REVIEW: A Brunch Buffet and Character Dining?! Here’s Where to Find It in Disneyland

The Disneyland Resort is filled with places to eat — it can be difficult to find the right spot for you. That’s what we’re here for!

We love to try all the restaurants that Disneyland has to offer, and then let you know where you should definitely eat and where you should skip. We recently stopped by Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel and are bringing you our FULL review!

Background

The Storytellers Cafe, located in the Grand Californian hotel, gives guests a dining experience to celebrate California folklore over a grand buffet, which has a variety of food options.

To make the experience even more memorable and magical, it’s a character-dining experience. Eat, talk, and take pictures with some of your favorite Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and more pals!

Here’s what you need to know about dining at this restaurant.

Atmosphere

If you want to eat here, we recommend booking your reservation for noon at the very latest! The last call is at 1:45, so if you show up later than noon, you may not get a lot of time to really get your money’s worth.  It’s breakfast only from 7:00 AM to 10:30 AM, and then 10:30 AM to 1:45 PM is lunch and breakfast offerings.

They do a character dance/parade in the restaurant about every hour. Normally, you get to see each character about a few times during your time there — that could be shortened the later you dine there or if you don’t stick around too long. Cast Members will do their best to make sure you’ve gotten to see each character at least once.

It’s a very fun experience that the whole family would love. After all, who doesn’t love eating with Mickey Mouse?! Mickey and all his pals came to join us, including Pluto…

…Chip…

… and Dale!

Mickey’s sweetheart, Minnie, came to say hi…

…and of course, Mickey came to join us!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

Like we mentioned, Storytellers Cafe is a buffet with a variety of breakfast, brunch, and dinner dishes, depending on the time of day. We visited for brunch, which is $55 per adult and $33 per child. As far as the food goes, we went to the make-your-own omelette bar to start. Everything in it was super fresh and flavorful. The bell peppers were crispy, while the bacon had a nice and savory flavour. The eggs were the perfect consistency for an omelette. And to top it all off, there are lots of toppings to choose from!

We couldn’t resist grabbing the Carnitas Chilaquiles! There was a bit of a kick to them, but nothing too strong. We will say, bold flavors from the salsa and carnitas. Sometimes these can be soggy from salsa, and everything else going on with it, but that was not the case today.

Of course, how could we have brunch without a classic Mickey Waffle?! It looked like the entire batch was cooked to a perfect, crispy golden brown. There was a nice crunch on the outside, and it was soft and sweet inside. We LOVE Mickey Waffles, and these were some of the best we’ve ever had!

The Top Sirloin sounded fancy, but we unfortunately weren’t super impressed with this one. We saw a few people getting it, and it looked like juicy cuts of sirloin on the board. However, when biting into it, it was pretty dry and bland. The Roasted Turkey was the opposite. We weren’t expecting much, but the turkey was moist with a salty and savory flavor.

In general, all of the produce was fresh and of high quality.

Don’t even get us started on the Watermelon/Lime Sorbet, which was easily our favorite of the desserts! It was a balanced mix of sweet and tart flavors. A lighter dessert option with fresh and vibrant flavors.

Take a look at our breakfast plate, we want more just looking at it!

Magic or Tragic?

This Disneyland restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re looking for Disney character dining!
• You want a wide variety of familiar and unique dishes and treats.
• You’re staying at the resort!

You should skip this Disneyland spot if…

• It’s an effort to go out of your way! Although that isn’t a deal breaker.
• You’re hoping to get something a little cheaper.
• You’re not trying to have a hefty meal — it won’t be worth the money.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at the restaurant! Next time, we’re going to set our reservation to an earlier time, so we have more time to eat and enjoy the characters.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disneyland restaurant before? Tell us in the comments.

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