Question about character breakfast

[cooniez]

I got the Costco package for B3G2 nights & PH tickets, which also includes 1 character meal. I heard the food at Goofy's Kitchen is better than at Ariel's Grotto, but can you suggest which meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) would be best/most enjoyable for the kids? IIRC someone mentioned the breakfast was good, but I can't find the thread. Also, is there a specific day of the week that would be good to do this? We'll be there June 17-22 (Thursday-Tuesday), but probably won't do the park on the days we arrive/leave. TIA

 

[leazel]

Goofy's kitchen is great, if your looking for alot of interaction between the characters & kids. It does get pretty loud in there. And the kids get so stimulated by all the characters, that you have to remind them to eat. I also, thought the food was pretty good.
Also have done PCH grill at PPH. last year they had Lilo & Stitch theme but, I believe they have changed the characters this year to Mickey & friends. This seemed to me to be somewhat more relaxing. The food was great.
And the other Character meal dining that does'nt seem to get much mention is Minnie & friends at the Plaza Inn. I really like this one. There is a mix of characters that come through, food is great, there's a outdoor eating area plus, your already in the park. So, after you eat you just go about your day having a great time in the park.
Those charater meals are the only one's I've done so far. Hope, I helped..a little

 

[DizNee Luver]

Both meals have good food....the answer might be in what your kids are into. If they love the princesses, Ariel's Grotto is set up to feel like you're meeting royalty. You meet Ariel upon entry & then are seated. Four more princesses will come out & be introduced & then make their way from table to table to meet with the kids. We did the breakfast last year & really enjoyed it. It was served family style & there was plenty of it.

Goofy's is a favorite of our family. They have a huge buffet, so even the pickiest of eaters can find something & walk away full. The characters we've seen over the last couple of trips: Goofy, Max, Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Alice, Baloo, Chip, Dale, Aladdin & Jasmine, & Brer Fox. Lots of fun & games for the kids to get up & participate in.

 

[Sherry E]

I have to respectfully disagree with Leazel in that Minnie & Friends gets a lot of mention here on the board. People love Minnie & Friends. M&F clearly has the most characters out of all the character meals. The thing that seems to be a recurring complaint/observation is that the food at Minnie & Friends is not always that great or fresh. Of course, there are folks who love it, but more often than not, we have had seen comments that the food was sorely lacking.

Here is our character meal photo thread, so you can get a really good idea of which characters are at which meal:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2234435

And here is a link to Page 23 of Disneynerd420's Trip Report (below). Scroll all the way down. Post #338 and Post#339 show you pretty much all that is available at Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast/brunch, which is a lot. Goofy's has an all you can eat buffet, and it has the widest variety available of all the character meals (hence, the higher price tag). I love it there, and have been eating there for years. The food quality and assortment is really good, and I like the characters (Goofy, Chip, Dale, Baloo, Pluto, etc., etc.). I have never found it to be too loud, and I have never had a bad experience there. If there were fewer characters, the food more than made up for it, but usually it is a good combo of food and characters. It gets active and Goofy "bakes" with the kids and dances with them for a few minutes here and there, but otherwise, I never thought it was too bad.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2268157&page=23

I have never eaten at Ariel's Grotto, so I cannot speak from experience, but it is all Princesses - no fuzzy characters. Goofy's has a mix of fuzzy characters and Princesses/face characters. Ariel's does not serve buffet, but for breakfast it is food served family style. Lots of DIS-ers love Ariel's. Both are in the higher price bracket of the character meals and are considered "premium dining."

So it really just depends on what you think your kids will enjoy.

Surf's Up with Mickey is the only meal where you will find Mickey and Daisy Duck, along with Stitch and some other characters.

Storytellers Cafe has a menu or a small buffet option, and features the woodsy/jungly Disney characters. It is probably the most quiet and laid back of all the meals, which lots of folks prefer in comparison to the high energy fun of Goofy's, Minnie's and Surf's Up with Mickey.

 

[cooniez]

Thanks for all the advice...I'll have to come back & re-read this when I get back from DD's dentist appt. Unfortunately the only choices we have are either Goofy's Kitchen or Ariel's Grotto w/the Costco package.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for all the advice...I'll have to come back & re-read this when I get back from DD's dentist appt. Unfortunately the only choices we have are either Goofy's Kitchen or Ariel's Grotto w/the Costco package.

I think you will be happy with either one - Goofy's has great food, great characters and a lot of options to choose from, and Ariel's is all Princesses, in a really pretty restaurant, and people say the food is quite good.

 

[momto2nenas]

Minnie's and Friends isn't covered by the "free dining" though COSTCO travel. I called to make some PS arrangements this week and asked which ones are and its Goofy's, Ariel's, and now included Mickey and Friends.

We are going to do Goofy's since we've done the other 2 (at least PCH when it was Lilo and Stich, sad that they changed it!). We just need to decided between brunch or dinner. I'm leaning towards brunch but have to get DH on board.

I have 3 girls and yet they do NOT want the Princess lunch?!

 

[heatherleigh]

Goofy's is the best choice. I have a 3-yr old princess who would probably love Ariel's, however, I have not read many great reviews for the food. I don't think it's worth it to pay for the atmosphere, alone.

 

[specialks]

We ate at Ariel's for dinner and unless your kids are major princess fans or if you REALLY like seafood I would skip it. My husband thinks it is kind of more focused on presentation and "fanciness" than on "bulk food". So if you have a hungry male in your party you might want to avoid Ariels. I am perhaps a very low end picky eater (not major) but I don't like seafood and I had a little trouble finding a dish to eat. I think we are booking Goofy's or Minnie's on our next trip. We might have to do Ariels again just to miss the lineup for the Princess Fantasy Faire (PFF) but we won't be going back for the food. We would perhaps try breakfast instead of dinner.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We ate at Ariel's for dinner and unless your kids are major princess fans or if you REALLY like seafood I would skip it. My husband thinks it is kind of more focused on presentation and "fanciness" than on "bulk food". So if you have a hungry male in your party you might want to avoid Ariels. I am perhaps a very low end picky eater (not major) but I don't like seafood and I had a little trouble finding a dish to eat. I think we are booking Goofy's or Minnie's on our next trip. We might have to do Ariels again just to miss the lineup for the Princess Fantasy Faire (PFF) but we won't be going back for the food. We would perhaps try breakfast instead of dinner.

The breakfast was very good at Ariel's. They brought out a 3 tiered set up with bagels, pastries, sweet breads, cheeses, salami, grapes, strawberries, etc. Then they'll bring out a hot dish full of scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon & sausage. It was a lot of food & very tasty!!