DizNee Luver
Luver of all things Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
***DISNEYLAND RESORT CHARACTER MEALS***
There are 5 character meals offered, one at Disneyland, one at Disney's California Adventure, one at the Grand Californian Hotel, one at the Paradise Pier Hotel and one at the Disneyland Hotel.
Let's start with the one in Disneyland~~Minnie & Friend's Breakfast.
This is held at the Plaza Inn on Main Street. The decor is 19th century Victorian from the furnishings to the ornate stained glass windows. When you check in, you'll be taken up to the porch for a family picture. After the picture, you will then be lead to the cashier to pay for your meal. If you are new to the Plaza Inn, your host/hostess will explain the buffet area & then take you to your seats.
This is an All You Can Eat buffet. You'll find items like Cold Cereal, Pastries, Bagels, French Toast, Mickey Waffles, Fresh Fruit, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Biscuits & Gravy, Breakfast Potatoes and Made-to-Order Omelets.
This is the place you will see the most, what I call, "classic characters". Minnie of course will be your host. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger & Eeyore are pretty regular, as is Capt Hook, Rafiki, Chip, & Dale. We've personally seen: Alice, White Rabbit, Honest John, Fairy Godmother & Peter Pan as well. The characters rotate around & you never know for sure, who'll you'll see. None are guaranteed.
This is a great introduction to characters if you're bringing a very young child or a timid one. Most kids will recognize Minnie & Pooh Bear, so that always helps.
We love this meal!! We've seen as few as 5 characters at this meal & one time actually saw 14 of them (11 actually making it to our table). The made-to-order omelets are very good and worth waiting in line for. The rest of the buffet is your standard food. A good tip for any buffet is to watch them swap out trays of food (especially hot foods) and get it then!!
Disney's California Adventure~~Disney Princess Celebration.
This is held at Ariel's Grotto restaurant which is at the entrance into the Paradise Pier area. The decor makes you think you're under the sea. The lights look like jellyfish. You check in for this meal and then are lead down the spiral staircase to meet Ariel. They take a family photo & then the host/hostess will lead you to your table.
Breakfast is served family style. The servers bring out a 3 tiered serving dish with fruits, cheeses, cold cuts, pastries and bagels. Next up is the hot platter with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon & sausage. This is an all you can eat, so if you run out of something, you can request more.
Lunch & Dinner starts with an anti-pasti tower with cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables, pickles, olives, jello and fruit. Each person then orders off the menu for their entree: Pasta with sausage, Herb-Crusted Chicken, Tri-Tip, Redfish, Spinach & Ricotta Agnolotti, & Cioppino for adults & the kids have a choice of Glazed Chicken, Tri-Tip, Seashell Pasta & Meatball Lollipops. After a wonderful lunch, a tray of desserts will be shared at your table.
This is no longer an option for the World of Color Dinner Package.
During your meal, 4 of the Princesses will make their way from table to table. I've personally seen Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle & Jasmine but I've heard and seen pics of people getting to meet Mulan and I believe Pocahontus. It's been a couple years since we've done this meal, so I don't know if they've added Tiana or Rapunzel to this meal or not.
If you have a little princess of your own, this meal is a must!! We had a young boy that loved the princesses, so he was always happy to go to this meal with his sister.
Our family found the breakfast to be very good & very filling. We've never done the lunch but if it's anything like their dinners (which the menu is very close), then the lunch is excellent!!!
Grand Californian Hotel~~Storyteller's Cafe Breakfast.
The Storyteller's Cafe Breakfast is held at the Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel. The rustic decor continues from the rest of this hotel. Beautiful wood & wildlife motif. You check in at the front desk and are shown to your table. You can have the All You Can Eat buffet or order off menu. Remember that ordering off the menu will not make this meal cheaper. The prices on the menu are higher to cover the character interaction at breakfast.
The buffet includes the standard foods which include: Fresh Fruit, Pastries, Bagels, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage & Made-to-Order Omelets.
The menu includes typical breakfast fare, Omelets, American Breakfast, Huevos Rancheros, Eggs Benedict, Mickey Waffle, Pancakes, & Banana-stuffed French Toast.
