Help me decide on Character Meals

[stagemomx3]

Help me decide, right now I've saved enough money to take the kids to either two character meals or a character meal and a tour at Disneyland. I'd love to do the Discover the Magic tour, but I don't know if they will be having it when we are there. The last contact with a CM said it was random when they have it. In June we did Chip and Dale's Breakfast so which of these would you choose.

 

[tlovesdis]

Our two favorites are Lilo and Stitch and Goofy's Kitchen, although I haven't done Plaza Inn since it switched to Minnie and Friends.

We were there in June and did Ariel's. This is the third time we've done it and will be the last! The food is just mediocre and the interaction time with each princess is almost non exisitant! You get more time with a Princess when you see her in front of the castle in Disneyland. We were very disappointed with it!

 

[4girlsmom]

My favorite is Lilo and Stitch for excellent character interaction.

 

[twinsmom2]

We've done Minnie's, Ariel's and Goofy's and Minnie's is our favorite by far. We've done it twice because we love how the characters are free to interact with everyone and aren't locked into a certain time schedule or pattern of tables.
At Goofy's we got to see the characters but it took a while because we were at the far end of their rotation. Ariel's was great for the girls, but I would have loved to see the Princessess a little longer.
All the food was good, though.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

You didn't have the option to choose Goofys Dinner, but that's what we're planning to do. I've heard consistently great things about Goofy's and Lilo & Stitch. Mixed reviews on Minnie & Friends, with some recent reports of poor character interaction and food. Hopefully any management or staff training issues will be cleared up soon. (We have 2 young boys, so didn't really consider the Princess breakfast.)

 

[tigger0215]

My family have always done the Goofy's Kitchen Breakfast.. well we've only done 2 times.. once when i was 6 and when i turned 16 in feb 2006.. I still LOVE it... it has WONDERFUL character interaction.. they dance and play games.. and if it's your bday, you get a special Birthday Cupcake.. best yet, all the characters that are there interact with you! I personally Love it and will take my kids when i have them

 

[stagemomx3]

You didn't have the option to choose Goofys Dinner, but that's what we're planning to do. I've heard consistently great things about Goofy's and Lilo & Stitch. Mixed reviews on Minnie & Friends, with some recent reports of poor character interaction and food. Hopefully any management or staff training issues will be cleared up soon. (We have 2 young boys, so didn't really consider the Princess breakfast.)

Thanks everyone it's always good to get other peoples' opinions on trip activities.

The reason that I didn't include a Goofy's dinner is that I'm thinking if we do Goofy's Kitchen it will be the day we arrive for lunch, since we have tickets to MHT for that night. I also have two boys, and my dd is 10 almost 11 and not that into princesses, which is why we didn't do Ariel's on our last trip. I'm just thinking that if we do another character meal besides Goofy's is should be in one of the parks.

I'm just unsure about using up that precious morning time inside DL on Minnie and Friends breakfast. Though perhaps a late breakfast on our EE day?

My first choice is the Discover the Magic tour, but like I said who knows if it will be happening when we are there.

 

[kurt90]

I'm just unsure about using up that precious morning time inside DL on Minnie and Friends breakfast. Though perhaps a late breakfast on our EE day?

That is exactly what my family and I are going to be doing late this august. I figure we will be in the park at 8am for EE, do all the rides we can and then break for a late breakfast at 10am. Which should work out well because it's late enough to get all the rides in and there is still enough time before the restaurant closes (11am).

 

[Amy&Dan]

I've done them all and I have to say my favorite two are Goofy's for dinner (I voted lunch since that was the option) and the Lilo and Stitch breakfast. Goofy's for lunch is great because you can have full morning in the parks before you go to your lunch. Its the only character lunch besides Ariels, as much as I love breakfasts its a bummer to miss out on the best time of day to be in the parks! I like Ariel's because it isn't a buffet which makes it less hectic in general but since it switched to princess themed they have those girls flying through that restaurant and they spend very little time with each table. Its well run as in Military precision! My least favorite is the Minnie and Friends (I have been there since it was Minnie and also went when it was princess themed and before that when it was Pooh and Friends). I love it that it is in the park but in my 4 visits there its always hectic and disorganized. I wish they would make that one family style/served to you, the Plaza is just not designed to handle a character buffet in my opinion. But again, being inside the park is great and like Goofy's it has characters that appeal to boys and girls. But I doubt I will do it again.

And OP, I did the Minnie and Friends three weeks ago on an EE day and it was good and bad. It was good in that we had two and half hours in the park before breakfast but it was bad in that when we went in crowds were still manageable and in the hour and half we were in there crowds got intense. But I do think doing this breakfast on an EE day is good because you then have one extra hour to work with and it is very nice that this one is inside the park. With Lilo and Stitch you could make as late as seating as possible, take the monorail from Tomorrowland to DTD and probably only eat up about 30-45 minutes more timewise than you would at Minnies. Also, be aware that at Minnies' the characters leave at 10:30 so you really need to make a reservation early enough to allow time to wait in the long lines for food and see characters. The day we were there most of the characters left promptly at 10:30, Minnie stayed a bit later, she was still there when we left at about 10:45.

 

[kurt90]

Also, be aware that at Minnies' the characters leave at 10:30 so you really need to make a reservation early enough to allow time to wait in the long lines for food and see characters. The day we were there most of the characters left promptly at 10:30, Minnie stayed a bit later, she was still there when we left at about 10:45.

