Donald’s Tales of Adventure Dinner Buffet is the core theme at the fan-favorite Storytellers Cafe at the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and the new lineup brings a rustic camping theme for both the characters in attendance and to the hearty fare available for all to enjoy. Seasonal variations are also expected throughout the year.

Here’s a closer look at Donald’s Tales of Adventure Dinner Buffet at Storytellers Cafe at the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

What to Expect

The Storyteller’s Café dinner offers a substantial selection beginning with Cold Selections and appetizers. This section includes fresh components like sliced fruits and berries, chilled shrimp, and vegetable crudités, along with heartier options such as cheese and charcuterie with assorted breads. The menu features a variety of specialty salads, including German Potato Salad with candied bacon, Wilted Kale with turkey and golden raisins, and Marinated Beets with feta and toasted almonds, ensuring a wide range of flavor profiles.

The Hot Selections feature signature entrées and satisfying comfort food. Featured dishes include Lobster Ravioli in a tomato cream sauce, Miso Glazed Salmon served with forbidden rice, and Braised Beef Brisket with chorizo and gigante beans. Simpler choices like Mac & Cheese, chicken tenders, and cornbread are also available. At the Action Stations, guests can find carved Herb Crusted Prime Rib, Roasted Turkey Breast, and various Brick Oven Pizza options. The dining experience concludes with Desserts like S’mores Bread Pudding, seasonal sorbet, and artisanal pastries, complemented by a selection of crafted non-alcoholic choices and storied cocktails.

Characters you can typically expect to see at this offering including Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and Clarabelle. All guests can get a commemorative button with the restaurant logo and Donald in his camping outfit.

Pricing comes in at $69 per adult and $39 per child (3-9), plus tax. Prices and selections are subject to change. The restaurant may have seasonal variations to their menu, always check the official site or Disneyland app on the day of your visit for the latest information.

Review

We’ve had several visits to Storytellers Cafe over the years so we’re hardly novices. The updates made to the restaurant buffet area expand and open up the options to make for a smoother flow that we appreciated. We tend to prefer this location for Brunch or — on days when that’s not offered — either a late Breakfast or early Lunch to be able to enjoy a wider sampling from the best of both menus. For this visit, we enjoyed all there was to offer for the Dinner.

If you’ll pardon the pun, we always have our says a Grand old time at Storyteller’s Cafe and this new camp-side inspired direction is a winner. As before, the food is all cooked in smaller batches and in higher quality than you’d expect from a Disney buffet which is a welcomed approach considering the price tag. The menu is varied and yet the selection is not necessarily incredibly vast. So if you have picky eaters in your group, you might want to really take a close look at the offerings to ensure the menu offerings will work for your situation. Still, Disney does their best to cater to all tastes with simple standbys including fries, tenders, and pizza available.

The Food

We’re big fans of a carving station and the meats available here were seasoned well and cooked to perfection, served with all the expected accoutrement — and plenty of creamy horseradish for my beef. The beet salad was a favorite at our table and the caprese salad is a fresh delight. The braised short rib was disappointing as the batch we had was overcooked. Still, there was plenty of fresh shrimp and a solid selection of charcuterie and fruits including fresh whole fruit. All of the small desserts were mostly forgettable but the S’mores Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Crème Anglaise was honestly almost worth coming here on its own.

The Characters

We’ve found in past visits that character interactions can be extremely hit or miss and unfortunately on this visit, we were only visited by one character. It wasn’t until we spoke to a character host that ONE additional character came to our table. There is a character procession throughout the whole restaurant that happens approximately every half hour or so so you will get the chance to at least see all the characters and probably more than once. Still, after our entire meal had concluded, we only had a total of two characters come to our table.

We spoke to a character host again and they asked which one character we wanted to meet. After a short wait, Goofy (who we’d requested) came out to the lobby area for some final pictures. Your mileage will vary because we’ve also come to Storytellers and had every single character come to our table twice during our meal so it’s really luck of the draw.

Menu Highlights

Below is a sample selection of what the menu may contain when you visit.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

• Freshly Brewed Joffrey’s Coffee®
• Hot Chocolate
• Assorted Twinings of London® Teas
• Choice of Chilled Juices and Soft Drinks
• Espresso ($4.75)
• Cappuccino ($6.50)
• Cafè Mocha ($6.75)
• Cafè Latte ($6.50)
• Premium Still – Small ($7.00) 375ML Bottle
• Premium Still – Large ($10.00) 1L Bottle
• Premium Sparkling – Large ($10.00) 1L Bottle
• Grapefruit Fizz ($10.50) Grapefruit Juice, Sparkling Water, Simple Syrup, Orange Juice, garnished with half Grapefruit Wheel and Thyme Sprig
• Strawberry Basil Smash ($10.50) Strawberry, Basil, Lime, Sparkling Water, garnished with a Strawberry Fan and Basil Leaf
• Rosemary Pear Spritz ($10.50) Pear Nectar, Rosemary Syrup, Lemon Juice, garnished with Rosemary Sprig and Pear Slice

Storied Cocktails

• Crafted Grand Margaritas – Tequila of choice, Lime Juice, Cointreau, Agave Nectar
• Strawberry Garden ($19.00) Tito’s Handmade Vodka, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Strawberries, Mint and Grapefruit Juice
• Starlit Citrus ($19.00) Hendrick’s Gin, Daou Rosé, Raspberry Syrup, Aperol and Lemon Juice
• Sweet Tale of Mango ($18.00) Herradura Tequila, Mango Juice, Agave and Lime Juice with a Chamoy-Tajin Rim
• Bespoke Mule ($19.00) Tito’s Handmade Vodka or Four Roses Bourbon, Ginger Beer, Lime Juice, Agave Nectar, Mint
• Old Fashioned ($21.00) Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Vanilla Cane Sugar, Orange Bitters, Luxardo Cherry, Orange Twist
• The Bear Encounter ($17.75) Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Hendrick’s Gin, Flor de Caña Rum, Peach Brandy, Peach Nectar, Sour Mix, Raspberry Purée, garnished with Raspberries
• Mezcal Odyssey ($36.00) Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Meuilleur Ouvrier Chartreuse, Sweet Vermouth, Orange & Lemon Juices and Chamoy

A broad selection of wines and beer is also available.

See it for Yourself

Donald’s Tales of Adventure is available now for booking at Storyteller’s Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

The Disneyland 70th Anniversary celebration takes place from May 16, 2025 through summer 2026.

MORE INFO: See all MouseInfo coverage for the Disneyland 70th Anniversary