Chef Mickey's for Dinner?

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I need everyone's input on this, please! I just made a PS for dinner at Chef Mickey's for a Friday night at 6:20. I want this to be a really great experience! Please tell me YOUR experiences. It will be me, DH, and DS (age 9). I hemmed and hawed over Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park Fare, so if I should change it I need to know! And I need to know quick because time is running out.

Please include the day of the week you went, what time, crowd level, and your impressions of the food, the service, and the character interaction. Dinner only, please. We don't have room in the schedule to go for breakfast, and it seems the breakfast reviews are pretty good.

The price difference between Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare is only $1 per person, so that isn't an issue.

Thanks!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1900 Park Fare is basically Cinderella, with Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, and Suzy and Perla (sewing mice). Chef Mickey has Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Goofy and sometimes Donald.

Basically crowd levels are always high at both. I personally prefer the food selection at 1900 Park Fare, primarily for the Strawberry Soup and some of the Asian dishes.

Look at Debbie's Board for the menu details.

 

[jeff968]

We've done Chef Mickey's twice and 1900 Park fare once. They are both nice. We liked Chef Mickey's better. It has better food (IMHO) and I thought the layout was better. More room. of course, my 4 year old loved seeing cinders and the Floridian was a beautiful resort to walk around in. They are both nice but we'll be visiting Chef Mickey's again this year.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I chose Chef Mickey's based on menu selections and characters, but it seems like there are very mixed reviews. Some DISers have said the food is mediocre at best and that the restaurant was dirty! That's why I was wondering what day of the week and what time people were going - when is it likely to be clean? Do the characters stop for a bit or whip through in a blur?

 

[paigevz]

always dinner. It's one of our favorites and on our must-do list. I have never noticed the restaurant being dirty. That being said, I don't look around to see if there are crumbs or anything........there are kids running around everywhere, so food gets dropped, I'm sure. The ice cream area had some spills on the counter, but I would expect that. We usually go between 7 and 8 in the evening. We've always been seated very quickly, and also have always noticed people being turned away who didn't have PS. We've usually been in the back room, where there's a step up. We've had lots of character time, and usually see all of them several times. For the characters to interact with you, you have to interact with them..........my kids talk to them, show them things they have, get their book signed, and the little one has to give hugs and kisses. There's usually about two big napkin waving sessions while we're there. The kids eat well and enjoy the food there. We like the food there, too..........it's always been hot and fresh for us. We often like their baked fish, and there's always a pasta dish we enjoy, as well as salads, fruit, and dessert. We like it so much better than Garden Grill or LTT for a Mickey dinner. We have never eaten at 1900 Park Fare, so I can't compare......................edited to say, we arrive on Saturdays, and Chef Mickey's is always our first night's dinner, so we've been on Saturdays!

 

[kimisabella]

We went to chef mickeys also for dinner during our 2002 trip. It was a couple of weeks before christmas and even though the crowds were low at the parks, the restaurant was packed. It is a really fun atmosphere. Charachter interaction is OK - we've had better. Went there for breakfast last month, was OK - I think the dinner was better.

 

[MommytoPayton&Max]

We are having this exact same problem choosing between the two. Could someone who has been there quite recently confirm which characters you saw at Chef Mickey's? I didn't think Minnie was there, but if she is, we will probably do CM. Thanks!

 

[Pollyann]

We went to CM in May 2004. We went on a Friday night (our first night) and had PS for 5pm. The place was great - not crowded great character interaction- and the food really wasn't bad. The place did get more crowded as the evening went on but stilla fun filled atmosphere. (BTW it was myself, DH DS (9) and DD (7).

 

[ash&abby'smom]

We went first week in Dec. It was a Monday night. Our PS was for 6:20 pm. The characters included Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale, and Donald out front. Each character stopped by our table and signed both dd's books and took pictures with each. THe characters came by twice. It was crowded, but we didn't feel we were rushed at all. We enjoyed the food. We thought this was our best meal of our trip. It will be a definate must do for us. We thought the selection of food and deserts were very good. Everyone found plenty to each including the kids and all left very full. Our party included, me, dh, dd4, dd18mos, dm & df. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am starting to think that I should just leave our PS alone, go to Chef Mickey's, and have fun. I will cross my fingers and hope that the food is good and the dessert table isn't empty (like I read on another post!). I want to make sure we are finished eating and on the bus back to Pop before the crowds come out of MK after Wishes. That means we need to get from Chef Mickey's back to MK no later than 8:00 if we want to grab a resort bus there. On the other hand, I suppose we could ride the monorail over to Epcot and then ride a bus back to Pop from there. Or not. That is just what I THINK can happen based on the map in my guidebook! LOL

The reviews are absolutely all over the place, so I think we have at least a 50% chance of a good experience!

Thanks, all!

 

[debbiedana]

We were there a couple of years ago on a Friday in late September, 5pm reservation. We were celebrating DD's 3rd bday. After getting seated, we realized it was pretty empty. Food was good, nothing great, but lots of choices. Character interaction was excellent. Mickey and Goofy did a special birthday dance through our section for DD. It was priceless! We also saw Minnie, Donald, Max, Chip and Dale. I highly recommend it.

 

[sha_lyn]

April 2000. We went on a Sat night I believe. About 7pm. Food was over cooked bland and tasteless. Everything seemed to be made of school paste. The Dessert table looked like kids had been making sand castles in the food. There were piles of crumbs but no servings and they never replaced a thing.
Service was non existent. Plates were never cleared and drinks never refilled. The characters seemed to not know about the room we were in. We were there well over an hr with being visited. We saw the characters going to the other rooms but they didn't come near us. Luckily the table nest to us told their server and he was able to get them to come visit.