Hi Nicole,
Thanks for stopping by planDisney. I am happy to provide some guidance on making a dining reservation. It's a Fantasmic! idea to make your reservations early for the
Plaza Inn; the character breakfast is very popular. I personally have not been to their breakfast, but I have only heard wonderful things about the experience and the food. Luckily, you don’t need to have purchased your family’s park ticket to make your reservation. Keep in mind that you will not be able to enter the park for your dining without a valid park reservation for the same park on the same date. If your plans change, be sure to cancel your reservation 2 hours prior to your reservation to avoid a per person cancellation fee.
If you are unable to line up your park reservations with dining reservations at the Plaza Inn, don’t get your Minnie bow in a knot! There are some dining options outside the park that you can pivot to. The Grand Californian Hotel is home to the
Storytellers Cafe, another character breakfast option. My daughter and I went to this and she had a wonderful time dancing and high fiving characters.
Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel adds even more flexibility because it has a character breakfast and a character dinner. My daughter enjoyed taking a photo with Chef Goofy in his kitchen before we headed inside for our character dinner.
Reservation Tip: Currently, you can make a dining reservation 60 days in advance. With everything I have going on in life, I like to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to make my reservation. Missing the start of the reservation would be a bibbidi bobbidi bummer.
I hope this was helpful information, Nicole. Be sure to load up on the Mickey waffles and give a big hug to Minnie for me! Please feel free to write back to me or my fellow panelist if you have any more questions.
Wishing you a magical trip!
-Melinda