Halloween Time is back at Disneyland Resort for the season with Oogie Boogie Bash and Haunted Mansion Holiday, but the festivities extend beyond the theme parks and into the hotels, too. This includes a special character meal with a different Disney character lineup for breakfast and dinner.
We visited Disneyland’s best character dining restaurant to try its Halloween buffet dinner. We have photos of all the characters in their cute Halloween outfits, plus a look at all the food on the whole buffet. We also take a look at how our dinner experience differs from the characters and pricing offered for breakfast at this same restaurant. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disneyland 2027 tickets and hotel booking now available and newly announced Disney Cruise Line itineraries out of California.
Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner at Storytellers Café
Storytellers Café is a table service restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland Resort. The restaurant hosts character dining for all meals, and the themes and characters rotate seasonally. I personally like the Storytellers Café the most of any character dining at Disneyland.
On a recent Disneyland trip, we visited Storytellers Café during Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner, which kicked off on August 21, 2026, and continues through October 31, 2026. Dinner is a buffet and costs $86 for each guest age 10+ and $46 for each guest age 3-9, plus tax and gratuity. The restaurant’s dinner hours are 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. We’ll include info about brunch at the end of this article.
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When we were seated, the waiter shared that the meal is set as a 90-minute experience. This was plenty of time because we were immediately able to pop up to get food from the buffet. We have photos of the entire buffet below.
Celebrating Halloween but adhering to the theme of Storytellers Café and the Grand Californian as a whole, Disney says each character at Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner is dressed as their favorite forest friend.
We enjoyed seeing all the different characters in their Halloween costumes. Dinner is hosted by Clarabelle Cow and also features Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Pluto.
A lot of the characters’ wardrobes resembled hand-knit quilts. Clarabelle wore an orange poncho over a blue vest with a long red skirt, plus a special autumn bow.
Daisy and Donald contrasted in red and blue, respectively, with Daisy wearing a witch hat with a spider web and Donald’s arms almost seeming to have wings.
Goofy’s outfit was inspired by a wolf. Look closely, and you can see little wolf ears peeking out from his hat and wolf fur on his cuffs.
Pluto wore a blue collar, with his nametag in the shape of a leaf.
The characters all made their way through the dining room and approached our table individually. We saw every character during the meal. There were character attendants checking in to make sure that we had met all five.
Full Buffet Menu at Storytellers Café Dinner
There is quite a variety of different food options for dinner at Storytellers Café. You can see the full buffet spread in photos below.
Pre-made salads had their own whole section of the buffet: Caesar, sage & butter, mixed greens, kale & quinoa, caprese, and macaroni salads. Dressings offered separately were red wine vinaigrette and bleu cheese, plus pickled green beans if we wanted to add those.
Sides were roasted vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes.
Getting to the meats section, those included fried chicken (with barbecue sauce provided separately), al pastor pork belly with pineapple relish, and barbecue pork ribs.
The meat cutting station had prime rib and roasted turkey, with horseradish and cranberry sauce provided on the side.
Moving on to pizzas, on the night we visited, Storytellers Café had traditional pepperoni and cheese, but also offered two different versions of the Chef’s Special Pizza. One had pork and arugula.
The other Chef’s Special Pizza had tomatoes and a balsamic drizzle. There was also a selection of different bread rolls.
Crowd-pleasing favorites served included popcorn shrimp, with cocktail sauce on the side, French fries, and chicken tenders.
There was also macaroni & cheese and lobster ravioli with parmesan cream sauce & prosciutto.
For diners who like dips, the buffet had tortilla chips, potato chips, and crudité, with salsa molcajete, guacamole, onion dip, and ranch to dip them in.
Fruit selections included cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple…
…blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries.
There were a ton of pastries and small dessert items, all sized perfectly for sampling a few of them.
In lieu of ice cream, guests could choose from a mixed berry sorbet or a mango passionfruit sorbet.
Our Meal at Storytellers Café
I enjoyed starting off with the salad course. The tomatoes were very fresh, and the beets were delicious.
The carving station prime rib and turkey were both perfect. The meat was at a great level of rareness, and the turkey was moist.
We were enjoying seeing the young kids at tables around us come back with huge plates piled high with mac and cheese. We recently reported on the expansion of Kraft Mac and Cheese at the Disney theme parks. See that full story here. The chicken tenders were also quite popular.
The dessert pastries were all very good. By the time I was trying the chocolate chip cookie, I was stuffed. Even that was delicious.
My own disappointment with the dessert was that the soft serve was sorbet and not chocolate and vanilla soft serve. I understand the goal of making it an option for those who are dairy-free, but I would have loved an ice cream option, too.
I really enjoy Storytellers Café. The food quality is outstanding, and the semi-recent seasonal overlays with the characters have kept this 25-year-old restaurant feeling fresh and fun throughout the year. I love the ambience of the Grand Californian, and the general feeling of calm here. Even though there are plenty of kids and families around at Storytellers Café, there is something about the space that makes it feel more relaxed than Disneyland’s other character meal restaurants, Goofy’s Kitchen and the Plaza Inn.
More Disneyland Halloween Character Dining
Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner at Storytellers Café is one of a few special character dining options happening during Halloween Time.
In the morning and early afternoon, Mickey’s Autumn Adventures takes place at Storytellers Café instead of the Clarabelle meal. Mickey’s Autumn Adventures continues through November 15, 2026, with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip, Dale, and Pluto. Breakfast happens from 7:00 AM to 10:45 AM and costs $72 per guest age 10+ and $41 per guest age 3-9. Brunch takes place from 11:00 AM to 1:15 PM, and is priced at $77 per guest age 10+ and $41 per child age 3-9.
Diners at Mickey’s Autumn Adventures can purchase an exclusive pin for $25. It features Minnie and Mickey wearing their same outfits from the character meal.
Over at Goofy’s Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel, guests can eat brunch or dinner with Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Chip, Dale, and Pluto, all dressed in completely different Halloween outfits than the ones worn at Storytellers Café, through October 31, 2026. Goofy’s Kitchen follows the same brunch and dinner pricing as Storytellers Café.
Disneyland’s other usual character dining location, the Plaza Inn on Main Street, U.S.A., is currently without characters until a TBA date in late September.
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