The characters at this meal include your animal friends. We've seen Kenai from Brother Bear, Meeko from Pocahontus, Terk from Tarzan, Chip, Dale, and Brer Fox. We've been told that Koda also frequents this meal.
This restaurant is big & beautiful. A fun and quieter character meal. The Ranger does lead the kids in a game of Follow the Leader and a little dancing with characters at the buffet.
Our family enjoyed getting to see some different characters like Terk & Meeko!!
Paradise Pier Hotel~~Surf's Up with Mickey.
This meal is held at the PCH Grill Restaurant at the Paradise Pier Hotel. The beach & surf decor can be seen when you enter the restaurant. You check in at the desk & then are lead into the restaurant to meet the host of this meal~~Mickey Mouse!! This is the only meal that Mickey appears at. You take a family picture with Mickey and then are shown to your table.
This is a smaller buffet that offers the standards such as Omelets, Bacon, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Pastries, Bagels, & Fresh Fruit as well as some interesting offerings like Flatbreads, Chilaquiles, Smoked Salmon, Smoothies & Banana Caramel French Toast.
As I mentioned earlier, this meal has Mickey Mouse and joining him is Stitch, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Daisy. Not all at one meal, but a rotation of those characters.
If your kids are looking for Mickey & Stitch, this is the meal for you!!
Our family loves this meal!! The food is excellent and the character interaction is amazing! This is a smaller character meal with lots of fun activities for the kids. They learn to dance, surf & hula hoop. You haven't lived until you get to experience some of Stitch's antics!
Disneyland Hotel~~Goofy's Kitchen.
Goofy's Kitchen is next to Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Hotel. This is a large restaurant that is colorful and fun. After you check in at the desk, you will do a family picture with either Chef Goofy or Chef Pluto. Once this is done, you will be lead to your table.
Goofy's Kitchen offers a large buffet for brunch, offering Fresh Fruit, Pastries, Bagels, Cold Cereal, Yogurt, Mickey Mouse Waffles & Pancakes, French Toast, Bacon, Sausage, Eggs Benedict, Chicken Nuggets & Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza. They also have the Made-to-Order Omelets.
Goofy's Kitchen also has a large buffet for dinner, offering Fresh Fruit, Salads, Hot Dogs, Pizza, Mac & Cheese, Seasoned Vegetables, Carving Station, Fresh Fish of the Day & Soft Frozen Yogurt with Toppings.
The characters we've seen at this meal is Chef Goofy & Chef Pluto, Minnie, Alice, Mad Hatter, Princesses, Chip, Dale, Baloo, Capt Hook & Brer Fox.
If you're looking for lots of options in food, this is your place. Even the pickiest eater will find something to their likings. This is a loud meal with lots of activity going on. Goofy loves to bang pots & dance with the kids.
This is a must every trip for my family!! We've been known to start our trip with brunch & end our trip with the dinner.
Please keep in mind that these are some of the food choices available but not nearly everything that's included on the buffet lines. The characters listed are the ones I've personally seen. There are always other characters and they rotate them. You never know, for sure, who will be there. None of the characters are guaranteed to appear.
This was just a short overview of the 5 restaurants available.
Plaza Inn~~Minnie & Friends Breakfast is BREAKFAST ONLY.
Ariel's Grotto~~Princess Celebration is BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER.
Storyteller's Cafe~~Storyteller's Cafe Breakfast is BREAKFAST ONLY.
PCH Grill~~Surf's Up with Mickey is BREAKFAST ONLY.
Goofy's Kitchen~~Goofy's Kitchen is BRUNCH & DINNER.
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, I WILL BE ADDING MORE INFO. SHERRY (moderator) ASKED IF I WOULD START THIS UP, SO PEOPLE LOOKING FOR INFO ON THE MEALS WOULD HAVE A PLACE TO GO. I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERYONE HELPING AND ADDING IN INFORMATION. I WILL LINK TRIP REPORTS AND BE ADDING PICS SOON.