Ariel's Disney Princess Celebration at Ariel's Grotto

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User ID: Stephie917  (4/1/2008)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 3   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 2   Value: 4   Overall: 4
I've been to Ariel's Grotto twice, June 2006 and March 2008. The first time all the princesses (Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Aurora and Jasmine) made rounds to each table. For my recent visit, Ariel, in her blue dress, greated guests at the bottom of the stairs. Once we were seated, the other four princesses (Belle, Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella) greated each table. This is an excellent experience for all ages. All the little girls were dressed as their favorite princess. But even the adults (I didn't have any kids in my group) lvoed the experience. It's somehting you never grow out of. Taxes and tip are included in the bill. The total was near $80 for two this time. If you book through an agency like AAA, you can save about $15 on the bill. While the meal is overpriced for the food quality, you're paying for the convenience of meeting five princesses within an hour, who spend personal time with each guest. Compare that with standing in line for two hours waiting to meet ONE princess, this is a very reasonable price.

User ID: Rossmiller  (3/27/2007)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 3   Value: 3   Overall: 4
Our 4 year old daughter LOVED this lunch! Don't bother putting your camera away, there are a lot of photo ops! Also be sure that you have your autograph book out and ready as the princesses move through the room rather quickly. They were however willing to stop and talk if kids interacted with them. The food portions were almost too big and we did feel a little rushed. Overall it was a great time and we highly reccomend it if you have young children. Be sure to make reservations...it was PACKED FULL and the walk-ups were having to wait quite some time for a table.

User ID: rpiche  (12/29/2006)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 2   Value: 3   Overall: 4
The lunch at Areils Grotto was a wonderful experience for both children and parents alike. We were chosen as the family to welcome Areil into the event and that was quite unexpected and fun! Each princess was very gratious and spent as much time at your table as you wanted her to. The excitement and joy on our little princesses faces was worth the admission price. You really don't get that one-on-one attention with the princesses anywhere else. The food was very good the portions large including desert so go hungry. I believe over all it is worth the $21. per adult $14. for children over 3. Children under 3 are free and they serve them a small meal. I would definately go again!

User ID: Aussie Obsession  (12/14/2006)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 3   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 1   Value: 4   Overall: 3
This is great value for kids and adults.

User ID: sallys_song  (4/4/2006)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 4
I went to Ariels Grotto recently (March) for my nineteenth Birthday and it was spectacular! The salmon BLT was delicious, but i have to admit that i was very preoccupied by my excitement to see all of the princesses-especially Ariel. I was not dissapointed one bit. All of the princesses treated me like royalty and like we were all great friends-especially Ariel (whom i had seen back in June and absolutely fell in love with-she is so wonderful!)I was probably even more excited than all the little girls in the restaurant! I highly reccomend Ariels Grotto to anyone who loves the Disney Princesses, a great place to eat, and good food. One note: make sure to make priority reservations as this is a very popular dining experience! I love Ariel!

User ID: sjjohnston  (11/21/2005)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 3   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 3   Value: 3   Overall: 4
We went for a "Princess Dinner," which featured Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Mulan and, yes, Ariel (legged, not fishtailed, version). My 8-year-old daughter loved the princesses, who looked just right and were very good with the kids. The food was good for the price, with reasonable menu variety. The service was quick and professional. Nice views of the lights of Paradise Pier.

User ID: gingenkaitlin  (3/15/2005)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 2   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 3   Romance: 1   Value: 3   Overall: 3
Wanted to make everyone aware that Ariel is not at Ariel's Grotto. We went in Nov. with our 3 yr. old granddaughter. She had on her Ariel costume & couldn't wait to see Ariel. She cried when she found out that Ariel was no longer at Ariel's Grotto. Disney needs to rename it.

User ID: roycek  (1/21/2005)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 4
It was reall y fun going because this is actually the only palce to have mickey mouse thats why we choose this onw over goffy kicthen beacause this one had mickey and had way more charcters than goofys kitchen will ever have plus they have charcters like lilo and stich the is thr best charcter dinning experince i ever had at the disneyland resort

User ID: lindaoz  (6/24/2004)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 3   Value: 4   Overall: 4
This is a wonderful restaurant for kids and adults. The characters visit every table over and over and Ariel is available at the entrance - since she can not walk around. At the end of the meal the server brings cotton candy to the table on a plate! It was such a nice touch. I highly recommend.

User ID: longin4 Cali  (4/30/2004)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 3   Overall: 4
this place is excellent! i make it a point to eat here at least once during my stay. it's great how all the characters come around and visit you. you can get pictures with them without having a huge crowd bombard you. the atmosphere is wonderful! the painting and fixtures inside are just beautiful and you get the most amazing view if you eat outside, just above the water. (the characters do visit you outside too).the food is delicious, however i dont care too much for the salads. other than that, Ariel's Grotto is wonderful and despite the priciness, it's worth a visit.

