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View Full Version : My Storyteller Cafe Character Bfast experience



hayesmama
12-15-2004, 11:25 AM
Just got back from our short trip. I have stayed at the other hotels before, but this was my first time to the GC. I enjoyed the hotel overall but was very disappointed with the Storyteller's Cafe character breakfast. Our server was excellent and we were seated right away with priority seating but the overall experience was lacking. I read on these boards that you can order off the menu in addition to the buffet, so being that I have one (out of four kids) picky eater, this sounded great! We saw the same 2 characters the whole time we were there. They came back over and over and over again. When it was time to do a group song/activity, it ended up being a song like "If youre happy and you know it..." and there was not a single character/staff person in sight participating and people were looking around like 'Are we supposed to be doing something?' My kids were very sad because doing the limbo over at Goofy's kitchen was so much fun and the character interaction at Paradise Pier and Plaza Inn were excellent. The Cafe also lacks the kids food bar and kid friendly foods other than bacon and eggs. The kids thought is was sooo cool to have lunch and dinner foods like mac and cheese and chicken nuggets for breakfast. Not here. They do not want eggs benedict or asparagus or pozole soup. Nor were there any kid friendly foods at the buffet (the french toast was smothered in gray bananas) . The kids don't get to eat at a buffet very often, so they did not want to order kid foods (except the picky one!)off the menu. When we left, we saw 3 more characters that, according to the hostess, were there the whole time but never bothered to come to our side of the restaurant. I myself enjoyed the made to order omelette and muffin. If it were just dh and I, I would eat there again. But we won't be going back with the kids. If I stay at GC again, I would rather walk across the street to PP or visit the Plaza Inn on our way in to the park.

3894
12-15-2004, 11:33 AM
Sorry that Storytellers wasn't a good fit, hayesmama.

When my kids were 5 and 8, we did Goofy's and that was fine for the reasons you mentioned. Now that they are teens, Storytellers is a better choice for them. The girls ordered the buffet and loved it. I ordered the French toast from the menu and loved it. We also had the buffet dinner there and that was the girls' favorite meal at the resort.

As for character interaction, I actively disliked Chip 'n' Dale in my face at Goofy's. The kids were excited enough by the idea that they were going afterward to Disneyland. The Chip 'n' Dale thing totally put them off their breakfast. That's how it was for us; I know others really have great experiences at Goofy's.

So I welcomed the low-key character interaction at Storyteller's. When we were there, the interaction was there if you wanted, but no one got in your face if you didn't want.

Anyway, sorry Storytellers disappointed.

rentayenta
12-15-2004, 11:48 AM
Sorry to hear that hayesmama. I am a big fan of the character interaction at Goofy's as well :)

stan4d_steph
12-15-2004, 11:52 AM
I have to concur with Helen on this one. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Storyteller's but it sounds like it wasn't the best fit for your family. I'm grateful that it exists. There aren't that many subdued sitdown breakfast choices at the resort, so I'm glad that Storyteller's offers the alternative of low-key interaction (i.e. characters not coming to tables and being in my face while I eat) and fantastic cuisine. In my mind, Storyteller's is like First Class and Goofy's is like coach. Sorry if this sounds a bit snooty, but I think it's what's intended by Disney. Variety is the spice of life, and I'm glad Disney has lots to offer.

rentayenta
12-15-2004, 11:57 AM
In my mind, Storyteller's is like First Class and Goofy's is like coach. Sorry if this sounds a bit snooty, but I think it's what's intended by Disney. Variety is the spice of life, and I'm glad Disney has lots to offer.


Pencil me in with the rif raf in coach.

Surfingstitch
12-15-2004, 12:10 PM
The one time I stayed at GC I did Storytellers too. We only saw Chip, Dale and Pluto.

Not much to say on it.

I did get a picture of chip writing "Help Me" on the back of Dale's head.

Lots of laughs there.

wishIwasthe_Mouse
12-15-2004, 12:27 PM
the one time I ate with the caratures it was at ariaels in DCA (for dinner). my frind was turning 23 and had never eaten there but always wanted too. it was fun and our water was cool he laughed with us being the only adults in there at the time with out any kids. he also gave my friend one of the kid bukets full of coton candy. its was great and made her day. besides it was cool to see hte kids enjoying there food and not being forced to stare at there plates.

lisap
12-15-2004, 01:33 PM
We just had the Storyteller's B-fast buffet thing last week and had a great experience. Koda and Kenai, accompanied by a "park ranger," came to our table and visited, Meeko (!) stopped by as well as Chip and Dale. We are not that much into "let's all get up and march around" stuff, so this buffet suits us much better. We weren't overwhelmed with characters, but the ones we saw were very sweet. ( I love Meeko :) )

The food was fantastic. One of our girls requested waffles in addition to the regular buffet and they were the best we've ever had (we all took a bite.) The french toast was to die for. We give it two thumbs way up.

Christiii
12-15-2004, 04:51 PM
I can understand wanting a more calm, low key dining experience..but I wouldnt expect that at a character breakfast. I would think most people attending that one would be very disappointed having only two characters, with not much interaction. Especially at that price...all resort restaurants dont have to have kid friendly menus, and cater mostly to kids..but I sure would expect a character breakfast to...I would have been very disappointed as well!!

ChipmunkStar
12-15-2004, 05:13 PM
Here's the deal. Once upon a time, there were normally only Chip Dale and Pluto who would stand in one place and then people could go to them and visit.

Recently, all of the character dining meals underwent a few changes, with Storyteller's changes being the character lineup and the way the greetings would happen. Instead of three characters visiting in one place, you now have several characters visiting at individual tables.

