Best Character Meal

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I know I should take the time to do a search on here, but I don't have the time to do it today! (I'm at work!) Anyway, can anyone suggest the best character dining experience at Disneyland? We are looking for a dinner for the first night we get there, so it would have to be at one of the resorts. We're staying at Paradise Pier. I appreciate any help anybody could give!

Thanks!

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[MerHearted]

It was Ariel's Grotto in DCA... until they took her away!

 

[hoppypooh]

I am planning a first time DL trip for September, so I haven't been there myself yet. But I've done a fair amount of research through guidebooks and online... My two cents: both Goofy's Kitchen (DL Hotel) and Storytellers (GCH) come highly recommended. Apparently the food isn't super at Goofy's (just okay) but has lots of characters - the opposite is true at Storytellers (better food, less characters.) If I remember correctly, Storytellers has Chip & Dale and Pluto and Goofy's has the fab five, Alladin & Jasmine, Baloo and a few others. Hopefully a DL expert will be able to better respond to your question! Have a great trip!

 

[Disneynutcase]

Storytellers is only for breakfast. We did it. It was fun. Chip & Dale, Mickey, and Br'er Bear were the only ones there. Maybe Goofy, too. I can't remember.

Ariel's Grotto is quite good. Food is fixed price, includes soup or salad, drinks and dessert w/ entree of your choice, and a little expensive. But they have gobs of characters running around--I think we met 9 or 10 in one sitting.

Goofy's Kitchen is too expensive (at least for dinner). This is your only option for character meal dinner at a resort hotel/outside of the parks. The food isn't really that good, not in comparison to WDW dinner buffets. And there wasn't as many characters. But they did have some odd ones on hand. Aside from Goofy, Mickey & Pluto, we met Mulan and Rafiki.

They also do a Mickey and friends lunch and dinner at either the Plaza Inn or Plaza Pavillion (can't remember the name). It is the buffeteria at the hub near the entrance to Tomorrowland. We haven't tried it, but saw people eating and interacting during our last few visits. AND the same buffeteria also was recently doing a Princess breakfast (but I'm not sure if it continued after 5-5-05).

Hope this helps.

 

[xfkirsten]

I highly reccommend Ariel's Grotto over at DCA, especially if you do it on a night that's not so busy. I've eaten there a number of times now. At the WDWMagic meet in December, we went just before the Electrical Parade one evening. We had Mickey, Minnie, Donaly, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Lilo, and Stitch. And the place was so empty that we had tons of time to play with all of them! For the amount you pay, you get quite a bit of food. Serving size on the entrees is pretty big - I can almost never finish it!

 

[netenyahoo]

I actually think the food at Goofy's Kitchen isn't that bad. I think it is the best place for characters. I haven't been to Ariels for a long time as we had a bad experience there. It sounds like they have more characters now. Has anyone tried the Princess Breakfast at Plaza Inn?

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I talked to my family and we ended up making reservations for Goofy's Kitchen. We won't be going into the parks that day, so I wanted to do one at a resort. So I have a reservation for July 13. They don't normally give out confirmation numbers, do they? I didn't get one when I called. Just wondering!

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[drew81]

I just got back from Disneyland. I really liked Ariel's Grotto. It was nice. I also ate at Goofy's Kitchen. It was good but very expensive. Storytellers Cafe has a great breakfast. One of the best I had ever had.