Favorite Character Meals ?

[MichelleWDWfan]

Hi all.

I'm a WDW passholder making my 1st visit to DL and DCA Sept 17-21.
I love TS meals especially Character meals at WDW.

I'm super excited about my 1st visit to DL / DCA.
Planning on Downtown Disney the 17th after I settle into my hotel on Harbor blvd.
I'm doing the parks the 18, 19, 20.
Could probably squeeze in an early breakfast on the 21st before my flight at 12 noon too.

I want to have some character meals, TS meals and probably a WoC dining pkg.
I've seen Fantasmic at WDW...should I skip it at Disneyland?

What are you fave Character meals at DL / DCA and why?

I generally like to eat breakfast and supper and just pick for lunch on Disney snacks.
I have no allergies and am not vegetarian...not a picky eater just don't like super spicy foods.

I love planning my WDW trips, but am a newbie on this one
I welcome suggestions and advice about anything! Thanks so much.

 

[courtneybeth]

Greetings fellow WDW passholder and welcome to our park! To answer some of your questions...

1) Don't skip Fantasmic! The shows are so different and it's fun to see the original. It's also a different experience because you'll be around the River and not in an auditorium. No pre-show. Just waiting. Highly recommend the Blue Bayou dining package, as it puts you right in the middle and you get a butt cushion to sit on. Perfect view and everyone has to sit on their cushion!

2) Wine Country is the best for the WOC dining package... especially dinner. If the show is at 8pm, then you have to eat no later than 530 for your reservation, as it can take up to two hours to eat. You'll want to sprint to the Little Mermaid area and enter the reserved section about 30 minutes before your show. Highly recommend doing WOC when there's a 1030pm show, as you can eat a little later and most people are leaving to Disneyland for Paint the Night's 11pm show.

3) Character meals are... welp, there's not too many. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Goofy's Kitchen. Not only is it crazy busy but the food is disgusting and has about the same reputation as Chef Yucky's at the Contemporary Hotel at WDW.
The Minnie and Friends breakfast in the park is a great way to get early admission to Disneyland and it's fun because it's so eclectic. Like, whomever is on staff and whatever clean costumes are available to come out to be the dining characters. We've seen everything from Rafiki, to the Fairy Godmother, and once a Chip with no Dale (that was so weird). I'd also recommend the Surf's Up! Breakfast at the Paradise Pier hotel because it's one of few times you get to actually see Mickey and Stitch shows up too!

4) Downtown Disney is great, but it's about 1/6 the size of the one at WDW. It's more of a connection between the Disneyland Hotel and Disneyland itself - i wouldn't plan on an afternoon of it. It's really tiny... but checking out the Big Hotels are fun. The Grand Californian is gorgeous. There's also an Outlet mall about a mile away and I'm sure you can get an Uber to it (google The Outlets in Orange for more details).



Reservations are 60 days in advance, so you're almost there. Let me know if you have more questions!

 

[Comicbookmommy]

Hello! About Character meals:

Goofy's Kitchen has fallen off the pedestal in terms of characters over the last couple years (used to be random including great "face" characters, now only Minnie, Goofy, Chip n' Dale, and Pluto) but my 12 y/o loves it the most, probably because the dessert assortment has soooo many options. I find there to be the most kids options available here, and they always love Goofy's PB & J pizza. This is the most expensive (except Ariel's, I think). I find it worth a visit.

Mickey's Surf's Up is awesome, mainly because Stitch is there (along with Daisy, Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, all in beach wear) and he's always hilarious! The characters dance at timed intervals to beach music, which I think is way more fun than Goofy's Kitchen's "napkin twirl". The food has less variety than Goofy's but they have additions like flatbreads, whipped cream for pancakes, and smoothies that are great. My 5 y'o loves this place the most.

Storyteller's Breakfast w/ Chip n' Dale I've only done once, but enjoyed it. Saw both Brother Bear's, Chip and Dale , and Brer Fox. I am sure there are a couple more characters, but we missed them. The food is about as diverse in options as Mickey's, but they have Eggs Benedict, which my family loves! They have an interactive activity for kids with a guide at certain times, then they parade around the restaurant in a line with the kids. Fun!

Minnie's at Plaza Inn is the place you should go if you only choose one character meal. The price is better than a place like Goofy's, but you get WAY more characters of more diversity, icluding "face" characters. Chip, Dale, Minnie, Captain Hook, Fairy Godmother, Tigger, Eeyore, and Max are all there, and I've heard of Alice, Mad Hatter, Rafiki, Peter Pan and more have shown up as well. The food is my least favorite out of all of the breakfasts, and you have to get your own drinks and stand in line for food on busy days, but it's still good and very enjoyable.

