Our family got back from a magical Disney vacation a couple weeks ago and it was so fun to be back at the Happiest Place on Earth! We haven’t been to the parks in about six years so we were looking forward to some old favorites and new experiences. Since we were going for my daughter’s big eighth birthday celebration we wanted to make it extra special and book two character dining experiences. Today I’m excited to share with you and compare Goofy’s Kitchen with Storytellers Café. If you’re considering booking a reservation keep reading for my thoughts on these two dining options, as well as the other two Disney character dining opportunities at the Disneyland Resort!
what is Disney character dining?
Character dining gives you a chance to eat some great food and have characters come to you, rather than standing in line to see them. Another benefit–currently at the Disneyland Resort all character dining experiences except for one are all-you-care-to-eat. The other nice benefit is that at the Disneyland Resort most character dining doesn’t actually happen inside the parks. This means you can have some Disney magic without the cost of a ticket!
Reservation tip: Reservations fill up quickly, especially if you have a large party like we do. Dining opens up 60 days in advance at 3:00 am PST. When checking for availability click on individual times. If you can’t find a reservation for your whole party, try making it for one or two people less. Continue checking as you approach your reservation. Spots can open up and you can modify your reservation. We were able to do this for Goofy’s Kitchen.
Alternatively, if you’ll be in the park several days stop by the location in person and kindly explain your predicament. They were able to add two highchairs to our reservation at Storytellers Café 24 hours in advance, no problem. I DO NOT advise you show up for your reservation expecting them to accommodate you. I’m merely saying that you should be able to rectify the situation ahead of time and this is actually common practice in the parks. If you try to fix it ahead of time and you are unable to do so make sure you cancel your reservation before you have to pay the cancelation fee.
options at the Disneyland Resort
Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel
Goofy’s Kitchen used to be the only Disney character dining location where you could have a meal other than breakfast (or brunch). However, that has recently changed so if you’re hoping for a dinner character dining experience you have more options. A perk of Goofy’s Kitchen is that each member of your party will get a Goofy’s Kitchen button and a complimentary Photo Pass is included with your meal. Sometimes this photo is taken with Goofy, sometimes another character, and sometimes just your party.
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The food at Goofy’s Kitchen is served buffet style and includes lots of whimsical, kid-friendly options like the famous Peanut Butter & Jelly pizza. Don’t worry, because there’s lots of mouth-watering options adults will love too, like a carving station and salad bar. Standard drinks are included with your meal and additional beverages can be purchased if you’re interested in something more.
Insider tip: Make sure you mention at check-in if you’re celebrating anything special! Birthday guests may be able to receive a compliemtary pin and cupcake, based on availability.
Storytellers Café at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
One of the benefits of Storytellers Café is that it’s much closer to the parks than the Disneyland Hotel is. So that’s something to consider if you’re trying to get to and from the parks quickly. In fact, there’s an entrance from Disney’s California Adventure Park right into Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa really close to Storytellers Café. Our dining experience here did not include a photo or a button.
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We ate here for Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet and enjoyed all your typical breakfast buffet items. These included the standard scrambled eggs, pastries, and fruit. However, we also were able to order omelets from our server and the buffet did feature some special additions like Mickey waffles and bags of Pineapple Agua Fresca and “Fruit Loop Milk”; standard beverages are also included in your meal. I would say the quality of food was comparable to Goofy’s Kitchen.
Storytellers Cafe underwent some updates in early 2025, expanding their buffet. At the same time they added a character dinner dining option called Donald’s Tales of Adventure Dinner Buffet. This is great because now there are two options for character dining at the Disneyland Resort! Also, keep your eyes open for special seasonal character dining–such as Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner.
other character dining at the Disneyland Resort
Minnie & Friends Breakfast in the Park– This is currently the only character dining that takes place inside the park. Minnie & Friends Breakfast takes place at the Plaza Inn on Main Street–the rest of the day this location is normal, quick-service dining. If you are a fan of maximizing rope drop you might want to consider one of the later dining times here. Common characters seen at this location: Minnie, other Mickey friends, Winnie the Pooh friends, and some “rare” characters.
Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures at Grand Californian– This is a premium dining experience located right next to Storytellers Café in Napa Rose. (August 2025: Napa Rose is currently undergoing refurbishment and this experience is being held elsewhere.) Rather than a buffet like other Disney character dining this is a 3-course meal. The price for the experience is $125 and includes character interactions and some small gifts. Common characters seen at this location: princesses, princesses, princesses… did we mention princesses?
in conclusion-
The Disneyland Resort does not offer as many Disney Character dining options as Disney World does. When considering which option is right for you note that all the food is basically of the same quality and other than at Napa Rose, is an all-you-care-to-eat buffet. The most important factors to consider is the time of day you want to dine and proximity to the parks. Whichever place you choose, you can’t go wrong with the magic of Disney!
Have you ever experienced Disney character dining at any of the Disney parks? Which was your favorite?
14 comments
Both of these look like such fun places to eat. One of our trips we need to try a character dinning experience.
It is a splurge but SO fun and I love that they’re buffets so we can eat as much as we want! 🙂
Can you give a little more insight? I’ve read how the food at Goofy’s Kitchen and Storytellers is comparable. And I understand Storytellers may be better if you’re starting at DCA, and with Goofy’s you can take the Monorail into Disneyland.
But in terms of characters seen at either and interactions during modified/Covid times, can you give a little more insight?
The characters are fairly similar. Although it’s important to note that characters can change at any time. Minnie is often at Goofy’s Kitchen, whereas Mickey is at Storyteller’s. We have only been once since Covid and our experience was very different than before Covid. Also, traditional character experiences are starting to come back April 18th so that is all kind of up in the air. I felt like the characters took more time around the tables at Goofy’s on our last visit. We feel like the food is similar quality at both locations. Storyteller’s Café is definitely much more convenient. Goofy’s Kitchen is not nearly as convenient if you are planning a park day. Even if you take the monorail it still takes a lot of time to load on and off, and then walk the rest of the way tot he hotel. I hope that helps!
Hello! Could you clarify one thing – you wrote that reservations open at 3:00am PST. I have read elsewhere that reservations open at 6:00am PST. Is it actually 3:00am EST and 6:00am PST? Thank you. 🙂
Hey Carley, the reservation release time is REALLY frustrating because some release at 3:00 am PST, some at 6:00 am PST, and some not until later in the afternoon. It HAS been my experience that some actually do become available at 3:00 am PST and I’ve found other sources that back that up as well. Unfortunately, the phone line for reservations doesn’t open until later so keep that in mind.