User ID: csap-dot-com  (4/14/2004)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 3   Value: 4   Overall: 4
We have eaten here as a family three times now for "Charater Dining". We have been treated like royalty everytime. My daughter gets 3-4x the attention here then she has received at any other character dining experience we have had. Not to say the others were bad, but if you want to spend, what seems like, unlimited time with Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Ariel -- This is your spot! The food is good and the service we have received has always been more than enough for our needs.

User ID: loobyoxlip  (5/18/2003)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 4
We had the character dinner here. Definitely make priority seating. There was a HUGE long line when we got there at 4:00. We celebrated an early bday for my son. This restaurant was a terrific value if you come hungry and can actually enjoy every course. They start you out with hard rolls and butter. With the adult dinner, you get your choice of salad, soup or something else (I can't remember what), then your main course. The only bad thing was there were only 6 or 7 main courses to choose from. THEN you get a big dessert. I was FULL. The kids got a drink, macaroni and cheese, carrots, and a dessert. And also a pail and shovel, which the characters signed. We saw Chip, Dale and Minnie at our table and Ariel was in the waiting area. My son chose the root beer float for his dessert and they put a candle in it and the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday. The meal was $17.99 for adults and $8.99 for children. Oh, ya, and the cotton candy at the end was a nice treat! Don't miss this restaurant! I think Disneyland has WDW beat on character dining experiences.

User ID: dsnylndmom  (4/22/2003)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 2   Value: 3   Overall: 4
We just had a spectacular time here. The character interaction was great, even better than our trip to Goofy's Kitchen the following day. The service was superb, we didn't want for anything and we had a large party 7 adults, 3 kids and an infant.

I had the Bay Shrimp Cobb salad and the French Onion Soup and both were DELISH!!! 1/2 of my party had the Fish and Chips, wonderful btw and the other half had the burger and they enjoyed it.

The kids had a blast, we had a blast we will definitely be back!!

We went on 4-11-03 for lunch an sat outside by the water.



User ID: DLLover  (3/31/2003)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 3   Overall: 3
We dined here twice during our stay. We had a coupon "dinner for lunch price". The difference between lunch and dinner is the price and you only get dessert included in the dinner price. You can purchase desserts at lunch but pay separately. Oh, and drinks are included in the dinner prices as well (don't know about lunch). The service was excellent the first visit. The second visit the service was not that great at all (had to wait forever for dessert and the check and wasn't checked up on that much). The bread served before dinner was hard...very hard 1st time, second visit very fresh. For appetizers we ordered the french onion soup (salty but i loved it), boathouse salad (fresh) and for the kiddos celery/carrot sticks and ranch (they liked this). For the main courses we ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad (large portion, good taste), the meatloaf (DH liked this a lot), The Hamburger (DH like this a lot), the fish and chips (very good)the kiddos had the spaghetti marinara (liked this a lot), fish sticks and french fries (liked these as well)and maccaroni and cheese w/ a hot dog (cute presentation and the kids were so so with the taste). Desserts chosen were (sundaes for kids (yummy), brownie sundae for DH (just okay) and Apple Struedel for me (YUMMY!!!!). All in all we liked it and the CHARACTER INTERACTION was WONDERFUL (met, Pluto, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy and of course Ariel....she was there only one of our visits --well worth the price in our opionon. However, I don't know if i would pay dinner prices again. Would probably go for lunch if we didnt have a coupon.



User ID: aurora777  (7/3/2002)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 4
After being "burger and fried" to death throughout most of our trip, the Avalon Cove was exactly what I needed! The food was great, the price wasn't bad considering the size of the portions (I left stuffed), and the atmosphere can't be beat after sunset. Get a table out on the patio and enjoy the amazing view of Paradise Pier attractions all lit up. Very enjoyable and relaxing.

User ID: cghno1  (6/9/2002)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 3   Value: 4   Overall: 4
I absolutely love it! Note that the price has actually gone down to $17.99 for dinner, which is an even better value than listed here. The food was great, service was definitely Disney, and the characters were a blast. I've been to both the restaurant and the bar and they are excellent. This is one of my regular stops at DCA.

User ID: doodlebug  (5/6/2002)
Food Quality: 4   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 4
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 4
For a character meal that is not a buffet I give this 4(best) all across the board.. Value for what you get and service were superb and my kids loved the characters.. Think a dinner for a couple while watching the lights come on around the park would be very romantic... Best place we ate in the parks this past trip

User ID: goofy84203  (5/5/2002)
Food Quality: 3   Atmosphere: 4   Service: 3
 Suitable for Children: 4   Romance: 4   Value: 4   Overall: 3
I like that it's one price for a 3 things