Character Dining at Disneyland

With my little kids getting older every year, I thought I better take advantage of the character dining while they still appreciate it. 2014 was actually my second experience with character dining. In 2009, we took the kids to Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel. In this post, I'll talk a little about both experiences including the menu's and pricing.

June 2014 Ariel's Grotto
With two daughters, ages 8 and 5, who love princesses, I thought I better try Ariel's Grotto. Because it has a penchant for being extremely busy, it is very important to make reservations as early as you can, which is 2 months in advance. In 2013 I waited until a week before we left to try to make a reservation and they were completely booked. In 2014, I made my reservation on April 20 for June 18th. I pre-paid through getawaytoday.com, which is the travel agency I use to book all things Disney and SeaWorld. Despite pre-paying for it though getawaytoday.com, I still had to make the actual reservation by going to the Disneyland website and under "things to do" clicking on "make reservation."

There are a few different groups of people with the same reservation time, so when they called us in, we first stood in line down the stairwell for a picture with Ariel. After the picture, we were led to our table. The waiter brought the kids each crowns which they were able to decorate with crayons and stickers.

The menu doesn't have a huge selection so it made my selection of the BBQ Tri-tip that much easier. There is a kids menu as well and the kids got the chicken nuggets and fries, and the hotdog and mac and cheese. The meals all came with a small dessert which included a chocolate covered strawberry, cookie, and jello. The food was good, but the reason we came was for the princesses. Soon after we were seated, Cinderella was announced by a squire. As she was going from table to table, Belle, Snow White, and Aurora were also announced and began to walk from table to table as well. My kids are all a bit shy so they didn't talk to them much but were all eager to get pictures with the princesses.

All in all, it was a fun experience, even for my 7 year old son. It was pricey - $44 for me and $22 for each of the kids. You're obviously paying for the experience with the princesses because the food alone would be hard to sell for half that amount.

MENUS: (as of June 2014)
Adult:
Sautéed Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta
with Seasonal Vegetables and Basil, tossed in a Tomato Broth
Red Oak-Smoked Honey-Whiskey Barbecue Tri-Tip
Thinly Sliced with Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables
Fire-Roasted Corn Cakes
Sautéed Spinach, Onions, and Shiitake Mushrooms with spicy Bean Salsa and Chili Oil Drizzle
Fresh Catch of the Day
Sustainable Fish served with Chef's choice of sides
Citrus-Glazed Chicken Breast
Udon Noodles and Bok Choy, Edamame, and Carrots in a light Miso Broth
Grilled Lobster Tail Salad
Mixed Greens, Hickory-smoked Bacon, Avocado, Tomato, Quail Egg, and your choice of Point Reyes Blue Cheese Dressing of House Vinaigrette   

Child:
Ursula's Octo-Dog served atop Macaroni & Cheese with fresh Fruit, Vegetables and an individual Dessert. Choice of Small Low-fat Milk, Small Dasani® Water, Small Minute Maid® Juice, or Small Nesquik® Chocolate Milk
Whozits and Whatzits Fries and Nuggetz
Chicken Nuggets and French Fries served with fresh Fruit, Vegetables and an individual Dessert. Choice of Small Low-fat Milk, Small Dasani® Water, Small Minute Maid® Juice, or Small Nesquik® Chocolate
Clammy Turkey Sammy
served with fresh Fruit and Vegetables and choice of Small Low-fat Milk or Small Dasani® Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitution  Angel Hair Pasta a la Dinglehopper
served with fresh Fruit and Vegetables and choice of Small Low-fat Milk or Small Dasani® Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitution



June 2009 Goofy's Kitchen
While staying at the Disneyland Hotel, we thought that one morning we would try eating at Goofy's Kitchen. The kids were 3 and 2 at the time while Lizi was just a baby. When we were called to our table, we were first taken to have a picture taken with Chef Pluto. Once to our table, we ordered and as we waited for our food, Goofy came in to the center of the dining area and had all the kids come up and help him cook some pretend food. The kids were a little young to go by themselves so their mom carried them up there while I stayed behind with the baby.

The menu selection was good, with more choices than Ariel's Grotto and more appealing choices as well. While I don't recall anymore what we paid for the experience, the prices were expensive, but a bit cheaper than Ariel's Grotto.

Although they were young, the kids enjoyed the experience.

MENUS: (as of June 2014 Prices are $37.99 for ages 10+ and 16.99 for 3-9)

Carving Station Prime Rib, Turkey
Fresh Catch of the Day
Fresh Fruit
Pluto's Hot Dogs
Pizza Station Pepperoni, Sausage, Vegetable, Goofy's Famous Peanut Butter Pizza
Goofyroni & Cheese
Chicken Breast Nuggets
Baked Chicken
Fried Chicken
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Pasta of the day

For more info on places to eat at Disneyland, see my other post here:
http://ourdisneybiz.blogspot.com/2012/08/eating-at-disneyland.html