Give me the truth about chef mickeys....

[ammag]

Considering trying for an ADR on our last day however I see so many bad reviews, tempered with some great ones. I know everything is subjective but would you tell me what you think of the meal and the experience? Let's say for breakfast. Is it as gross and loud as some people say or did you find it acceptable or worth the trade off for good character interactions? I don't expect gourmet

 

[dpswift]

It is one of our favorites. I do not think any of us love the food but it has always been fresh and edible. We always get an early ADR,

 

[3Gsandme]

It was fine.

It wasn't spectacular, but it certainly wasn't gross.

The food was fine. There was a good variety of it. I didn't see any of the "grossness" that some people claim to have experienced. Our character experience was good. Our service was good.

 

[Googilycub]

We would not eat there again. The food is very meh. It is not inedible, but nothing more than I would expect to get at a golden corral. The atmosphere is great though!

 

[SouthJersey]

Considering trying for an ADR on our last day however I see so many bad reviews, tempered with some great ones. I know everything is subjective but would you tell me what you think of the meal and the experience? Let's say for breakfast. Is it as gross and loud as some people say or did you find it acceptable or worth the trade off for good character interactions? I don't expect gourmet

It's not 'gross', it's just the worst buffet on property. For the price? Then yes, it's gross compared to what you can buy for the same price.

 

[desamnik]

Don't do it. It's not worth the money. The food is really not good.

 

[jesswindsor]

We usually do Chef Mickey's every year, it's kind of a tradition for us. The food isn't that bad, it's normal buffet food with a Mickey Waffle. If your expecting the best breakfast you have ever had, you will be disappointed. It can get noisy. It's a great place to meet the fab 5. When you book a character meal, your really booking for the chance to meet characters, the food is second.

 

[LaurEm378]

I don't think it's that bad. It was probably my least favorite dinner, but only because the food options didn't really appeal to me. So I filled up on the few things I enjoyed (and dessert!) and I was fine. My dad loved it and can't wait to go back, which we will, next month. I wouldn't return if the place seemed unclean or the service was bad, but that wasn't my experience.

Breakfast was totally fine. Most of the buffet was the same as any other breakfast buffet, Mickey waffles and eggs and fruit salad and the like. You can't go wrong with breakfast.

For my family, it's turning into a first dinner or first breakfast tradition, to get some time with Mickey in a fun setting and not have to worry about meeting those characters in the parks. If it's your last day and you've already seen those characters, it might seem a little anticlimactic and overpriced. But I've never had a bad experience there and I have no problems returning.

 

[librarygeek]

I didn't find to to be gross or too loud at all. It's just your standard breakfast buffet that they're charging a ton for because of the characters. If you're looking for an easy way to meet the gang then you'll have a find breakfast, nothing special in terms of food but good!

 

[goofy4prez]

Would I call it gross? No. Would I call it good? No. Would I even call it average? No. Would I call it the worst buffet I have experienced at WDW? Yes. Over the past 8 years on the DIS I had previously read all the negative reviews of CM and allowed it to scare me off. Usually I ignore rave reviews along with the terrible reviews, but this restaurant was the exception. Finally, last June we tried it for breakfast and now you can add me to the ranks who personally will not go back to Chef Mickey and think it is terrible. Our server asked for our drink order; after a few minutes she brought us our drinks (along with the check and a no hurry) and then forgot to give us some straws. After tracking her down several minutes later, she came off as very perturbed that we asked for straws. 10 minutes later (no exaggeration) she finally came by, dropped them on the table without saying a word and walked away. After awhile we tried to get her attention for a beverage refill to no avail. At first I chalked it up to her just failing to see us. Then I managed to get her attention, she made eye contact and then kept on walking. She did not return until several minutes later and once again seemed to be inconvenienced that we asked for a refill. The only time she even smiled was when she returned to settle our check... Hmmmm, no wonder, it's tip time...

As for the food. Boma, Cape May and Crystal Palace at breakfast all blow this place away. My personal opinion; if you have eaten at a Golden Corral for breakfast then you have eaten at a Chef Mickey... Come to think of it, I take that back, I don't want to offend Golden Corral. They really did not do a very good job of replenishing the breakfast meats and were often out. The fruits just were not as fresh as the other buffets that I mentioned. I will say that the pastries though were pretty decent here.

And lastly, the character interaction was a bit rushed, but overall not really that bad. I can understand as packed as the place was they do need to move along and see other tables. I'm ok with that. It was a lot of fun to have Mickey, Minnie and friends make their rounds. The restaurant was loud, and does echo a bit, but I really didn't mind at all. I went in there expecting it to be lively and it certainly was.

Was this place as bad as many have said? Yes I would have to say it was. There are only two restaurants in all of WDW that I have gone on record to say I will not return to, and this is one of them.

 

[FigmentFinder]

My personal opinion; if you have eaten at a Golden Corral for breakfast then you have eaten at a Chef Mickey... Come to think of it, I take that back, I don't want to offend Golden Corral. They really did not do a very good job of replenishing the breakfast meats and were often out. The fruits just were not as fresh as the other buffets that I mentioned. I will say that the pastries though were pretty decent here.

Nope, Golden Corral makes omelets to order.

I really didn't care for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. But I'm not a big breakfast buffet person, especially those scrambled bufet eggs. Conversely, I don't mind dinner there. There is a salad bar and carving station. I feel that along with dessert is perfectly adequate for me. When I was there in September they were serving these little tin dishes with items in them. The little dish of pasta was really good and I loved the fact nobody had been picking through it for the good stuff.

 

[JessicaW1234]

The reason to go is to meet that many characters. We have been there for dinner and Both times my DD vomited immediately after the meal.

