Goofy's Kitchen Questions?

[Elias1901]

I am planning to make a breakfast reservation for Goofy's Kitchen during my upcoming August trip. I've been there a few times in the past and we love going there. It has become a somewhat-regular tradition. Anyway, I have a few questions regarding my next visit to Goofy's Kitchen.

First, parking. It will be our first time heading to the Disneyland Hotel with a rental car. I am curious if the Disneyland Hotel has a free parking lot for people visiting the hotel like the WDW resorts and hotels do. Is there a entry gate you pull up to and security lets you in if you tell them you have a ressie at Goofy's?

Second, breakfast-lunch carryover. What time does the kitchen rotate out the breakfast foods in favor of the lunch fare? Is it possible to book a dining time an hour or so before lunch starts so you can enjoy a bit of breakfast and lunch as well? Or can you only have one or the other? Do they make all breakfast guests leave before lunch begins?

Third, what is the earliest time you can make a reservation for breakfast? How is the experience at Goofy's Kitchen now-a-days? Is it still as awesome as I remember? How's the atmosphere? How's the food?

Thanks a bunch for any help! A-HYUCK!! :goofy:

[Elias1901]

Does anybody know the answers to my questions posted above? Also, I am wondering if anyone knows the full list of characters that are possible/ever appeared at Goofy's Kitchen?

[tinkwest]

I haven't eaten at Goofy's Kitchen since the days when there was only Disneyland. But they are still very popular. If it's anything like I remember the food is good, nothing to rave about, but the character interaction is what brings in the guests.

I'm not sure about the parking question. I think it is limited to Hotel guests. However Downtown Disney parking is almost just as close and the first three hours are free. An additional two hours are free with validation from a sit down restaurant. I am assuming that Goofy's Kitchen which is at the Hotel rather than DDT would be acceptable.

[Elias1901]

I haven't eaten at Goofy's Kitchen since the days when there was only Disneyland. But they are still very popular. If it's anything like I remember the food is good, nothing to rave about, but the character interaction is what brings in the guests.

I'm not sure about the parking question. I think it is limited to Hotel guests. However Downtown Disney parking is almost just as close and the first three hours are free. An additional two hours are free with validation from a sit down restaurant. I am assuming that Goofy's Kitchen which is at the Hotel rather than DDT would be acceptable.

Thanks, tink!

[BrerGnat]

The hotel will not let you park there for free. They will direct you to the Downtown Disney lot next door. It is literally a VERY short walk to the DL hotel from there. As Linda mentioned, you will get 5 hours of free parking there, just make sure you bring in your parking ticket and they will validate it at Goofy's Kitchen. Recently, some places have started NOT validating unless you show them a receipt from your meal, so hang onto that.

My sister and her family just had a meal at Goofy's kitchen. They made their reservation for 11am, and they had BOTH breakfast and lunch options available. The meal at that time is considered "Brunch".

I believe they open at 8am for breakfast service.

If you want lunch foods as well, book for 10:30-11:30, somewhere in there.

[Elias1901]

The hotel will not let you park there for free. They will direct you to the Downtown Disney lot next door. It is literally a VERY short walk to the DL hotel from there. As Linda mentioned, you will get 5 hours of free parking there, just make sure you bring in your parking ticket and they will validate it at Goofy's Kitchen. Recently, some places have started NOT validating unless you show them a receipt from your meal, so hang onto that.

My sister and her family just had a meal at Goofy's kitchen. They made their reservation for 11am, and they had BOTH breakfast and lunch options available. The meal at that time is considered "Brunch".

I believe they open at 8am for breakfast service.

If you want lunch foods as well, book for 10:30-11:30, somewhere in there.

Thanks Natalie! :mickey: Our Enterprise rental car drop-off time is scheduled for 12:30 PM the same day we plan to eat at Goofy's... I've never rented a car myself before and I am curious if I could drop off the car beforehand and then walk over to the Disneyland Hotel for our meal? Do rental car agencies normally accept early drop-offs?

I think we'll try and book a seating time for around 9:30 AM or 10:00 AM and try to stay as long as we can to make the meal price worth it and see the character rotations. Do you know if there is a dining time limit (where they "make" or "ask" you to leave) at these buffets?

Obviously you can't just hang around there all day and we don't plan to, but we want to stay around for at least a few hours to eat our fill and get some autographs/pictures. It is our change-over/rest day and we really have nothing better to do besides visit our hotel's swimming pool... :vacation:

[BrerGnat]

You can drop off a rental car whenever you want. The time you have for the return is a "no later than", or they will charge you for an additional day. Dropping off a few hours early is completely fine. In fact, I've dropped off a car an entire DAY early, and they simply adjusted my final charge by crediting off one of the days.

There is really no time limit, but the characters will only come around to your table once and that's it. There are really not that many...maybe 5. Your waiter/waitress will also kind of make it clear that you should leave after a reasonable amount of time has passed (like 1.5-2 hours max).

Goofy's Kitchen tends to be VERY busy, and there will be people waiting for tables, so it's best to eat your fill and then leave.

Just make your reservation for late morning, like 10:30 or 11 and drop off your car early that day.

[Elias1901]

You can drop off a rental car whenever you want. The time you have for the return is a "no later than", or they will charge you for an additional day. Dropping off a few hours early is completely fine. In fact, I've dropped off a car an entire DAY early, and they simply adjusted my final charge by crediting off one of the days.

There is really no time limit, but the characters will only come around to your table once and that's it. There are really not that many...maybe 5. Your waiter/waitress will also kind of make it clear that you should leave after a reasonable amount of time has passed (like 1.5-2 hours max).

Goofy's Kitchen tends to be VERY busy, and there will be people waiting for tables, so it's best to eat your fill and then leave.

Just make your reservation for late morning, like 10:30 or 11 and drop off your car early that day.

Thanks for the advice! It is appreciated! :D

[Elias1901]

When my family and I went here in the past, I remember the food being quite enjoyable... but from online reviews (as picky and price concentrated as they may be) it seems as though the food quality has went down? Can anybody atest to these reports?

As I said, in past visits there was a somewhat wide selection of foods to choose from and all were good quality for what the foods were... there's only so many ways to make chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese superb... :funny: and I have always been a big fan of Disney's build-your-own omelet stations! Those cooks know what their doing and aren't afraid to "load up" your omlete with more than what is normally offered at other places. :D