Which Character meal?

[abby]

We are going in late January. The trip is me and dd 5 and 1/2. last year we did the princess breakfast at the Plaza and she loved it. So I am planning a lunch at Ariel's Grotto. I would like to do another character meal, so I am trying to decide between Goofy's kitchen and the storyteller's cafe. We are staying at the DLH. Which would you pick and why?

 

[GreenGirl8]

I would go with Goofy's Kitchen. There are a lot more characters and def. more interaction than at Storyteller's. Storyteller's Cafe tries to appeal to everyone, so the characters are very mellow and usually mingle in the front of the restaurant only (unless this has changed since my last visit!). I have always loved Goofy's Kitchen for the interaction and character variety. There is also a huge buffet. Don't forget to ask for a fresh omlet!

 

[Gpaul]

GreenGirl8 to the rescue! Fantastica!

So, what exactly is a character meal? I'm thinking a lot of not-great food, very expensive, and basically just seeing Characters walk around and chi-chat with kids. Right, Wrong, ~?

 

[silence]

We had a horrible experience at Goofy's when we were there on 12/3. Even after multiple complaints to the supervisor/lead and our waiter, we were told "well we are TRYING to get Rafiki to come over..." Mind you this was after an hour in the restaurant and we had only seen Goofy. It was a horrible response to our very valid comlpaint. The tell you when you check in that you only have 90 minutes from when you are seated until you are asked to leave. We saw many more characters going into other areas but ours was just neglected for whatever reason. The little girl at the table next to us started crying and they left after complaining at the desk.

Now, our trip before we had wonderful interaction but for whatever reason it was really bad this time around. I don't know that we will go back.

We did the Minnie and Friends breakfast at the Plaza on Friday 12/9 and we saw: Captain Hook, Wendy, Peter Pan, Eeyore, Tigger, Dale and Minne Mouse. The characters, especially Wendy, spent so much time talking to the kids. It really made our day.

Good luck!

 

[G8RFAN]

We were at Goofy's on 12/8 and it was pretty good. This was our first time at DL and it matched our best experiences at WDW. Our table was one of those along the bank of bench seating to the right as you walk past the buffet area. We were visited by all the characters. In fact one time the Mad Hatter took my DS 04 out to the main area to do the macarena. It was hysterical. The prime rib was also excellent. We were not told to finish in 90 minutes but maybe that is a weekend policy???

 

[ron808]

I've been to Goofy's Kitchen twiced & no one ever told us about the 90 minute rule.

I've had nothing but good comments about them. We were seated at the patio area first but everything's all easy & accessible. Characters go outside, wait staff is attentive.

 

[atakaratemom]

We also did not have a good experience at Goofy's Kitchen. We were there at the end of November. Like the other poster, I had to complain to the waitress and then twice more to the manager. Our section was being completely ignored. Chip visited a section adjacent to us three times and never came over to our area. My kids were getting restless after more than an hour had gone by and only two of the characters had come around. We also were told about the 90 minute rule and as it was explained to us by the waitress, you should expect to be visited by all 5 characters roaming the restaurant within 90 minutes. For us, it ended up being 2 in 90 minutes. My daughter finally chased Minnie down in the buffet area which I know is frowned on, but under the circumstances I didn't try to stop her. The food was good, but it should be for what they charge. The character experience was very disappointing.

 

[Gpaul]

Thanky all!

Adios Character Breakfasts!!!!!!!!!! %&&%$&((*

 

[GreenGirl8]

Wow,

I am shocked about the negative experiences both of you had. I wonder if there is a certain section of the restaurant that regularly gets neglected. I have never gone with children, and this is one of the only character meals I have found the adults get just as much attention as the kids. I even have pics of Goofy and Alice putting our table cloth around my friend's neck as they forced him to eat ice cream for breakfast. It was great.

 

[undertheradar]

We were seated near the door where the characters enter/exit. Character after character went by without any tableside visits. I spoke to the manager and she told me that the escort manager was new. This was over 6 months ago and it sounds as if nothing has changed. We are going the first week of January and have been assured that things will be better....we'll see!

 

[samkj]

We had the same bad experience at Goofy's in November. It was a favorite on previous trips, but this one was a huge disapointment.

