Halloween Brunch at Goofy’s Kitchen: The Best Seasonal Character Dining?

We recently had the good fortune of scoring a reservation for Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch at the Disneyland Hotel. This character dining location is offering a seasonal, Halloween themed meal through October 31st. Our party of eight gathered to celebrate our son’s fourth birthday, and Goofy’s Kitchen ended up being the perfect place! Here’s a look at the experience and our thoughts on the specialty seasonal dining option.

One of the great things about both Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel and Storytellers in the Grand Californian is that you don’t need a theme park ticket to dine. We were able to dine with family members who weren’t joining us in the parks that day, making it a great option for families who want to invite extended family to celebrate a special occasion. 

Goofy’s Kitchen offers character dining throughout the day with Breakfast, Brunch, and Dinner options. The Halloween Breakfast and Brunch are slightly less expensive ($62 per adult, $34 per child), with dinner costing the most ($75 per adult, $37 per child). The Halloween-themed is an upcharge in comparison to the regular dining experience. We personally prefer Brunch because you’ll get a combination of breakfast favorites plus some savory lunch items, providing you with the most variety.

We arrived for our 11:10 AM Brunch reservation and checked in with the hostess. While we waited for our table to be ready, we were instructed to get in line for our photo with Goofy. The line moved quickly and we were delighted to find Goofy decked out in his Halloween costume as a not-so-spooky tree. After my son had a special one-on-one moment with Goofy, the Disney PhotoPass photographer snapped a family photo of our whole gang. As soon as our photo was finished, the hostess called our name and ushered us off to our table.

The restaurant itself had charming Halloween-themed touches. The decor felt very kid-friendly with colorful pumpkins, giant candy corns and photos of the characters celebrating the holiday – nothing scary or too spooky. Our hostess passed out souvenir Halloween buttons to each guest when we arrived at our table. Halloween music (similar to the tracks playing in Downtown Disney) played in the background throughout our meal. Our son recognized many of the songs and danced along in his seat.

The buffet is set up to appeal to a kid’s palate. For Brunch, you’ll find Mickey waffles, pizza, mac and cheese, and a variety of sweet treats. Our little guy loved the ice cream sundae bar and individual desserts. As a group of 7 adults and one child, the adults in our party were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food for a buffet geared towards young families. We enjoyed the prime rib, seasonal vegetables, eggs benedict, chia seed pudding bar, and omelet station. The pozole station with an array of topping choices was a fun offering as well.

In the theme of the season, the dessert section offered Halloween specialty treats like marshmallow wands, individual orange Jell-O parfaits, and “worms in dirt” (gummy worms in chocolate pudding with smashed Oreo). These treats were a big hit with our son. 

A special shout-out to our amazing chef who came to our table to address our dietary restrictions. With three family members with food allergies, we often choose Disney dining because of their willingness to make accommodations with cheer. The chef took us through the buffet and addressed each dish that was safe to eat. The allergy selections in the buffet were abundant and they brought out special allergy-friendly waffles, eggs benedict, and desserts.

While we ate, the characters visited our table for hugs, photographs, and autographs. All of our Disney pals were dressed in their Halloween costumes! We had the opportunity to greet Minnie, Pluto, Chip, and Dale, each at least twice. It was great to see the characters in different Halloween costumes than ones in the park (even if they’re costumes from last year), making the experience feel special and exclusive. 

I will say that, based on our past experiences at Storytellers and Plaza Inn, the quantity of characters is less at Goofy’s Kitchen. And we sure missed getting to meet Mickey like you do at Storytellers. However, the quality of the interactions was excellent. Each character spent dedicated time with my son. When he was feeling shy, Pluto spent several minutes playing on the floor with my son until he warmed up to take a photo – and boy, did mom get some great photos because of it!

We loved the character parade that happened several times during our meal. These segments bring out all the to characters dance through the restaurant while guests are encouraged to swing their napkins in the air to celebrate. They do the same parade at the other character dining spots, but the one at Goofy’s Kitchen feels the most joyful. 

We did feel that Goofy’s Kitchen was the most overstimulating of the character breakfast options on property –  loud, bright colors, more action, overwhelming food options at the buffet. While these are all the things that make the experience fun and family-friendly, it may not be the best dining location if you have a child who does better in locations without so much sensory overload. For a more sensitive child, baby, or younger toddler, you will probably enjoy Storytellers more.

Our meal ended with a reminder of why Disney birthday celebrations are the best. Make sure to let you host or server know it’s your birthday, because they will bring out a free birthday cupcake with a candle and sing Happy Birthday. Our son loved this part and was especially excited to receive a Halloween-themed cupcake.

Overall, we would highly recommend Goofy’s Kitchen for a special celebration if you have kids in your travel party. The restaurant is set up with kids in mind, from the colorful décor to the buffet presentation. The Halloween theming gave the meal an extra special touch, but we think the dining experience still feels special without it. All the best parts – kid friendly food, quality character interactions, and fun environment – remain the same throughout the year. 

Goofy’s Kitchen typically books out 60 days in advance, but is one of the dining locations that will pop up with available reservations the night before or morning of. If you were hoping to catch this dining option before the Halloween season is up, we recommend checking the app or trying for walk-up seating at the last minute. We’ve had several friends who successfully grabbed a last minute reservation this way.

Let’s Hear From You

Are you hoping to snag a reservation at Goofy’s Kitchen this Halloween Season? If you’ve been to Goofy’s Kitchen, what do you think? Does a Halloween-themed dining experience sound up like you or kid’s idea of a good time? Let us know in the comments if you think Character Dining is worth it.

More Kid-Friendly Dining at Disneyland

If you’re curious about other dining options that will be great for kids and adults alike, take a look at the article below:

5 Kid-Approved Table Service Restaurants at the Disneyland Resort (That Adults Will Love Too!)