Anyone else disappointed in Chef Mickeys?

[Drizzo67]

We had reservations for Chef Mickey's dinner on Monday 2-14-05. Maybe it was more crowded then usual becuase it was Valentine's Day, but my family was really disappointed in the whole experience. The line just to check in for your PS was down past the other restaurant. We found the food in the buffet totally picked over and not freshened up enough. What we did eat was just okay.

I had no problem with the characters, never do at Disney. They graciously signed the kids books and posed for pictures. I did feel that the waitstaff rushed us in and out as fast as possible. I was not relaxed at all. We also found the whole restaurant messy. Food all over the floors etc. I know it was busy but one person with a small carpet sweeper would have made a world of difference.

I am a huge Disney fan and will not write of Chef Mickey's completely. When we return next year I will probably opt for the breakfast instead of the dinner to see if the experience is different.

 

[jarestel]

Chel Mickey's is pretty much the holy grail of WDW character meals, but I agree with you. We go there because the grandchildren like seeing the characters, but when they're not with us, you couldn't get us near the place even if we were offered free meals.

 

[magicmouse2]

I agree about the food. I dont think it is replenished enough. Some of the veggies are just totally wilted from hours on a hot plate. Last time we were there we were not impressed. The desserts however were much nicer, though the whole buffet seems to be handled too much by other diners, probably cos it is such a popular busy restaurant. Some of the food reminds me of school lunches!

 

[Tiffany]

Different strokes for different folks. We were just there during our Jan trip and had dinner there on Jan 27th. We usually have a p.s. for 6pm and while there is usually a line to check in at the podium it moves quickly and then we are off to be seated usually within a few minutes. It is just the two of us and we enjoy the prime rib roast and the garlic mashedpototes. Granted we travel in the off seasons but this place is always packed regardless.

I would give it another try as we truely enjoy Chef Mickey's as a fun place to relax and eat.

 

[G&J's Mom]

Me! It was our first time to WDW in June. I was so excited to try it for dinner, and was disappointed with the food and the character interaction. I have a 3 and 4 year old and they are pretty easy to please with the character meals, so we are gonna try them all The kids really liked CP this last trip. We may try it again though.

Denise

 

[purplevalentine]

Went to Chef Mickey's once for dinner and waited at least an hour to be seated with PS! Extremely Crowed! It was late and by the time I was seated I was too tired to eat. Would of left if it wasn't my nephew's birthday. The characters were great but the food was forgetable!

 

[LAWalz23]

We had wonderful meals there in 2001 and 2004 and so-so ones in 2002 and 2003 for dinner. The niece and nephew enjoy it very much and it is a first night tradition at this point so I probably will be there again but not without the kids. I experienced it the 1st for the breakfast with my mom last month and was not impressed with either the food (except for the Mickey waffles) or the characters (we were pretty much ignored), we both preferred Cape May, food and characters.

 

[ncbyrne]

We took my DGDs to Chef Mickey's for breakfast on our last day. I gleaned every ounce of information that I could find from these boards before I made the PS, but it made no difference. It was CROWDED...too crowded. We had a long wait and felt rushed out. The characters were great, but even they moved much more quickly than with other character meals we have experienced. As others have posted, the food was mediocre.
Actually the best meal with character interaction we have EVER had was at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

We tried the dinner there in September, and we weren't impressed. The character and atmosphere is great, but the food wasn't all that wonderful. And yes, it did seem very messy and picked over. We prefer the breakfast, but would generally choose Park Fare or even Cape May over Chef Mickey's.

 

[Terk-1]

I've dined there twice for breakfast and was pleased, so I tried it for dinner in 2003. Worst meal I've had on property!! The food was just so-so, only had 2 characters visit and felt very rushed through everything. Very, very noisy (i've been to other character meals, but none this loud). However, when I wanted to leave, my server was no where to be found and ended up having another server hunt him down. Total waste of money in my honest opinion.

I've dined at the Crystal Palace many times and have always been very pleased with the food, the service and the character interaction.

 

[Partyof12]

We have PS for Chef Mickey for a party of 12 including 4 small children next Saturday night at 6:20. I sure don't want to wait a long time for dinner with all these little ones, especially if the meal is not so great when we get it. Should we skip it and eat dinner somewhere else? I thought they would enjoy the monorail, as we are staying offiste, but maybe it's not worth it.

Thanks for you help.

 

[Cookie Princess]

I have to agree. We were also disappointed with the dinner buffet after having eaten here several times for breakfast. There are other character meals that are so much better than this dinner was.

 

[jarestel]

We have PS for Chef Mickey for a party of 12 including 4 small children next Saturday night at 6:20. I sure don't want to wait a long time for dinner with all these little ones, especially if the meal is not so great when we get it. Should we skip it and eat dinner somewhere else? I thought they would enjoy the monorail, as we are staying offiste, but maybe it's not worth it.

Thanks for you help.

From my standpoint ( as a supposed "adult" ), the food is definitely not worth it. But as I said before, the grandchildren absolutely adore this place, so we suffer through it for them. They have a good time, so we have a good time watching them. We still go for the children's sake, and they still like it, so we keep going. But as soon as they stop liking it, we're outta there!

Give it a try if your kids like the characters. Sometimes it is "worth it" just to see their faces.

 

[jeancbpugh]

We are done with Chef Mickey's for dinner.

Had dinner there in December. The place was dirty and the food was mediocre (and definitely worse than years past).

Maybe we'll try them for breakfast someday, if we are staying at the Contemporary. No way we'll bother again for dinner.

 

[sweetinmaine]

We have PS for Chef Mickey's on the 11th of March. I'm a little worried now after reading some of the reviews. The grandkids will be with us this trip so I'm hoping that we can experience the "good" side of it

 

[Tiffany]

We have PS for Chef Mickey's on the 11th of March. I'm a little worried now after reading some of the reviews. The grandkids will be with us this trip so I'm hoping that we can experience the "good" side of it

Please do not be worried. We have dinner a Chef Mickey's on our "last night" of our trips. We have never had a bad experiance. It is not fine dinning. It is a loud fun place to have dinner. There is loud music, signing and napkin waving.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

I had heard so many good things about Chef Mickeys but we were really disappointed int he food and character interaction - there were too many kids for all the characters to spend much time with -

our favorite character meal is the Garden Grill - the food is so good and hardly anyone was there - our kids spent a ton of time with the characters - I really reccomend there!!

 

[sotoalf]

Keep in mind: no one goes to a character meal for fine dining.

 

[tubachick]

We werer there on the 14th for PS at930, arrived at 905, were seated at 955, the food was cold and seemed to always be empty, the nice part of course is the characters, and we saw a couple get engaged there with mickey..... kinda neat, but we waited a long time, to get very litte food and not a cheap price.

 

[LauraAnn630]

Ok my DH didnt like it either! I was planning to go anyways just to see Mickey. I dont want to have to wait in line to see him. So where can we go to see Mickey? Garden Grill? Would that be a good place? TIA