Its what we usually do as well. This time I made reservations online - that's new for me. The email confirmation I received definitely says "does not include characters"...
We did this time in October and it was great. Watched the sun rise whilst we waited to be seated, chef mickeys was quiet, food fresh and saw all the characters.
I agree w/PP. I would call to see if something has changed b/c we went this past Oct.2010 and our reservations were for 7:15 and there were characters. I made an early reservation based on info. I had gotten from reading these boards. Many people suggested an early time slot b/c Chef Mickey's gets very busy. When we left a little after 9:00 the line just to check in was out to the elevators! I hope the e-mail was incorrect and that you'll have characters!
I have a 7am ADR for Chef Mickey's in mid-April -- just checked my email confirmation and it says "Breakfast Includes Characters." There must just be a bug in the online system sending out your confirmation?