I don't know if the OP was expecting more or less character interaction, but to my knowledge, those are the most recent changes.

Wendi
12-15-2004, 08:12 PM
Sorry you didn't enjoy it. I LOVE Storyteller's Cafe, but mostly because the food is divine... I don't think the other character breakfasts can compare food-wise. I don't need a lot of character interaction, and my son is a bit intimidated by the big fuzzies, he doesn't mind them being around, but doesn't want to be WITH them... so Storyteller's is perfect for us. I wouldn't want to miss out on the french toast, and the waffles are fantastic too! My son is three and is not at all picky, so every food is kid friendly to him. Storyteller's has a lot of fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, bacon, chilaquiles, waffles, french toast, bagels, etc. I think those are all very kid-friendly foods (maybe the chilaquiles are a little spicy for some though).

CoasterChickie
12-15-2004, 08:33 PM
Pencil me in with the rif raf in coach.



Me too! :~D

I've never eaten at Storyteller's Cafe, but I've eaten at Goofy's , PCH, and the Plaza Inn. To me , the food tasted the same at all three places, but the character interaction was fun in a different way each time depending on who was in our group.

IMO, the best breakfast food with no character interaction is at Whitewater Cafe. (Does that classify it as the cockpit or baggage compartment? :fez: )


P.S. hayesmama...sorry your kids ' experience was disappointing....maybe next time you can go to one of the other three or even Ariel's Grotto for lunch or dinner.

averagedork
12-15-2004, 08:37 PM
I've gone to Storyteller's twice for breakfast and really enjoyed both times. I'm 23, and while I don't need to see the characters I like seeing the children light up while meeting them. It's sweet. They do the whole "marching marching" thing with the kids, which... okay as a biased preschool teacher, it's a mixed bag (it can work really well or explode in your face), but they still do it with grace and switch gears quickly if it isn't working. My age being a factor, I have noticed the characters don't bug me and come up occasionally but aren't pushy. The menu is good. Their waffles with orange butter is officially my favorite breakfast food. As a kid, that sounds "weird", but that's what is great about being a kid you have the option to try things that sound weird.

While I am sorry you didn't have the greatest experience at Storyteller's, try them at dinner without the pressure of the character breakfast. It is my favorite restuaraunt on the property.

cstephens
12-15-2004, 10:07 PM
We saw the same 2 characters the whole time we were there.

We had breakfast there on Saturday, and during the first part of our meal, we only saw Koda and Terk. It wasn't until later that Baloo came by and we saw Chip and Dale.


When it was time to do a group song/activity, it ended up being a song like "If youre happy and you know it..." and there was not a single character/staff person in sight participating and people were looking around like 'Are we supposed to be doing something?'

I did think that part was kind of weird. I personally love Storytellers for breakfast because they have the best food, and the character interaction was minimal - you go see them when you want to. However, as I understand it, people are disappointed because it's not a regular character meal, so it looks like they made some changes to try to make it more of a regular character meal. I've never been too into the "group activity" thing (although it was fun to watch our friends in the conga line at Ariel's), so I'd prefer if they did away with that part.


My kids were very sad because doing the limbo over at Goofy's kitchen was so much fun and the character interaction at Paradise Pier and Plaza Inn were excellent.

As far as character breakfasts goes, I'd agree that Storyteller's has the smallest number of characters, though as much as I hear about how great Goofy's Kitchen is, we had an extremely disappointing experience in April, so we won't be going back there again.


They do not want eggs benedict or asparagus or pozole soup.

Mmmmm, asparagus...


Nor were there any kid friendly foods at the buffet (the french toast was smothered in gray bananas) .

The french toast had bananas in it because it was bananas foster french toast. Pretty tasty. I can see that it might be disappointing that there weren't things that interested your kids. I guess it just wasn't a good fit for your family.


When we left, we saw 3 more characters that, according to the hostess, were there the whole time but never bothered to come to our side of the restaurant.

I don't know how crowded it was when you were there, but sometimes, it's just unfortunate that the characters aren't able to make their way around. If they spend a lot of time in one area and then go on a break, they might "forget" when they come back out where they were before and go back that same way. That's partly why I liked it better when you went to them in the lobby. No way you could miss them then.

3894
12-16-2004, 05:55 AM
IMO, the best breakfast food with no character interaction is at Whitewater Cafe. (Does that classify it as the cockpit or baggage compartment? )
.

Whitewater Cafe Score Card

Food = Excellent

Selection = Excellent

Atmosphere = Excellent

Decor = Excellent

Staff = Excellent


Looks like Whitewater Cafe is first-class, all the way!

rentayenta
12-16-2004, 06:56 AM
Me too! :~D



IMO, the best breakfast food with no character interaction is at Whitewater Cafe. (Does that classify it as the cockpit or baggage compartment? :fez: )



Cockpit ;)

PsychDoc
12-16-2004, 07:35 AM
I have to concur with Helen on this one. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Storyteller's but it sounds like it wasn't the best fit for your family. I'm grateful that it exists. There aren't that many subdued sitdown breakfast choices at the resort, so I'm glad that Storyteller's offers the alternative of low-key interaction (i.e. characters not coming to tables and being in my face while I eat) and fantastic cuisine. In my mind, Storyteller's is like First Class and Goofy's is like coach. Sorry if this sounds a bit snooty, but I think it's what's intended by Disney. Variety is the spice of life, and I'm glad Disney has lots to offer.
I agree too. The GC is more geared towards adults. It's not overdone with the Disney theme. When I'm in there, I forget I'm at Disneyland. Again, it's just a different style. While my 11 year old might enjoy staying there, my 2 year old would like the DH much better.