Question about Budget cutbacks & character meals

[TheZue]

I keep reading about staff cutbacks in the parks and I'm curious if anyone has noticed a decrease in characters at the character meals? I'm booking one but last time we went to plaza inn we could barely eat there were so many of them and I'm hoping that hasn't changed too much.

 

[ktlm]

We have not noticed it at the Plaza Inn, and from recent reports it looks like there are still 7 to 9 characters there. Back towards the end of 2014, Goofy's Kitchen reduced and standardized their characters. Now it is only Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto. Basically it is the same as a standardized WDW meal and what we liked about DLR character meals was the variety (and surprise of who might show up) and increased number of characters. We totally skipped Goofy's on our 2015 trip because of the change. I was worried that the Plaza Inn would do the same thing, but so far it is still a special great meal!

 

[TheZue]

We have not noticed it at the Plaza Inn, and from recent reports it looks like there are still 7 to 9 characters there. Back towards the end of 2014, Goofy's Kitchen reduced and standardized their characters. Now it is only Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto. Basically it is the same as a standardized WDW meal and what we liked about DLR character meals was the variety (and surprise of who might show up) and increased number of characters. We totally skipped Goofy's on our 2015 trip because of the change. I was worried that the Plaza Inn would do the same thing, but so far it is still a special great meal!

Good to know! We booked Plaza Inn for the same reason. We've found Goofy's really hit or miss; it's either amazing or terrible.

 

[GeneralTso]

Plaza Inn has a nice character meal. Lots of characters, good interaction.
We just ate at Storytellers at GC (it was handy) and it was terrible. Food was good! Not a huge buffet but very nice. Character interaction was the worst. They shouldn't even book that as a character breakfast. I felt bad for the little kids. We were there over an hour and only saw 3 characters. Meeko, Chip and Dale--but separately. Over an hour!!

If you want an expensive meal/buffet, go there. Character interaction, forget it.

 

[tlovesdis]

I hope they don't cut back on characters at Minnie's! We love it there. In November we saw 9 characters! We are eating there June 17th on my niece's 10th birthday!!!

 

[snowybelle]

I was at the Plaza for Minnie's Breakfast on Monday. We saw Chip, Dale, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Captain Hook, Max, Rafiki, Minnie and the Fairy Godmother. That's TEN characters! It was my first time at the Plaza but it was literally double the number of characters I've ever seen at any other character meal ever. Very impressive! (The food, though, not so much...)

And we did Mickey's Surf's Up breakfast at PCH Grill yesterday and it was also a great experience. MUCH better food than the Plaza, and we saw 5 characters: Mickey (opening photo only), with Minnie, Daisy, Pluto and Stitch all roaming. Very good interaction.

 

[realrellim]

We ate at Goofy's in April and were underwhelmed by the characters. We only saw Goofy at the opening photo. Every so often they'd all walk through singing and then some characters would stay to visit, but Goofy didn't stay around. We saw Minnie, Chip & Dale, and Pluto.

 

[lovebug33]

We just went to Ariel's and we loved it. Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, Belle, and Cinderella were all there. Only Snow White was missing to make my girl 100 percent happy and we found her the next day!

 

[agamble]

Plaza Inn has a nice character meal. Lots of characters, good interaction.
We just ate at Storytellers at GC (it was handy) and it was terrible. Food was good! Not a huge buffet but very nice. Character interaction was the worst. They shouldn't even book that as a character breakfast. I felt bad for the little kids. We were there over an hour and only saw 3 characters. Meeko, Chip and Dale--but separately. Over an hour!!

If you want an expensive meal/buffet, go there. Character interaction, forget it.

We tried this meal last year. We also saw Koda and Kenai (bears from Brother Bear) I think those are the 5 characters that are at that restaurant now. It seems that each restaurant has five assigned and regular characters, except Minnie's. Minnie's has a random assortment, and the longer you're there the more characters you'll see as they change over time. I think the others are all set, except Ariel's. Ariel's is always 5 princesses, but the five can vary. We've only eaten at Storytellers and Plaza Inn. Both were fine, but there wasn't a huge difference between the food (both offer fresh to order omelets) and Plaza Inn has more characters and is slightly cheaper. Plus it's in Disneyland.

