Chef Mickey or the Garden Grill

[kdm0516]

Trying to decide between Chef Mickey for breakfast or the Garden Grill for dinner. Any thoughts?
Also what about Mama Melrose for Fantasmic?

 

[DeborahA]

We tried GG for dinner on our last trip. I would for sure do it again. The food was very good and the character interaction was great. We were 4 adults but Chip and Dale and Mickey all visited just the right amount of time and we got some terrific pics. We loved the blueberry buckle--wish I had some now.
We have always had a good meal at MM. But, we have never done Fantasmic pkg.

 

[luvbeinamom]

We enjoy Garden Grill more. The only reason is because Chef Mickey's is a buffet, which for us makes the whole experience a little more hectic. Garden Grill is more relaxed, but still fun because the characters visit and I think they spend more time with you. The rotating restaurant is always a hit with us too!

 

[catne]

We really liked Chef Mickey breakfast, good food, good service & great character interaction, even for 2 adults. Garden Grill...not so much. Food was OK-to-good, but character was out of control mean, which really kind of wrecked the experience for us. Whichever is the mean one of Chip & Dale...well that rodent twisted DD's ponytail to the point of pulling it hard enough to bring tears to her eyes & a shriek of pain. DD is 20 yrs. old and former multi-sport all-conference athlete so not like she's a wimp or anything. We actually had to call for the manager to get the rodent to back off and leave our table...and told our waiter if either rodent approached our table again there would be an assault charge filed. We did not see Chip & Dale come out again while we were there, but Mickey came out & stayed out (restaurant was mostly empty when we were there.) Don't think we'd go back...food was not good enough to risk injury

Mama Melrose is our favorite for Fantasmic package...have done it several times. We did Hollywood & Vine once on the F! package. It was good, but very hectic & loud in there. We much preferred the non-buffet more peaceful setting at Mama Melrose, and love getting App/Entree/Dessert/Beverage with the F! package. Love their calamari app, the chicken parm and the tirimisu is delicious for dessert (as is the hazlenut honey cheesecake) Husband likes the spumoni ice cream. Our only negative comment with MM is that 2 out of 3 times the service has been incredibly slow...but they book those meals early, so you have plenty of time. This last time we went, we expected the slow service and just relaxed and enjoyed the extra sit-down time in the A/C.

 

[HunnyJar]

We enjoy both Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill, but if I had to choose my favorite character meal it would be Garden Grill. We had an absolutely wonderful dinner there in February. We took our daughter there to celebrate her 1st birthday and it was just super. We saw the characters between 3-4 times a piece and they stayed awhile and interacted with my family. We also had a wonderful server (Ellyn) who was very kind and helpful. Our meal was tasty and fresh. I loved the salad! So tasty! I can't believe how much I ate. The dessert was also very good, but I've read that they changed it from the blueberry buckle to some sort of strawberry rhubarb dessert.

 

[anjalee6]

l like by Chef Mickey's and Garden Grill, but the Garden Grill has always been more relaxing for me. My family likes the character interaction there. Last year,the characters went crazy over my then 9 month old and there were some really wonderful pictures. The dessert is great and my son loved that they brought him his very own dirt dessert. It is also fun to have the restaurant move as you eat which my kids also like. We can't wait to eat there again this summer. The only thing that some people might not like is that fact that it is a family meal and they only offer one choice of foodd. There are three types of meat, vegetables, salad, bread, and a believe stuffing. Since it's served family style that is what you get.

 

[nicole0992]

I prefer Garden Grill. Family style character meals are my favorite. The atmosphere is much more relaxing and enjoyable to me when everyone just get served at their tables.

The food at both is not my favorite but we go for the characters. The food choices are very limited at Garden Grill compared to the full buffet of Chef Mickeys.

 

[Mom2Capnhook]

I like both and the boys enjoyed Chip and Dale at the GG and the food was good... that said, we had a great time at Chef Mickey's. The characters came around a few times, and we had such a good time with them. I agree that it is a little more relaxed at GG. Chip and Dale are a hoot too!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with Chef Mickey's because everyone seems to say their breakfast offerings are very good, plus it's a great atmosphere and you can meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto all at one location.

 

[Swimalie]

We just did Chef Mickey's for breakfast and didn't like the food at all. Several years ago when Garden Grill was serving breakfast, my husband and I ate there and it was the best breakfast we've ever had in our lives! So I'd go with that one for dinner.

 

[OhThePain]

Garden Grill is a much more quiet and relaxing atmosphere than Chef Mickey's. The food in both is nothing great. However, the character interaction at GG is second to none at Disney in my opinion.

I personally don't like the F! dinner packages. The meals are too early for us and the seats are nothing special. You are better off picking up CS meals, waiting on line for F!, and eating you meals while waiting for the show to start. Also, I am not a fan of the food MM.

 

[Dizfan4life]

Garden Grill FOR SURE!!!!!!!! That was the BEST meal we had when we were there last month!! Last month we had b-fast at Chef Mickeys and I didn't think it was possible to mess it up? I was really bummed that the food was cold.... not even luke warm. We talked with a bunch of guests who had dinner at Chef Mickeys and they said that it wasn't that good at all. However, friends of ours just got back and said that Chef mickeys was the best meal they ate the week they were there..... SO maybe the week we were there the Chef was having a bad one.

 

[JoePa4Ever]

We love Chef Mickey's for breakfast - fun atmosphere, good character interaction with the Fab 5, and nice breakfast buffet. We don't care for Garden Grill - the character interaction was fine, but the food was bland/unappealing and the restaurant could use a refurb - seems very dated.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

We enjoy Chef Mickey's for breakfast but we prefer Garden Grill for dinner. The kids like the character interaction here, DH and I like the family style service and we all enjoy the slow rotation of the restaurant.

We are planing to try Mama Melrose F! this year for the first time. I am not looking forward to the early dining time though!

 

[milmore104]

Chef Mickey's for sure! Have always done GG but the last 2 x's it was gross. We actually walked out right after our meal was delivered this last time (we paid first of course) and headed down to Sunshine Season for a wonderful meal there. But this is my opinion.
We have taken GG off our list. Don't know when we will go back there. If ever...

We tried MM for the first time this past trip. We did do the FP as well. It was FABULOUS. We have put this on our MUST lists. Not only do you get a wonderful meal you don't have to wait 2 hours to see Fantasmic.

 

[EeyoreEma]

Garden Grill most definitely. The food AND character interaction were much better. We got to see everyone twice at GG and both times they came around they spent a good bit of time at our table. The food was also much better, at least to us. We won't be doing Chef Mickey's again, unless it's for breakfast, but would definitely do GG again.