Am I the only one who thinks Chef Mickey's is grosssssss? We ate there for our last night in Disney, this past Sunday Nov. 9. We had PS for 8pm. The prime rib was so very tough- there was some weird pasta/tuna dish- mashed potatoes were very strange, mixed stir-fry type vegetables were tasteless...... Only thing I can really say "Bravo" to was the dessert bar..... This was the most expensive Character meal of our stay and probably the most tasteless........ I also heard a lady asking for a manager, and complaining about "ants" from breakfast that morning.......?????
There seems to be a wide range of opinion. For our family, I thought it was the best character meal of the 4 we did this year. We had a 5:00pm seating when it opened. We always try to do a buffet early when the food is fresh. I really thought the food was excellent and the kids had alot. I don't now if the time effects the quality. Also, there were 6 characters and great interaction. We also liked the pictures they take before dinner and bought a set. Can't complain about the cost because we used $100 we got from our Marriott timeshare for taking a 30 minute tour. All in all a great place if you want a chaotic Disney evening that is loud, fun (I actually like waving my napkin in the air) and sure to leave the kids hyped up on sugar David
Hi lillady718! You are NOT alone. My DW raves about CM, but JMHO, the place gives me nothing but a headache and indigestion. I carry Alka-Selzer anytime we eat there. It's great fun if you can handle the frentic activity, but for me it's just too much. The food -- ugh -- barely edible and sometimes barely cooked. WDW has much better buffets. I think they start off new chefs at CM because with all the antics people won't notice how bad the food is.
I totally hate this restaurant, but guess what DS's favorite is I tried to talk him out of it for our next trip but I'll be at CM's on Christmas day He's such a punkin I couldn't say no
Every now and again I hear someone complain about Chef Mickeys. So, I did a poll and asked "Chef Mickeys - love it or hate it, or just OK" I believe the final results were "love it - over 50%, just ok 30% and the remainder hated it". So, I say leave Chef Mickey alone. I think you have to consider that alot of the price goes toward atmosphere and not having to wait in the heat and humidity to get through a line to see the characters. It's always great to get you in the Disney mood, the kids LOVE it and unless you're just a "stick in the mud" I don't see how you could leave their without a smile on your face. WE LOVE CHEF MICKEYS!!!
Why should anyone "leave Chef Mickey's alone" this is a restaurant discussion board and we are allowed to "discuss" any restaurant we desire. You could do a poll at any given time and the results will change according to who responds. I never saw your poll. The OP gave her experience there and she is entiltled to it. I wouldn't start calling people a stick in the mud or post the snooty smiley just because they didn't like the food at a particular restaurant.
Lillady, agreed. The food was completely mediocre, a big waste of money. I did like the atmosphere and of course dd liked it. I think the restaurant board is for all opinions-- in fact, one of the reasons I love this board is people feel pretty free to post their loves and hates without fans of a particular restaurant having to take it personally (unlike the Resorts board! Where is is often taken as high insult to disrepsect someone else's favorite resort. Love ya, Resorts, mean it! But there are lots of opinions out there, I want to hear them all.)
I'm looking forward to going to Chef Mickey's. One day I hear great things. The next day, I hear horrible things. I love to read on the restaurant board, but at the same time it frustrates me. The Rainforest Cafe is one of our favorites! I hear so much bad stuff about it, though. So, I realize that there are a lot of people out there who have no idea what I would like for food. Therefore, it's hard to listen to the opinions sometimes. I'm not saying people are clueless. I'm just saying people know what they like for food, not what I like. Bottom line, we are going to Chef Mickeys for the atmosphere. I'm hoping for some good food. I guess really hoping because my parents are going with and it's an expensive meal. I figure a restaurant that has been around as long as Chef Mickeys has got to be good to some people otherwise it would be closed by now And, I like polls. I know you'd get different answers, but I think for the most part, they show a majority all in one place without reading 20 million posts.
You are totally right, not everyone is going to like the restaurants that I like. Chef Mickey's has been around for a long time, I loved it when it was in Downtown Disney...........Anyone remember the bubble machine???
