The Plaza Inn in Disneyland can be found on the corner of Main Street and Tomorrowland, but there’s nothing futuristic about it! The Victorian setting features a fun buffet breakfast in the morning (with characters!), and some fantastic counter-service cafeteria-style food in the afternoon and evening (they say the fried chicken is to die for).
Front of Restaurant
Atmosphere
The Plaza Inn Breakfast with Minnie and Friends is the only character meal inside Disneyland Park, so it’s a great one to start with if you’re planning to do the day in Disneyland and you’d like to get a hearty breakfast.
On our way inside the restaurant, you’ll pass some cute outdoor seating. It’s primarily used during the lunch and dinner meals, though; most breakfast guests will sit in the opulent indoor dining room with its floor-to-ceiling curtains and crystal sconces and chandeliers.
outdoor seating
Entryway
On our visit, guests were given the chance to take a family photo next to a backdrop prior to heading into the dining room for their meal. This either happens outside on the porch, or inside in the entryway.
Once you step inside the restaurant, you’ll see the lovely Victorian decor found throughout this restaurant. From paintings and artwork to columns and gingerbread details, the place really does look a bit more like a museum than a breakfast buffet!
Decor
Buffet From Entryway
But, sure enough, you’ll soon be greeted with the standard Disney hot plates and buffet touches that you’re familiar with! 🙂
Buffet Area
Of course, I haven’t seen a soft drink dispenser like this before…
Bronzed drink machine
After being led to your table, you’ll be given the chance to head up to the buffet to fill your plates. But take a moment to see what characters are visiting the restaurant and where they are. You don’t want to miss a visit because you’re at the buffet! If a character is close-by, wait it out until they get to your table (check our our other Disney character dining tips here!)
Characters
Disneyland and Disney World differ a bit when it comes to character dining in that at Disneyland, you’re not always sure who you’re going to see. Basically, the groupings of characters don’t always make sense, which I would say is what happened on my visit!
We were thrilled, but a bit confused, to see Tigger, the Fairy Godmother, Rabbit, Minnie, and Captain Hook thrown together at a character meal. It felt all wrong, but seeing so many of our favorite characters in one place was really kind of fun! We had the same experience at Goofy’s Kitchen and really enjoyed it.
Minnie greets her guests
Capt. Hook
Fairy Godmother
Minnie and Rabbit
Tigger was especially fun on this particular morning. This was one of several poses he struck for my camera!
Tigger strikes a pose
And he was always happy to dance with his biggest admirers!
Tigger dancing in ornate dining room
Eats
The buffet at Minnie’s isn’t large, but the food is good and plentiful.
menu and price info - click image for larger version
menu
Guests are asked to take trays, plates, and utensils (usually we don’t find trays at breakfast buffets, but since the Plaza Inn turns into a cafeteria for the rest of the day, it works out well here), then head to the varied buffet pods throughout the main buffet area.
Trays and utensils
In the cold section, you’ll find fresh fruit, pastries, breakfast breads (my favorite!), and cereal.
fruit
breakfast breads
breakfast muffins
croissants
pastries
cereal
Hot cereal is also available, along with biscuits and gravy, french toast and Mickey waffles with lots of fruity toppings, eggs and breakfast meats, and breakfast potatoes. I loved the breakfast potatoes, and the Mickey waffles were, of course, fabulous. The breakfast ham was surprisingly good as well!
cream of wheat and oatmeal
waffles and french toast
fruit toppings
eggs and bacon
ham - biscuits and gravy
condiments
I’m always pleased when there’s a make-your-own omelet area, and this Omelet Chef created just about the best omelet I’d ever tasted. Just look at that thing!
Omelet Chef
make your own omelets
make your own omelet
For beverages, you can grab milk (chocolate and regular), juices, coffee, and those bronzed soft drinks you saw above!
coffee machine
chocolate and regular milk
juice machine
Here are a few of our plated masterpieces 😉
ham and potatoes with biscuit and gravy
pastries plated
Overall
If you’re visiting Disneyland for the first time, it’s fun to head to the Breakfast with Minnie & Friends. Character dining in the park is not-to-be-missed, and since this is the only place you can do it in the first Disney park ever built, it’s well worth the visit.
The food is quite good, and the characters are diverse and very interactive (read: you may have to wait a bit for them to get to your table, but when they do come over, they’ll stay a while in my experience).
Because Disneyland table-service restaurants aren’t in as high demand as Disney World’s, you’ll find a more relaxed atmosphere here, and that’s always a nice way to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the characters. You won’t be rushed or see gobs of people staring in the window waiting for your seat. That said, I always recommend making reservations even if they’re not necessarily needed.
When it comes to character meals in Disneyland Resort, I’ll usually choose Storyteller’s Cafe or Goofy’s Kitchen over Minnie’s, but hanging out with your favorite characters right next to Sleeping Beauty Castle is certainly a fun experience.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about The Plaza Inn and the Breakfast with Minnie and Friends! Tell us your experience in the comments section below!
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I love character breakfasts in the park. Your pictures are so great. Definately on my list of places to check out!!
