We love character dining at Disneyland and we ‘ve tried out all 4 character meals in recent months! Now that we can compare each of the meals and character experiences, we wanted to share this guide to help those of you planning your own character dining at Disneyland California!
Character Dining at Disneyland California
At the moment, there are 4 character meals at Disneyland California: Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn, Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel, Mickey’s Tales of Adventure at Storytellers in the Grand California and Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure in Napa Rose at the Grand California.
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park is the only in-park character dining and is held at Plaza Inn in Disneyland Park. The other character dining meals take place in two of the onsite Disneyland hotels, the Grand California and the Disneyland Hotel.
Here’s our full guide to each of the character meals at Disneyland California:
1 | Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn
Location: Plaza Inn, Disneyland Park
Meal: Breakfast (8am -10:40am)
Cost: Breakfast: $46 for adults/$27 for kids aged 3-9 (plus tax and gratuity)
Characters: typical lineup is Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Perla, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh but can vary
PhotoPass: PhotoPass photographer captures meeting with Minnie Mouse
The Minnie and Friends Breakfast at Plaza Inn is Disneyland California’s only in-park character dining experience. The buffet-style all-you-care-to-eat spread is served between 8am and 11am daily.
During breakfast, a selection of characters stop by the tables to meet with guests – on our most recent visit (January 2024) we met Daisy Duck, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Perla, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. Minnie Mouse is the only character who is guaranteed- we did have a similar character lineup on a visit in 2023 although Winnie the Pooh was not there during that breakfast.
Minnie Mouse is the star of the Plaza Inn breakfast and meets with guests in front of her herb garden prior to dining.
A full breakfast offering is available. Aside from the fried chicken, the food is mainly breakfast-focused (the other 3 characters dining have a much wider menu which incorporates brunch items).
The Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park food options include:
- omelette station
- cooked foods including scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes
- fried chicken with biscuits and gravy
- Mickey (or Minnie!) Mouse Waffles
- pastries including croissants, pain au chocolate, muffins, Danish and bread rolls
- cereals and fruit
Our verdict: excellent for Minnie Mouse fans and for those wanting a sit-down breakfast in the park (with 3 young kids, we love having some time to relax and eat after a busy morning of rope drop/early entry). We prefer an earlier reservation as buffet food can be limited in the later slots (we recently had a 10:40 reservation and, while the hot food counters were well stocked, the buffet items were closing up and choices were limited). The food options are more breakfast focused than the other 3 character meals at Disneyland.
2| Goofy’s Kitchen
Location: Goofy’s Kitchen, Disneyland Hotel
Meals: Breakfast (7.05am -1:05pm) and Dinner (5pm to 8.45pm)
Cost: Breakfast: $52 for adults/$31 for kids aged 3-9, Dinner: $59 for adults/$34 for kids aged 3-9 (plus tax and gratuity)
Characters: Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip, Dale
PhotoPass: PhotoPass photographer captures meeting with Chef Goofy in his kitchen
Located in the Disneyland Hotel, Goofy takes on the role of Chef to host breakfast and dinner guests at Goofy’s Kitchen. He is joined by Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Chip and Dale. Goofy’s Kitchen is the only of the 4 character dining options that is available at dinner – all the other character meals take place during breakfast/brunch.
Character dining Disneyland California tip: the character line up is very similar at Storytellers and Goofy’s Kitchen – Micky Mouse hosts Storytellers and Goofy hosts Goofy’s Kitchen and the other characters in attendance are the same at each (Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale).
After checking in at Goofy’s Kitchen, guests are invited to meet with Chef Goofy in his kitchen!
Minnie Mouse, Pluto and Chip and Dale meet guests at their tables during the meal.
Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen
A full breakfast offering is available and the food options include:
- omelette station
- cooked foods including scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes
- Mickey Mouse pancakes and waffles
- pastries including croissants, pain au chocolate and muffins
- cereals and fruit
There are also loads of non-breakfast items available including the famous Goofy’s peanut butter pizza, mac and cheese, vegetables and chicken. Desserts are plentiful and include delicacies like Dirt and Worms and a soft-serve ice cream station.
Dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen
The dinner menu includes a carving station, fish of the day, pizza, mac and cheese and lots of dessert options.
