Chef Mickey for Dinner was a real letdown

[rkrushing4]

My family and I also tried this for the first time on our last trip. We had heard so many good things over the years and thought since it was hard to get into it would be good. We felt the food selection was very limited. There were no bowls for the ice cream and lacked selection of desserts too. We have have tried many other buffets and this was our least favorite.

 

[USAswimmer626]

I had always wanted to try Chef Mickey's, but it just never made it onto our radar. The food never really appealed to me anyway.

 

[Darcy03231]

I ate there the first time in October 2008 and was less than impressed. We decided to give it another try in December 2009 and I was pleasantly surprised. While not fine dining, it was nowhere near as bad as it was in October 2008. Both times I went early (5:30 pm) so the time of night wasn't the difference. If you've never been before I would go once to try it for yourself. What some people hate, you might like.

 

[DisGirl23]

I normally always go for myself to see how a dining place is to eat, but after SOO many bad reviews I don't even want to take a chance on this one

I always go for myself as well. I went back and forth about this one but, decided to give it a try anyway.
We'll be having our arrival dinner there. I have always wanted to go because it IS Chef Mickey's after all! We have an early ADR at 5:20pm so I'm hoping that it's true about the earlier seatings having better experiences.
But, I am going with low expectations and pretty much just for the Fab 5 experience. If we find the food unbearable, we'll just head to Casey's once we hit Magic Kingdom!

 

[eetravel]

I don't understand all the bad reviews. We ate dinner there last week and it was fine. It is a BUFFET for crying out loud. My kids are picky and they did well there. DW and myself are food snobs, we have no problem paying top dollar for a great restaurant, but we also realize eating at a buffet is not the same as eating at top restaurant. We have many buffets were we live:Ryan's, Golden Corral, etc. I would say that the food at Chef Mickeys was as good as if not better for certain dishes. That being said, CM does not have as many choices but what they do have is fine.

 

[ppony]

Chef Mickey's used to be one of our absolute favorites but the past several years the food has really declined. It was always our first night dinner. We gave it one more try last June and we decided no more. The food was just horrible with hardly any selection.
I am very sad to see it decline and I just hope Disney will eventually realize it and do something about it.

Carla

Same here. Used to be our MUST DO first thing every trip, now.... All we can do is vote w/ our $$$ and feet and not go. I know they read here so perhaps the word might get there? but if they still bring in the $$$ they have no incentive to stop their decline. This Nov. will be our first trip w/o Chef M's. I'll miss what it used to be.

 

[ppony]

It is a BUFFET for crying out loud. .... but we also realize eating at a buffet is not the same as eating at top restaurant

Um, I'm pretty sure most everyone else does too. No need to dis on those that don't agree w/ you.
We've eaten at many-a-buffet both at WDW and home and honestly know how to compare apples to apples. I bet most do.

 

[Joshua_me]

I just hope Disney will eventually realize it and do something about it.

Disney is already quite aware of the quality of food at CM's...

They won't "do something about it" simply because they don't *have* to... The characters and the location sell CM's, and the food has intentionally become an afterthought. It's been made as cheaply as they can make it and still get away with it...

It breaks my heart to see this happen, but it's a definite trend going on in ALL Disney restaurants (to varying degrees) thanks to the DDP.

Maximum profits for Disney shareholders, minimal food quality for the guests.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I don't understand all the bad reviews. We ate dinner there last week and it was fine. It is a BUFFET for crying out loud. My kids are picky and they did well there. DW and myself are food snobs, we have no problem paying top dollar for a great restaurant, but we also realize eating at a buffet is not the same as eating at top restaurant. We have many buffets were we live:Ryan's, Golden Corral, etc. I would say that the food at Chef Mickeys was as good as if not better for certain dishes. That being said, CM does not have as many choices but what they do have is fine.

Yes, it is a buffet...but the food is 'meh' at best. Did we leave hungry? No..but did we love anything, No. We have eaten at many buffets in the World and have had many good, even excellent meals. Chef Mickeys was not one of them. We ate there in Dec for our "first night" meal. Believe me, we did not have fine dining expectations, but the food was simply not good.

 

[ppony]

Disney is already quite aware of the quality of food at CM's...

They won't "do something about it" simply because they don't *have* to... The characters and the location sell CM's, and the food has intentionally become an afterthought. It's been made as cheaply as they can make it and still get away with it...

It breaks my heart to see this happen, but it's a definite trend going on in ALL Disney restaurants (to varying degrees) thanks to the DDP.

Maximum profits for Disney shareholders, minimal food quality for the guests.

I agree. It's not localized to CMs. You know, one of the biggest triggers for us buying DVC was so we didn't HAVE to be beholden to those places. I'm looking forward to getting Garden Grocer, grabbing a bite in the AM and save some serious dosh on meals that we ended up liking less and less as the years went on.

 

[DisGirl23]

Um, I'm pretty sure most everyone else does too. No need to dis on those that don't agree w/ you.

He's just posting his opinion. Just like everyone else.

 

[ppony]

He's just posting his opinion. Just like everyone else.

With a pretty big attitude. There's a difference between offering an opinion and telling everyone else their wrong.

 

[DisGirl23]

With a pretty big attitude. There's a difference between offering an opinion and telling everyone else their wrong.

I didn't see where he was telling everyone else they're wrong. And that attitude is nothing compared to the others on this board. Some are pretty recent and still going on.