 

[Vala]

The standard 4 characters at Storytellers are now Chip, Dale, Meeko and Kenai. Koda hasn't been appearing since October 2015.

 

[cmph]

I was at the Plaza for Minnie's Breakfast on Monday. We saw Chip, Dale, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Captain Hook, Max, Rafiki, Minnie and the Fairy Godmother. That's TEN characters! It was my first time at the Plaza but it was literally double the number of characters I've ever seen at any other character meal ever. Very impressive!

We did the Plaza at 10:30am on Apr 23. I was a little nervous b/c it was late and some reports I read said that we'd be rushed or not see all the characters; however, I didn't want to miss out on prime morning ride time either, and I figured being up early meant we'd be hungry by then. It was actually GREAT! We did it b/c the 10yo wanted to collect autographs, and the 7yo (a boy, of course) was all "i don't care about characters" before the trip. He changed his tune at that meal! He loved the characters as much as his sister! Same characters for us, and the only one that didn't make it to us somehow was the Fairy Godmother. People were still eating when we left (and we took a loooong time b/c my crew can eat massive quantities), but we may just not have stayed quite enough to catch her. Dale's signature was awesome - incorporated into a picture he drew of his face. So cute! My kids thought Max was the best b/c he was funny, but Chip was also doing silly things with props. It was definitely worth the money if you care about characters. We thought the food was fine; a Mickey waffle is a Mickey waffle. I can't see how they cut corners with the character aspect there, honestly. And we definitely felt the cutbacks in other areas (like the Redwood Creek challenge trail, with all the booklets "sent to Shanghai" as a CM told me). I would keep the res if I were you

 

[BatBunny]

How is the character interaction at Surf's Up breakfast at PPH? We're looking at doing that and Plaza Inn for a couple of meals.

 

[arichau]

I think Surf's Up has some of the best character interactions. Plenty of Mickey time with photo and dancing on the stage every 30 minutes. Also Minnie, Stitch, Daisy, Pluto. We have done this breakfast several years in a row and we always have spent a ton of time with characters. Seeing many of them two or three times. They also (at least last year) have very obvious markings for allergies which was super helpful for me (I would much prefer to look at a sign than talk with someone if possible).

 

[Nut_Meg]

DLR just had face character auditions on Sunday, so if anything it sounds like they're hiring, not firing. I believe many DLR and WDW entertainers were sent over to open Shanghai, so they'll be compensating for that with new hires in the States. I do think Disney understands that characters are an integral aspect of the parks and that they can't afford to make too many cuts there.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

How is the character interaction at Surf's Up breakfast at PPH? We're looking at doing that and Plaza Inn for a couple of meals.

We had lots of fun at Surf's Up too. It never seems to get too crowded and the staff is lovely.

 

[agamble]

How is the character interaction at Surf's Up breakfast at PPH? We're looking at doing that and Plaza Inn for a couple of meals.

I haven't eaten at this one, but I have friends who enjoyed it. I would say if you don't have a Disney Visa, this is likely the only way you'll meet Daisy and Stitch. So if you want to meet them, it's a good choice. Mickey and Minnie are everywhere in the parks.

 

[mich311e]

I haven't eaten at this one, but I have friends who enjoyed it. I would say if you don't have a Disney Visa, this is likely the only way you'll meet Daisy and Stitch. So if you want to meet them, it's a good choice. Mickey and Minnie are everywhere in the parks.

Daisy has been in the parks lately. I've seen her in DL and DCA in the past few months. But, Stitch for sure at Surf's Up or the Disney Visa m&g.

 

[agamble]

That's a cute Daisy. We saw her once at Minnie's breakfast, but it doesn't sound like she's a regular there.

 

[mich311e]

That's a cute Daisy. We saw her once at Minnie's breakfast, but it doesn't sound like she's a regular there.

Yeah, I haven't seen her at Minnie's either.

 

[mom2rtk]

Is that maybe a 60th anniversary Daisy?