which character meal to choose?

[scottibb]

We get a character meal with our package through Expedia (any of them are included), but I am torn on which to do. My kids are boy age 20 months and girl age 5 and a half. We are staying at PPH and so have magic morning on 2 days. Although I've heard great things about Minnie in the park, I wasn't going to pick this since it would take away from our low wait morning time. My daughter is great for waiting, but lines are my son's complete enemy (plus he goes back to the hotel for 2 naps so good to start early). We were thinking to use this at breakfast on our non MM.

That leaves Ariel, which my daughter would love, but I feel my son would not even think it's anything special. We could to Goofy's at DLH or Surf's Up at PPH. I have heard the food is better and more variety at Goofy, but what about the variety of characters and character interaction, having time to play, etc? Thanks for any input.

 

[Hoku]

We thought the Surf bkfst was so much fun! The restaurant, itself, is pretty ordinary, but the "event" is lots of fun for kids. They get to hula and play instruments so it's really fun. Plus, it could be the only place you get to meet Stitch. That's my vote.

 

[KTR]

When I was in your situation last year I chose Ariel's Grotto. My daughter was 3 and desperately in love with the princesses. My son was 17 months and while the princesses weren't his favorite, he still enjoyed it. I didn't know if he was going to be into any of the characters. I thought he might be scared of them based on his reaction to the Chick-fil-a cow, so I went with what I knew my daughter would love. Turns out he did love the characters, and he loved the princesses too. It's been over a year and a half and my daughter still talks about having lunch with the princesses and my son doesn't remember the trip at all, so I'm glad I made the choice I did.

 

[skiingfast]

I always suggest Minnie and Friends because it is A. In DL, and B. a great mix of characters.

You can make an early reservation for it on non MM days and it will be before the park is open.

You may also want to eat toward the end of breakfast if getting up early is a problem.


Otherwise I'd just go down stairs to Surf's Up if your 5yo is willing to participate in the fun.

For Goofy's it offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you might combine it with a midday break and hit it on the way back to the parks.

 

[cari12]

We did both Ariel's and Goofy's with DD6 and DS4. I think it really depends on your kids and how they react to the huge characters.My kids loved the princesses and a big part of that is that they looked as they expected. The princesses gave a more "real" experience. It was magical for them both. My son also loves most things his big sister does so he loves the princesses as much as any girl. They were a little afraid of some of the bigger characters like a 6 foot tall Chip or Baloo. Also they noticed the other characters did not talk either. And to be honest, their favourite characters at Goofy's were Jasmine and Alice (again real people, not huge costumes).

 

[SailorsWife]

I have done the Surf up at PP. My younger dd was just over year. I loved how the characters just loved on her. Lilo and Stich are tough to find in the parks, so it's a good place to see them. When I went it was buffet. Typical food. DH that loves breakfast, ate so much he could skip lunch in the parks. I never felt rushed. The characters make sure you have a chance for pictures and "play" with each kid a bit.

We have also done Storyteller's Cafe in California Grand. Different characters, buffet plus a menu you can order from. Donald duck in a ranger's costume, Chip and Dale and Brother Bear. Same quality of "play" and photo ops.

Ariel's Grotto is fun. But it's princesses all the way. The food is fine. And I would say it's a bigger bang of the buck , that you are getting for free.

I haven't done a character meal for breakfast in the park. I agree, you are burning time when you could be hitting Dumbo with little lines.

 

[macfamily88]

Ariel's Grotto for a couple reasons:

• My daughter's named Ariel, so it seems fitting
• Belle is usually there, and she's smokin' hot!

 

[Mama Who]

I would get the princesses in now. 20 months is still small enough that your son will get some mileage out of flirting with the pretty girls. Get them done now while DD is still crazy for them and then in a few years you can do something less "girly" when DS is old enough to protest.

 

[Spassvogel]

We did Ariel's grotto when the kids were 6 and 4 (girl and boy respectively) and they both had fun. There was a *lot* of food so everyone was happy, and there was even some left over. We had breakfast there, and had to go hang out at the "rope" in DCA until we found someone to explain we had a reservation to, then they let us through.

The last two trips we booked through Coscto and ended up going to Goofy's kitchen, which is an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's not hard to get your "money's" worth when it's included in your package. I always feel like I need to smuggle food out in my coat or something, hehe. The food selections are always really good. Think the only minor shortcoming was that the server didn't come back enough to refill drinks. The bus-guy ended up bringing our refills most of the time. I would've palmed *him* the tip instead if we hadn't had it all covered by our package.

Ariel's Grotto had princesses, and Goofy's Kitchen has Goofy, Pluto, Chip 'n Dale, Minnie, Mad Hatter, and others I'm sure. The characters rotated through the restaurant spending a few minutes at each table, taking pictures, signing autographs, and what-not. They do take a professional photo and then try to get you to spend $30 on it, but the picture was so good both times, we ended up buying it. (normally our family just doesn't take good pics together for some reason, hehe).