Our verdict: we love Goofy’s Kitchen, it’s such a fun character dining experience with awesome characters – our kids (age 6, 4 and 1) absolutely love dining at Goofy’s. The characters are fun and the food (Goofy’s Peanut Butter Pizza followed by Dirt and Worms for dessert!) is fun! The breakfast menu is huge (and includes lunch/dinner style options) and there are also plenty of dinner options making it great for fussy eaters. If Mickey Mouse was part of the character lineup it would be, for us, the perfect character dining!
3 | Mickey’s Tales of Adventure at Storytellers Cafe
Location: Storytellers at Disney’s Grand California Hotel
Meals: Breakfast/Brunch (7.05am -1:05pm)
Cost: Breakfast/Brunch: $52 for adults/$31 for kids aged 3 (plus tax and gratuity)
Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip, Dale
PhotoPass: No
Mickey Mouse hosts a Tales of Adventure Breakfast and Brunch Buffet at Story Tellers Cafe in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip and Dale join him to meet guests at their tables.
Character dining Disneyland California tip: the character line up is very similar at Storytellers and Goofy’s Kitchen – Micky Mouse hosts Storytellers and Goofy hosts Goofy’s Kitchen and the other characters in attendance are the same at each (Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale).
Breakfast and Brunch at Storytellers
A full breakfast offering is available and the food options include:
- omelette station
- cooked foods including scrambled eggs, sausages, potatoes, hash browns
- Mickey Mouse waffles
- French Toast
- pastries including croissants, pain au chocolate and muffins
- Chili Verde Chilaquiles
There are also some non-breakfast items available including carved meats, pasta and potatoes.
Our verdict: we love that Mickey and Minnie Mouse are in attendance at Storytellers as our kids are huge fans of both! The food is really good (the quality of the dishes is excellent) and the characters are great. Storytellers, together with its Grand California Princess Breakfast) is the most relaxed of the character dining and the venue is relatively small and intimate.
4 | Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure at Napa Rose
Location: Napa Rose at Disney’s Grand California Hotel
Meals: Breakfast (8am -11am)
Cost: Breakfast: $135 for adults/$135 for kids aged 3 (plus tax and gratuity)
Princesses: 6 or 7 princesses, typically Jasmine, Rapunzel, Belle, Ariel, Mulan, Aurora and Tiana but it can be any of the Disney Princesses in attendance.
PhotoPass: there is one PhotoPass meet and greet spot inside the restaurant and usually two Princesses rotate at this spot.
Disneyland’s Princess Breakfast Adventures takes place at the Napa Rose restaurant, part of the magnificent Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. Guests are served a delicious 3-course breakfast in the company of the wonderful Disney Princesses.
The Princesses in attendance do vary – on our most recent visit we met 7 princesses throughout our breakfast – Jasmine, Rapunzel, Belle, Ariel, Mulan, Aurora and Tiana.
One of the Princesses, in our case Jasmine, greets Princess Breakfast guests on the restaurant’s outdoor terrace. The other Princesses are located around/on the terrace of the restaurant and guests can go and meet them at any time during their meal – note, the princesses do not stop by the tables, they are in fixed locations in the restaurant and guests visit them.
After we finished dining our children were presented with a gift: a sword and shield for our Knight and a necklace for our princess.
Breakfast at Napa Rose
The Princess Breakfast is served over 3 courses:
Starters: a 3-tier serving tray with cold appetisers including mini lobster rolls, chia and granola parfait, banana brulee wrapped in a crepe, sandwiches, a citrus and vanilla bun and Tiana’s beignets. This serving tray came with a pastry plate on the side.
Brunch buffet: we chose from a self-service brunch-style buffet where foods included mac ‘n’ cheese, Mickey waffles, eggs, sausages, beef and fruits.
Desserts: we were each presented with a dessert plate which included treats such as Cake Pops, macarons and sorbets.
Reserving Princess Dining
The Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure at Napa Rose sells out within minutes so you will need to plan ahead to secure a reservation:
- Make a list of preferred dates and dining times and a backup list of other acceptable but not ideal dining times
- Set a reminder for just before 3am PST opening 60 days out from your desired reservation
- Reserve the moment your reservation window opens
- Sign up for Mouse Dining and set text alerts for your preferred days and times if you don’t get your favored appointment times.
