Storyteller's Character Breakfast

[mgmcpa]

Feedback sought: ...
How cool is this character breakfast (especially as compared to Minnie's in the park)?

Which characters are generally there?

The Disneyland site mentions it's either all-you-can-eat or you can order off a menu. How much does it usually cost if you order off the menu?


We are already going to one character meal (Ariel's) and went to Minnie's last year ... just wondering if this is a good one that can be done a bit more cheaply if we decide to do an extra meal on our last day.

Thanks

 

[Sherry E]

Feedback sought: ...
How cool is this character breakfast (especially as compared to Minnie's in the park)?

Which characters are generally there?

The Disneyland site mentions it's either all-you-can-eat or you can order off a menu. How much does it usually cost if you order off the menu?


We are already going to one character meal (Ariel's) and went to Minnie's last year ... just wondering if this is a good one that can be done a bit more cheaply if we decide to do an extra meal on our last day.

Thanks

First of all, here is the link to our character meal photo and information thread, so you can see which characters are at the Critter Breakfast as a rule:

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

As the Critter Breakfast focuses on the sort of 'woodsy/jungly' Disney animal characters, it's pretty much always going to be Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear and Chip and Dale (but Chip and Dale are at at least 3 out of the five character meals, so they are not exclusive to Storytellers). Sometimes Meeko is there. Often times Terk from Tarzan is there. I have even heard reports that an occasional Brer character or two might show up once in a blue moon. But you will be able to tell by the photos in the character meal photo thread which characters are there most often. There are not a lot of characters. I don't think I have ever seen more than 5 characters there. So if you are expecting what you saw at Minnie & Friends in terms of the number of characters, you won't get that.

Now, as for the menu vs. buffet... the buffet is not that large and extensive (unlike the Goofy's Kitchen buffet, which is bountiful). I have done both the Critter Breakfast buffet and the menu. Frankly, the menu items are not that cheap. I ordered a breakfast from the menu once that is now running about $18, while the buffet is about $23 (not including tax and tip). So the last time we went there, I just got the buffet because, even though the buffet is small, it is more worth the money than paying $18 for one plate. You can decide when you get seated what you want if you don't know before hand. You don't have to pay until you are finished eating.

A lot of folks really like Storytellers Critter Breakfast because of its low-key, laid back atmosphere and cozy vibe, in contrast to Goofy's or Minnie's or even what used to be Lilo and Stitch. I could do without the Critter Breakfast again, unless someone I was with really wanted to eat there. I like Storytellers better as a regular restaurant for lunch or dinner than for the character meal, but there are other people who love it. I have done it enough times now to know that it is only so-so for me. It sounds like you pay about the same amount of money to eat at Minnie and Friends and get many more characters at M&F as you do at the Critter Breakfast to get only 5 characters (sometimes 4). Personally, I am a Goofy's Kitchen girl, so the Critter Breakfast will never replace that for me. But I think if I were going to plunk down another $23 plus tax and tip for a character meal, I would go to Minnie & Friends for all the characters instead of Storytellers.

 

[FourM's]

Our family really enjoys the Storytellers Buffet. Our kids are on the older side and don't really care about the characters so much. Sherry E was right on about which characters you see there. We have been many times and those seem to be the ones we see each visit. I find the buffet selection to be slightly smaller than other character breakfasts but higher in quality. Sherry was also correct about ordering off the menu it is pricey, but the banana stuffed french toast is to die for!

 

[tholczer]

Whatever you do, don't do the breakfast at the Plaza Inn (I think Minnie's?). We just went a couple weeks ago and it was inedible. Eggs were runny - hash browns tasted like lighter fluid - sausage was greasy and cold - fruit wasn't ripe. We ended up eating toast. For almost $150. We could have hit an off morning, but since the food was consistently bad, it's fair to assume it's always like that.

Maybe the character experience is worth it for some people. But I'd definitely steer clear if the eating part is important to you. I haven't tried the others and would love to hear if they are better.

Tracy

 

[BillyFan]

I think the food is more plentiful and much, much better at Storyteller's vs Plaza. Also, if you go to Storytellers, order the buffet, because you can request pretty much anything from the menu with the buffet.

 

[Sherry E]

Whatever you do, don't do the breakfast at the Plaza Inn (I think Minnie's?). We just went a couple weeks ago and it was inedible. Eggs were runny - hash browns tasted like lighter fluid - sausage was greasy and cold - fruit wasn't ripe. We ended up eating toast. For almost $150. We could have hit an off morning, but since the food was consistently bad, it's fair to assume it's always like that.

Maybe the character experience is worth it for some people. But I'd definitely steer clear if the eating part is important to you. I haven't tried the others and would love to hear if they are better.

Tracy

I think that all the restaurants - character meals or not - can have off days, but I will say that Minnie & Friends seems to get consistently mixed reviews of the food quality, leaning towards the negative side, whereas the all other character meals seem to hold steady with mostly positive reviews. I can say that I have been eating at Goofy's Kitchen since 1992 - so, clearly that is the winner for me if I am willing to stick with it for 17+ years! It has the right formula for me of characters+good food (great fruit, great bacon, great everything)+variety of food.

