Goofy’s Kitchen

Although I spent my early years wandering the Happiest Place on Earth, it had been over a decade since I’d been to Disneyland when I started planning the kids’ first trip. It was the finale to our great American road trip from Oklahoma to California. We only had three days at the west coast Disney Parks, but being the character meal advocate that I am, we had to see what Disneyland dining had to offer. Our first glimpse into character dining at Disneyland was Goofy’s Kitchen, located in the historic Disneyland Hotel.

When we arrived, there were hardly any other guests in or around the restaurant. I wondered if I had the time wrong or the restaurant was closing. Apparently mid-morning in mid-June is just not a crowded time at Goofy’s Kitchen. This was going to be awesome!

We snapped a pic and played with Goofy a bit before being seated. There were, literally, four other families in our area. We’re so used to the lively, populated character meals at Walt Disney World that we weren’t quite sure what to do. We settled at the table and then headed to the buffet (which I have no pictures of, sorry, we were hungry). The food offerings were varied and yummy. A nice mix of lunch and breakfast fare made for a wonderful brunch.

The characters didn’t have a rhyme or reason. While the meals at Disney World are centered around a theme, you never knew who’d pop up next here. Even for this planner, that was really fun!

 Because of the low crowds in the restaurant, the characters spent a TON of time at each table. In fact, Pluto visited us a second time and sat down to draw a self-portrait (video coming soon!) on our table “cloth.” It was so much fun, and the kids still laugh about The Mad Hatter asking the Bippity Boppity Boutiqued girl next to us if she if she was wearing a “Bump-It.” 🤣

*06.2023 Update* We made our triumphant return to Goofy’s Kitchen almost exactly 12 years later to celebrate our cousins’ first visits to the Happiest Place on Earth. The buffet was every bit as varied for our dinner seating, but the characters are now standard, which was kind of a bummer, but it was a nice intro to character dining for our Disney newbies. 

The Food

Everything I tried was really good! And the variety was amazing. There is likely something for every taste at every course, apps, entree and dessert. The dessert offerings are wild! So many!!

The Characters

As I mentioned, the characters are now predictable, but they all offered fun interaction!

But it’s usually worth the sticker shock. 😉

So, tell us, have you been to Goofy’s Kitchen? Must-do or one and done? Are you thinking about adding it to your next Disneyland adventure? Let’s talk in the comments!

@magicmemoriesmayhem

Let’s go to dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel! 💙💚🧡 We hadn’t been back here in over a decade, and we had a great time! Character meals are a perfect way to meet your Disney pals in a relaxing, climate controlled environment. Highly recommend these when you visit Disneyland or Disney World.

#GoofysKitchen#DisneylandHotel#DisneylandTrip#DisneyTripTips#FamilyVacation#DisneyCharacters

♬ Island in the Sun – Kasirin