The Best Disneyland Character Breakfast Dining Options

Heading to the happiest place on earth and looking for the best Disneyland character breakfast? I’ve got all the info you need to know! Disneyland has quite a few character breakfasts to choose from, so you’re sure to find something perfect for you! In this post, I cover all of the Disneyland character breakfast dining options, talk about where each is located what to expect and how much each option will cost. I’ll also tell you which option is my favorite and why. Plus, there is a little strategy that comes into a Disneyland character breakfast. I’ll fill you in on how to fit a Disneyland character meal perfectly into your vacation.

A Disneyland character breakfast is a great way to meet some of your favorite Disney characters without having to wait in line to see them! Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a delicious meal at the same time! It’s also a great way to celebrate a special occasion like a birthday. Or, just a fun add on to your family vacation. Disney does a great job making sure they have lots of child-friendly options on their menus, so your kids are sure to find something they are excited to eat!

There are four character breakfast dining options to choose from. Each option has different characters and a different theme/feel to the whole experience. The characters will come around to your table to interact personally with your group at each place. Make sure you have your camera and autograph book ready! The characters love to take pictures and sign autographs. Often times, you’ll see some of the more rare characters out at the Disney character dining for breakfast.

Character dining is very popular at the Disneyland Park and reservations are highly recommended. You can make dining reservations 60 days in advance using the Disneyland app or on the Disneyland website. If you don’t make reservations, you can check in with the restaurant on the day you’re visiting to see if they can accommodate you.

If you’re looking for other breakfast options at Disneyland, I’ve got a whole post on the best places to have breakfast at the Disneyland resort. It’s organized by land, so it’s easy to navigate and quickly find something for breakfast on the go! Or, if you’re looking for a table service breakfast option, I’ve got all of those on my list too. You can check it out here.

Discount Disney Park Tickets

Please be aware, that Disney theme parks all require park tickets and reservations. Make sure you have both! Please don’t pay full price for your Disney tickets or hotel. My partners at Get Away Today have the very best deals on tickets and hotels. Their customer service is top-notch and they even have layaway plans. You can find them here or call 1-855-GET-AWAY. Make sure you tell them Melissa from Mix In Some Magic sent you for the best deal! If you book a package with park tickets and a hotel room you can use my code MIX10 to save an extra $10. That’s more churro money, friends!

I have a bunch of hotel reviews that might be helpful for you if you’re still trying to decide where you’d like to stay. I prefer to stay at a hotel within walking distance of the Disney parks. This is a great option for our family because I love being able to just walk over to the parks and walk back to the hotel when the day is over.

Disneyland Planning Help:

I’ve got bunches of information on planning a Disneyland trip that will be so helpful for you! Start with my complete guide to visiting Disneyland. It’s a step-by-step guide for planning your vacation that will be helpful. Check out my top 10 Disneyland tips and my guide to when to visit Disneyland to help you pick the best time for your vacation! I’ve also got a post on rope dropping at Disneyland that’s very helpful.

I have a planning phone call that’s super popular! In this phone call, I can answer all of your Disneyland vacation questions and give you lots of tips and info tailored just to you and your group!

Disneyland Character Breakfast Options

Minnie and Friends- Breakfast in the park

This dining experience is the only one that happens inside the parks. You’ll need a park ticket for this dining experience. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the Plaza Inn on Main Street with Minnie Mouse and her friends.

There is ample indoor and outdoor seating at this location. I prefer to eat indoors just because I’m closer to the food and I feel like I see a few more characters this way.

Breakfast includes Mickey waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes, and a made-to-order omelet station. There’s an assortment of cereals and a variety of muffins, danishes, fruit, and pastries.

Before you are seated for breakfast, you’ll meet Minnie Mouse and get a picture with her. A digital copy of this photo is included with your breakfast via the Disneyland app.

In addition to Minnie Mouse, you can expect to see Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Chip and Dale, and some of the mice from Cinderella(Suzy and Perla). Occasionally, Captain Hook, the fairy Godmother. or Pinnochio will join in the fun too. The characters do a good job stopping in at each table and interacting with the guest. They’re happy to pose for photos, so make sure you have your camera ready!

Minnie and Friends- Breakfast in the parks costs $41 for adults and $24 for kids ages 3-9. Kids under 3 are free.

Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet

Located at the Storyteller’s Cafe inside Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, this fun character dining experience is available for breakfast and brunch.

Breakfast includes assorted pastries, muffins, and danishes, fresh fruit, carved meats, eggs, Mickey waffles and pancakes, seasonal french toast and chilli Verde Chilaquiles.

This Disneyland character breakfast is a favorite of many as far as a Disneyland character dining experience goes. It’s the best(and only way) to meet Mickey Mouse without waiting in line!

You can expect to see Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. The characters do a good job of roaming around the tables and interacting with guests. They’re happy to take photos so, make sure you have your cameras ready! This is the only Disneyland character breakfast where you can meet Mickey Mouse!

Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet costs $49 for adults and $29 for kids ages 3-9. Kids under 3 are free.

Brunch and Dinner are also served here.

Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures

Located at the Napa Rose inside Disney’s Grand Californian hotel, this 3-course meal includes delicious food and activities with some of your favorite princesses!

