My DD loves Jessie (the cowgirl) and she read in the Birnbaum that there was a character meal with Jessie. I have looked several places (including the info here and the official
Disneyland site) and haven't found this meal--BBQ listed as having characters. Does the BBQ roundup still have characters, or did it ever? Can someone please tell me if these are the character dining options:
Plaza w/ Minnie-- breakfast
Storytellers w/Chip & Dale--breakfast
Paradise Pier w/Mickey--breakfast
Goofy's kitchen--all meals
Ariel's Grotto
What would you recommend as your favorite? We'll be visiting DLR in August if that helps. Thanks so much
The Celebration barbecue when it first opened did have characters, Woody and Jessie. After it had been open for a little while though, Disney took the characters away and restructured the pricing. Now it is an all-you-care-to-eat barbecue buffet with separate pricing for drinks and desserts.
You seem to have a complete list of character meals there. Ariel's serves breakfast and lunch, but it is unclear whether they will be serving character dinner once World of Color starts in June.
My family has tried Goofy's, Storyteller's, and PCH Grill. I'm not real impressed by character meals, but we do them because the kids like them. If I had to pick only one to go to, it would probably be Goofy's for brunch. Your choice will depend on your own preferences obviously. Here a few things to consider:
Minnie's is the only character meal available in Disneyland park. While the food tends to get middling reviews on these boards, people talk very highly of the number and variety of characters and the interaction.
Storyteller's, I recall, is pretty low-key for character dining. The ambiance is very pleasant. You will most likely see Chip, Dale, and other "woodland" characters from Disney movies. You can order buffet or off the menu (costs almost as much as buffet). Storyteller's is in the GCH.
Surf's Up with Mickey is in the Paradise Pier. This is the only character meal where you see Mickey. I hear Stitch is often there as well. The recent reviews I have read on this board about this meal are not that great. We haven't been since it was Lilo and Stitch's breakfast, and while the experience wasn't bad, none of us were that excited by either the food or interaction.
Goofy's Kitchen. We have had both good and bad experiences here. Of the three buffets we have tried, this one had the most variety of food and the most characters (as I mentioned, I hear Minnie's has as many characters, if not more).
Ariel's is the princess meal. I have sons, so we have never been motivated to try this one.