Chef Mickey Dinner - Worst Meal of My Life

[Brewersprts]

I emailed guest services yesterday so hopefully I'll hear from them soon.

 

[Mikie]

That really stinks. I had hesitations about Chef Mickey based on many bad reviews here, but book it for the characters and proximity to MK. luckily my experience wasn't as bad as yours. I know what constitutes a "good buffet" or "worth it" at Disney prices is wildly subjective. The 3 times I've eaten there, the buffet has been nothing memorable as far as unique or amazing presentation, but at least everything has been fresh and hot. I was specifically looking for a picked over or messy buffet due to the bad reviews, but didn't find it at our dinners. Again, "good" is subjective, but fresh, hot, and as advertised are pretty easy to measure. I hope guest services can offer you something (although, at this point what could they do? I guess refund is the only thing that could be worthwhile?)

 

[flopnut2112]

Chef Mickey's was our first ever character dining experience. In 2004 our kids were young and they really enjoyed the characters but the breakfast was nothing special. Tusker House breakfast on our second trip was much better. Even though my DW loves the Contemporary we will not book at Chef Mickeys again. The group photo taken upon arrival is my all time favorite pic however.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

My five year olds direct quote at Chef Mickeys. "this place is fun but the food is terrible." Not kidding.

 

[jen7233]

I'm usually not affected by dinner reviews because I think it's all subjective, but yours actually got me to change my reservation! I was on the fence anyway which is probably why, due to I didn't like my late reservation time and not sure the kids wouldn't be too tired after hanging around MK all day and would just rather be at the hotel as I know they want to swim. I really don't think they'd rather eat with characters over swim and check out the resort more. So, thinking meal quality and cost when competing with all that, we'll see characters all day anyway, and I figured I'll just cancel. Now I made reservations for Whispering Canyon and who knows maybe not any better! But we'll be at the lodge.

I have eaten at Chef Mickeys for breakfast on previous visits and enjoyed it. Kids were also younger then, and in strollers, so our pace was different. I think it's hard to mess up buffet breakfast.

 

[wdwlver]

The last time we are there was probably 4 years ago and we vowed never to return. None of us are overly picky and don't expect gourmet food at a buffet but it was actually the worst meal we've ever had at WDW. I miss the character aspect of the meal but not enough to eat there again. Btw this was dinner, never ate there for breakfast.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Chef Mickey's is my DS14 only request. This next trip is a surprise but he says "if we ever go to Disney again I want to eat at the place with the monorail going through it." He loves the place and I don't really care for it but I don't care for buffets anyway.

We've done breakfast at CM in 2009 and it was very good. We did dinner in 2011 and the kids LOVED it but it was just ok for me. I remember getting prime rib (??), mashed potatoes, some veggies. My DS loved the candy machines and I think that's why he wants to go back so bad.

Next trip I am planning to book CM for dinner for my DS. My DS and SO really aren't early morning breakfast people so I don't know how I would fit in CM for breakfast. I think we are stuck with dinner and I'm not excited about it at all especially since we are paying OOP.

I've thought about not booking it and maybe he won't mind once he's there and eating like a crazed person. Or booking it and as we get closer hope I can get him to pick something else. I truly think he just remembers eating from the candy machines and ice cream and donuts and junk and he just wants to relive that again. But he can do that anywhere at WDW!

 

[Savanna]

We have dinner reservations at CM for our arrival day dinner. I am starting to second guess our reservations now. My kids would love it and it will be their first experience dining there.

 

[Micca]

My five year olds direct quote at Chef Mickeys. "this place is fun but the food is terrible." Not kidding.

Classic! Haven't been there in years, but the last time there were a couple of items that were good (the mashed potatoes were good), everything else was pretty pitiful. The characters and the show they did were excellent.

 

[sharadoc]

Mush, mush, mush - that's how I describe it. Cheesy mushy casseroles - potatoes, pasta, crap! The salad bar was okay when we were there, there was peel and eat shrimp and the soup was ok. That was it. We went there for my DDs 8th birthday celebration, she loved the characters and it was her first trip. That was the last time we set foot in there and will never go there again.

