Should I cancel Chef Mickey dinner?

kenly777 · Mar 28, 2015

We have enjoyed Chef Mickey breakfast twice in the past. I thought that we would do a different breakfast and try dinner at Chef Mickey for dinner. Now I am second guessing myself. What are your thoughts?

ChasingLeslie · Mar 28, 2015

Dinner at Chef Mickey is on our agenda for our next trip! I've only ever had breakfast there before.

SouthJersey · Mar 28, 2015

kenly777 said:
We have enjoyed Chef Mickey breakfast twice in the past. I thought that we would do a different breakfast and try dinner at Chef Mickey for dinner. Now I am second guessing myself. What are your thoughts?

There's so many better meals at the TS locations with far higher quality food.
We love character meals, but only go for breakfast. I know that Cape May Cafe used to get pretty solid dinner reviews across the board, Chef Mickey's has the most volatile review pool. Love/hate/love/hate/slop/amazing/etc.

kenly777 · Mar 28, 2015

I keep reading poor reviews and can't find any good ones. Do people actually have a good reviews for it?

DisneyPeachNJ · Mar 28, 2015

Do you want to meet the characters and not wait in line? Keep it.

That's the easiest way to decide.

I haven't eaten there in many years, but I just remember it being standard buffet food. Have realistic expectations and you'll enjoy it.

WDWFanForLife · Mar 28, 2015

I have eaten at Chef Mickey for both breakfast and dinner, but it has been a few years. Breakfast was okay as far as the food was concerned, but we went mostly for the atmosphere and character interaction. The dinner was a different story. The character interaction did not make up for the food. After spending all that money for a meal we did not like, we left hungry and went to a quick service to eat. For us, it wasn't worth it. I would not go back for dinner.

mom2AidanAndEli · Mar 28, 2015

Cancel it. It's bad food, loud, chaotic, expensive. But worst of all, dirty!!! Food everywhere. Parents don't care if kids throw food on the floor and all over the buffet. Staff can't seem to keep up with the mess. I'm not a germophone or crazy OCD clean type person, but I could barely get through dinner here. There are just so many other places to choose from that are so much better. If you're looking for character meals, we loved Tusker House for breakfast and 1900 Park Fair for dinner.

nalajms · Mar 28, 2015

It's pretty standard for character buffets. We were there for dinner in Jan. DS can't stand the princess meals so this was his choice. Food is average, character interactions are no different than Crystal Palace and Tusker House. Wait staff seemed a bit more hurried, but that's probably normal. We go because of the characters PLUS we were staying nearby. If you don't care about meeting Mickey and friends, I'd pick a different TS.

SouthJersey · Mar 28, 2015

kenly777 said:
I keep reading poor reviews and can't find any good ones. Do people actually have a good reviews for it?

There are good ones, even rave ones mixed in..
You have to find someone with similar food preferences and dining styles to you if you're going to use their review since dining is SO subjective.
For instance, someone who thinks Golden Corral and Old Country Buffet are decent dinner places, would have zero merit in their reviews FOR ME, because I find both of those places to be disgusting.
So if they're raving about a place, we're going to have vastly different interpretations of food and service.

When we do character meals, we only go for breakfast, as it's hard for even a buffet to mess that up.
Even with our breakfast experience with Chef Mickey's, we weren't happy. During our trip last year, we dined at 1900 PF, Crystal Palace, Tusker House and Chef Mickey's. CM had the slowest food replenishment of all locations we've visited. The food staff would clearly see mixed utensils and food in other trays and just left it there until it was empty, if it ever became empty. Untouched items would be left under the heat lamp, crusting over. So if it's something you may have wanted, instead of keeping it fresh, it's left out until it's low enough for them to swap out.

To me, the sustained hype and struggle for an ADR has lead to a decline in quality of the place as a whole because they know people are fighting to get an ADR there. The food replenishment is slow, the staff come off hurried and the whole place seems hectic. The character time at tables was rushed more than any other as well. The only plus side is characters and it's on your way into MK.

TheRustyScupper · Mar 28, 2015

kenly777 said:
I keep reading poor reviews and can't find any good ones. Do people actually have a good reviews for it?

