Need opinions: Mickey's Back Yard Barbeque

[dizneyfreak]

Hello everyone!
I could really use some help. I am planning my family's trip to WDW for September and I came across Mickey's Back Yard Barbeque. I have never been and Disney makes it sound like a lot of fun, but I have read some very poor reviews about it. I am having second thoughts. Could someone please let me know what this dinner show is like? What kind of food is there? Does anyone have any pictures? What is the experience like? My group includes me 27, my DH 30, our daughter 6, and my mom 55. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Anna Marie

 

[mhmcduff]

My boys are 6 and 4 and the LOVE!! this- we have been twice and will be going a third time next week- Food not great but entertainment is awesome

 

[rascalmom]

We went several years ago - at the time I think my dd's were about 8 and 12. They loved it - they really got into the line dancing with the characters. The rest of my group - me, dh, dmom and ddad....not so much. We were there in mid-June and it was terribly hot and humid on that trip. The flies were horrible - ick!

The food was so-so, I remember fried chicken and ribs. The usual picnic type sides.

September might be better....I am not really sure when the weather starts to cool off in Florida, but I know I would go during the hot part of Summer again.

 

[dizneyfreak]

Thank you both for your answers. I am still getting mixed reviews and hope that some more people reply with some help for me.
Anna Marie

 

[pruesmom]

Our family LOVES the BYBQ. This is my 7 year old daughters FAVORITE! The picture ops here are just great. The kids get to dance with the characters for hours. We are going in September and can't get a ressie for this and are very disappointed. I suggest you call soon. This only runs on Thursdays and Saturdays!

 

[VACAMPER]

My kids loved this! If your daughter is shy then she will not like it. My girls are not and they jumped right in with the dancing. The food is not wonderful but being able to dance with the characters and not just stand in line for a picture and autograph makes it worth it. Don't get overwhelmed the first time the characters come out, all the kids swarm to them. After a while it dies down and is more fun. The characters also make their way around to every table. i have pictures but it will be a while before a can get them posted. I'll try to post them this afternoon.

 

[JimR24]

My kids loved this. The food was ok, standard BBQ. The only issue we had was the heat. It's outside and underneath a pavilion. It was very still and the dance floor has lights beaming down on it. I know it's Florida and I love living down here but that might have been the hottest I have ever been at Disney.

 

[dgaston]

We went to Mickey's Barbeque some time ago to celebrate an anniversary. I think some of the reason there are mixed reviews may have to do with expectations. This is held in an outdoor pavillion -- that means hot during hot weather. The seating is at long rows of picnic tables, and you have to serve yourself. The ribs and chicken are prepared in the same kitchen as Hoop dee doo so I had no problem with the food. However there is no strawberry shortcake for dessert. The music is country, with line dancing, and not everyone appreciates that. DH and I had a great time, and got a picture of the two of us giving Mickey a kiss.

HTH

 

[lovemickeyshouse]

I went with my gf at the time in March 2007 St Patty's day and loved the bbq so i say go and have a great time really good food .

 

[Villainess]

We just went in April and had low expectations due to the mixed reviews. Our group consisted of DD - 19 mos, DS - 6 mos, my father -57, my mom - 55, my sister - 25, BIL - 33, and myself - 28.

We arrived early and had a meet n greet w/ Goofy, Chip & Dale. While we waited for the pavilion area to be opened, we were able to get refreshments. There were a lot of adults drinking and this continued through the night but I didn't see anything get out of hand as in previous reports I've read. They had sidewalk chalk and some other games for thekids to play while they waited.

My sister walked ahead of us and claimed our area of the table in the center when seating was opened. We were close behind only delayed due to parking our stroller. Almost immediately they opened up the dinner queues and they moved rather quickly. There was corn on the cob, salad, ribs, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers and salad. For dessert Mickey ice cream bars. The food was fine, after all it is a BBQ, and I believe the food remained out for 1 1/2 hrs.

The dancing and interaction w/ the characters was very fun. They had 3 segments and if you can I strongly recommend staying until the end. By the end of the 2nd segment most everyone left (eat and run type crowd I guess) and it allowed even more interaction amongst the kids and characters (they danced longer w/ each child, played w/ my son when I held him up to Chip,etc). The first segment is chaotic so if your child gets overwhelmed easily I would join the group w/ caution. I did this w/ my daughter as she is small (19 mos at the time) so the older kids obviously were able to get the characters attention and mingle better. But she quickly acclamated and was strutting her stuff - Goofy was imitating her "dancing" moves!

I had a ball seeing my daughter dance w/ the characters as she was in her glory! DS's face lit up as well and he enjoyed the music and characters as well. I'm not a country music person but I really didn't notice it as I was too busy smiling and laughing at my children. My parents also enjoyed it from my standpoint - watching the kids, as did my sister. My BIL likes country music but felt it was too much for kiddies and he and my sister left early - during the 2nd segment.

I'm sure we will do this again.

 

[BeckyH]

We thought the food was ok - nothing too special. Honestly, we were miserable with the heat. It was June and it was hot, hot, hot!! Did I say hot? It was hard to get excited about the characters with the heat and humidity. We didn't last very long. I think my boys would have loved it if we were there at a better time of year.

 

[dizneyfreak]

Thank you so much to everyone that answered my post! I would still love to see some pictures of the BBQ if anyone is willing to post some for me. I have decided to keep our reservation for September as I'm hoping that it won't be so hot then, and the majority of the reviews I have gotten now have been positive except for the heat and the crowds...hey it's Disney...there are crowds everywhere Thanks again for everyones help!
Anna Marie