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View Full Version : Plaza Inn - Birthday Party or Minnie Breakfast?



socaltexan02
06-03-2007, 07:52 PM
I'm deciding between (most likely) these 2 options for celebrating my DD's 3rd b-day at Disneyland. I know that the Minnie Breakfast wouldn't be quite as birthday oriented, but - I think she'd still think it was very special. She loves Minnie and breakfast food is her favorite any time of day. :) I assume we can count on Minnie being there...along w/ some various other characters? Do Mickey/Minnie always appear at the Birthday Party at Plaza Inn? (I'm thinking not always...) Just trying to weigh the options...any input would be appreciated. We've also somewhat considered Goofy's Kitchen, but I think we'd rather do something in-park. We did Ariel's Grotto last year for my other daugher, and both girls loved it - but we're looking to do something new (we haven't done either Minnie's Breakfast or the B-day thing before)...and the little one is very into Mickey/Minnie - and just about any character.

TIA! :)

Tinkermommy
06-04-2007, 07:56 AM
Do Mickey/Minnie always appear at the Birthday Party at Plaza Inn?

We've always had Mickey, but he's sometimes had a different "sidekick." I believe we had Minnie twice out of four times.

They are definitely different types of events. The birthday thing is fun to do at least once (and cheaper). Mickey doesn't come until near the end; the rest of the time, your host is a guy with a big cake on his head (Pat E. Cake). He's funny and lively.

I really enjoyed it the first couple times we went. Earlier this year, I found the whole thing sort of overwhelming once Mickey came, because the parents totally swarmed the stage area and wouldn't move after they'd taken their pictures. I never was able to get a photo of my daughter up there. I bought the Disney photo because it was the only option, but the kids aren't even looking at the camera. They're looking for me!

It depends on the crowd, I guess, because other years, we had a great time and everybody shared the photo space. It also depends on the group you're with, because you spend much of your time "alone" with your group, decorating your cakes.

Although you share the characters at breakfast with more people, I felt we got more "personal" time with them at the breakfast. Hope that helps!

kaybee2
06-04-2007, 09:18 AM
We just did Minnie's breakfast on Sat. 5/26. I have recently knocked Goofy's and the Chip & Dale B'fast @ GCH on other threads and have to admit I was really leery of going to Minnie's.

I was really pleased with the whole experience there. We not only got Minnie, we had a total of 8 characters come to our table. We have never had so many characters (keep in mind though, we were there from 10-11:45 and I thanked our lucky stars we had so many come to our table!). The only one we asked to have come by was Rafiki, since my 7 yo dd has loved "Lion King" since she was 2 and we have never seen him anywhere.

Oh, and the food was pretty good too. I liked the made-to-order omlettes and that there was a good selection of fresh fruit. There were a couple of kids doing birthdays while we were there and staff and 1-2 characters came over with a cupcake (? I think) and sang.

I have never done the birthday celebration so can't give you input there...I can tell you I would go back to Minnie's breakfast.

Hope this helps!

cactusgirl
06-04-2007, 12:30 PM
We like to maximize the early morning time in the park--low lines, cool weather, etc. Every time we do a character breakfast, I feel like we are "missing out." That being said, we do lots of character lunches and dinners. Plus, we ALWAYS do the birthday party at the Plaza Inn. We rotate on whose birthday we celebrate. Why?

1. The cost is minimal--like $10/12 per person. I think it is a great value as we take the cups home with us as soveniers. We then keep them on hand for when we have kiddos over who need a cup with a lid.
2. At 2:00 in the afternoon, it makes a nice break for us--you sit down, drink loads of the punch, decorate your cake, etc.
3. You get your picture with mickey--and minnie or goofy--without a long wait.

I hope this helps!

socaltexan02
06-04-2007, 07:13 PM
Thanks! I'm still fluctuating...currently leaning towards the breakfast but still not decided. :confused:

babytmakes5
06-05-2007, 06:21 AM
We did both the Plaza Inn birthday and Minnie's breakfast last fall, and I have to say we enjoyed breakfast with Minnie much, much more. At breakfast, the characters come to your table in a relaxed manner--you don't have to wait in line or chase them down, generally speaking. There were so many characters there too, including some that we had never seen walking around the parks before, like the Fairy Godmother. The food was good and we enjoyed the entire experience. The only downside would be the cost, if that is a factor for you to consider. Earlier in the week we celebrated my little boys 4th birthday at the Plaza Inn, and we left disappointed. The cost was tolerable (I think $10 per person), and we left with souvenir cups, but that was the only good thing about it. The cake decorating was fun for the kids, but the downside to the cupcakes is the brightly-colored frosting: we coldn't get the blue stains off their faces the whole day :eek:! Maybe not such a big a deal, but still something to consider... We also had to wait in a long, long line to get a photo with Mickey. I felt frustrated that the line wasn't coordinated very well--my four year old little boy kept getting bumped to the back of the line by adults rushing up to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie. I'm glad we did it once, just to see what it was like first hand, but I wouldn't do it again. Stick with breakfast, and I think you'll leave quite happy. Hope your little one enjoys her day!