I heard this too, but I also heard from Disney that the charaters leave at 11:15, and another poster that the characters leave at 11 - I wonder which one it is.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Don't some of the (in-hotel) character breakfasts start pretty early, before the park opens? If so, that might be an option to go very early, then you wouldn't lose much (if any) park time. I bet the very early breakfasts aren't as crowded either, which I would think would make for good character interaction...

I agree that a lunchtime character meal within the park is a good idea, too.

 

[acpalmer]

We had a very different experience at Ariel's than others have noted here. We were there in June and the princesses spent quite a bit of time at our table. We had a very early dinner PS time (4:50) and the restaurant was not entirely full, so that may have made a difference, but I had my two boys (3 and 5) and they got quite a bit of time with the princesses. Ariel, in particular, spent a long time talking and whispering with my 3 year old (who has a BIG crush on her--he'd been talking about seeing Ariel for months before we went). She held him and talked with him and it was a fabulous experience for him. The page that came by our table asked if the boys had any particular favorites and the 5 year old mentioned Cinderella, who spent quite a bit of time and made sure to pay quite a bit of attention to him and the 3 year old of course said Ariel. I'm thinking the page must have clued them in, but anyway, we had a great time and our food was all very good (and HUGE portions). We also saw Snow White, Belle, and Aurora we were happy with how long they had stayed--they just didn't zero in on the individual kid like the other two that the kids had mentioned had done, but certainly were talkative and attentive.

We also really enjoyed the Minnie and Friends breakfast--saw 9 characters and all were fun to interact with. We went on an early entry day and did Fantasyland then went over for a 9:10 (EE was at 8 that day) PS and were some of the first in the restaurant. Food wasn't gourmet, but we weren't expecting that. Lots of choices and that was nice for my picky 5 year old. And the Mickey waffles with the fruit sauces were SOOO good.

Have fun with your decision! We'll be back in November and will probably try a Goofy breakfast then, since we are staying at the DL Hotel that trip.

 

[rborth]

Hi, I'm new to your forum and going to disney for the first time in about 10 days (on my birthday )

Anyway, I saw this thread and had a question...

Where is Goofy's Kitchen? I will probably take the kids to breakfast there if it is outside the park, on one of our non-park days...

Also, does anyone know the cost of the breakfast per person (general idea)?

Thank you

You guys are awesome and there is tons of cool information here!

Reba

 

[acpalmer]

Goofy's Kitchen is in the Disneyland Hotel. Also outside the Park is Chip&Dale's character breakfast at the Grand Californian and the Lilo&Stitch breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Cost is in the area of $25ish per adult and $20ish per kid 3-9.

 

[Amy&Dan]

In thinking about this subject I would have to add that when picking character meal, pick the one that has the characters you want to see at a time and place that works for your itinerary/schedule. I have done all the DL character meals and most of the WDW ones and I have to say I have never had such a bad experience I left thinking, "what a waste". Some have been better than others, sometimes I have an incredible experience at one, go back again the next trip, and its not as good (or vice versa). Minnie and Friends is great because its inside the park. And for what its worth, my brother and his daughters were with us three weeks ago when it was so hectic there and he said how much better it was the day they went last January. All places will have their critics and fans and their good days and bad days. Maybe our experience at Plaza Inn in June was partly soured because I got so sick of watching people who were not supposed to be there sneaking in to get autographs, while we as paying guests waited patiently. The food and atmosphere was so much better at our Storytellers Cafe breakfast the day before but I would expect that given the huge setting and the fact that its in a four star hotel not inside the park itself. Pick the one that looks fun and enjoy!

 

[stagemomx3]

While I have heard raves about Lilo and Stitch I'm concerned it might be to "little kiddish" for my crew, who will be almost 11, 9.5, and 8 when we go. They have never been into Lilo and Stitch, and I've never seen the movie. I've seen enough clips to know that I find Stitch irritating. Though I have heard that this is the one character meal that Daisy appears at, and that is who my dd would most like to see. Maybe we'll get lucky though and Daisy will be at Mickey's Halloween Treat?

 

[Dis Ohana]

We really enjoyed the Storytellers character breakfast. We didn't have much interaction with the characters, but my kids are a little older (10&12 at the time) so they didn't really care. We all loved the food there, very good buffet.

 

[stagemomx3]

We did Storytellars in June and the food was fabulous! The character interaction was not much though. There were not that many characters and they all seemed to focus much more on the 2 & 4 year old girls at the table next to us. It's a beautiful restaurant, and eating there was what made us decide that on this next trip we just have to stay at the GC.

Maybe we should skip the character meal, and do Blue Bayou instead? We are going to get lots of character time at Mickey's Halloween Treat, I hope anyway.

 

[happydisneyfamily]

We've been to Goofy's dinner at the Disneyland Hotel and both my kids loved it. We are definitely going again for our trip this year. The dinner is a buffet and the characters interacted with the kids a lot, going from table to table, taking pics, signing autographs, and being rascally with the kids. It was a good time.

 

[rborth]

I am getting so excited about this trip. I had no idea I would be so excited and I know I will probably cry! I have never been to DL and taking my kids there is something I have wanted to do since they were little.

I think they are going to love seeing the characters even if they are a little older... My daughters are 12 1/2 and 13 1/2 and my youngest daughters friend that is going with us just turned 12. They are all really excited about going to DL, too.

I appreciate the pointers I have gotten in answer to my questions, and from reading other people's threads.

8 Days til DL!!!

Reba