As of the date this post was written, there are four options for character dining at Disneyland- one in each of the three hotels and one inside Disneyland.
- Plaza Inn
- Storyteller’s Cafe
- Goofy’s Kitchen
- PCH Grill
There used to be a fifth option that offered princess dining located in Disney’s California Adventure, but it closed earlier this year as part of the Pixar Pier retheming.
1. Plaza Inn – breakfast
Located in Disneyland at the end of Main Street just as you start to swing right towards Tomorrowland, Plaza Inn offers a character breakfast. It is hosted by Minnie Mouse, so you are guaranteed to see her – the rest of the characters are the luck of the draw. We have ate here three times (January 2017, November 2017 and June 2018), and the first two times there were 10 characters in total and the third time had 12 characters (with only a few minor changes in the lineup). For comparison, most character meals have 4. The group of characters is quite eclectic; we’ve seen Fairy Godmother, Winnie the Pooh, Captain Hook, Max, Rafiki, etc.
While the characters are fantastic, the food is just basic breakfast fare for the most part, really nothing special.
For lunch and supper, the restaurant becomes a quick service location with no characters, but the food is great.
2. Storyteller’s Cafe – breakfast/brunch
Located in the high-end hotel, The Grand Californian, Storyteller’s Cafe offers a character breakfast Monday to Friday, and a character brunch on weekends and Holidays. The breakfast and brunch are hosted by Chip and Dale, so you will meet them. The rest of the characters in attendance are various other woodland creatures from Disney movies – the day we ate brunch there (November 2017) we met one of the bears from Brother Bear, and Pluto (who doesn’t fit perfectly with the theme, but it’s probably just the cast member they had scheduled to work that day). I’ve seen reviews that had Meeko from Pochantas.
Food wise, this is probably the best of the character dining options. There is a large variety to choose from, with options like corn chowder (delicious!), smoked salmon and warm bread pudding (which is very common at WDW, not so common at Disneyland).
3. Goofy’s Kitchen – breakfast/supper
This character meal hosted by Goofy is located in the Disneyland Hotel. The other characters you will meet vary; the day we ate there (January 2017) we met Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale in addition to Chef Goofy.
We ate there for a late breakfast. You could easily get the regular staples of a Disney breakfast buffet, but they also had some one-of-a-kind creations like PB&J pizza. The dessert options were plentiful, so I was happy!
4. PCH Grill – breakfast
This is located at the Paradise Pier hotel and is hosted by the main mouse himself, Mickey. The remaining characters change, but you’re likely to see some combination of Daisy, Pluto, Donald, Minnie and Stitch.
This is the only character meal we have never personally done, but from everything I’ve read it’s very basic breakfast staples – Mickey waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, etc.
The price for all of the character buffets is around the same – anywhere from $34 to $39 per person. Yes, they are pricey, but there is a benefit to them if you like meeting characters.