Ariel's Grotto I have not done yet because of the price, and I hear the princesses don't stick around for more than a quick "hello" and photo op. But I'm sure someone else could offer a more thorough description.

Have fun on your trip!!

 

[Mike_M]

I've done Minnie and Friends Breakfast and Ariel's Grotto for lunch.

Minnie is a good one. Typical buffett breakfast but good in my opinion. It's hard to mess up breakfast. Lots of characters and good photo ops. I've done this one a couple times with my kids and always felt it was worth it.

Ariel's Grotto was also good but due to the price, it falls into the 'one and done' category for me. It was my DD's birthday so we got lots of photos with the princesses, a nice birthday cake and good service. Food was excellent. Again, it was a good experience, just a bit pricy to justify it for anything other than a very special occasion.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

Thanks so much for the great responses so far.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My favorites are Minnie's BFast and Goofy's Kitchen. I used to like Ariels Grotto before they went to the current menu, but I do think the character interaction is great there

 

[jlp879]

I've tried all the character meals and thought they were all good in their own way. One thing for you to keep in mind though, two of them require you to enter a park, and the other three are in (one each) of the Disney hotels. That might make planning a little easier, if for example, you want to do a character breakfast on your way to the airport, then pick either Grand Californian or Paradise Pier hotel breakfasts. You should do one meal anywhere at Grand Californian anyway, as it's such a beautiful hotel to explore. The Paradise Pier hotel has zero character, but their Surf's Up breakfast is a lot of fun.

Don't miss Fantasmic because with the setting being so different, it really gives an unique vibe to the Disneyland production. Enjoy your trip!

 

[DharmaLou]

For the greatest number of characters, Minnie's breakfast is your best bet. The food at ALL the character meals is pretty meh, but you'll have double the amounts of characters at Minnie's than the others. The only character meal we haven't done is Storytellers.

 

[BirdsSingWords]

We love Minnie's Breakfast at Plaza Inn. We actually like the food a lot (made-to-order omelettes, yum!) but we're big breakfast fans.

Last time we went, we saw Hook AND Peter Pan, and Peter was fabulous. He had a sword fight with my niece and "stole" her light saber. It was very relaxed and fun. My only pet peeve was the folks who can't seem to wait for the characters to come to their tables. There were several families that would just crash other folks' character interactions and nobody was policing things.

Ariel was "one and done" for us too, mainly due to price and food. We can meet the princesses in Fantasy Faire for free.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I have a 4 day prk hopper pass.
Here's what I am looking at so far for meals:
17th - WoC dinner pkg
18th - breakfast ?, Dinner Blue bayou fantasmic pkg
19th - Surf's up bkfst, dinner ?
20th - Minnie's Plaza Inn bkft, dinner ?
21st - Storytellers bkfst
I prefer Table service but I'm not totally against Counter service, I may do some CS dinners
possibly a Counter service breakfast on the 18th. Still looking at menus.

 

[MCBWHITE]

Now sure how early they open, but maybe Surfs Up on your last day? That way, you won't have to cut into any park time, you still get your character breakfast, and you get a fun farewell to DL right before you leave? If you can swing it probably depends on what airport you're flying out of and how early you can get a reservation.

Oops - ETA.....just saw your tentative plan. Yep.....putting a character meal on your last day that's not in the parks was my point! . Enjoy!

 

[GatorChris]

I know what you mean about loving those character meals at WDW. I really miss Liberty Tree having characters in patriot attire, though I still love it for the food. All that said, DL character meals for some reason don't have the appeal that they do at WDW. That's probably because there's no DDP at DL. With the DDP, I feel like I'm getting more than my money's worth at WDW when I hit a character meal. At DL, it's just costing a bundle to eat there. OK, so here's my reviews.

Ariel's Grotto: This is the only princess meal at DL. It definitely can't stand up to the ambiance of Akershus or Royal Table, and the food isn't as good either (I miss the norweigian lunch). You do get 5 princesses, though, and the food is good. It will set you back a pretty penny.

Goofy's Kitchen: We did this in Feb and it's a lot like Chef Mickey's, only with brunch. This elevates it for me because I can eat breakfast food all day long. And they do it well. I know someone else here said it was bad food, but we all really liked it. It's not as cool as being inside the Contemporary, but it works.

Mickey's Surf's Up Breakfast: This is the only meal where you can meet Mickey. The breakfast is very traditional and the characters were fun. What I remember about this place is that it was half empty when we went.

Minnie's Plaza Inn: This is next on the list for us. We have friends that have said the breakfast was usual fair but the characters were pretty amazing. So many. But you do need a ticket to get into the park.

Hope this helps.

