Is Chef Mickey's really that bad?

[TheInvernessie]

Definitely shadowing this breakfast being their best meal. I've done Chef Mickey's for a long time, and breakfast never fails to fill and really prove to be their best meal. Dinner is /meh/ at best, but not terrible. Inconsistent. It isn't terrible, and remember this is your trip. If its something you want to do, do it.

 

[JZCubed]

We are planning on going to Chef Mickey's for dinner one night of our trip. We've never been before. All the reviews though are less than stellar. Has anyone had a good meal here recently? I'm not expecting anything 5 star, but at least something more than barely edible.

There may be no better food place that captures so much of the Disney experience:
-- Only place to meet the Fab 5 together.
-- Monorail runs above your head.
-- Children laughing and having a good time.
-- Food that will likely disappoint.

Is the food that bad?

Some folks enjoy the place more than others.
http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/ch...lus-a-walk-around-the-grand-canyon-concourse/

 

[jpeterson]

We've eaten there twice and enjoyed it both times. I agree that Tusker House has better food but Chef Mickey's was fine and the kids LOVE it. That's the reason we go.

 

[VillainFavs]

Yuck. That's it--just yuck! We've done many of the character meals and, obviously, they're all a little chaotic and loud. That's to be expected. But for some reason, parents at Chef Mickey's seem to forget all about any sense of courtesy! Kids running all over the place, unsupervised. The amount of food thrown, spilled on the floor (and left there!) could feed a small village. Kids at the buffet reaching in for food with their bare hands, changing their minds, and--you guessed it--putting it back! Food mixed altogether all over the buffet. Just loud, dirty, chaotic. And for all this, you're rewarded with barely edible food! Yes, you won't leave hungry--if you can get past the yuck factor and actually eat some of the offerings. If that's the best you can say for a restaurant that you're paying top dollar for, no thanks.

There are much better character buffets out there. If you're interested in the Fab 5, go to Tusker House. Granted, it's Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy--so not exactly the Fab 5--but the food and atmosphere is SOOOOO much better! Take a ride on the monorail for free. Sit at Contempo Cafe and have lunch if you want. There's just so much better ways to spend your time and money!

 

[Disneymad1993]

We ate here for Sunday brunch in Feb and really enjoyed it!! Thought the food was really nice and the character interaction was fab We much preferred Chef Mickeys to Tusker House!

 

[wdw4rfam]

Been there 15+ times never had a bad meal. Just had brunch in march, and Booked for September.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We've had dinner there once and breakfast 3 times. As people above have said, breakfast is better, but we thought dinner was pretty good too. It's not the California Grill, but the food was well prepared for bulk food and there was plenty of it.

 

[jgabes]

We enjoy CM. It's become our tradition to have our first evening dinner there every trip and this summer will be our 4th time. Yes, it's loud but it's great character interaction with the Fab 5. We keep going back

 

[cruisin5]

No one goes to CM for the food. You won't leave hungry but you will leave smiling

 

[RealBlast3]

Yuck. That's it--just yuck! We've done many of the character meals and, obviously, they're all a little chaotic and loud. That's to be expected. But for some reason, parents at Chef Mickey's seem to forget all about any sense of courtesy! Kids running all over the place, unsupervised. The amount of food thrown, spilled on the floor (and left there!) could feed a small village. Kids at the buffet reaching in for food with their bare hands, changing their minds, and--you guessed it--putting it back! Food mixed altogether all over the buffet. Just loud, dirty, chaotic. And for all this, you're rewarded with barely edible food! Yes, you won't leave hungry--if you can get past the yuck factor and actually eat some of the offerings. If that's the best you can say for a restaurant that you're paying top dollar for, no thanks.

There are much better character buffets out there. If you're interested in the Fab 5, go to Tusker House. Granted, it's Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy--so not exactly the Fab 5--but the food and atmosphere is SOOOOO much better! Take a ride on the monorail for free. Sit at Contempo Cafe and have lunch if you want. There's just so much better ways to spend your time and money!

THIS! So much this. I don't understand why everyone knows how to behave at Cape May Cafe and Tusker House and Ohana and then loses their facilities here! So ridiculous! And as I said earlier, you're much better off at those and you end up seeing just about the same characters. Honestly, even if one of them was missing (I can't remember if Mickey is at the other 3) but it's nearly the same characters and the food and EVERYTHING else is so much better.

I mean, the convenience of Chef Mickey's is overrated. It's so easy to get around Disney and Ohana, for instance is on the same monorail, not to mention you also have the Winnie the Pooh characters at the Crystal Palace - if you want convenience, you can't get any greater than that - it's right at the end of Main Street.

 

[kittylady1972]

It's been a tradition for our family for many years to go here. Usually we do breakfast but we've done dinner a few times as well. We are definitely there for the characters and not the food though.

My kids (17, 14 and 12) have insisted on a return visit there for our next trip. I'm not fond of paying the "adult" prices for this but I have agreed to it and this time we are trying brunch for the first time. I'm hoping it can serve as lunch/dinner and hold us over for a while that day. I'll report back in June as part of my TR below!

 

[jsternad]

The dinner we had there was pretty awful, IMO. I thought the selection was super limited and the ranch dressing was straight from a bottle, which I just can't eat. Salad dressing is so easy to make, I was pretty turned off. If we ever go again I might try breakfast, but not dinner. The characters are pretty great though!

 

[kmv]

We have eaten there twice, both times for dinner. Neither time did we think it was as awful as the ppl around here claim. We thought it was decent and the kids loved the characters, monorail and dessert selection! I thought it was worth it but I don't feel the need to go back every time we are at Disney.

 

[Marissa227]

It's not that bad but it's not that good either. It's just kind of eh.... That said, the kids enjoyed the characters, we sat by a window and had a view of the castle, and we didn't leave hungry.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

The food at CM is decent. It's not great, but you're not eating there so much for the food, are you? I find breakfast slightly more appealing than dinner there. Best character dining buffet (in my opinion) is at Tusker House. The food I find the worst of all the character dining (and we've done most) is at CRT, especially for the price of a meal there.

 

[twoplustwins]

Our worst table service meal in all our trips. The characters were okay; they seemed rushed. We went for breakfast and thought the food was mediocre.

 

[AliceNDinah]

How are the brunch offerings? We have one booked here for August.....I keep hearing about breakfast and dinner, but not really brunch. Thanks for any replies

 

[Regan117]

We eat here every now and then because the kids like it or we are staying at CR and it's convenient. The food really isn't bad, it's just the loud atmosphere I don't like, and the kids serving themselves at the buffet and making a mess.

That being said, I find myself only eating the kid food (Mac and cheese and tater tots anybody?) lol, so I don't know if I'm much of an authority.

We have done breakfast, brunch and dinner twice. Breakfast was the best meal.

 

[Marissa227]

How are the brunch offerings? We have one booked here for August.....I keep hearing about breakfast and dinner, but not really brunch. Thanks for any replies

We did the brunch. It did seem a little like an odd combination of foods.... I ended up with a little bit of salmon, kielbasa (not great), cheesy potatoes, and mickey waffles. The kids were disappointed that the ice cream station wasn't open. When a CM saw my middle son crying about it, she brought him a dish of ice cream with sprinkles from the back. That made his day. Like I said before, we didn't leave hungry, but it was nothing to write home about. I can't think of anything that stood out. The only thing that made it worth it was my youngest son's excitement in seeing the characters, he just couldn't get enough of them.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Oh thank you kindly for the report....I'm excited to see Chef Mickey's again, hopefully there will be edible food ;--)