Lilo and Stitch Aloha Breakfast at Disney's PCH Grill
Written: Apr 02 '07
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Pros: Really good food, short buffet lines, good character interaction, reasonable value
Cons: So-so service
The Bottom Line: Aloha!
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| chelledun's Full Review: Disney's PCH Grill |
On our last several Disney vacations, Mama Chelledun and I have skipped doing any sort of character dining in favor of fancier eats. This year at Disneyland, though, we had some extra time on our last day and decided to pop into Disney’s PCH Grill to get some food and photos. We picked this meal because took place in our hotel and seemed to be the least expensive of the several available character breakfasts. In the end, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the food quality and overall experience at PCH Grill.
What is this PCH?
PCH Grill stands for “Pacific Coast Highway Grill.” This restaurant can be found on the first floor of Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. PCH Grill serves both breakfast and dinner. It has casual, bright, cheerful decor and painted wooden tables but is not very heavily themed. Some sort of Hula Shack sits in one corner. Characters dining is only available during the “Lilo & Stitch Aloha Breakfast,” that we attended. This breakfast offers both a buffet and a la carte menus, but the vast majority of folks choose the buffet at a cost of $21.99 for adults and $11.99 for children. Actually, I don’t believe I saw a single a la carte order being brought out. I learned after the fact that AAA members can get a 10% discount. Too bad we missed this savings, but maybe you can take advantage of it.
PCH Grill accepts advance reservations, which are a good idea if you are on a tight schedule. Unlike some comparable Walt Disney World character breakfasts, though, PCH Grill does at least take walk-ins. We showed up at 9:00 a.m. on a Friday morning and were seated after a twenty-five minute wait.
The Food
I sort of hate buffets. Typically I find buffet food to be cold and unevenly cooked, and I hate waiting in a huge mob to pick it out. PCH Grill actually sort of changed my attitude, at least with regard to breakfast buffets. Nearly every single item I tasted was extremely warm and very tasty. Additionally, the buffet offered a pretty decent variety, including practically every breakfast item imaginable as well as some lunch items with a southwestern flare. Best of all, the restaurant is fairly small in size and we never had to wait behind more than a few people to pick out food.
Mom and I started out, wisely, with the omelet station. An extremely coordinated young man made four special-ordered omelets at a time, tossing them around dramatically. I ended up with perfectly cooked scrambled eggs with cheese but one could also pick an omelet with veggies, meats, or several kinds of cheeses. I headed next for Mickey waffles and syrup. The waffles were so truly fabulous, I wish I would have had room for more. YUM. From the main buffet station, I taste-tested breakfast potatoes, some sort of cheese and spinach casserole, bacon, and sausage. Okay, I did more than taste test the bacon, I ended up eating about six or seven pieces. I did not have stomach space left for the flautas or other more “lunchy” items, but these might be appealing for a late breakfast/brunch. For healthier diners, the fresh fruit selection looked great.
The only buffet items I found underwhelming were a few of the cold ones. My pastry did not taste as freshly prepared as those served in the parks. Personally, I find toast and cereal pretty unexciting choices at this type of event. I suggest skipping the cold items in lieu of filling up on the wonderful warm ones I described above.
Character Interaction
Those who have been to a character breakfast before know the drill. Diners remain in their seats, for the most part, while each character comes around and interacts with families individually. This can involve posing for photos, signing autographs, and just generally clowning around. Lilo and Stitch will always make an appearance at this character breakfast named after them. On the day we visited, Pluto and Daisy were also in attendance. All the characters were dressed in tropical gear to fit with the “luau” theme. Even Pluto had a giant starfish on his collar. All children at the luau recieve leis, and my mom asked for one for me as well.
I would rate character interaction at PCH Grill as better than average for this type of event. Since the restaurant is not very large, the characters were able to circulate the room relatively quickly. This meant diners on a busy schedule need not stay around long to meet all of them. We got to take multiple pictures with each of them, which was really our goal in dining here. All the characters, particularly Pluto, gave us plenty of attention even though we were not traveling with children.
At a couple of different intervals during the time we were here, an announcer called all the kids over to the Hula Shack to learn a dance with Lilo or play a game with Daisy. Lilo teaching a hula fits in with the Lilo and Stitch movie. I thought these little activities were a great way to let kids interact with the characters beyond just photos and autographs. My sister and I still remember the time we met Mickey in EPCOT and he walked with us all the way to the American Adventure pavilion. We were just nine and four, so I do think this type of experience sticks with children for a long time.
Service
My only criticism of an otherwise ideal experience regards the service. Not a lot of service is required at a buffet restaurant. However, we had trouble even getting the minimum. We tried to be a little chatty but our server was just not very friendly. It took us a very long time to get our drinks and then our check at the end. We had to ask someone else for a refill at one point. I’m only rating down one star for service, though, because it really did not affect our experience very much at all due to the buffet setup.
Overall…
I expected to have a mediocre experience at PCH Grill but in fact had a very good one. The food definitely exceeded my expectations and Mama Chelledun and I had a good time taking photos with the characters. I actually think the intimate, efficient PCH Grill might be a better pick for families with young children than some of the huge-scale character breakfasts available at other Disney facilities. Our meal at PCH Grill was one of my favorites of the week. I would definitely return on a future Disneyland visit.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Waffles with syrup, omelets
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