The character meals in general have all gone downhill. The best, in my opinion, is Cape May Cafe with a late reservation. They refill quickly there, and with a late reservation the characters have time to interact. We've also had a good experience at 1900 Park Faire with a late reservation. Pooh and Tigger were bored after a while - it was us and 2 other tables.

 

[ssmurphy28]

We ate there January 30 and actually really enjoyed our experience.

We were lucky enough to score a 5:05PM reservation, so we were the first seated. We had seen every character within 30 minutes and we even saw half of them a second time.

I found that I expected more variety in the food offerings, but what was there was good. I especially liked the Eggplant Parmesan. Was the meal overpriced? Absolutely, but I knew that going in. Would I do it again? Probably not anytime soon, as there are so many other options that are more reasonably priced. But for a one-time experience, we actually really enjoyed it. The food, the atmosphere, the experience were worth it to us.

 

[SillySallySews]

We had dinner at CM last summer. Our reservation was for 5:15, so right after they opened. The food at CM was nothing unique, but it was hot, fresh, and tasty. There might have been some things that we didn't care for the flavor of, but nothing was even close to inedible and there was a ton of variety. I am pretty sure I got my money's worth in sushi alone. The lobster mac & cheese and the salmon were also both delicious. The salad was fresh and crisp. The characters all came around to our table twice, even though the restaurant was nearly full and we were only there about an hour and 15 minutes total.

We had a horrible experience at 1900PF on that same trip last summer. The food was awful and some things were truly inedible. Our reservation there was right for when they opened and everything seemed like it was leftover and reheated from the previous day. The characters barely took the time to pose for pictures and our server was incredibly rude. And that place has zero ambiance. You would think for being in the GF it would look less like a hospital cafeteria. Yet plenty of people on these boards rave about 1900PF and say it's a "must do" on every trip. Honestly, the best character meals we've ever done are all breakfast (Cape May, Ohana, Tusker House). I think it's a lot harder to screw up breakfast lol.

 

[amandaleigh2]

We had dinner there in 2011 and will never go back. It was the most expensive and worst meal of our trip. Like previous posters have mentioned, the food looked like it had been sitting around forever. Even the characters could not make up for the bad food, especially since we had met them all at different places during the rest of the trip.

 

[butterfly71076]

We just decided to go to Disney in April a few weeks ago, and the only dinner I can get is 8:45pm. We eat there for dinner every trip and haven't had a bad meal. I love the creamy mashed potatoes and sweet delicious corn bread.

I agree. We also go to Chef Mickey, for dinner, every trip. While the food is not gourmet, we have never found it anything but hot, fresh, and tasty. Character interaction is always great too!

Sorry to everyone who had a bad experience there.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I agree. We also go to Chef Mickey, for dinner, every trip. While the food is not gourmet, we have never found it anything but hot, fresh, and tasty. Character interaction is always great too!

Sorry to everyone who had a bad experience there.

Ditto.

 

[pixarmom]

We have three boys. We took our oldest son to CM when he was tiny. Last month, we took all three of our boys at the request of our 8-year-old for his birthday. Check on their bucket lists. All done!

 

[loveglobe]

We were at WDW last month and I was pretty bummed when I couldn't snag a CM rez during our stay, so we ended up doing TH twice. Now I don't feel so bad and think things worked out for the better!

 

[trivial]

Please email guest services, and feel free to link this thread. I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience. You should absolutely have not been charged a dime for this "meal."

 

[JenMatos530]

I currently have a dinner and a brunch booked at Chef Mickey's. Based on comments I may cancel my dinner and just keep the brunch. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jsebsirois]

I currently have a dinner and a brunch booked at Chef Mickey's. Based on comments I may cancel my dinner and just keep the brunch.

We're in the same situation. We're just waiting for reviews of the brunch to come out and decide which ADR we'll cancel.