Either way, it's a lot of food. I don't think you can go wrong with either of those two. If I had to pick, I'd go back to Goofy's again simply because it's at Disneyland Hotel and it's less of a walk when you're stuffed to the gills, hehe.

 

[disneymom23]

. I thought he might be scared of them based on his reaction to the Chick-fil-a cow,

When my kids, now 11 and 9, were 3 and 1, they flipped out at the chick-fil-a cow. It was years before they would get anywhere near any character. They didn't even want to go thru the chick-fil-a drive-thru for fear the cow would be there.

We prefer Minnie's for character meals. The character interaction is the best! We do a MM day and eat around 10:00. We're hungry and ready for a break after being in the park for 3 hours. Also, it closes at 11:30, and we find that near the end, all the characters come out and the place is nearly empty. On our trip last November, my kids danced with the characters for 15 minutes. It was awesome!

 

[Glitermagic]

Last I went was in '08 and we got a character meal included in our deal as well. We chose Goofy's kitchen. I had been when i was younger with my grandparents and really enjoyed it. There is a good variety of characters including Alice, Baloo, chip n Dale, Pluto and of course Goofy. Not sure if they change them out. The food was pretty good for buffett style. Much of the food is Disney Themed like Alice's French toast for example. They would have a dance party every hour or so for the kids to participate in with chef Goofy. which looked to be alot of fun. And you got a family picture with pluto or whoever they may have out that day before they seat you at your table. The characters traveled around the room pretty frequently and stayed at your table for quit awhile taking pictures and answering questions. It was quit fun even for the adults.

 

[Hoku]

Uh-oh!!!! I just called dining reservations and the lady said...*gulp*... Stitch isn't there anymore??? She said it's now called "Mickey and Friends" and doesn't have Stitch?? Can this be?

 

[Vala]

Uh-oh!!!! I just called dining reservations and the lady said...*gulp*... Stitch isn't there anymore??? She said it's now called "Mickey and Friends" and doesn't have Stitch?? Can this be?

Granted it has been a couple of months, but in November *after* Mickey had officially taken over Stitch was there both times we went. I haven't heard a report of him not being there this year.

It's just that the name changed and Mickey is there reguarly now. Lilo isn't appearing anymore though.

 

[larina]

Our favorite character meal, by far, is Surf's Up at The Paradise Pier. It's more interactive than the others and there seem to more characters. It is brighter and cheerier than some of the other options.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Uh-oh!!!! I just called dining reservations and the lady said...*gulp*... Stitch isn't there anymore??? She said it's now called "Mickey and Friends" and doesn't have Stitch?? Can this be?

I think the only character you are guaranteed to see is the one in the name of the breakfast, and the PP breakfast is now hosted by Mickey. That doesn't mean that you won't see Stitch at the breakfast, but he is no longer a certainty. Many people have reported still visiting with Stitch at their breakfasts since Mickey took over. You may just have to be prepared to have the bad luck of being there on a day or time when he's not present.

 

[donaldduck1967]

I've done Ariel, Surfs UPand Goofy. IMHO Ariel is over rated, Surfs Up has better character interaction Goofy has better food. Minnie was also very good but when we went it was in Feb and cold and we were seated outside if we didn't want a 45 min wait.

GCH Also has a character B'fast which imo is also very good food wise and character interaction wise.

It's a tough call but I'd probably chose Goofy, GCH then Minnie in that order.

 

[dnamertz]

I always suggest Minnie and Friends because it is A. In DL, and B. a great mix of characters.

You can make an early reservation for it on non MM days and it will be before the park is open.

How do you get in if the park is not open yet?

 

[larina]

How do you get in if the park is not open yet?

There's a special gate at the entrance. I hear it's a great time to get photos of an emptier park.

 

[DizMe]

I've only done 2--Goofy's and Ariel's. All 3 times we did Goofy's, I hated it. I will not try it again. Others love it but my family didn't find it worth the freebie we had for it. The food was awful, the characters were cool but passed us by every time, and the interaction involved kids being shoved to the front of the gathering during the little performance.

Ariel's, on the other hand, has always been an awesome experience. The food is good (by Disney standards) and the interaction is wonderful! Every princess comes to every table so your kids get to actually talk to them. They do a little performance that involves the kids' participation but you don't have to dash to be in front; you can do it from your table. Last time we went, there was a prince that taught the boys some fun things.

As another poster mentioned, the prince and the princesses are "real" (face isn't covered and they can speak), which makes it nice for kids. My girls loved asking the princesses questions like "Do princesses have to get up early?" and such.

Finally, Ariel's Grotto is so uniquely decorated and beautiful!

ETA: Center pic in my signature shows my girls learning a princess move from Cinderella at AG dinner.

 

[dnamertz]

There's a special gate at the entrance. I hear it's a great time to get photos of an emptier park.

Has anyone tried this (going to the Minnie character breakfast at the Plaza Inn before the park opens)? What time does this breakfast start on mornings when the park opens at 10am?