Chef Mickey for Dinner

[Spoemomma]

Any recommendations on whether it is worth it or good at dinner? We do not want to do a lot of breakfasts so we thought about dinner here. Can you see any of the firework shows from here?

 

[Alesia]

Many people (myself included) feel that it is one of the worst restaurants in WDW. It's noisy, and crowded, and the food is pretty bad.

There is not a view of the fireworks.

 

[Spoemomma]

Many people (myself included) feel that it is one of the worst restaurants in WDW. It's noisy, and crowded, and the food is pretty bad.

There is not a view of the fireworks.

uh oh!! looks like i may be canceling reservations

 

[disney world dreamer]

its one of those places that people seem to be passionate one way or the other about.

i like it for dinner particularly on SUNDAY because that's the only day of the week that they have ham which i absolutely love!

i think the loudness depends on where you are sat.
i hate the one area that you walk up a couple steps to because it seems like any time i've been put there there's a number of children and their parents end up being louder than them trying capture the perfect pic.

i've been able to hear fireworks but not see them.

 

[Nancyg56]

I know that Chef Mickey does not get a lot of love here, but it is one that we like. The food is okay, but I say that about most Disney buffets. We were there in August because with little ones along, we always like to kick off a Disney trip at CM. It was good. The service was very good, character interacion was really nice, and the girls were immediatley enchanted. Food was tastly, but not all of it was hot. Desserts were a hit with all of us.

If you want a different experience, try Garden Grill in Epcot. This is a favorite as well, and the meal is a lot different, much more relaxed. THe atmosphere in CM is one that is kind of amped up and very much like the CR to me. GG is way more laid back, and fits perfectly with the atmosphere in The Land.

 

[Jnbm63]

I've found that people either love it or hate it. We are going Nov. 30th to decide for ourselves.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you are hoping for fireworks, though, between food and no fireworks you will be sad.

If you go earlier, you can watch from the Contemporary beach. Cali Grill is really the place they have for fireworks viewing with dinner. There are some other places that are a maybe for fireworks view for MK, but I don't think it coincidence that the 2 guaranteed spots are 2 dining credits on the DDP.

Epcot has more dining views for Illuminations, I believe.

 

[goofy4prez]

The character interaction is really a lot of fun at Chef Mickey; that is the only positive thing I can say for this place. I hate to be a pessimist, but it is easier to point out what is wrong with this place.

1. Less than average institutional buffet quality food. Chef Mickey makes Golden Corral feel like a great culinary experience.
2. Very noisy; and I do mean noisy.
3. Poorly maintained, cleaned and replenished buffet table.
4. Less than average service. It took all our effort to get our servers attention just to refill a beverage.
5. Not the cleanest place I have ever been to.

I know there are those who absolutely love this place. For my entire family we are in 100% agreement; Chef Mickey is the most gosh awful table service restaurant in all of WDW and way up there as one of the worst dining experiences I have encountered anywhere.

 

[txcorey]

My son loves it so we always try to go at least once a trip. We've always done dinner. The food is ok, but I like roast beef and they've always had that when we've been there. My son gets pizza, so he's happy. Yes it's expensive, but it's Disney so that just seems to be the way it goes. My son really enjoys the character meals so I do it for him.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We ate dinner at Chef Mickey's a couple years ago and liked it fine. The food was basic buffet food. I like the breakfast buffet there better, but I didn't think the dinner was terrible or anything.

 

[blackpearl77]

We ate there last week. It's typical disney buffet food - tasted the same as Hollywood & vine buffet. The eggplant parm was actually good! The turkey and mashed potatoes tasted the same as Garden Grill dinner. The characters were entertaining. We ordered a custom cake for my sons birthday and Donald stayed with him while the cake was delivered and "sang" and pretended to blow out his candles. He really spent a good amount of time with us. Usually the characters always feel so rushed. There is no fireworks view - we had a window seat but it faces the other way away from MK. Good sunset view but dirty windows!!! hehe I would eat there again - food tasted the same as it does at all the other character buffets but I don't think I will - it was a pain to get there. We had a dinner reservations and taking the bus to MK which we seemed to wait forever for then to wait for the monorail which broke down on the track right in front of us and everyone in line was told to take alternate transportation so we walked to the contemporary (which wouldn't be bad but after all this waiting we were practically running to make the adr and with 2 70 year old parents one with a bad hip it was too stressful!) If there is a next time we will cab it or plan on 2 hours travel time! So plan on lots of time to get there (unless you are already at MK) and the food is ok buffet food.

