Disneyland Character Dining: Which Meal Is Best?
Every Disneyland character dining experience has its own feel, special touches, and star characters. All four of these special meals at Disneyland provide a great way to meet many beloved Disney characters in one fell swoop. This frees up park time to enjoy rides, shows, and other attractions rather than waiting in long lines for a brief photo opportunity. But which meal is best for your family? Decide for yourself by reading our Disneyland character dining reviews and tips below.
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Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park
Where? The Plaza Inn inside the Disneyland theme park. All guests over age 3 must have a Disneyland park entrance ticket to dine here.
Meals offered? Breakfast buffet only.
According to the Disneyland website, you can expect, “made-to-order omelets and Mickey waffles, French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, breakfast potatoes, fresh-baked pastries and breads, fruit, and hot and cold cereals.”
Characters? You’ll see a multitude of characters at this meal, from Minnie herself to lesser-known figures like Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.
The Verdict? Dining with characters and a view of Tomorrowland’s Astro Orbitor makes a wonderful start to your day at Disneyland. The food is tasty and the restaurant’s stained glass mosaics are beautiful. Personally, though, I’d rather not “waste” precious park time eating a long breakfast. Instead, I suggest eating a character meal at one of the hotels either on your day of arrival or departure. Then you can squeeze in some extra Disney magic when you don’t have the time or money for a full park day.
Tips? Unless you have your heart set on dining al fresco, I suggest requesting a seat indoors. You will feel much more a part of the action when you dine inside the restaurant. Plus, you can get out of the heat or the cold, as the case may be.
Read reviews of Plaza Inn on TripAdvisor.
Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet
Where? Storyteller’s Café at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Meals offered? Breakfast or brunch buffet and table service small plates.
Pile your plates with items from the extensive buffet. You’ll find such goodies as Mickey waffles, chilaquiles, beignets, fresh fruits, pastries, and hand-carved meats. Diners can also opt to order table service items like oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, made-to-order omelets, or avocado toast from their servers.
Characters? Mickey Mouse and other classic Disney characters.
The Verdict? The beautiful Craftsman-style dining room at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is a warm and welcoming place to dine. If your family has its heart set on seeing the head cheese Mickey Mouse, then this is the meal for you!
Tips? Don’t follow the characters around the restaurant. Enjoy your meal and they will come to you! (This is true of all Disney character dining meals.)
Read reviews of Storyteller Cafe on TripAdvisor.
Goofy’s Kitchen
Where? Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel.
Meals offered? Breakfast buffet only.
Look for cheese blintzes, Mickey-shaped waffles and pancakes, fresh fruits, breakfast meats, eggs benedict, pastries, made-to-order omelets, and more. Be sure to try Goofy’s signature peanut butter and jelly pizza!
Characters? The only character guaranteed to make an appearance at any meal is the meal’s namesake. So, for sure you’ll see Goofy here. You are likely to see other classic characters like Pluto, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck.
The Verdict? In my experience, this is a particularly playful Disneyland character dining option. The highlight for my family was a joyous parade of characters through the dining room. Then the characters split apart and made their way to the tables.
Tips? This used to be the only meal at Disneyland with characters at dinnertime. Note that characters now make appearances at breakfast only, NOT at dinner!
Read reviews of Goofy’s Kitchen on TripAdvisor.
Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures
Where? Napa Rose, at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa. This Disneyland character dining experience replaced Ariel’s Princess Celebration at Disney’s California Adventure Resort.
Meals Offered? Three-course table service breakfast only.
Characters? Expect to see princesses like Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan. Unlike the masked characters, the princesses talk to diners. They never, ever break character, either. My husband said, “You really look like Snow White.” The raven-haired princess replied in her tiny, bubble gum voice, “Why, whatever do you mean?”
The Verdict? For Disney princess fans, this is the ultimate treat for a birthday or other celebration. Plus, younger children scared of plush characters will be enamored by the charming princesses. My son was just a toddler when we first attended a princess meal and he seemed just as enthralled as his big sister by all the sweet, pretty women stopping by his table to say hello.
