before being seated, while we were eating we were visited by Alice (who was great) Dale & Goofy. I wasn't super impressed by Goofy's buffet either ~ I'm just as satisfied with Minnie's (+ it's cheaper). We did enjoy Chip & Dale's Critter Breakfast ~ not too many character but it was nice. I cancelled our PS for Lilo and Stitch today ~ we would've been there next Wed. morning but it just didn't work out. We'll eat there sometime I'm sure. Next week our only character meal will be a late breakfast at Minnie's.

DD & I have also dined with the princesses a few times ~ breakfast, lunch & dinner. We have a good time there, I like that it's not a buffet.

 

[ylatan]

we had an awesome time at storyteller's (seriously, that is one kick-*** buffet!) baloo was there and he was so funny. we went early, around 7:30 and since there were so few people we ended up getting so much attention from the characters. they also got all the kids marching around and dancing. we had SUCH a good time.

ariel's was really good for breakfast, too, IMO. i have seen reviews here saying the food is not that great, but really, it was good for us. lots of fruit, really good fried potatoes, pastries, waffles, etc. there was meat, but it wasn't tainting the rest of the food (we are vegetarian...) so that was good. all of the princesses were lovely, but since the breakfast was pretty full, i wouldn't say they spent a lot of extra time with us, like at storytellers.

 

[mechurchlady]

Ariel's Grotto for lunch or dinner
I love the decor and they have modern kitchens. Great food with limited choices that are excellent. There is lots of character interaction and this is one of my favourite places to eat. They do special diets really well.

Minnie & Friends breakfast
i was desperate and ended up there for breakfast. SUFFERING and AGONY
Adam the chef served me a special gluten free meal and only the oil used in the hash browns had any soy. I ate so much food and there were so many characters like Hook, Rafiki, Chip, Dale, Minnie, and the Fairy Godmother. I had 4 mini waffles, 4 bacon strips, 3 sausage, lots of fruit, lots of ham without glaze as I am special, and hash browns. I had two plates full of food and was lucky that one was fruit. They treat their guests like special guests.

Goofy's Kitchen breakfast
I prefer the Minnie & Friends food as they are more limited in breakfast items. Breakfast there was great and the chefs made me special waffles and pancakes. They had pot roast I think, dry cereal, fresh made to order omelets, lox, bagels, desserts and soft serve ice cream. A lot of food that is lunch and breakfast which is good for picky eaters.

 

[Escape2Disney]

Our favorite is Minnies! It is in the park (always a plus), in our experience there are more characters, and the characters seem willing to be spontaneous and playful with the guests. When we've been at Goofy's, they seem more scheduled.

To us the food is just as good at both locations.

Have a great time!

 

[swimrsal]

We did several character meals this week... here is my run down... btw, I loved that at each and every character meal the photographer asked for our camera so he could take a shot with ours as well. So sweet!

Monday:
Goofy's Kitchen -
Baloo, Goofy, Pluto, Jasmine, Chip, Dale
Characters were in a big hurry. This was not at all like our experience of 2005. My Mom liked that she could have salad bar for breakfast. I thought the pb&j pizza was really fun. The dancing with Goofy was fun but he shooed the kids off afterwards. I wish he would have been willing to play with them. No Creme Brulee French Toast to be seen.

Wednesday:
Storytellers -
The 2 Bears from Brother Bear, Rafiki, Chip, Dale
The Bears scooped the boys into the air into Bear hugs and gave the kids tons of attention. The food was excellent. YUM!

Thursday:
Lilo & Stitch -
I was shocked that this was my actual favorite. We saw Minnie, Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto. We were able to visit with Pluto at the photo area when there weren't people waiting at the door. They had some games and stuff but my kids were happier playing with Pluto. He would roll on the floor with them... excellent character interaction. The baby even crawled around and played with him. The food was just as great as the others.

Friday:
Woody's Round Up Celebration BBQ
Had our photo taken with Jesse on our way in. Woody came around quickly but did not spend much time with the kids. I was hoping Bulls Eye would come out too but no. But I recognize that this was not a true "character meal." They should definitely add in Mickey, Chip & Dale in western wear and this would be the ulitimate Character meal.
Super cute. The stage show was fun and Tex and the other gal (can't remember her name) were fabulous with the kids and talked to them a ton. The food was OUTSTANDING. My kids mostly ate corn and cornbread and their eyes were as wide as saucers when the dessert came out. I could not believe how good all of it was honestly. Yummy yummy ribs. My husband said it was our best meal at the park. I would indeed go back.