 

[Comicbookmommy]

I have a 4 day prk hopper pass.
Here's what I am looking at so far for meals:
17th - WoC dinner pkg
18th - breakfast ?, Dinner Blue bayou fantasmic pkg
19th - Surf's up bkfst, dinner ?
20th - Minnie's Plaza Inn bkft, dinner ?
21st - Storytellers bkfst
I prefer Table service but I'm not totally against Counter service, I may do some CS dinners
possibly a Counter service breakfast on the 18th. Still looking at menus.

For some of your dinners, How about the Jazz Kitchen, Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, or Rainforest Cafe? Rainforest Cafe can be a bit crazy, but my kids always want to go there, and we think eating in a giant temple is just super cool. Also Storyteller Cafe at night is really nice too. They serve delicious cornbread/breads!

 

[MinMou]

No one has mentioned Carthay Circle, and it is supposed to be very good. If you decide not to have dinner there, you might want to stop there for a drink to check out the decor and ambiance. Check out this video at the 4 minute mark:

 

[Baklava]

I have a 4 day prk hopper pass.
Here's what I am looking at so far for meals:
17th - WoC dinner pkg
18th - Cafe Orleans, Dinner Blue bayou fantasmic pkg
19th - Surf's up bkfst, Ariel's Grotto (have the cioppino!)
20th - Minnie's Plaza Inn bkft, Jazz Kitchen or Rainforest Cafe depending on if you have smallish kids. For littles, RFC.)
21st - Storytellers bkfst
I prefer Table service but I'm not totally against Counter service, I may do some CS dinners
possibly a Counter service breakfast on the 18th. Still looking at menus.

I put in what we'd do with your blank spots.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

So many great suggestions you all are awesome!
I noticed that it's not possible yet to make ressies for WoC and fantasmic dining pkgs yet.
When do those usually come available?

I know what you mean about loving those character meals at WDW. I really miss Liberty Tree having characters in patriot attire, though I still love it for the food. All that said, DL character meals for some reason don't have the appeal that they do at WDW. That's probably because there's no DDP at DL. With the DDP, I feel like I'm getting more than my money's worth at WDW when I hit a character meal.

I know what you mean..when I do the DDP I try to pick the most expensive meals and snacks...lol
Carthay Circle sounds like a good idea for WoC pkg. Wanna check out those drink Ice balls.

Since it's just me travelling solo, I don't really care about the meal prices this trip. If my 20 yr DS were going? Different story altogether
Kinda wish my DS were going. When Cars Land 1st opened we gushed about how we couldn't wait to see it someday.
Now, I'm trying to talk him into coming with me.

 

[MinMou]

So many great suggestions you all are awesome!
I noticed that it's not possible yet to make ressies for WoC and fantasmic dining pkgs yet.
When do those usually come available?

=>I think they open up 60 days prior.


I know what you mean..when I do the DDP I try to pick the most expensive meals and snacks...lol
Carthay Circle sounds like a good idea for WoC pkg. Wanna check out those drink Ice balls.

Since it's just me travelling solo, I don't really care about the meal prices this trip. If my 20 yr DS were going? Different story altogether
Kinda wish my DS were going. When Cars Land 1st opened we gushed about how we couldn't wait to see it someday.
Now, I'm trying to talk him into coming with me.

Maybe your son would be interested if he could bring a friend? It's a tough age for a guy to do things with his Mom, but if he's into sports, you could tell him he could spend his days at the ESPN Zone. ( I bet he won't be able to resist going on a ride or 20 when you're not looking....)

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I'm already past the 60 day mark so I guess they haven't loaded the dining pkgs into the system yet.
I'm just anxious LOL because I am so used to the WDW ressie system and the 180 day mark hehe
DS likes riding, and WDW. When I told him about going to DL he said I want to go to Disney World instead.
He loves Expedition Everest.

 

[millie0312]

Just figured I'd chime in- We REALLY enjoyed Storytellers last December! The characters were both bears from Brother Bear, Chip, Dale, Meeko (the racoon) and I think 1-2 more unique ones. They had a fun little dance interaction thing with the bears and the wilderness guide. My DD is SO SHY and the bears really helped her interact- they were playing with her, messing up her hair, hugging her- we LOVED it!! The food isn't very spectacular in terms of variety but it was SO GOOD!! I love the make your own omelette station and the rest was all fresh and good. Make sure not to go too late you might miss characters. We are going back this year and also trying Minnie's.

 

[Xenorye]

I'm already past the 60 day mark so I guess they haven't loaded the dining pkgs into the system yet.
I'm just anxious LOL because I am so used to the WDW ressie system and the 180 day mark hehe
DS likes riding, and WDW. When I told him about going to DL he said I want to go to Disney World instead.
He loves Expedition Everest.

If you're not seeing it online, I'd call.