 

[eetravel]

Sorry if I offended, didn't mean too. I guess my point is when I think buffet, I'm not exactly thinking its going to be the greatest food in the first place, even if it is WDW. I think people get their expectations up too much. We just got back and had character meals at CRT, Akershus, CM, and Backyard BBQ. From reading on the dis you would get the idea that the food at all these places was terrible. I didn't think any of the food was terrible. Truthfully, I didn't think that CM was the best but I didn't think it was bad enough to say that the food was terrible and inedible, it was ok. It is what it is-a buffet that will satisfy your hunger while enjoying the character interaction. If one does not like the food that is fine, we all have different tastes. I was just trying to balance the conversation and let others know that I thought the food was ok.
Actually, let me correct myself about buffets. The only ones I expect to be wonderful are a few in Vegas:Bellagio, Rio, etc... and they are known to be exceptions to the rule.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Sorry that happen to you. This is a must do every trip for us. Bk & dinner never had a problem.

 

[ppony]

Sorry if I offended, didn't mean too. I guess my point is when I think buffet, I'm not exactly thinking its going to be the greatest food in the first place, even if it is WDW. I think people get their expectations up too much. We just got back and had character meals at CRT, Akershus, CM, and Backyard BBQ. From reading on the dis you would get the idea that the food at all these places was terrible. I didn't think any of the food was terrible. Truthfully, I didn't think that CM was the best but I didn't think it was bad enough to say that the food was terrible and inedible, it was ok. It is what it is-a buffet that will satisfy your hunger while enjoying the character interaction. If one does not like the food that is fine, we all have different tastes. I was just trying to balance the conversation and let others know that I thought the food was ok.
Actually, let me correct myself about buffets. The only ones I expect to be wonderful are a few in Vegas:Bellagio, Rio, etc... and they are known to be exceptions to the rule.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Sorry if I offended, didn't mean too. I guess my point is when I think buffet, I'm not exactly thinking its going to be the greatest food in the first place, even if it is WDW. I think people get their expectations up too much. We just got back and had character meals at CRT, Akershus, CM, and Backyard BBQ. From reading on the dis you would get the idea that the food at all these places was terrible. I didn't think any of the food was terrible. Truthfully, I didn't think that CM was the best but I didn't think it was bad enough to say that the food was terrible and inedible, it was ok. It is what it is-a buffet that will satisfy your hunger while enjoying the character interaction. If one does not like the food that is fine, we all have different tastes. I was just trying to balance the conversation and let others know that I thought the food was ok.
Actually, let me correct myself about buffets. The only ones I expect to be wonderful are a few in Vegas:Bellagio, Rio, etc... and they are known to be exceptions to the rule.

I didn't think anything you wrote was offensive or trying to insult anyone. I actually agree with what you said! I think that what happens sometimes with character buffets (CM's and others) is that because of how high the prices are at Disney, maybe some people expect the quality of the buffet to be higher than an Old Country Buffet for example. Because you can go to a place like Old Country Buffet and get similar quality food for a fraction of the price of a character buffet at WDW. When we go, we assume we are paying for the characters, and as long as we can find a couple of things on the buffet to eat we are fine with that. I would be much more disappointed in a character meal if the character interaction was poor, as well as the service.

I also think that expectations of the food are related to what each individual is used to when they go out to eat regularly. There are certain foods in certain regions of the country that people from those regions wouldn't want to have at a place like WDW because it just won't be as good. For me, it's pizza and Italian food (I'm a Brooklyn, NYer born and raised!). For some, it's Mexican food; for others it's ribs and other barbecue food, etc. Just my $.02.

 

[tfoster]

CM is right there at the top of my "worst dining" experiences. It's probably the only place at WDW I won't return to. I thought everything about the experience was pretty terrible and the food was nearly inedible.

I knew it was a buffet and I certainly wasn't expecting a high class meal. There are lots of nice buffets (both inside of WDW and outside of WDW), though, so that's no excuse for lousy food, lousy service, lousy interaction, etc. Some of my favorite Disney dining experiences have been buffets. CM just didn't even come close to being one of them. It was just unbelievably B-A-D.

 

[sahummel]

Are going to Chef Mickey's for my 3 yr old grandson. I want him to experience the characters. Last time I went without kids and can still hear kids screaming and see napkins waiving. Funny thing was the Chef Mickey's at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim was totally different. No kids up and running, screaming, etc. Way more laid back! Food not the best but not the worst.

 

[Micca]

Disney is already quite aware of the quality of food at CM's...

They won't "do something about it" simply because they don't *have* to... The characters and the location sell CM's, and the food has intentionally become an afterthought. It's been made as cheaply as they can make it and still get away with it...

It breaks my heart to see this happen, but it's a definite trend going on in ALL Disney restaurants (to varying degrees) thanks to the DDP.

Maximum profits for Disney shareholders, minimal food quality for the guests.

Your comment re "they don't have to..." is a most salient point. This is a big corporation that likely has researched what people are willing to pay. They charge that amount and get the food costs reduced for maxium profit. They will continue to increase the price of the meal and reduce the cost of the food as much as they can. When your restaurants are at capacity so much of the time, how else are they supposed to increase revenue? Until such time that the entertainment offered at WDW risks serious competition, improving the cuisine will not be a priority.