Credit: DisneyStorytellers Cafe offers a delightful character dining experience featuring some of our favorite Disney characters at the Disneyland Resort. As this beloved dining location recently reopened, we have created this guide to help you plan for your visit to Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Here are all the details you need to know including how to make a dining reservation, what characters you will see, where the restaurant is located, and more.
Which hotel is Storytellers Cafe located in?
Storytellers Cafe is located in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. This marvelous hotel actually has its own entrance into Disney California Adventure, making this character dining location is ideal for those wanted to eat early and then enter the theme park to hit their favorite rides before anyone else.
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How do you get to Storytellers Cafe from Downtown Disney?
If you are not staying at the Grand Californian, all you need to do to get to Storytellers Cafe is park at the Downtown Disney parking lot (the Simba lot) and walk through Downtown Disney to get to the Grand Californian. Parking here is an extra fee, but you can get validation by making a purchase at the Downtown Disney District.
Additionally, you can park at the Grand Californian if you do not want to walk through Downtown Disney. The Grand Californian will validate your parking for a few hours since you are dining at the hotel with a reservation at Storytellers Cafe.
How do you get to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa?
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is hard to miss if you are visiting the Disneyland Resort. Located at 1600 Disneyland Drive, this large hotel connects its Guests to Downtown Disney and Disney California Adventure. For travel information, click here.
Why should you make a reservation for Storytellers Cafe?
Storytellers Cafe is open for breakfast, weekend brunch, and dinner. Characters make appearances for breakfast and brunch. These experiences with the characters are very popular so making an advanced dining reservation for Storytellers Cafe is recommended if you want to guarantee your spot for breakfast or brunch. The restaurant is not very large, meaning that tables can fill up quickly. There is a walk-up waitlist available for this location, but only when it is not at capacity.
Related: Buffet Dining Has Returned to THIS Disney Restaurant!
You can make a reservation on the Disneyland app. You can also join the walk-up waitlist on the app as well.
What buffet options are available at Storytellers Cafe?
Storytellers Cafe offers a breakfast and brunch buffet. Here is how Disney describes Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet, including what food you will find at the buffet. Of course, there are plenty of Mickey Waffles to go around!:
Start your day at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa with Mickey Mouse and some of his closest pals. The cozy Craftsman-style dining room is a warm, friendly backdrop to your buffet breakfast adventure.
Choose from favorites such as croissants, muffins, danishes, seasonal sliced fruits, fresh berries, Mickey Waffles, egg white frittatas, chile verde chilaquiles, hand-carved meats and much more.
You can also ask your server for delights like steel cut oatmeal, yogurt parfaits or custom-made omelets.
Wave to Mickey and his friends as they make appearances during your breakfast feast!
If you know a Disney Park fan, you have likely heard them rave about the Mickey Waffles! A character breakfast buffet has become a staple of many Disney Parks fans’ vacations. It allows you to have an early start to your day while meeting multiple characters at once, meaning you will not need to stand in line to meet Mickey or his pals when you are inside the parks and can focus your time on attractions or other entertainment.
On the weekends, Storytellers Cafe also offers a brunch buffet with the character, which is not something we do typically see! That makes brunch a great option for those of us who still want to see the characters, but prefer to sleep in. Here is how Disney describes Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Brunch Buffet:
Adventurers of all ages can enjoy a buffet brunch with Mickey and the gang on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Dine on a smorgasbord that includes Mickey Waffles, chile verde chilaquiles, beignets and much more.
Scrumptious small plates are also available from your server, such as avocado toast, salmon poke and Impossible meatballs.
Think of the story that you’ll tell about your epic brunch!
Related: Character Dining Returns to Disneyland Restaurants!
The brunch buffet is only offered on the weekends, but the breakfast buffet is offered all week long.
What table service options are available at Storytellers Cafe?
All meals being served at Storytellers Cafe are all you care to eat buffet dining. For dinner at Storytellers Cafe, you can find certain cocktails, beer, and wine on the menu that are separate from the cost of the buffet.
What is the most popular meal at Storytellers Cafe?
Breakfast is undoubtably the most popular meal at Storytellers Cafe. Reservations for this meal can go quickly, so do not hesitate to book a table if you plan to go. You can make a reservation here.
But just because breakfast with Mickey and his pals is so popular does not mean you should write off dinner. Dinner service at Storytellers Cafe is fantastic and can provide a relaxing atmosphere after a long day at the theme parks. Here is how Disney describes dinner service at Storytellers Cafe:
Feast on fantastic fare that celebrates the art of storytelling! The innovative cuisine at the expansive all-you-care-to-enjoy dinner buffet is sure to entertain the most discerning taste buds with Pulitzer-worthy flavors.
Delicious dishes include flatbread of the day, roasted chicken, seasonal fish, carved skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, plant-based favorites, a rotating chef’s selection of small plates and much more. Enjoy savory selections from the pasta station or succulent prime rib from the carving station. Plus, be sure to ask your server to try the spectacular corn chowder.
Options for the kiddos include delectable chicken fingers, cheeseburger sliders and grilled cheese.
Disney Characters do not appear during dinner, but delicious food does!
What characters can you see at Storytellers Cafe?
Storytellers Cafe breakfast and brunch feature a variety of your favorite Disney characters. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Chip, and Dale will all greet you at Storytellers Cafe. It is important to note however that entertainment at Disney Parks is always subject to change without notice. So you may see other characters at this dining location from time to time, or fewer characters. These instances are rare, but they can happen.
When can you see characters at Storytellers Cafe?
Character dining is only offered for breakfast and brunch. The characters will stop by your table one by one and meet you while you are eating. Currently, the character experiences are modified due to the pandemic, but you can still see the characters and take a picture of them during your meal.
How is Storytellers Cafe decorated?
Storytellers Cafe is decorated in the same style as Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Bringing laid-back, rustic California charm to your dining experience, Storytellers Cafe has a relaxed but upscale atmosphere. You do not need to dress formally to enjoy a meal at the Storytellers Cafe.
What attractions are near Storytellers Cafe?
The entrance into Disney California Adventure from the Grand Californian is very close to Grizzly River Run. So if you feel like cooling off after your breakfast, you can jump on Grizzly River Run!
How accessible is Storytellers Cafe?
It is very easy to access Storytellers Cafe if you are on Disneyland Resort property. Simply head to the Grand Californian and you will not be able to miss it. The restaurant is fairly small which means that reservations do book up quickly. You can however use the walk-up waitlist and try to get a seat!
If you are going to Storytellers Cafe you do have easy access to Disney California Adventure, but it is just steps away from Downtown Disney and Disneyland as well. Downtown Disney is full of shops, restaurants, and other entertainment so even if you do not have a theme park ticket you can make a day out of eating at Storytellers Cafe and then enjoying Downtown Disney.
Have you ever eaten at Storytellers Cafe? Let us know in the comments!
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