I am contemplating making a disney dining reservation for my family for our next disney trip in april (our almost three year olds first trip) and am wondering which one of these you have experienced?
We want something special for our little girl, and our family. she enjoys princesses but the ariels grotto thing doesn't nessecarily seem in our rpice range..
Which ones have you done, and whihc was your favorite?
Do you feel it is worth the money?
Working daily to infect my two little princesses with Disney obsession
We did the character breakfast at The Storyteller Cafe in GCH. Expensive...but so much fun. There were not a lot of people around and we had a lot of interaction with the characters. There are no princesses at the Storyteller - just Chip & Dale, Brother Bear characters, even a few from Pocahontas - the racoon as I recall. I hear that Goofy's Kitchen is great as is The Plaza Inn at the park - you have more of the standard Disney Characters - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, all of the Princesses. Whatever you decide to do - ENJOY!
Deedlebug
Yeah, Goofy's Kitchen would probably be the best for overall character interaction. Plenty of Princesses there on a regular basis in addition to Minnie and the other usual suspects: Mad Hatter, Chip and/or Dale, Max, Donald, Pluto, Baloo, etc.... Oh yeah, and of course, Chef Goofy! Plenty of variety of food, and it's all-you-can-eat.
The Plaza Inn will be less expensive and you will still have some fine character interaction, though not as good as G-K.
Storyteller's doesn't have any actual Princesses that we've seen, but they have tastey offerings and a few characters (as already mentioned).
We'd rate Ariel's Grotto last due to the fact that the Princesses pretty much just make quick stops at each table and then parade themselves on out of there. Some of them act like it is a chore to stop and chat with you. They always seem to be watching the other Princesses to make sure that they are not holding the others up. It almost seems like a race to the "finish line"! Limited choice of food, too.
If you don't have an AP, you might check for other discounts like AAA.
Have fun!
Yes, I agree. Check out discounts thru AAA. Also if you are a Costco member and you book thru them, you can get a free character meal for breakfast for each in your party.
I would definitely go with Goofy's Kitchen. The character interaction there seems really laid back and the couple times we've gone there the variety of characters was great. We've seen: Cruella DeVille (who was hilarious), Mickey, Baloo, Jasmine, penguin from Mary Poppins, Alice, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Honest John, Aladdin, Pluto. These are just the ones I remember.... The food is typical buffet food, but my 6 yo son was really happy with his Disney themed food. Plus all the dessert they want.
We've never done a character meal. For my family (which includes two boys), it's never seemed worth it.Originally Posted by Rose Red
Some of our favorite places to eat include the Carnation restaurant on Main Street. It's been awhile since we last ate there, but on the kids' menu they had (and still do, I think) a "build-your-own" peanut butter sandwich. The bread comes with peanut butter, placed on a plate shaped like an artist's palette. Then, surrounding it (where the "paint" colors would be) are small cups of raisins, jelly, banana slices, and one or two other items that kids can put on their sandwich. Lots of fun! You can make a priority seating reservation for this restaurant.
We also like the French Market, a cafeteria-style restaurant, because my picky kids like the mac & cheese on the kids menu.
Goofy's Kitchen! We've done it twice, the food is great and they cater to lil ones! My boys are teens now, but the last time we went was in 2000 for Christmas. I remember that we always had characters coming around, so much so that we didn't get too much time to eat! It was also my son's birthday the first time we went. Both times were Christmas, because his birthday is Dec 22. He got special visit from Max, Goofy's son, and Max also made a nice long visit in 2000 at our table to "flirt" with my niece, who was 12. He gave her a cup of sugar, bashfully, and took her hand and mock kissed it! She turned about 10 shades of red!
I really enjoy Goofy's kitchen, and we are thinking of going back for my son's graduation celebration as well. He's 18 now, btw. He was 7 the first time and 10 the second time. So, now he's 18..... and still loves the characters.
I'm glad my boys have not outgrown all Disney has to offer. I certainly haven't!
About princess stuff, when we were there last summer, there was a princess play area and I think meet and greet in Disneyland at the Fantasyland stage? I always think of it as the Pocahontes stage area... because that is the last show "I" have seen there, and I know they have had other shows since. But, we were coming by it on the train, and there it was! It was pretty neat, if I had a lil girl, I'd definately be taking her by there. Anyone confirm if this is still there and will be maybe there for viewing this year?
Vickie
~Dead Men Tell No Tales~
Okay, I looked it up on Disneyland.com, and it's called Princess Fantasy Faire!
It's across from It's a Small World, as you head towards Toon Town it's on the left.
I just checked because I was looking something up for my son! hah!
Vickie
~Dead Men Tell No Tales~
I do love the Storytellers Cafe for Breakfast! The food is so good!
I am gonna have to try Goofy's Kitchen!
It is my experience that all the character interactive eating establishments are similar in price. Certainly the best option for most princesses for you bucks is Ariel's Grotto. And while I'd agree the menu is limited, it is, IMHO, no less tastey than any of the others (Storyteller's, Plaza Inn, Goofy's Kitchen, Lilo & Stitch's).
As for any of them being worth the money....it depends how you weigh
value. For me, endless easy photo ops of my kids w/ characters with out waiting in line is worth gold.
Either way, the afore mentioned discount options, AP, AAA, DisneyVisa are all decent 10 to 15% discount. Better than a poke in the eye!
Just countin' the days til the next visit!
We did the Goofy's Kitchen birthday thing, and loved it. Lots of character attention and photo opps. Cost a fortune, though.
Several (5?) years ago we did a thing at the DL Hotel I think that was a tea party with Mary Poppins. Very fancy, fun, lovely tea, several visits by Mary coming in to say her little scripted things and then wandering among the tables, and then a photo opp at the end complete with hats and boas. Don't know if that happens anymore, but that was delightful!
Man, I want tea with Mary Poppins again...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
-Roald Dahl
I believe they still do the teas at the PPH.
We did it once. It was nice.
Last year in June we had DGD 3 and DS 7. We did the plaza inn breakfast and Ariels grotto for lunch. The Plaza inn has great for character interaction and everyone of them came by at least once. We usually are one of the first seatings out side and we set up res. on a MM day. Ariel was expensive for the food but you will see most of the princesses there. This year we will only have DS with us and we will be at the Plaza inn for breakfast again for the third year in a row.
After a not so memorable Goofy's Kitchen and an amazing Blue Bayou repeated experience... I'd have to say Blue Bayou. It's the dark enclosed nighttime atmosphere I love.
I still wish they would open up a Haunted Mansion dining experience in the future, same setting as the Blue Bayou and the Epcot Mexcio Pavilion dining experience.
I was jealous of Minnie's Crystal Palace Breakfast as when we just walked past it we saw so many fun characters, better than the ones at Goofy's Kitchen, that we wished we had planned a character dining experience there instead.
weve done goofys kitchen.yes expensive but was fun not to many princess.ariel grotto was the best for princess my 7yr old daughter loved it the food is good not buffet style but plenty to fill you up
As far as unqualified quality goes it is hard to beat Steakhouse 55. It is better than anything else offered on property including Napa Rose. Plus it offers the best breakfast in the park, but no characters.
I realize this may not fit your budget, but I think the high end restaurants of Disney deserve a plug in this thread.
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