Day 1 Continued (Chef Mickey's)
We took a nap and tried to allow some extra time to get to the Contemporary from French Quarter because we cut it very close the last trip. We immediately caught the Magic Kingdom bus and transferred to a waiting monorail. Our reservation was for 6:55 and we were at the restaurant before 6:30. We got our picture and were called via our pager right on time for the reservation.
This was our 4th time eating at Chef Mickey's and had been seated in the room straight in twice and the room to the far right at you enter the restaurant before. This time we were on the outer edge of the smaller room to the left. I actually liked this better because we were more out of the way.
The selection at the buffet here was better than the two other character dinner buffets we did (1900 Park Fare and The Crystal Palace). As the pictures below will show, there was a good selection.
Our daughter ate from the children's area first. Adults can also. This is corn dog nuggets, Mickey mac and cheese and broccoli.
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My wife has been doing a great job losing weight since the holidays so she was trying to pace herself, especially at the buffets. Here she had various items from the salad section. I do remember there being more basic salad choices in the past. The lettuce and dressing choices were limited this time. They did have a variety of other cold items though, but a nice basic salad would have been nice with more dressing choices than ranch and Italian.
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WOW! You are so awesome. Thank you for being so specific. Even though I'm reading this many years since you wrote it...these places are still here, and I'm getting some excellent food ideas. THANKS!!
One would never guess that I had lost over ten pounds myself since the beginning of June by looking at my first plate. The mashed potatoes here are always awesome. They also had ribs this time as well as polish sausages, prime rib and there is a piece of eggplant parm under there also. All of this was very good.
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The next set are some pictures of various plates that can give an idea of what was offered the day we were there. Here is a better shot of the eggplant parm as well as a pierogi and salmon.
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This was a meat dish that they had out as it appears here. I'm not sure if it is potatoes or polenta that the meat is sitting on. This actually looked a little better than it tasted.
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Another plate
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Here is another with more from the children's area including chicken nuggets and more corn dog nuggets. We couldn't lay off the potatoes!
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As anyone who eats at Chef Mickey's knows, the desserts here are among the best on property. Here is a sample of what was available. The only issue I had was that I swear there were more ice cream topping choices in the past. That was limited this time, but there was all the ice cream, cakes and cookies anyone could ask for!
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More ice cream topped with Reeses Pieces
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Now, the little chocolate mousse Mickey cookies might be the best single food item of any Disney World trip. I could eat 100 of them... if I didn't just attack the buffet for an hour. I didn't see them at first and was a little sad, but my wife found them. This is all top notch.
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Overall, our experience here was good. The food, service and overall "hassle" and crowding at the buffet may have been our best yet. The food selection was very good, and would have been great had there been the salad dressing choices. They had very good bleu cheese in the past.
There were truly only two negatives. The first was that the characters were very rushed here. They met everyone and posed for as many pictures as needed, but did very little else. Many times they will dance or make a signature move, but it was mostly business here this time. Having an 11 year old with us instead of a younger child may have had an impact, but Mickey and pals were kind of flying by the other tables too. We were still there over an hour, and the characters made it around twice, so I would have liked to see more interaction, especially with the younger kids. The characters there were Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy all in restaurant gear. This is a good place to see all five and get pictures and autographs in one place.
The other negative as the price. The bill for us (technically 3 adults) was over $155 after tax but before any tips. The food was good and the popular characters are there but there is NO WAY I would ever pay that much for a meal out of pocket. Being on the meal plan, it was a tremendous value and we will do it again, but only with the meal plan. These big ticket restaurants are how to make out on the dining plan. Also, beware that if you have a group of 6 or more you will have to pay a gratuity of potentially over $50 automatically. I won't get into any debate on tipping and whether that huge amount is even remotely appropriate, but it is an expense to consider. Most families can eat a nice meal out at home for the cost of just the tip at these buffets. You do have more flexibility to leave what you want or can for the smaller groups.
Overall, if on the dining plan and have character meals on the agenda, Chef Mickey's is a great choice. Every trip we add and remove some restaurants from the "next time" list, but we will definitely be back. Keep in mind; however, how much this will cost you out of pocket and even the tip is a factor if on any kind of budget, and most of us are!
After, we took the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and went in because I had fastpasses for the electrical parade and fireworks. I would strongly recommend doing this on your arrival day if you can. Waiting in the heat for a spot to see these two "can't miss" experiences is one of my least favorite things to do. The fastpasses allowed us to walk up to both at showtime and get great spots. It also gets these out of the way in the event there is bad weather later in the trip and they get cancelled.
We were tired for sure but rode the TTA and Buzz Lightyear while the crowd headed for the transportation, then caught our bus around 11 with no wait at all. We all showered and got to sleep because we were getting up for an 8 am Hollywood Studios opening the next day. More on that later!
in advance