We go to Chef Mickey's once a trip and have never had a problem. We love it! Expectations may be different though. I go knowing it is a buffet and a place for the kids to enjoy and have fun. The food is certainly not top cuisine, but I cannot think of too many places in WDW that I would consider such. It is fun and decent food and we love it.
I agree. We've been to CM's for dinner 4 or 5 times and never had bad food. I LOVE prime rib but there is usually a HUGE difference between prime rib you order ala carte somewhere and prime rib on a buffet. On our last visit to Chef Mickey's the prime rib was better than any past visits. It was pink, juicy, and tender. In fact much better than the prime rib I had that trip at CRT. I think it can be hit or miss though. Plus, I don't really try too much of the veggie dishes at any buffet because they're usually tasteless and mushy. I can fill up at CM's on the salad bar, rolls, boiled shrimp, prime rib, potatoes and dessert.
I have to say that we ate at Chef Mickey's last Saturday night and loved it. In fact, we were a family of 5 and we were all in agreement that it was the best Buffet Meal we had at Disney during our vacation. The Character interaction was awesome. In fact, all the characters were at our table at least 3 times each during our dinner. The Prime Rib on Sat night was awesome. It was not as good as the Prime Rib at CRT (which happened to be phenomenal), but for a buffet it was great!! (Much better than Boma's, which we thought was so-so). They had ribs on Sat night which were very good as well. The desserts were also all terrific. We all have to keep in mind that everyone has different tastes and expectations with regard to dining. That's what makes the world go round.
Here's another "we love it!" vote. Although, it does have it's faults (the same lousy waiter we had last time, we had this time) and my daughter found a piece of ham that was bitten in her salad and the waiter just laughed and left it on our table! GROSS! Although, you can't blame this on Disney, you could possibly say that they need some buffet control so that things like that don't happen. I am assuming some little kid did it. Now, we did have a wonderful time there, the character interaction was great, they spent a lot of time at the tables even though they were busy and Donald and Goofy kept "scrapping" it up. My food, prime rib and potatoes were wonderful and everyone else enjoyed their meals. This restaurant will continue to be on our "to do" list each time we go, mainly because it's becoming one of our traditions.
I am a "hate it." But just dinner. I actually love breakfast. Unfortunately, I just have never had a good dinner there despite trying numerous times. And I don't belive that makes me a "stick in the mud" either. Yes, the characters are great but when I have to put out more money for a second meal beacuse nobody liked the first one, well it makes for an overall disappointing meal.
We LOVE Chef Mickey's!! We go every visit!! It is, well SO DISNEY!! My four girls LOVE it!! There is something for everyone of my picky eaters!! The characters are GREAT! As a matter of fact we have PS for 12/2 before MVMCP! Can't wait!!! Won't be long now!!! Jackie
It's just a matter of personal taste. Chef Mickey's is my least favorite buffet but that doesn't mean someone else won't like it. Every restaurant at WDW gets slammed from time to time. I do enjoy the frantic, noisy atmosphere though. It is a fun place.
O.k., I don't mean to be rude, but I must confess that like your waiter, I too LOL at this one, and am continuing to snicker intermittently. I know I wouldn't want it in my salad, and you're right, it is a very gross and unsanitary concept (right up there with a post that described a child being allowed to sneeze repeatedly over food at a concierge table). I guess I'm just picturing the whole scenario, amidst the napkin-waving frenzy of CM's, of table saying, "Waiter, there's ham with a bite in my salad!" And the waiter telling you to just bite it back, or some such nonsense... I will say that despite the hot/cold posts for CMs our family decided to try it for dinner on our last trip. We had some picky family members with us who don't typically like buffet (and they didn't care for pre-plated at Garden grille, for example, either) -- but they have already asked if we can go there again next trip! It was a hit for all 8 (4 adults and 4 kids). Hot food was hot, cold food was cold, and we left stuffed to the gills! I will agree with a previous poster in that we too arrived at an early seating. I think buffet food tends to get repleninshed but not replaced (i.e., they add to the top, but do they always remove the old?) so we always try to eat early.