From the Disneyland website: Kids can let their imaginations soar during one-of-a-kind Princess-themed activities. Upon arrival, Disney Princesses are waiting to greet you and share your hopes and dreams prior to taking a photo on a beautiful private patio. You may take part in storytime with Belle or learn some fierce warrior poses with Mulan. Young adventurers are presented with a special keepsake to take back to your home kingdom to remember your magical morning!

The dining room at this Disneyland character breakfast is absolutely beautiful and the character interactions with the princesses are pretty special.

Breakfast includes a 3-course meal with things like 3 tier tower of appetizers, princess waffles, and royal desserts.

You can expect to see many of your favorite princesses who will be available for pictures!

The cost is $125 for adults and kids. Kids under 3 are free.

Goofy’s Kitchen

Located inside the Disneyland Hotel, this fun character dining experience is available for breakfast and dinner.

For breakfast, you can enjoy a buffet with things like Mickey Mouse pancakes and waffles, french toast, bacon, and sausage along with Goofy’s famous peanut butter and jelly pizza.

Goofy’s Kitchen is a pretty magical experience and is a great Disneyland character breakfast at the Disneyland resort hotels. It’s a good option for everyone, but younger kids will especially love it!

You can expect to meet Goofy at the entrance before you sit down for your meal. You’ll get to snap a picture with him before you’re shown to your table. You might also see Chip & Dale, Minnie, and Pluto roaming around. They do a good job of coming to each table to meet their fans. Have your cameras ready!

Cost is $39 per adult and $23 for kids 3-9 for Breakfast and $43 per adult and $25 for kids 3-9 for dinner. Kids under 3 are free.

Dinner is also served here.

My Favorite Disneyland Character Breakfast

My favorite Disneyland character breakfast is Minnie and Friends- Breakfast in the park. It’s my favorite because it’s the only character breakfast in the parks that’s located inside Disneyland. To me, that makes it pretty special. I love being able to eat on the patio and enjoy the castle views. I love feeling the fun, Disney vibe that you can only get while you’re inside the parks while I’m enjoying my Disney character breakfast. I think the Plaza inn is one of the best restaurants at Disneyland and I’ve always been really happy with the food quality.

It’s a great option for younger children and adults. Because it’s buffet style, your teens will love it too! You really can’t go wrong! I love the made-to-order omelets and the Mickey Mouse waffles. Make sure you arrive hungry because there are so many menu items you’ll want to try!

My second choice is Goofy’s Kitchen. It’s just such a fun, silly atmosphere and I really enjoy it. Plus, the famous peanut and butter jelly pizza is actually pretty yummy! This is also an all-you-can-eat buffet, so you’re sure to leave with a full tummy!

Disneyland Character Breakfast Strategies

I’m a planner and I love strategy. I love looking at a situation and thinking about how I could make it more efficient or run more smoothly. That’s what I started doing with our family Disneyland trips years ago and actually how I started my website! I really enjoy planning and figuring out how to make Disney vacations more efficient and stress-free.

That’s why I love rope dropping(more info here) and creating a Disneyland touring plan to avoid long lines(find more info here). So, of course, I applied this same logic to the Disneyland character breakfast! Here are a few tips that you might find helpful when you’re planning your Disneyland character breakfast.

1. Make your reservations 60 days in advance. Character dining is very popular and almost always requires an advance reservation. If for some reason, you’re not able to get a reservation or decide during your trip you’d like to add on a character dining experience you can always check with the cast member at the restaurant on the day you’d like to do the character dining. Sometimes they’ll be able to accommodate you.
2. If you’re doing character dining outside the park, try to schedule it on a non-park day. The first two hours of the day are the least crowded time of day. Lower crowds mean less time waiting in long lines. I hate to see you waste prime park time eating a long leisurely breakfast. So, make your dining reservations on a rest day if possible. Or schedule it for the day you’re leaving. This is a fun way to end your Disneyland vacation!
3. If you’re doing Minnie and Friends- Breakfast in the park, you’ll need to schedule your breakfast on a park day because a park ticket(and theme park reservation) are required to enter Disneyland. If possible, schedule your Disneyland character breakfast for later in the morning. This way, you can take advantage of the lower ride lines during the morning and be heading to enjoy breakfast right when the crowds are beginning to pick up.
4. Instead of a character breakfast, consider doing Goofy’s Kitchen for dinner on your arrival day. It’s the same experience you’ll get with breakfast, but at dinner time. Obviously, the menu will be different, but you’ll get to see all the characters and still enjoy some really good food!
5. Consider skipping character dining altogether. Although I love a good Disneyland character breakfast, they are expensive and do take up a chunk of time. So, if you’re looking to save money at Disneyland or are trying to find cheaper dining options at Disneyland, you can just skip the character dining. You can still have a great time at Disneyland even if you skip out on character dining. Character dining is a convenient way to meet the characters, but not the only way. I’ve got a complete guide to finding characters at Disneyland that might helpful for you.

I hope this guide to Disneyland character breakfast dining options has been helpful for you! You really can’t go wrong with any of the character dining options. Pick the one that sounds the most fun to you and your family. Everyone has different favorites for different reasons. You can view the menus for all of the Disneyland character breakfast dining options here. That might help you narrow it down and decide which place is perfect for you!

Make sure to check out my podcast for lots of Disney planning information! You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search for “Mix In Some Magic” Follow me on Instagram for more Disney tips and lots of Disney fun!