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.