 

[Kimosabe]

Noisy - of course, it's noisy. It is a character meal, with lots of young kids, that occasionally involves everybody swinging a napkin over their heads to music. Some might actual refer to this as fun. There is probably no other restaurant on property where you'll see kids having as much fun as at Chef Mickey's.

Crowded - it's one of the most popular restaurants at WDW....but never more crowded that the capacity that their tables allow. We've been there a few times (not in the last five years, to be fair), and we never felt like it was so crowded that we couldn't get food reasonably quickly and back to our table.

Food Quality - it's a mainstream, Disney buffet with no particular theme. As long as it's decent, that's all we can really hope for, and "decent" is a pretty good description. Not great, but not horrible.

Chef Mickey's is a rite of passage for anyone going to Disney World. You can watch the monorail go through the hotel while you eat...to a kid (and lots of adults), that's pretty dang neato. Check it out with the attitude that it's going to be fun, but with the realization that it won't be the best meal you have while there (at least from a food standpoint). Going to certain restaurants at WDW is all about having the proper expectations going in.

As for fireworks, while you can't see them from the restaurant, there is a deck on the 4th floor of the Contemporary (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that allows for fireworks viewing, so if you can't (or don't want to) get back to the MK, there is still somewhere to watch.

 

[Kimosabe]

...

 

[JimmyBean42]

its one of those places that people seem to be passionate one way or the other about.

i like it for dinner particularly on SUNDAY because that's the only day of the week that they have ham which i absolutely love!

Good to know. We are there in a few Sunday's and I'm looking forward to it. We've had breakfast there and loved it (how can you mess up a breakfast buffet?) and wanted to try dinner this time around. I'm always of this mindset - no matter where it is (WDW, a 5 Star Hotel, or the local place) buffet food is always going to be a little different than individual orders and not of the same quality in most cases. But the good part is, if there is something I don't like, I just go back up and try something else.

 

[Jose Guerrero]

I booked Chef Mickey's for dinner last december. I saw all the horrible reviews it gets and I was scared that I would waste a dining experience there, but it was actually a highlight of our trip! We liked it so much it was a must when deciding which places we're going to visit this year.

I think everyone has a different opinion about most things; a lot of people seem to adore Via Napoli, yet when we tried it we found it good but not great.

I would keep that reservation if just for the character experience, which was amazing! However, the restaurant does not have fireworks view. You would have to go to the observation deck at the Contemporary to do that.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Went last Monday, 5:00. Got our picture with the CM statue, buzzer went off immediately after. Food was surprisingly good. I thought everything was decent food. Ribs, the meat fell off the bone, very good.
Characters are fabulous.
I've read the terrible reviews, so I purposely went with a 5:00 ADR, so that may have been in our favor. Wasn't too loud, buffet not messy, was great experience for us.
IF we go again, I will always go with the 5:00 ADRs.
I planned it for 2 trips in 2016, but want to try the Minnie dinner at HS.

 

[Quellman]

As for fireworks, while you can't see them from the restaurant, there is a deck on the 4th floor of the Contemporary (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that allows for fireworks viewing, so if you can't (or don't want to) get back to the MK, there is still somewhere to watch.

Correct. From the restaurant just walk past the gift shops and out the doors. You'll be on the deck for the fireworks.

 

[mmccutche]

As many posters have said, Chef Mickeys is one of the most passionately reviewed restaurants.

This happens to be one of our favorites to either kick off or end a trip. For us - we are there for the characters and excitement of all the kids (ours and others). If you want great food, there are many other options that Disney performs better with. If you want "Disney" and the excitement/chaos that goes with it - Chef Mickey is the restaurant.

As for dinner vs breakfast - my family actually prefers the dinner. We will be taking our nieces for their first Disney trip next summer and Chef Mickey will kickoff the trip on the eve of venturing into Magic Kingdom.

 

[Micca]

The reason to go is for the characters, the reason not to go is the food. I will say the last time we ate dinner there we had one or two things from the buffet that were pretty good. I think the mashed potatoes were good, and one other thing. It's sad to have something so expensive and you find only a couple of items that you like. For me, this is strictly for families with children who will enjoy the characters. Over the past few years our trips have been adults-only, when the DGDs start going we'll once again give it a shot.

 

[courtneybeth]

Any recommendations on whether it is worth it or good at dinner? We do not want to do a lot of breakfasts so we thought about dinner here. Can you see any of the firework shows from here?

You're going to get mixed opinions. Some call it Chef Yucky's and hate it - others love it. Do what you want and follow your instincts.