Napa Rose is renowned for its high-end, delicious food and this is the most elegant of the Disneyland character dining options. If you prefer table service to buffet meals, then the Disney Princess Celebration makes a good option. Meals include your choice of a starter, main course, and royal desserts.
Tips? You are guaranteed to meet princesses at this character meal but not any one princess in particular. Therefore, if your children are particularly smitten with a certain princess, be sure to tell them beforehand that their favorite princess may not necessarily be present.
Read reviews of Napa Rose on TripAdvisor.
Disneyland Character Dining Tips
Some young children are fearful of life-sized cartoon characters. Before attending a Disneyland character dining meal, you may want to get your child acquainted with Disney personalities. Do this by reading Disney books together, watching shows on Disney+, or renting Disney movies. Also, you might wait until after your family has had a day in the parks to see characters at a distance before plunging into a character meal.
An autograph book brings a whole new, entertaining dimension to the character dining experience. My daughter got her first autograph book at age 5 and proudly brought it to preschool for “show & tell” the following week. Buy your autograph book now from Disney Store!
Don’t forget your camera or smartphone at Disneyland. Pictures of your kids with their favorite characters are priceless. Professional photos taken by Disney crew members are available for purchase at every Disneyland character dining experience, too.
Book Your Disneyland Character Dining Experience
Reservations are recommended for all Disneyland character meals. Book as far as 60 days in advance here or call (714) 781-3463.
Save Money on Your Disneyland Vacation
Want to save money on your Disneyland vacation? Of course, you do! Use discount code TravelMamas to get an extra $10 off any two-night or longer Southern California package (hotel and two-ticket minimum) when you book through our trusted partner, Get Away Today. Find Disneyland Resort deals including ticket discounts and discounted hotel packages!
Learn More Disneyland Tips
Maximize fun and minimize stress with these tips for visiting Disneyland with kids.
Learn tips to save money on your Disneyland vacation from our friends at Trekaroo.
Take a break from theme parks during your Southern California holiday with this list of fun things to do in Orange County with kids.
Headed to the Happiest Place on Earth with young children? Be sure to check out the best rides at Disneyland for babies and toddlers.
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Which of these Disneyland character dining options would you most like to experience? Let us know in the comments below!
A Note from the Travel Mama: My family paid for all meals mentioned in this post ourselves. I always let you know if I receive any complimentary or discounted goods or services related to a story.
I remember going to a character meal when I was a kid!
Loved Goofy’s Kitchen!
Always a good choice!
Goofy’s KItchen is fun–we’ve done it twice. We usually don’t do character meals due to time factor but it has been a nice way for the littles to see a lot of characters without waiting in long lines.
We love meals with mickey
If Mickey is your favorite, then Disney’s PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel is for you!
The one time that we went to Disneyland. We loved the Minnie and Friends breakfast. It was great and we got to get up close and personal with characters.
Minnie and Friends is a good one! 🙂
Since I dont have little kids, I probably wont use the character meals but its wonderful that it is an option
Oh, we have to hit up the princess meal!
I have to say Ariels Grotto is probably where we would end up !
Great post
I’m Canadian and never been and never realized how much thought went into a vacation to Disney world or Disney land vacay
Dawn – Yes, planning a Disney vacation can be a lot of work, but I’ve read that people actually enjoy the planning part of their vacations more than the actual vacations so…all the more joy! 🙂
I too prefer to not use the park time to have a fancy meal, but every little girl should do Ariel’s Grotto sometime. AND it saves time waiting in lines later.
Diane – Agreed! I’m so glad we did Ariel’s Grotto when my daughter was still big into the princess phase!
We love the character breakfast at the Plaza Inn. Definitely a family favorite!
A great way to start a day at Disneyland!
Great info!
Thanks for all the helpful Disneyland info! It helps looking at it even if we don’t have a trip planned right now. The withdrawls aren’t so bad. 😉
Ha! I understand. Disney can be addictive!
Goofy’s kitchen looks like a fun one!
It’s a great option for a fun dinner at Disneyland!
Great tips, thanks!
This is awesome! Thank-you for sharing! Hope one day my family gets to experience Disney!
Kristen – I hope that wish comes true for you very soon!
I’ll start saving now and maybe I can give my kids this experience
Smart mom!