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Disneyland Character Dining 2020

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Disneyland Character Dining

Want to know more about Disneyland Character Dining? Are you thinking of booking a character meal at Disneyland? There are a number of choices for Disneyland Character Dining for you and your family. Which one is the best one?

All details about Disneyland Character dining are updated for 2020.

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Disneyland Character Dining

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Disneyland Character Dining

There are five Disneyland Character Dining venues. The good news is that three of these are outside the parks, so you do not need Disneyland park entry to enjoy a character meal.

This is a great option if you are just visiting the area without a park ticket and want some of the Disney magic. You can enjoy a Disneyland Character meal without buying a ticket for the park.

It is also a great option for the first or last day of your stay at Disneyland when you may not have time to visit the parks, but you want to enjoy a classic Disney experience.

Disneyland Character Dining Without a Park Admission Ticket

These Disney Character Dining Restaurants are located in the Disneyland Resort Hotels so you can go without a park ticket.

Goofys Kitchen

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This is considered by many to be the classic Disneyland character dining experience. You can enjoy breakfast and dinner at Goofys Kitchen.

It is located inside the Disneyland Hotel. We have been visiting here for over two decades and we still highly recommend it.

You may see Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, and Minnie Mouse. As with all Disneyland character dining the appearance of specific characters is not guaranteed.

Goofy’s Kitchen has five buffet stations. The choice is pretty much standard American food, and for us, it really has the lowest quality of all of the Disneyland Character Dining restaurants. Do not go there for the food.

However, what Goofy’s Kitchen lacks in food quality it makes up for in fun. It is a great place to bring younger children.

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The Goofy’s Kitchen brunch menu has pretty standard breakfast offerings. The Mickey Pancakes are always a big hit. Goofy’s Kitchen Peanut Butter Pizza is probably best left for the kids to try! It’s the only place you will find it – probably for good reason.

The cost of a Disneyland character brunch at Goofy’s Kitchen is $33 for adults and $21 for children aged 3 to 9. The cost of dinner is $39 for adults and $23 for children.

Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Disneyland Character Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe

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We think that Storytellers Cafe is one of the best restaurants at the Disneyland Resort. It is located inside the Disney Grand Californian Hotel. It is well out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the theme parks.

Storytellers Cafe only offers character dining at breakfast and with brunch at the weekend. The Character Brunch is a new option. It serves breakfast and lunch favorites. So you can still get your Mickey Waffles for lunch.

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There is a buffet and a la carte menu in the evening, but no characters appear.

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The inside of the Storytellers Cafe is beautiful. The Arts and Crafts decor creates a feeling of grandeur and relaxation – even during a lively character breakfast!

The stars of the show are Mickey and Minnie Mouse. For years this used to be Chip n Dale’s hangout for breakfast. However, since July 10, 2018, Storyteller’s has been home to Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Disneyland Character Breakfast.

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This Disneyland character breakfast is relatively new, but we are sure it will be a popular one.

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We think that the Storytellers buffet is the best quality option for breakfast. The food is decent quality and the atmosphere is the most relaxed of any of the other Disneyland Character Breakfast options.

Storyteller’s Cafe character breakfast is definitely the most laid back and relaxing of all the Disneyland buffets. We enjoy it a lot, but that may be because we have experienced a great many character dining experiences.

Breakfast is $33 for adults and $19 for children aged 3 to 9.

Donald Duck’s Seaside Breakfast! at the Paradise Pier Hotel

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You can find Donald and Daisy in the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel for a character breakfast. This replaced Surf’s Up Breakfast with Mickey and Friends

This is the location which is furthest away from the entry to the Disney parks, So bear this in mind if you are going to Disneyland or California Adventure on the morning that you are going for the breakfast.

Disney Paradise Pier is the least known of all the character dining options. This has the advantage that it is often easier to make a reservation, and you may even get a walk-in. We think that Donald Duck’s Seaside Breakfast! is a hidden gem.

The usual characters are Donald and Daisy Duck. This is a great selection of Disney characters and is sure to please the younger crowd.

The food is the usual Disney breakfast buffet fare. We think the standard is a little higher than Goofy’s Kitchen but not as good as Storytellers. However, the Disney characters are so much better than at Storyteller’s we would certainly choose this one for the younger kids.

The cost is $35 for adults and $21 for children aged 3 to 9.

Disneyland Character Dining in the Parks

Remember that you must have a Disneyland park ticket to eat at either of these restaurants.

Breakfast in the Park With Minnie and Friends at Plaza Inn

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This Disney character breakfast is located in Disneyland at the Plaza Inn at the end of Main Street. Surprisingly they only serve breakfast as a character meal. We would expect that there is enough demand to serve lunch and dinner with characters here too, but they only offer breakfast.

One huge advantage of having Breakfast with Minnie and Friends is that you can enter the park before it opens. There will not be any rides open and you will only be able to walk down Main Street to the Plaza Inn. However, it is a very different experience being in the park with only a few other people.