 

[ZeusNike]

Strange that so many had bad experiences at Goofy's Kitchen. A group of 14 of us were there mid-November and we had a terrific time. The characters were great (non of us were kids) and so was the food. We will be back!!!!!

 

[dgaston]

I was there 12/6 with a friend and they were slammed. We had called for PS from DL and were seated fairly quickly (others were told 90 minute wait). Characters were wonderful with us as two adult females, and Aurora and Goofy were especially nice. If we had wanted more interaction we certainly could have had it. Aurora in particular was excellent with all the little ones.

 

[Shelebeen]

We did the Princess breakfast in the Plaza Inn during our June trip.. we also went down to Storytellers the morning we were leaving and enjoyed that... we really liked that you could order off the menu rather then only having buffet. The characters at Storytellers visited us at our tables the day we went... We also did Captain Mickeys at Ariels Grotto - I think our favourite character meal - the kids LOVED dancing and we had lots of character interactions.

We also enjoyed the Princess breakfast, but only visited with Snow White, Belle, Mary Poppins and Bert ( who were WONDERFUL) and Cinderella... we were sitting outside and it seemed more characters were hanging out inside...the food was just ok, and was expensive when you only eat a small breakfast... but it is so worth the character interactions.


For our trip next week, we booked in at the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at the PPH, which you can also either have the buffet or the menu. I have heard really great things about this character meal from a number of sources. We are also booked into the Princess dinner at Ariels (so we can meet Ariel with feet!). The food is pretty good and portions are pretty big...

 

[ron808]

Strange that so many had bad experiences at Goofy's Kitchen. A group of 14 of us were there mid-November and we had a terrific time. The characters were great (non of us were kids) and so was the food. We will be back!!!!!

I guess the common denominator between our experiences are we're adults. I don't think we harass the mascots (characters) as much as kids do.

The restaurant crew knows that we tip well too that's why they took care of us. We all have pins, bundles of balloons, my friend who had his birthday then had some goodies as well.

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

We chose Storytellers for us. Frankly, having a kid named Dale makes a big difference in which characters are important for us to see. Princesses need not apply for this family!

We chose a 7:00 am seating on a Wednesday, when the park opened (without EE) at 9:00. When we were seated, there were only about 5 families in the restaurant with us. In the 40 minutes we were there, we were visited by and had terrific interaction with: Dale (thank goodness if we had to have only one chipmunk, it was him! He's got the red/brown nose, FYI.), Meeko, Terk, Ranger Dave (a regular CM dressed like a park ranger, but a nice interaction, nonetheless), Koda and Kenai. Not a hairless character in sight, but we aren't exactly a Princess family, so it worked fine for us.

We chose buffet, but only because I'm lazy and wanted a little of everything. The buffet choices were EXCELLENT! Plenty of ripe, fresh, beautiful fruit (strawberries, melon, whole apples and bananas), scrambled eggs, casing sausage links, MONSTROUS bacon, several potato dishes (a California thing? We don't do potatoes like that in Texas!), eggs Benedict, and a beautiful made-to-order omelette station. Pancakes and Mickey waffles are included, but you have to ask for them.

Maybe it was timing, maybe it was location, maybe it was Magic, but we had a marvelous meal at Storytellers and will definitely plan another meal there next trip.

 

[RonnieJo66]

My choice would be:

The Lilo & Stitch Aloha Breakfast at Paradise Pier!!!

We went this past summer and had the most wonderful experience ever! Character interaction was great and the food was the best I had in a long time (from a meal such as this). We were even able to get pictures alone with Lilo and Stitch....no waiting necessary. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

[GreenGirl8]

Wow,

I think I am going to have to try Storyteller's for breakfast again. We went several times and the characters stayed only in the entrance area. We were told they were not allowed to leave that part of the restaurant...so, you had to go to them. This policy must have changed, and combine that with the wonderful food at Storyteller's....great choice!

 

[Dis Ohana]

When we went to Storytellers Chip and Dale just stayed in front of the restaurant, but anyone could go up to them at anytime for pictures and hugs. This was fine for my kids (10 and 12) since good food is more important to them than character interaction. The buffet was fabulous! But if you have a small child that wants a table visit, I wouldn't suggest this place. It's our first and only choice for a character breakfast though.