Originally Posted By mom2bs I am curious about whether to do a character dining experience, and which ones are recommended?? What characters are available at which place... there seem to be so many choices. I have a 7yo boy and 5yo girl. Thanks!
Originally Posted By Steph-n-Kev Hi there, Nov 05 my hubby and I had a character breakfast @ the Plaza Inn in Disneyland, and found it well worth the $. We had Tigger, Eeyore, Minnie, Captain Hook, Fairy Godmother, Chip n Dale, and they ALL came and spent time with us, even though we didn't have any children. We loved it, food was a great selection, hot and cold buffet, fruit, waffles, pastries, bacon, eggs, hash browns and heaps of other stuff. Good drinks selection too, tea, coffee, milk, hot chocolate. Would definately recommend it - added bonus that you're already in the park to start yr day.
Originally Posted By MsLindanne Goofy's Kitchen is our favorite! It is over at the Disneyland Hotel and reservations are a must, otherwise you'd have a long wait. It is also a little pricey, but you get a huge variety of food. It is all buffet and there is plenty to choose from for breakfast & lunch. The characters come around for pictures and autographs and it is really fun for all. The Plaza Inn is good too...we've done both, but I think Goofy's Kitchen, in our opinion is the best. Just don't forget to get reserv.!! ºoº
Originally Posted By nemopoppins Oh yes, do a character meal. If you have lots of money and time, do more than one. If you're doing only one, I'd recommend Goofy's Kitchen. I'd recommend against Ariel's Grotto. I and several others have had awful experiences with the princesses being curt and indifferent. Your son probably wouldn't like seeing only princesses anyway.
Originally Posted By practicallyperfect We like the Lilo & Stitch Breakfast at PPH. My kids (ages 9 and 7) love Goofy's but prefer Lilo! There is a lot more character interaction and fun games. Goofy's (and the Plaza depending on time) are more crowded and hectic. Big selling point for me--my kids are not buffet eaters. I hate to waste the money at buffets. We order off the menu at the Lilo meal--I feel much better! I am not overeating (and staying somewhat on the diet!) and am paying an appropriate price for what my kids really eat!
Originally Posted By 4Disnee We just did the Minnie and friends at the Plaza Inn and it was wonderful. The caracters spent so much time with us. It was my sons birthday and it was great. There was Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Pluto, Hook and the fairy godmother when we were there. We would love to do it again.
Originally Posted By BCbec 4Disnee, did you make reservations and how far ahead did you make them? Is there just a character breakfast at the plaza inn?
Originally Posted By 4Disnee Hey BCbec, Yes we did make ressies and I think that I made them just a few days before we ate there. Our son at the last min wanted to eat there so we walked up to the ladys that make the ressies there and we got some. But I really suggest that you call in advance to make them I think that we just got lucky cause it was before the big crowds hit in June. We got there early in the morning also so it was not very busy and it was great!
Originally Posted By BCbec thanks 4 disnee, I think I'll call this week and book a breakfast for the kids, they'll be surprised. I was thinking of doing a storytellers breakfast, as we're staying there, but I think they'd like the characters at the plaza inn better. thanks again.
Originally Posted By 4Disnee Hey BCbec, You are so very welcome. We also love the food at the Storytellers but the characters at the Plaza Inn our son loves. LOL Have a great time and what a special surprise! Enjoy!
Originally Posted By mamacita We have done Goofy's many times and the last two times were terrible; food, service, and interaction sucked. We are going to try Lilo and Stitch this trip and I might be able to talk hubby into Storyteller's too. We have always had exceptional service and character interaction at Ariel's but becaused we have done it the last 3 trips, it's time we branch out.
Originally Posted By atinkfan We have done Goofy's twice now. The first time the interaction was so-so. This last time we had a good time. We always do our character breakfast on our last day, so it's kind of a last hurrah before we leave. This last time we had ressies at 10:20 am. It was perfect, we had time in the morning to get packed up then head down to breakfast. It was crowded when we got into Goofy's but it started clearing out fast as people were headed into the parks! We were practically the only people in there and had the characters to ourselves. It was really fun! After breakfast, we went back to the room, got our bags and checked out. (we requested a late check out that day since we were having a late breakfast) Since we had a late breakfast, no one was hungry for lunch and we were able to drive almost a good portion of the trip before we had to stop and eat again!
Originally Posted By thmar I agree with all the other posters...a character meal is a MUST!! Last time I went with my 20 something daughters. We wanted to go to Goofy's Kitchen but hadn't made reservations and the wait was tooooooo longggggg...so we went to the Plaza Inn instead. We had great interaction with the characters. They were great even for big kids like us.
Originally Posted By debtee Ohhh Yes do a Character meal they are Fab! We have done most of the meals and they are all good in their own ways, you will just have to keep going back like we do to get them all done! LOL We have always had a great time at Goofy's as they have the most characters but I do feel the last two times the characters were rushed and didn't spend long with anyone! sob sob. The food is very nice there we have tried breakfast and Lunch! Plaza Inn breakfast was great and we had nice food and great character interaction with the Pooh bear characters as I love Eeyore, I think it's now changed to the fab 5 characters?? I most enjoyed Lilo & Stitch for character interaction. Stitch really is great and plays games with everyone as well as Lilo, Pluto, Minnie and others. The best food by far was Storytellers but you only see the characters at the front they don't come to your table. We have been there for Breakfast and Dinner over different trips and both times were fab with lots of choice for food. The worst food we have had is Ariel's grotto! We have been there three times now and the food has always been YUK! However if you want to see the Princesse's that's where they are so we put up with the food to have time with them and they were all wonderful especially Ariel. I think we are done with that one now! lol I'm sure you will have a great time no matter which one you select!
Originally Posted By starlily I have Ariel's Grotto scheduled for our trip. Is the food so bad that I should cancel and book somewhere else?
Originally Posted By mamacita I think the food at Areil's was decent. It depends on your tastes and what you order. Their vegetarian pasta is good. Their fish and chips are greasy but okay. Their chicken noodle soup is yummy-my kids really like it. The kid's macaroni and cheese has hotdogs and goldfish crackers on top and my kids wouldn't touch it. The sourdough rolls and their bleu cheese dressing are delish. Someone in our party had the meatloaf and enjoyed it. The portions are way too big though. The desserts are all really good.
Originally Posted By debtee ohh I didn't mean to put you off Ariel's starlily. We have enjoyed ourselves at Ariel's it's just the food was not as good as we had hoped each time we have been but as mamcita has said there are some dishes that I'm sure would suit your tastes.
Originally Posted By sarasmom97 >>>The best food by far was Storytellers but you only see the characters at the front they don't come to your table.<<< We ate breakfast at Storyteller's last Saturday and we had GREAT interaction with the characters. We saw Chip, Dale, Meeko,Turk,Koda and Kenai.They each came to the table and spent lots of time with the kids and the adults too. The food was delicious, too. Buffet was $21.99 for adults, $11.99 for kids. Omelets, pancakes and waffles are made fresh-to-order.I would definately go there for breakfast again.
