Chef Mickey's for Dinner?

[Aubsmama]

I've read mixed reviews about Chef Mickey's but it's mostly been about the breakfast. I haven't seen much discussion about their dinner. I was considering going here on our first night in WDW. I thought the kids would really like to see the characters at their first meal in WDW. We also have plans to attend MNNSHP the same night so I thought the convenience of being on the monorail would be good, but I don't want to go if the food is horrible!! I've heard it's not as "rushed feeling" at dinner like it is during breakfast.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[smiths02]

The character interaction is good. The food is not. I would say the food was on par with Golden Corral/Sizzler-not terrible, just not good. Crystal Palace is better for dinner.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We love Chef Mickey's at dinner. It's always our first night meal and we are really looking forward to it being the first thing we do on our trip in Sept. The food is not gourmet but I think it is good. The character interaction is great, there are enough characters and they take their time posing for pictures and signing autographs and such. They also do celebrations and get everyone waving their napkins etc. It is definately a favorite for kids and my boys can't wait!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

My kids LOVED Chef Mickey's because they got to see the fab 5! They liked the food (but they have buffet kids food and a make your own sundae).

DH and I did NOT like it. The food was not good. The restaurant was beyond chaotic and it was messy. The character interaction was not the best and the characters definitely rushed off. I did not have that rushed off feeling at Ohana breakfast or Akershus dinner so I know that this is not the norm for character meals.

It was worth it to see the fab 5 without a line but I wish we had gone for breakfast because I figured they couldn't screw up the food as bad as it was for dinner. I will not be back to Chef Mickey's for dinner - just don't tell the kids that

 

[captaindavidhook]

We had heard about all the poor reviews Chef Mickey's had gotten but decided to give it a try anyway last summer. We ate lunch thier and all of us loved it. The interaction with the characters was just great and the food was fantastic. Give it a try I say.

 

[Nadjalu]

We love Chef Mickey's for dinner.

The characters are nice, the service is good and the food is very good as well.
Yes it is buffet food, but I sure wouldn't say it was "Golden Corral"....much better IMO. At least the times we have eaten there it has been.

You will find a good and bad opinion about every restaurant WDW has on these boards if you are around long enough.

So what I say is this. Read the menu. If it appeals to you and you want to go....go and see for yourself.
It is the only way to know.

Also it has been my experience if you go with what you like (menu wise) there is a greater chance you will enjoy it and be happy.
If you go because someone said they loved it and you aren't sure you like the menu....then there is a greater chance you will hate it.

Have a good trip!!!

 

[mommystieg]

Our last two dinners at Chef Mickey's were not very good. The character interaction was so-so and the food was disappointing.

 

[HunnyJar]

We love Chef Mickey's for dinner.

The characters are nice, the service is good and the food is very good as well.
Yes it is buffet food, but I sure wouldn't say it was "Golden Corral"....much better IMO. At least the times we have eaten there it has been.

You will find a good and bad opinion about every restaurant WDW has on these boards if you are around long enough.

So what I say is this. Read the menu. If it appeals to you and you want to go....go and see for yourself.
It is the only way to know.

Also it has been my experience if you go with what you like (menu wise) there is a greater chance you will enjoy it and be happy.
If you go because someone said they loved it and you aren't sure you like the menu....then there is a greater chance you will hate it.

Have a good trip!!!

I couldn't agree more with this post!

My family happens to love Chef Mickey's but everyone has different taste. If you like the sound of the menu, give it a shot. At least then you will know whether or not it suits your family and tastes.

 

[Catie.Hiltz]

Many people say the food isn't great at chef mickeys but I disagree totally!

My husband and I are like big children so all the choices were great for us esp the make your own ice cream sundaes lol!

we really enjoyed the mac and cheese and the mickey shaped ravioli...and the characters are great too!

We always eat there...without a doubt

 

[peachydreamyxx]

Ive gone to Chef Mickeys for dinner my past two trips. While the food is not amazing, you have to remember that is a buffet. They have plenty of options that will suit many people and for a 'welcome to disney' dinner, I think its perfect. We always do it on our first full day just to see the characters get that 'im in WDW feeling'. I highly recommend that you give it a shot, you may hate it, you may love it but you wont know till you try!

 

[plb626]

We have done both Breakfast and Dinner at Chef Mickey's.

I prefer the breakfast over the dinner. The food is a buffet, which was fine. Is it a gourmet meal, no. The kids and grandparents enjoyed the interaction with the characters, we got tons of pictures and autographs, plus our bellies were full. It is a great experience.

You have to make your experience worth it.