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Another idea is to make your breakfast reservation for 10.30 am. Many people enter the park at this time. If you have arrived at the opening time you can enjoy the rides with shorter lines and then work up an appetite for breakfast.

The Plaza Inn has inside and outside seating. We generally prefer the inside seating as the decor is really nice. However, it can get rather noisy inside. The Plaza Inn is beautifully decorated in an ornate Victorian style. Lots of colorful class and elaborate chandeliers.

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The food is standard Disney character buffet standard. Nothing to get excited about, but it is fine. You come here for the experience, not the food.

Breakfast in the Park with Minnie and Friends is probably the best place to go if you want to meet a wide range of characters. Minnie Mouse is always there of course, but no one else is guaranteed.

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One of our favorites is Captain Hook. Other possible characters are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter and Chip and Dale.

Breakfast in the Park with Minnie and Friends costs $32 for adults and $18 for children aged 3 to 9.

Ariel’s Grotto Disney Princess Character Meal

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Unfortunately, Ariel’s Grotto Disney Princess Character Meal is no longer available in Disney’s California Adventure. It closed on Jan 8th, 2018 to make way for the Paradise Pier Pixar expansion.

Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures

A new Disneyland character dining experience has just been announced. For some time there was nowhere to dine with the Disney Princesses in Disneyland. However, this is soon to change with the introduction of Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures.

Not many details are available right now. However, we will update this as soon as more details become available.

Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures will be the only place that you can dine with the Princesses in the Disneyland resort.

What we do know about Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures is that it will be located in the Napa Rose Restaurant. As this is located in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, you will not need a park ticket to enjoy Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures.

This new Disneyland character dining experience started on March 20, 2019. It is offered every Thursday through Monday between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

Napa Rose restaurant is absolutely beautiful. As one of Disney’s premier dining experiences, this is most definitely a place fit for royalty.

Disney has announced that Napa Rose will be transformed into “a charming new storytelling environment”. It will be interesting to see what this actually means!

The Disneyland Princess Breakfast will include personal interactions, photo opportunities, a fun takeaway bag, and themed activities.

We are guessing that it will be something like the Disney Cruise Royal Court Royal Tea which is offered on select Disney cruise sailings. This costs $210 for children and $69 for adults.

At $125 per person for both adults and children, the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures experience does not come cheap! Tax and gratuity are not included. So you are in for several hundred dollars at least for this Disney Princess dining experience.

Disney has announced that the food will consist of a three-course breakfast. There will be cold starter options which include Sunrise Citrus and Vanilla Bun with Raspberry Glaze, Assorted Fruit Slices and Berries and an Egg Custard Served in its Shell with Parmesan Crisp and Ketchup Caviar.

Kids entrees include House Made Mac & Cheese, Mini Chicken & Princess Waffles and Beef Sliders. For the adults, the options include Shepherd’s Pie, Slow Braised Short Ribs and Pork Belly.

Side dishes include side dishes like Roasted Seasonal Root Vegetables & Heirloom Potatoes, Artisan Breakfast Sausage, and Bangers.

Desserts at the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures will include Chocolate Princess Cake Pops, White Chocolate Slipper with Strawberry Ganache, Petite Fruit Tarts and more.

Whilst we are sure that the food will be good, the main attraction here will be the experience. Having quality time with the Disney Princesses is what this breakfast is all about.

Will the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures be worth the cost? Time will tell, but we are sure that this is going to be a very popular Disneyland Character Breakfast experience.

However, $125 is a high price to pay so it remains to be seen just how the experience really is.

We are sure that the Disneyland Princess Breakfast will be very popular. It is only available on limited days and it will book up far in advance.

You can Book Online or call (714) 781-DINE or (714) 781-3463 up to 60 days in advance. You can also use the Disneyland App to book.

How to Save Money on Disneyland Character Dining

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A Disneyland character meal is an expensive experience and can soon add up to more than $200 for a family of 4. Some very simple advice as to how to save money on Character Dining is to have breakfast instead of lunch or dinner.

Breakfast is always the cheapest Disneyland Character Meal and it can also mean that you can skip buying lunch too as the buffet is so plentiful.

Another way to save money is if you have a Disneyland Annual Pass. Whilst dining discounts are not a reason to purchase an Annual Pass if you have one always remember to ask for the discount. A Deluxe or Southern California Annual Pass gives a 10% discount, a Premium or Premier Annual Pass will get you 15% off.

Disneyland does not have a dining plan.

How to Book Disneyland Dining

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The easiest way to make reservations for Disneyland dining is to do this online. Simply go to Disney Dining Reservations

You can also call to make a reservation – the phone number is (714) 781-DINE. You can book up to 60 days ahead. You will be asked to give a credit card guarantee. If you do not show up and have forgotten to cancel within 24 hours you will be charged $10 per guest.

Check with the individual Disneyland restaurant as for some the deadline to cancel without charge is 72 hours.

Is it better to call or use the online system to book Disneyland dining? We prefer the online system as it is just more convenient. It is quicker to find out if different days and times are available.

Enjoy your Disneyland character dining!

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