So there's my character meal run down (since someone was asking for reviews)!

 

[Sherry E]

We did several character meals this week... here is my run down... btw, I loved that at each and every character meal the photographer asked for our camera so he could take a shot with ours as well. So sweet!

Monday:
Goofy's Kitchen -
Baloo, Goofy, Pluto, Jasmine, Chip, Dale
Characters were in a big hurry. This was not at all like our experience of 2005. My Mom liked that she could have salad bar for breakfast. I thought the pb&j pizza was really fun. The dancing with Goofy was fun but he shooed the kids off afterwards. I wish he would have been willing to play with them. No Creme Brulee French Toast to be seen.

Wednesday:
Storytellers -
The 2 Bears from Brother Bear, Rafiki, Chip, Dale
The Bears scooped the boys into the air into Bear hugs and gave the kids tons of attention. The food was excellent. YUM!

Thursday:
Lilo & Stitch -
I was shocked that this was my actual favorite. We saw Minnie, Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto. We were able to visit with Pluto at the photo area when there weren't people waiting at the door. They had some games and stuff but my kids were happier playing with Pluto. He would roll on the floor with them... excellent character interaction. The baby even crawled around and played with him. The food was just as great as the others.

Friday:
Woody's Round Up Celebration BBQ
Had our photo taken with Jesse on our way in. Woody came around quickly but did not spend much time with the kids. I was hoping Bulls Eye would come out too but no. But I recognize that this was not a true "character meal." They should definitely add in Mickey, Chip & Dale in western wear and this would be the ulitimate Character meal.
Super cute. The stage show was fun and Tex and the other gal (can't remember her name) were fabulous with the kids and talked to them a ton. The food was OUTSTANDING. My kids mostly ate corn and cornbread and their eyes were as wide as saucers when the dessert came out. I could not believe how good all of it was honestly. Yummy yummy ribs. My husband said it was our best meal at the park. I would indeed go back.

So there's my character meal run down (since someone was asking for reviews)!

I definitely agree they should add Mickey (and other Disney characters) in western garb over in the Celebration BBQ. I think that would attract a lot more visitors because Mickey is so elusive when it comes to character meals, and it sounds as if the high prices are driving away business (more than a couple of people have reported that there were very few diners at the BBQ). I am still very curious to try the BBQ but I just cannot wrap my brain around spending that kind of money for such a limited selection of food and not be guaranteed that characters will come to the table - even though they bring out second helpings, I like more of a variety.

I am surprised there was no creme brulee French toast at Goofy's. I wonder if they just hadn't put out a fresh batch of it yet or if they only put it out on weekends? That is one unique item they have there that I don't think is found at every character meal, so hopefully they didn't take it away completely. I have seen it whenever we eat there, but that is usually on a Friday or Saturday morning, early - like 7:00 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. I guess every guest's experience with a charcter meal is different! I have never personally seen any characters at Goofy's shoo any kids away, and they usually don't rush through the tables - in fact, they seem to come back to visit again and again. There was one time and one time only where we saw NO characters at Goofy's at all - except for that Goofy ran through the restaurant and waved at everyone en route to somewhere else. He didn't table-hop. It looked as if there must have been a character meeting he had to get to! Who knows what was going on that day you ate there - maybe they had a 'staff meeting' or something. But if that is the case, I don't think that is Goofy's Kitchen's fault specifically, but rather the fault of DLR management who commands them to be somewhere else when they should be mingling with guests!

Anyway, swimrsal, it sounds like you had a great time overall at the meals and please post photos of the character meals over in the character meal photo thread!

 

[phishy25]

We did Ariels and Minnie and friends. Ariels was so much fun for my DD (it was her birthday lunch) but the princesses only spend a minute or two on each table. At Minnies the characters came over multiple times and were so fun and friendly. My DD still tells everyone how Pooh and Tigger kissed her head. I love Minnies and would definitely do it again. We didn't get to Goofy's but I've heard it's a blast. I hope to do that one soon.