I have been to all of them and enjoy all of them. I like the fact that Minnie's is inside the park which can be very convenient. I agree with Linda's strategy for Minnies: eat as late as you can so that you have time to ride some things in the uncrowded morning hours. However, when are you going in May? If the park opens at 9:00 or 10:00, which sometimes it does during the week, you could do an 8:00 a.m. seating at Goofy's and be at the park for opening or within an hour of opening. Minnie's only opens when the park does, so if that is 9:00 or 10:00, you will spend your first hour to hour and half in the park eating with little or no time to ride before you eat. At Minnie's we have seen pretty much the same characters Linda mentioned in her post. And her listing of food is just like I rememeber. Another thing I really enjoy about Minnie's is that they have some nice outdoor seating. Its a really pretty setting.
We have done Goofy's the most, over 10 times and always had great meals and great character interaction. I agree the menu is more varied than Minnie's Here is the breakfast menu from the allears website:
Brunch: 7am-12pm Mon-Fri/ 7am-2pm Sat & Sun
Adult (12 & up) $21.99
Child (3-9) $11.99
Gratuity and tax will be added to each admission price and is charged prior to entering the restaurant.
Five fabulous food islands featuring:
Create-Your-Own Omelet Station
Carving Station
"Mickey Mouse" Waffles & Pancakes
French Toast
Sausage & Bacon
Muffins, Pastries, & Desserts
Fresh Sliced Fruit
Breakfast Enchiladas
Sweet Corn Tamales
Chicken Breast Tenders
Goofy's Famous Peanut Butter Pizza
Soft-Serve Yogurt with Toppings
And much, much more!
They also have a very good dinner buffet. I like dinner very much. That way we can enjoy the parks during the morning, take a midday swim break then head to dinner at Goofy's before heading into the parks for nighttime fireworks.
We also really like the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Here is who we saw: Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Minnie. I have heard other people say that other characters have been there for them, but we only had those four our last visit. Food was made to order omlettes, scrambled eggs, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, all sorts of breads, rolls pastries, hot and cold cereal, fruit and yogurt, and then some Hawaiin things like rice and pineapple bread. Its all really good and you can also order off a standard menu. The characters play some fun games with the kids.
I agree the Storytellers Cafe is awesome but the character interaction is more limited. Unless your kids have seen Brother Bear I would probably not pick that one. The setting is beautiful there and I agree, its the most low key of any of the character meals, it seems to draw the fewest little kids which is not always all bad!
Oh and another one I will mention is Ariel's Grotto. Ariel's is inside the California Adventure Park and serves lunch and dinner. It is not a buffet, you have a choice of around six entrees and each one is served with either soup or salad and a dessert. Its not a huge choice but the food has always been decent when we have eaten there. And again, its inside a park so that is nice. Its also sort of nice its not a buffet, that way you don't have to worry you'll miss a character while you are filling your plate. If you have any Disney Princess fans this is the one for you, that's all there is. The princesse's make their rounds, coming one at a time to each table. Ariel is in her ball gown not her mermaid fins. Last time we ate there we saw: Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella and Belle in her yellow ball gown. My daughter was in sheer heaven!
You cannot really go wrong with any of them. It all just depends on which characters your kids like. We generally do one or two character meals each trip and have never not enjoyed ourselves or left hungry! You can make reservations for any of these up to 60 days in advance by calling: 714-781-3463.
Enjoy your trip to
Disneyland!
Just wondering what character breakfast you would recommend, which characters were there and what time you would recommend going. Our travel agent recommend Goofy's Kitchen and we were thinking of going around 8-8:30 before we hit the park. However, maybe that will be a very busy time? Also, how long would you expect to be there?
)
