Character meals: Which is best?

[ChrisDawn]

From what I've read, Goofy's Kitchen appears to be the best character meal for a 5 year old boy, so I'm leaning toward going there. My big question is about WHICH meal to choose, b-fast, lunch or dinner? I'm thinking lunch might be the best deal, with a hopefully reasonable cost along with a good variety of food, but that would mean leaving the park in the middle of the day to go to the DL hotel. Is it logistically better to go for breakfast early, then have your whole day in the park?

I'd love to hear your opinions.

 

[pclare]

Well, since we have tried (and loved ) most character meals during our many family vacations over the years, so I feel qualified to throw out my thoughts on this topic! IMHO Goofys kitchen is the best! With our 3 kids (now aged 15,11 and 6) we keep going back to Goofys kitchen time and time again. We have found the breakfast to be our best value since there is so much food and such a wide variety. We often go for a "brunch" type breakfast and dont eat again till that night. One of the great things about anyd disney buffet is there is not only breakfast foods available but much much more.

I strongly suggest calling for PS since it can get busy. Dont forget your autograph book and camera as characters wander from table to table for visits. Goofy does his dance with the other characters and kids about every 1/2 hour in the middle of the room and that is always a highlight with our 2 youngest other than the dessert table of course!

Hope this helps and grab a slice of pb&j pizza for me....MMMMMMMMMMMM yummy!

Pauline

 

[got2travel]

OOHH, love the PB&J pizza. Yes, it's on the kid's table, but I'm a sucker for PB.

We like to do the same thing, turn breakfast into a brunch. Breakfast is the least expensive meal and you get a combination of breakfast and lunch type foods. Salads and sandwiches along with the eggs, bacon, waffles, omletes, etc.

This works well, especially if the parks open around 8am. Schedule the latest possbile breakfast PS at Goofy's, usually 10:45 or 11. Make sure you are in line at the front gates to DL 30 minutes before scheduled opening. They will probably open up Main Street and let you wander around. Once the rest of the park opens, hit as many rides as you can, then when the crowds start forming because everyone else finally woke up, you stroll over (or take the monorail) to the DLH, enjoy your meal, spend a little time in Downtown Disney, then back to the parks refreshed.

I believe breakfast is $21.99 adults and $9.99 kids (could be wrong on the kids though). We'll be trying our first dinner at Goofys this Saturday. Our APs are blocked on Sat, so we're doing a DD day. Dinner for adults is $28.99, but I can't remember what they quoted me for kids.

 

[zukeeper]

I love Goofy's brunch, but the Storyteller's Cafe at the GC is pretty cool for boys as well. And you can order Ala Carte. My kids were in heaven with the Mickey Waffles and my husband claims they had the best bacon he ever tasted and you don't have to get the ALL YOU CAN EAT buffet. You can mosy right on in to CA when your done through the special entrance.

 

[AFMom]

As far as food goes - Goofy's Kitchen is amazing! We were very impressed! The character interaction was great - but we went for a 7am PS and by the time we left at 8am (on a Monday) the place was absolutely packed. I don't know that I'd want to be there for long when it's that busy. At 7am, the kids were able to see most of the characters, but by 7:30 it was sooooooo busy. We never did get to meet Mulan. But we really enjoyed ourselves there.
We also tried Captain Mickey's at Ariel's Grotto ( CA ADV). The food was good (lunch on Wed), and the characters were all over the kids! They did the limbo, the conga line, the got everyone maracas and danced with all of the kids. I recommend sitting outside if you can - there is a gazebo there that they do all of the fun activities. Anyway - the kids had a blast!

 

[CalGal]

My favorite time to go to Goofy's Kitchen is lunchtime, and especially late lunch or brunch, say 1-2. The reasons I love this time:
1. It's not usually as busy as some other times, so the character interaction is often exceptional.
2. I'm usually pretty hungry by then because we usually go for a quick, light breakfast on the run.
3. A big meal at this time will set me up for most of the day.
4. I'm not taking away from prime park time (very important; I especially don't want to take away from morning riding before the parks get crowded)
5. I'm usually ready for my afternoon break at this time
6. Sometimes, I need to kill some time between check-out and catching my plane.
7. It's cheaper than dinnertime.

My second favorite time to go is early dinner time, before heading back to the park for parades, etc.

 

[Eeyorecln]

I love Goofy's brunch, but the Storyteller's Cafe at the GC is pretty cool for boys as well. And you can order Ala Carte. My kids were in heaven with the Mickey Waffles and my husband claims they had the best bacon he ever tasted and you don't have to get the ALL YOU CAN EAT buffet. You can mosy right on in to CA when your done through the special entrance.

What are the prices Ala Carte in comparison to the buffet? And who are the characters? Which one has better character interaction with the kids?

 

[zukeeper]

What are the prices Ala Carte in comparison to the buffet? And who are the characters? Which one has better character interaction with the kids?

The buffet is $20 plus tax and tip for adults and based on my questionable memory, I would guess that ala carte is around $8 to $13 plus beverages for adults and $5 to 6 for kids. If you're not a big breakfast eater and others are, it works out nice.

Storyteller Cafe used to have Chip and Dale and Pluto, but now it sounds like Kenai and Koda (?spelling) have taken over or perhaps been added. They had a kids parade to the Peter Pan song "Following the Leader" and I still have it stuck in my head (in a good way!). The whole experience is a bit more low key.

Ariel's Grotto is similiar in the kids parade and low key experience, plus you don't have to leave the park (DCA).

I think Goofy's Kitchen, Princess Breakfast in the Park and Lilo & Stitch (and Minnie) at PCH Grill have more characters, but you pay the price with more craziness so just schedule the time accordingly for the best experience. I believe you can order ala carte if you are not in an all you can eat mood at the PCH Grill even if others get the brunch.