I’m not a big breakfast person but I would definitely give this a go just on the fact that it’s inside the park and now that I’ve had my first baby I would feel more comfortable doing a character meal. For some reason I always felt I would feel silly eating with characters without a child with me! 😉 On a side note, I LOVE the outdoor seating. I would love to get some of those tables and chairs for my own back yard someday!
I’ll definitely try to hit this one up on my December visit to DL! I love me some biscuits and gravy.
We went to the Minnie & Friends breakfast in May with our 5 year-old grandson. It was so much fun! His eyes lit up when he saw the characters, who seemed to have lots of time to interact with him. It was great to be able to see so many characters in one place. Our grandson became quite a fan of Minnie, and after the breakfast, wanted to look for her everywhere we went. I would definitely recommend it. We got some great pictures, too 🙂
Looks like Crystal Palace! Great review.
We love Character Breakfasts, we have done the Palace a few times, once a few years ago with Pooh and Friends and more recently with Minnie and Friends. We have also done the Storytellers Cafe with Chip and Dale, the Ranger was funny, he hit my teenage son with a stuffed fish! Speaking of teenagers, we have been going to Character Breakfasts since my kids were 4 and 5, they are now 16 and 17, they still love it and the Characters love teens it seems. The Cast members behind the costumes are very good at what they do! No matter what your age they will always make sure you have a good time! It is definitely worth the cost, I am no fan of standing in long lines to meet Characters. Here is a tip we found helpful that we learned after our first breakfast, try to get a table around the perimeter of the venue and have your children sit toward the middle and you with the camera across from them (back to the wall) , the characters will come around and it makes for perfect photo ops.
A group of us went on Feb 8th, before we headed over to celebrate DCA’s 11th anniversary. There was one thing on the menu that wasn’t listed in your review, so don’t know if it’s a specialty item based on who’s chef that day.
We had Mexican chilaquiles (fried corn tortillas simmered in salsa). I love this dish & it’s hard to find on a buffet – even on most Mexican restaurant buffets. It was a real surprise & spicier then what you would expect at Disneyland.
I had ham, bacon, potatoes, my chiaquiles, and chocolate croissants. That made me a very happy camper.
The breakfast buffet looks yummy! I ate dinner there several years ago and the chicken was to die for and I loved the atmosphere. I had a very late dinner and watched the fireworks from the seating outside. If I ever make it back to Disneyland I will definitely give the Plaza a try for breakfast.
The fried chicken is the BEST i have ever had. We always hit it for dinner at least one night, it comes with mash potatos and killer greenbeans and a roll. OMG my fav place to eat in the whole park!
Thanks for the great review – I loved it here too when I went! It definitely reminded me of Crystal Palace also, and I did not know it was the only character meal in Disneyland Park, so that makes it all the more special!
Because of the limited offerings, did you feel that $24 was too much for an adult breakfast buffet? I see kids are only $12 – which is a little more reasonable.
Also, I know we’re just focusing on breakfast, but have you tried their fried chicken? Wondering how good it really is… 😉
Nate, I thought it was worth the $24. Good pricing as Disney character buffets go, and they had all the main dishes I wanted. Haven’t had the chicken yet, but will remedy that this August!
The fried chicken is really good – it’s moist but not greasy, and very tasty. One of my favorite meals at Disneyland.
Not to sound like a cheapskate, but when you enter the buffet do they require that ALL people pay even if two people are sharing a plate? So if two go in, even if they share, do both parties still have to pay? thanks
Amber — I’m guessing two adults are not allowed to share a plate at a buffet, since buffets are all-you-can-eat and you can have as much food as you’d like. For example, under the same conditions, would a family of 6 be able to go in and say “we’re all sharing one plate”? Probably not. You can “share” with a child under 3 years of age.
First of all the food at the Plaza is wonderful. Have never had a complaint. My only concern is the staff at the back wall where you are served hot food. They consistently never smile there is no friendlyness from any of them. Contrary to the Disney staff that greets you at the door and where you pay they are a delight. Have eaten there with my family everytime we go and unfortunately I kinda dread walking back to get hot food. Very surprising to see this in Disneyland. Other than that everything is great and my sister and I will be there in May. Wohoooo.
Last June was our first character breakfast at the Plaza Inn, and it was wonderful!!! The buffet was fantastic….I’m usually more of a bacon fan than sausage, but the link sausages were REALLY good!!! We spent probably a good hour and a half, or more, there, and the characters were in great form, and spent a great deal of time at our table….we have two teenagers and a 4 year old, and they ALL loved it!!! We are DEFINITELY doing it again, this June!!! And the price isn’t that bad for Disneyland! Also, remember….it’s all you can eat!!!! I would recommend this to everyone that comes here!!!
I want to do the Minnie Breakfast with my family this sept. I noticed the park does not open till 10am in sept but they start doing breakfast at 9:00am does this mean you get into the park early if you do the 9:00am breakfast?
Thank you for all of the wonderful info! My family & I are visiting in Oct. during the Mickey Halloween Party. I was wondering how early a reservation I can get to Minnie & Friends Breakfast? Do they open earlier for guests w/ reservations? In your opinion, which is the best character breakfast at Disneyland? Thanks!
I am a current annual pass holder and would like to arrange a birthday gathering at the plaza inn with characters how do I do this? Is there a contact number to arrange?
Its not 23.99 anymore try 32.99