1) You will not find that many GOOD reviews for CM Dinner.
2) At lest, not from "foodies".

OurLaughingPlace · Mar 28, 2015

kenly777 said:
We have enjoyed Chef Mickey breakfast twice in the past. I thought that we would do a different breakfast and try dinner at Chef Mickey for dinner. Now I am second guessing myself. What are your thoughts?

We like Chef Mickey's and have it booked again on our next trip (it will be our 7th time having a dinner reservation there). It's a basic buffet, but it also has things like shrimp (DD16 loves the shrimp), we like the Mickey ravioli, garlic mashed potatoes, salad bar, carved meat, yummy desserts and ice cream sundae station. We've never had an issue there. Characters have been fine (DD's are teens now and they still like it; I didn't book it a couple of years ago and my DD's missed it). Having said that, we always book the earliest dinner time available (that way we don't have to wait too long to be seated and they are not likely to be behind time if you book first possible ADR time). Maybe that's why we haven't had issues with it being dirty?
So, contrary to popular opinion, we like it ::yes::

There must be others out there who like it because it's often booked solid (I think?). I think it's good to at least try it once for yourself and then make your decision. It's a good way to meet Mickey and pals.
Have a great trip :wave:

jenjersnap · Mar 28, 2015

Our experience: breakfast is much better than dinner: the food is better, it is less chaotic and wait to be seated, unless you book when they first open, is better.

MSLRAC · Mar 28, 2015

mom2AidanAndEli said:
Cancel it. It's bad food, loud, chaotic, expensive. But worst of all, dirty!!! Food everywhere. Parents don't care if kids throw food on the floor and all over the buffet. Staff can't seem to keep up with the mess. I'm not a germophone or crazy OCD clean type person, but I could barely get through dinner here. There are just so many other places to choose from that are so much better. If you're looking for character meals, we loved Tusker House for breakfast and 1900 Park Fair for dinner.

That pretty much sums up every meal we've ever had at Chef Mickey's. It didn't make our ADR list for our next trip at my kids request. We'll catch all our favorite characters at breakfast at Cape May Cafe and Tusker House and have better meals in the process.

Disneylover99 · Mar 28, 2015

We love CM's for dinner. We've been there twice and had good meals. It was clean and well maintained. Character interaction was great and we didn't find it loud or chaotic at all. We always book the earliest dinner time at all buffets in order to avoid crowds.

Judique · Mar 28, 2015

One was enough for us. But we enjoyed the experience over all and have no complaints.

But, it's been about 15 years ago and back then people were scrambling to get in.

That said, not even trying to go back.

Preference for us:

1900 Park Fair
Boma
'Ohana
Cape May Cafe

Nancyg56 · Mar 28, 2015

We are kicking off out next Disney trio st Chef Mickeys. For us, it is more about tradition and meeting the characters right off the bat.

maxiesmom · Mar 28, 2015

You will find bad reviews for every Disney restaurant. And I can't imagine many buffets that would get rave reviews from "foodies". If you are looking forward to eating at Chef Mickey's for dinner, keep your ADR.

SouthJersey · Mar 28, 2015

Nancyg56 said:
We are kicking off out next Disney trio st Chef Mickeys. For us, it is more about tradition and meeting the characters right off the bat.

This^

It's convenient, you get the Fab 5 characters and it's on the way to MK.
I'm not bashing the place for fun, I wish they'd fix their act. My fondest memories as a child come from Chef Mickey's. My mom excited, telling me about the characters when I was 6. I remember my Pluto pen and autograph book that she gave me after getting of the monorail, etc. It holds the MOST nostalgia for me and the 'Disney' feel.

And no, foodies won't 'rave' about it, but you're going to see it get tore apart in more detail than the typical guest.

tinkerbella16 · Mar 28, 2015

I know a few people who have gotten sick after eating dinner there. We did not like dinner one bit. Not only because of the food, but because the place just felt dirty... Nothing like it is for breakfast. We love breakfast there and usually get an opening ADR. The experiences for both were night and day.

kenly777 · Mar 28, 2015

I cancelled dinner and rebooked for a late breakfast/lunch. Same character interaction but better food. Thanks for everyone's insight.

Should I cancel Chef Mickey dinner?

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