 

[sanapp]

We did this last year with DD7 and Niece12 and they both had a really good time. I paid for this OOP which I would never do again. If paying OOP for dinner it really isn't worth it. Would consider doing on the dining plan (especially if free dining) or would try breakfast next time. Our favorite character meal is Tusker house, so we will probably just stick with that. The best part of Chef Mickey dinner truthfully was the dessert buffet. The food was just bland boring buffet food and not worth the OOP price.

 

[CortCDR]

We ate CM for breakfast and dinner during our trip in May. The dinner reservation was a week of add on b/c my DS loved seeing the characters so much. I read dinner was horrible so we went in expecting the worst. We DID NOT like the breakfast at all and LOVED the dinner. We are going back in November and are doing the dinner again. We loved it and thought the food was great. But we also were not impressed with Ohana and LOVE Coral Reef so what do we know?? LOL Give it a try - sometimes it is best to just ignore it and come up with your own opinion.

The character interaction was better for us at breakfast than it was at dinner but I think it was the table they put us at during dinner. Give it a whirl - I think everyone should experience it!

 

[scootch]

We do dinner yearly there, it is our favorite!!

 

[Joolish1313]

My DH & I avoid all the Disney buffets if they aren't family style, which is when they make it for your table only (like Liberty Tree & Ohana's). The food is much fresher and it's more relaxed. When you're making trips back & forth to the food it can feel like you don't see your group - add characters on top of it (like Crystal Palace) and it gets down right hectic. My DH and a friend missed 2 characters, who did not come back around, because they were at the buffet. That's why I like Ohana's for breakfast: family style & characters.

 

[FirstTimeDC]

We did CM for dinner. We thought it was great. I would totally agree that the food is typical buffet food. Golden Corral is a pretty good comparison. It's not bad by any means. Just nothing imparticular (about the food) knocked our socks off either. However, it's not the food but the character interaction that makes this a must do. No way would I pay that much out of pocket for "food only". It is one of the best places for the fab 5 charcaters. That's why it's worth the price, in my opinion. We didn't feel rushed.

Keep in mind, usually the staff will tell you...Goofy will be here shortly. Thus, we waited for Goofy (or whomever) rather than making a trip to the buffet right then. After you've caught all the characters then make as many trips to the buffet as you'd like. You may get lucky and see a character a second time. There is nothing that says you have to be out of this restaurant in xxxx amount of time. Also, if you miss a character - tell your server. Ususally they are good about making sure the character stops back by....eventually.

 

[HunnyJar]

We did CM for dinner. We thought it was great. I would totally agree that the food is typical buffet food. Golden Corral is a pretty good comparison. It's not bad by any means. Just nothing imparticular (about the food) knocked our socks off either. However, it's not the food but the character interaction that makes this a must do. No way would I pay that much out of pocket for "food only". It is one of the best places for the fab 5 charcaters. That's why it's worth the price, in my opinion. We didn't feel rushed.

Keep in mind, usually the staff will tell you...Goofy will be here shortly. Thus, we waited for Goofy (or whomever) rather than making a trip to the buffet right then. After you've caught all the characters then make as many trips to the buffet as you'd like. You may get lucky and see a character a second time. There is nothing that says you have to be out of this restaurant in xxxx amount of time. Also, if you miss a character - tell your server. Ususally they are good about making sure the character stops back by....eventually.

Yes, do tell your server if you have missed anyone. Also at several of the character meals we have had people stop by and ask if we have seen everyone. It doesn't happen every time, but it has happened quite a few times for us.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I think the food is similar to Golden Corral but of better quality. MUCH better than Old Country Buffet.

We do dinner here when we are with our extended family. It is the best "Welcome to Disney" dinner if your kids aren't big Princess fans.

I don't think anyone goes there for the food. Although it is decent we wouldn't go even at non-WDW prices.

 

[kari B.]

Worst restaurant on property. The food is consistently bad... We've tried many many many times until finally we learned our lesson. Want it to be good... Wish it was good... Hate saying it's bad... But the fact of the matter is, it's terrible, inedible slop. It's the only place I would tell people not to go to.

If you want the convenience of the monorail do 1900 Park Ave...

No Disney buffet has gourmet food, and other places do have hit and miss nights, but Chef Mickey's is just a disappointment

I remember back in the day before it became Chef Mickey's... Sigh... That was an awesome buffet!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I have had dinner a few times at Chef Mickey's and we thought it was good. Now when it comes to buffet restaurants in WDW Boma is our favorite when going for dinner, however we found the food at Chef Mickey's to be ok and don't have any complaints about it.