Plaza Inn with Minnie & Friends vs. Goofy's Kitchen?

[Dream.Finder]

Which do ya'll prefer. We want to do one character breakfast on our upcoming trip and we are having a hard time choosing which one we should dine at. We have been to both the Plaza Inn and Goofy's Kitchen before and we enjoyed them both. We are leaning towards Plaza Inn due to the price, the fact of it being in the park, and that we can make a reservation before the park opens to lessen the waste of park time. Goofy's was good, just very pricy. However, the character interaction we had with Alice and the Mad Hatter at Goofy's was simply priceless!

Speaking of characters, can anyone tell me what characters they've seen at each restaurant? Last time we were at Goofy's we had Alice, Mad Hatter, Cinderella, Baloo, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. At the Plaza Inn we had Minnie, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Chip, Dale, Captain Hook, and the Fairy Godmother -- she was brilliant as well! I might be leaving out some characters... oh, well. We really wanted to see the Brer characters. I remember seeing at least Brer Fox a few years ago at the Plaza Inn breakfast. Maybe it depends on the season? Our last trip was in August, this time we'll be going at the end of February and entering early March.

It seems to us that a Disney vacation wouldn't be complete with at least one character breakfast. That and breakfast has to be close to my favorite meal of the deal, if done right. Did the Plaza Inn have an omlette bar too? I forget. Maybe a run-down of the food would be helpful?

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Explain why you prefer one or the other... etc.

 

[Aladora]

We've done all of the character breakfasts except the princess one and Minnie and Friends is by far our favourite! I found the meal less hectic and the food better at the Plaza Inn, plus we see Captain Hook there and our son loves him! I can check later and see who we saw at M&F but I know there were a bunch!

 

[Dream.Finder]

I found the meal less hectic and the good better at the Plaza Inn

I too found the food to be a little fresher at the Plaza Inn rather than Goofy's Kitchen. However on that same note, we ate at the Storyteller's Cafe character breakfast on our last trip too... and their food was VERY fresh. The Mickey waffles weren't even just sitting out on the buffet table, they had to be made-to-order!

 

[starshine514]

Did the Plaza Inn have an omlette bar too?

Yes, they do have an omelette bar at the Minnie and Friends breakfast!

 

[Dream.Finder]

Yes, they do have an omelette bar at the Minnie and Friends breakfast!

Ah, I thought so. That's good news for me! Thanks for clarifying!

 

[roflclaw]

I'm a big advocate for Minnie's! Although it's the only one I've done, but we had such great interaction with all of the characters last February that we're going again this February.

 

[aussie shaz]

We did Minnie's for breakfast and Goofys for dinner. We much much much preferred Minnie's. I'd say Goofys was just ok. Not many characters and the food wasnt great either. We'd go back to Minnie's any day.

 

[Dream.Finder]

It seems that as of now, the Plaza Inn with Minnie & Friends breakfast is winning the ballot.

 

[lozzypop]

We've done both, and Minnie & Friends definitely has the edge for me.

 

[mom2rtk]

I would choose based on which fits your touring plan best. If you have a non-park day, it's fun to do a character meal to add some character fun on a down day. It's also fun to do one on your arrival day if you don't plan on hitting the parks. In either of those cases, Goofy's Kitchen fits the bill.

If you have ample park time, I give Minnie's the nod. I love the setting.

If you prefer lunch or dinner, do Goofy's since Minnie's only does breakfast.

I did find Minnie's to be slightly more chaotic. There are lots of characters, but it's easy to get skipped over. However if that happens, find a character handler and let them know who you missed. I thought at Goofy's Kitchen they had a better plan for covering the entire room.

I found both restaurants to have a nice mix of characters. At Goofy's we saw, Alice, Mad Hatter, Baloo, Goofy, Chip, Dale and Pluto.

At Minnie's we saw Chip, Dale, Fairy Godmother, Eeyore, Tigger, Minnie, and the highlight for us were Suzy and Perla. They were worth the price of admission in our book.

I will say that it took a long time to see all of those characters at Minnie's.

We still enjoy both and will do both again on our next trip.

 

[KateDrake]

My vote would be for Minnie's as well!

I just saw you are at West Ed Mall! We just moved up here from the states and have to go to the Disney store every week after my DD's skating lessons to get our Disney fix. We'll have to say hello next time we are there!

 

[sandysue]

Who are Suzy and Perla?

 

[8timesblessed]

Who are Suzy and Perla?

Cinderella's mice.

 

[wiigirl]

We've done both, and Minnie & Friends definitely has the edge for me.

 

[larina]

Funny, we've done all the character meals except Ariel's and I find Plaza Inn the MOST hectic of all of them.

Can I ask why you aren't considering Mickey's Surf's Up (our favorite for character interaction and the interactive dance show) or Storyteller's (our favorite for food and the kids like the parade/march through the restaurant)?

 

[mom2rtk]

Funny, we've done all the character meals except Ariel's and I find Plaza Inn the MOST hectic of all of them.

Can I ask why you aren't considering Mickey's Surf's Up (our favorite for character interaction and the interactive dance show) or Storyteller's (our favorite for food and the kids like the parade/march through the restaurant)?

I agree that Surfs Up is probably the most relaxing interactive atmosphere, probably because it's a bit more off the beaten path and not as packed all the time.

I just preferred the greater number of characters, and the unknown nature of who would appear at both Goofy's Kitchen and Plaza Inn. We typically do WDW and their character meals are much more static and predictable, which I'm a little weary of. I loved walking into both BK and PI and knowing there would be at least a couple surprises.

 

[Dream.Finder]

Thanks for everyone's responses! Keep 'em coming!

Can I ask why you aren't considering Mickey's Surf's Up (our favorite for character interaction and the interactive dance show) or Storyteller's (our favorite for food and the kids like the parade/march through the restaurant)?

It's not that we're against considering the Surf's Up Breakfast with Mickey and Friends... actually, it is the only place we haven't done yet (Ariel's aside). It's just that the Paradise Pier Hotel is a bit of a jaunt away from our center of activity, so it usually gets left behind and forgotten about. I've actually never stepped foot inside the Paradise Pier Hotel yet. I hear it is the only character breakfast where Mickey appears, which I personally think is odd considering you'd think he'd be one of the "set" characters at Goofy's Kitchen.

I think we were leaning towards the Plaza Inn because it is actually in the heart of the park and we can use a day that the park is offering Magic Mornings (when we have no Magic Morning passes) to get into the park earlier than we normally would have and knock off some "park time" by doing a good portion of our breakfast during the early entry time.

 

[awdsmama]

I think we were leaning towards the Plaza Inn because it is actually in the heart of the park and we can use a day that the park is offering Magic Mornings (when we have no Magic Morning passes) to get into the park earlier than we normally would have and knock off some "park time" by doing a good portion of our breakfast during the early entry time.

That is exactly what we did last trip! It was nice to be done with our breakfast/character interactions and walk out the doors into the park while the people from rope drop were still making their way in.

Hey, every few minutes helps beat the lines haha.

 

[Dream.Finder]

Hey, every few minutes helps beat the lines haha.

Exactly.