For me, the Storytellers Critter Breakfast food is only so-so. But it's also personal taste. My last meal at the Critter Breakfast was my worst one so far, and the food was not good at all, whereas my last meal at Goofy's surpassed itself and was better than the last few times I had been there. Usually the Critter Breakfast food has been better than that, so I don't know what happened the last time. It was an off day! Again, personal taste. Check out post #338 and #339 of Page 23 of Disneynerd420's TR thread (link below), and see what kinds of stuff Goofy's Kitchen has to offer:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....268157&page=23

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We enjoy Storyteller's ~ DS get's the buffet, DD & I split a meal *the banana stuffed french toast ~yum~ and most recently buttermilk griddle cakes ~ yummy as well both have plenty of food for the 2 of us. We always see Kenai & Koda, Terk *these 3 love "playing" with DD's hair ~ rubbing their "paws" all over her head and making it stand up (static) ~ Chip & Dale are usually there and we've also visited with Meeko.

 

[aussietravellers]

Whatever you do, don't do the breakfast at the Plaza Inn (I think Minnie's?). We just went a couple weeks ago and it was inedible. Eggs were runny - hash browns tasted like lighter fluid - sausage was greasy and cold - fruit wasn't ripe. We ended up eating toast. For almost $150. We could have hit an off morning, but since the food was consistently bad, it's fair to assume it's always like that.

Maybe the character experience is worth it for some people. But I'd definitely steer clear if the eating part is important to you. I haven't tried the others and would love to hear if they are better.

Tracy

Gosh, we went there in December for breakfast and it was great, maybe they were having an off day

Anyway now to the OP. We had breakfast at Storytellers 4 times on our trip in December. We really like it, the characters are good, the food was good and the feeling of the restaurant is great. We had a mixture of buffet and menu. There are items that you can order that are not on the buffet, mickey waffles and pancakes are two. But the menu is great if you don't want a huge breakfast, so could be a little cheaper if you all had the menu. You don't have to decided until you get there which you will have, the first morning we took the menus and had a wander around the buffet to see what there was and what we felt like. I am sorry but I can't remember menu prices off hand but they may have them at allears.net in the menu area.

 

[DangerMouse]

Storyteller's Cafe is my favorite character breakfast. I like the ambience of the restaurant and that it isn't over the top loud and chaotic like the other breakfasts can be. I always order off the menu as I'm not really an all-you-can-eat buffet kind of person. Their food has always been top notch for us, as well as the service.

 

[Sherry E]

Gosh, we went there in December for breakfast and it was great, maybe they were having an off day

Anyway now to the OP. We had breakfast at Storytellers 4 times on our trip in December. We really like it, the characters are good, the food was good and the feeling of the restaurant is great. We had a mixture of buffet and menu. There are items that you can order that are not on the buffet, mickey waffles and pancakes are two. But the menu is great if you don't want a huge breakfast, so could be a little cheaper if you all had the menu. You don't have to decided until you get there which you will have, the first morning we took the menus and had a wander around the buffet to see what there was and what we felt like. I am sorry but I can't remember menu prices off hand but they may have them at allears.net in the menu area.

I stated in my above post that the buffet was $23 - technically, it was $22.99, plus tax and tip! One of the breakfast items on the menu - the American breakfast, I think it was - was $17.99 before tax and tip, the last time I was there. So the minimal $5.00 difference made the buffet a much better deal for us, even though it was a small buffet. But it was an 'off day' there, and the food was not up to the quality it had been on my previous visits, so even the $23 didn't seem worth it at that time!

The service is always great at Storytellers!!

 

[Princess Row]

Honestly we do M&F, Lilo& Stich, Goofys, and Ariels, Every single trip. We have done storytellers twice now and think its horrible, goofys would be our next least favorite. Ariels doesnt have the greatest food but the princess are worth it. We LOVE minnies! We have never had a problem with the food and characters are fantastic. I guess it really just depends on the type of person, storytellers didnt impress us at all when we went.

 

[mgmcpa]

Thanks everyone ... as it's the character interaction that makes these things worth while, I'll stick with Minnie & Friends.

Our trip to Minnie's last year was the single greatest Disney experience I've had in my entire life. Minnie sat with us for 15 minutes and Eeyore too, in fact, we had to ask them to leave so DD could eat. We went to the first seating time of the day and had the place to ourselves in the off season. Because it was so great, I'd love to go again ... but I also realize our experience was likely once-in-a-lifetime, so was thinking Storyteller's might be a way to change it up a bit.

 

[daneenm]

Sounds like you have already decided, but I have to just weigh in on Minnie's. We tried it for the first time in our many trips to DL last summer and thought it was marginal at best. The characters were good, but I could barely eat the food, and, while I enjoy a good meal, I can eat breakfast almost anywhere. There was nothing that we ate that anyone wanted to go back for more of or even anything that anyone completely finished on their plates. We find the breakfast at Storytellers to be very good. We only visit every year or two, but have never had a bad meal there.

 

[tholczer]

Thanks everyone ... as it's the character interaction that makes these things worth while, I'll stick with Minnie & Friends.

Just make sure you eat ahead of time!

Thanks Sherry E. I should have checked out feedback on the character breakfasts before we went. Next time we'll try Goofy's for sure.

Tracy