Character Dining - The Plaza Inn

One of the hidden secrets of Disneyland is Character Dining.  It wasn't until we had been to the park several times that a friend suggested we go into town hall and inquire about Character Breakfast.  Sure now adays Character Dining has become quite a big thing with several locations to choose from. 

The first time we went to a Character Breakfast we booked it through town hall and made our reservations there.  I'm sure you can still do that, but if you're planning ahead the Disney website has a full dining and reservations section there.  The classic location is the Plaza Inn for Mickey and Friends breakfast.  We have enjoyed the Mickey and Friends breakfast on three occasions through out the years.  Sure the price is more than you've ever paid for a breakfast before, but this is no ordinary meal.  You will be treated to a buffet of delicious breakfast items, everything from omelets, to pancakes, waffles, breakfast meats, fresh fruit and scrambled eggs.  There's no way a person can leave hungry.

While you are enjoying your breakfast either inside the restaurant or outside on their patio Disney characters will wander around.  When the character approaches your table they'll take the time to interact with each family.  They are happy to sign autograph books, give hugs and pose for photos.  During the approximate time it takes you to eat your meal you will have one full rotation of Disney characters.

Karly was a bit scared of the characters the first time she met them

Smaller children may be afraid of some of the characters.  Karly was 5 at our first Plaza Inn Character Breakfast and she wasn't really a fan of some of the characters.  Perhaps show your children some photos of what's going to go on and they'll be a little more comfortable with the whole idea and have a bit more fun with posing for pictures.   Don't forget to take horizontal photos for your autograph book!

Here she is just one year later loving the Fairy Godmother!

For us the Character Breakfast is a bit of an extravagance but we only do one Character meal per trip.  It's been a great way to fill up those autograph books and get to meet some of the characters up close.  These are memories that will last a life time.

What a perfect way to start your Disney Day!!