- The Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure at Napa Rose has a cancelation window of at least one day prior to reservations so there is still hope! If you arrive at Disneyland and still need an appointment then check availability every evening – we find most cancellations are made 48 hours before.
- Make sure you read the terms. We’ve cancelled within the listed cancellation window without any issues.
Character dining Disneyland California tip: dining alerts are a Disney essential and we recommend signing up to Mouse Dining. You sign up, set alerts to your desired reservations (e.g. 8am Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Princess breakfast at Napa Rose) and, as soon as a cancellation is made, the dining alert service will alert you via email and/or text so you can reserve it immediately. We rely heavily on dining alerts in the run up to all our Walt Disney World and Disneyland California trips and we’ve always been able to secure a reservation. We’ve tried a few services and always return to Mouse Dining. as their alerts are super speedy and reliable – there is a free service (email only, 6 alerts) but we use the monthly subscription ($9, email and text alerts, includes international texts) in the months leading up to our Disneyland visits. If you want one of the highly sought-after reservations like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or the Princess Breakfast then we’d recommend the paid monthly subscription as you can set up alerts for all your planned Disneyland days and we always notice the text alerts instantly. Make sure to practice with an easy-to-secure reservation so you know the exact process – this is essential as Bibbidi Bobbidi and Princess dining reservations are snapped up almost instantly! – check out Mouse Dining here!
Our Verdict: the Princess Breakfast at Napa Rose is one of our all-time favourite Disney experiences and it’s amazing to meet so many princesses over the course of breakfast. The food is excellent and the service is wonderful and breakfast is an indulgent and leisurely affair. We love that guests visit the Princesses rather than the usual table visits – with 3 young kids character dining can be chaotic but being able to space out the meet and greets really helps! Our kids loved the gifts presented to the younger guests (a sword and shield for our Knight and a princess necklace for our Princess).
Tips for Character Dining at Disneyland California
Plan Ahead: Character dining is among the most sought after reservations at Disneyland California so make sure to plan ahead. Reservations are typically released 60 days out at 3am PST (although drop times do vary). If you miss your desired reservations then sign up for an alert service like Mouse Dining and set text alerts for your preferred days and times if you don’t get your favored appointment times.
Reserve on non-park days: we like to save Goofy’s Kitchen, Storytellers and the Princess Breakfast for days we’re not in the Disneyland parks. Character dining takes at least a couple of hours out of your days and you don’t need a park ticket for these 3 character meals.
Bring an autograph book: all the characters sign autographs at the various character dining so make sure to bring an autograph book to capture the moment.
Parking: Goofy’s Kitchen and Storytellers include 3 hours of parking at the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand California respectively. Princess Dining at Napa Rose includes 5 hours of valet parking.
Dress up: most of the kids dress up for Princess Dining at Napa Rose and there is lots of Disney-themed attire at the other character dining.
Badges: there are special badges available at all the character dining locations in Disneyland California. Sometimes they are given on arrival but sometimes you need to ask.
So, which is the best character dining at Disneyland California?
We love all 4 character dining meals at Disneyland and would reserve any of them again in a second! The best really depends on what you want from your character dining experience:
Princess Fans: For Princess fans, the Princess Breakfast at Napa Rose is incredible.
Best for food: Grand California! The food is excellent at both Storytellers and Napa Rose. Goofy’s is also fantastic for the selection and the fun themed dishes like Goofy’s peanut butter pizza.
Best for Characters: they’re all awesome! If you want to meet the Princesses then the Princess Breakfast is the obvious choice. Storytellers and Goofy’s Kitchen have similar lineups but for Mickey Mouse, you need to go to Storytellers and for Goofy, it’s Goofy’s Kitchen. Minnie & Friend’s Breakfast in the Park has an awesome lineup including Daisy Duck and Tigger.
Best for location: Minnie & Friends is the only in-park character dining so its location trumps all! However, we love checking out the Disneyland Resorts Hotels so dining at the Grand California and the Disneyland Hotel is also a real treat.
For more on Character Dining at Disneyland:
- Check out our 2024 experience at the Minnie and Friend’s Breakfast at Plaza Inn
- Read our guide to the Princess Breakfast at Napa Rose
- Our 2024 experience at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel
- How to meet the Princesses at Disneyland California