Breakfast may be different, but yes, the dinner is gross.

 

[LoveToTravel2001]

It's DDs number one must do every year. Will be there two weeks from tomorrow. We always do breakfast and always early to get to RD at MK.
The atmosphere - a little loud but not unbearable. I find it no different than CP. I found H&V for character meal to be much louder. We have never had an issue with clean, if we had we would not return even though it's DDs number one thing to do.
The characters - what can I say, you get the Fab 5 all in one meal! All while you get to sit and eat at the same time.
The food - it's why DD goes every year. She loves the Mickey or Minnie breakfast pizza. The food is your standard buffet at Disney, at least for breakfast. We've never had a problem with food running out. I think the one time there were no Mickey waffles, I walked to the other side of the buffet and there were plenty. Is it gourmet - no. Is it edible - yes.
The service - we've always had acceptable service. We've asked to have the whole pitcher of oj left for us (we drink a lot) and not a problem. We've asked servers to take pictures, always done happily. Maybe the PP just had a bad server that one time she/he visited.
I would say if you've never been, it's worth a try. Everyone has different opinions. Some people rave about Tony's but I we haven't been back since our first trip. It was ok but once was enough.

 

[jenjersnap]

It is fine. It used to be pretty gross but they have stepped it up along the way to total character breakfast buffet standardization. After visiting every character breakfast buffet offered at WDW over 12 nights last November, it became obvious that they are all pretty much the same. They might each have a couple unique items but mostly it is the same eggs, cheesy potatoes, terrible bacon and other breakfast meats, frittata, the exact same pastries, etc. Even our beloved Tusker House has devolved into the same old thing. My advice is: choose the characters or location you want to see and go from there.

Also, there is an element of different strokes...Cape May is my least favorite breakfast buffet because we find the selection pitiful and even less interesting than Chef Mickeys, but many people love it. I would encourage anyone interested in any restaurant to try it for themselves!

 

[Minniesgal]

I think it is on a par with any other buffet at WDW. People rate Boma but critisise CMs but we have always felt one was as ok as the other.

 

[melidy]

Honestly I'm not a fan of buffets in general, but we dined at Chef Mickey's and I wouldn't call it gross.

I'd say go and see for yourself, but here are a couple of points to keep in mind before you decide for sure:

• Breakfast food is breakfast food - you can't mess it up THAT badly. It's pretty standard fare. Dinner is another matter entirely
• Many people suggest character meals because you tend to get more 1 on 1 time with the characters - at Chef Mickey's we didn't find this to be true. They are so busy that we noticed them only stopping briefly at the vast majority of the tables around us. You could probably get an equal level of interaction in the parks. Tusker House however had a very similar 'cast' and they didn't rush through AT ALL. So if it's the interactions that matter most maybe look at other character meals.
• Kids seem to LOVE Chef Mickeys regardless of it's faults... Chances are your kids will love it regardless of the food/quick interactions.
  
• It is loud but not unbearable- it wasn't half as bad as we expected from reading the boards.

We won't be doing Chef Mickey's again this trip because I'd rather do sit down restaurants for the large part but I wouldn't rule it out entirely for a future trip... and it has nothing to do with kids wanting to go because we are an all adult party. That being said we are doing Tusker House again. Very similar characters (swap Pluto for Daisy), better food (IMO) and early admission to Animal Kingdom - much more 'worth it' for us.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I'm in the "it's gross and we won't go again" camp. We've been to several buffets and found this one the worst. And we've gone for both breakfast and dinner, each a couple times, thinking we might have just had off nights. But, no, it was the same each time.

What I saw was just a total lack of control! For some reason, more than the other places, kids are given free reign and parents don't supervise. So at the buffet I've seen kids reach into the food with their bare hands--and then drop it back in. All the food gets mixed into other things and strewn all about the buffet. And the floors??? EWWWW. There's enough food on the floors to feed my family! I understand kids spill. But this is beyond that! Just food thrown everywhere, under all the tables, around the buffet, etc.

If you want a good breakfast, characters and cleanliness, check out Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. You get to see Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy and the food is much, much better. Atmosphere is great.

 

[baldy6060]

Here's my take: I don't care for Golden Corral much anymore & I personally think they have better food than Chef Mickey's. However, there are "safe" foods there. Things you know you can't go wrong with. I'm so glad we did it though. We were on free dining and I probably wouldn't have if we weren't and I probably won't again for a long time. But my son was 15 months old and a huge Mickey fan and the experience was fantastic. Donald and Goofy and Minnie were great, too. A lot of fun even without good food. If you have a big Mickey fan with you, go for it!

 

[Nancyg56]

We booked it for our first meal in Disney many times. WE ae taking to little girls in AUgust, so once again my DD wants to get them Disnified at CM but we know we are there for the characters, and the food is secondary.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Chef Mickey's: (*rev 3/12/2015*)
. . . food price value: D
. . . food quality: D
. . . food quantity per serving: A
. . . food prep speed: B
. . . food selection: B
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: B
. . . eatery atmosphere: C
. . . eatery convenience: B
. . . staff friendliness: C
. . . staff attentiveness: C
. . . character interaction: C
NOTE1: As with most character meals, you are paying for the characters, and possibly
atmosphere, but not the food.
NOTE2Food is ample, but quality only average or even slightly below. Unfortunately, we
believe the food quality has gone down hill significantly. During this visit, characters
really breezed through, and did not spend a lot of time with the children. Even with our
opinion that CM has gone downhill, this meal took the bar
even below our dreams. We saw one person refer to it as "Chef Icky's".