Chef Mickey's or not?

[Cyndirella]

Woo hoo...we are leaving Thursday! We will get there late Thursday night, so Friday morning we are sleeping in and then letting the kids swim for a while. Right now, we have PS for Chef Mickey's at 5:00, then planned to head into MK for the evening. Now I am reading some not-so-good posts about Chef Mickey's and am beginning to question spending that much money if the food isn't that great. I'm not that crazy about buffets anyway!

The kids are 11 and 8. The 11 year old isn't into autographs and could care less about the characters. The 8 year old is more into it, but I don't think she would care if we choose to go elsewhere.

Any other ideas for a first night dinner in or around the MK?

 

[disneydreamer98]

Wow...surprised that you've heard bad things about Chef Mickey's. I think that the food and selection is quite good, especially for a buffet. They are not my favorite things either, but enjoy Chef Mickey's. I think it's a great place to kick your vacation off! Put's you in a celebritory mood right off the bat! If you are looking for something different though and want a sit down meal, maybe you should try Ohana's at the Poly. Very good food and atmosphere.

 

[Tiffany]

Woo hoo...we are leaving Thursday! We will get there late Thursday night, so Friday morning we are sleeping in and then letting the kids swim for a while. Right now, we have PS for Chef Mickey's at 5:00, then planned to head into MK for the evening. Now I am reading some not-so-good posts about Chef Mickey's and am beginning to question spending that much money if the food isn't that great. I'm not that crazy about buffets anyway!

The kids are 11 and 8. The 11 year old isn't into autographs and could care less about the characters. The 8 year old is more into it, but I don't think she would care if we choose to go elsewhere.

Any other ideas for a first night dinner in or around the MK?

Hi,

We do Chef Mickey's for dinner on every trip. It is a buffet and it is a loud atmosphare but it is fun. So if you are looking for good buffet food and a fun atmosphare Chef Mickey's is a must do.

 

[jacksmom]

Dinner at Chef Mickeys is a great way to begin a trip! It really gets you in the Disney mood!

 

[cocodog]

Chef Mickey's or not?

NOT!!


We 'saved' Chef Mickey's for our last night, and were so disappointed! The food was not good, and the service was not good, either. The characters were fun, but we had seen them elsewhere. We will not go back here!

I would recommend Crystal Palace (Pooh and friends) or Liberty Tree Tavern (Goofey, Minnie, Chip & Dale). The food was very good at both these, and service was better than at CM, too!

We had a fairly good experience at Tony's also (!!), but no characters there.

Good luck with your choices!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Our kids like the atmosphere of Chef Mickey's so we've made that our first activity on our day of arrival-- dinner at Chef Mickey's then over to MK for Wishes. However, IMO the food at dinner is NOT that good.

I've heard the breakfast buffet is better.

 

[Christine]

I've done Chef Mickey's three or four times over the past 10 years. Their buffet food has never been one of the best, especially at dinner. I can't quite put my finger on what is exactly wrong but the quality of food seems closer to the stuff you might get at one of those "Old Country Buffet" places than any of the other Disney buffets. We have always been fairly disappointed with the food. However, it does have a fun and loud atmosphere and it is really good for the younger kids.

I think if you go, it won't be a tragedy but, yes, I think there are probably better places to go.

We are not "buffet" people either, but generally I do find the buffets at Disney to be quite nice and we have spent a lot of time at them. In our book, though, the Chef Mickey's food is our least favorite.

 

[jonemick]

Yeah, it's fun until you get the $125+ bill for a family of five and you start thinking about the garish fluorescent lighting, loud atmosphere and the below average food quality and it all doesn't seem that fun anymore!

 

[cbusby]

My husband is a breakfast eater......how is Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet.
The reviews I'm getting for dinner aren't that great.....I was just wondering about breakfast.

 

[goofy4tink]

We always have our first meal at Chef Mickeys. Haute cuisine? Nope, but I really don't see that the food is much different than any other place we've been. My one complaint is that sometimes the buffet area is very messy...but I chalk this up to the many, many children there...more than any other buffet. The dessert area looks like a nuclear strike hit about 15 minutes after it opens!!!
We have eaten at Crystal Palace, LTT, 1900 Park Fare...the food is quite similar. In fact, we actually prefer the food at the buffets to the food at the character dinner at LTT.

Yes, CM's is very loud, frenetic, garish....filled with screaming children running hither and yon.....but we wouldn't miss it. It's how we start each and every trip in WDW!!! Our last meal?? Goofy's Beach Blast Breakfast at Cape May...much more subdued!!

 

[cbusby]

How is the breakfast buffet.........my DH is a big breakfast eater, and he likes to eat mid morning.

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

Yeah, it's fun until you get the $125+ bill for a family of five and you start thinking about the garish fluorescent lighting, loud atmosphere and the below average food quality and it all doesn't seem that fun anymore!

You can say that again!


We did it last week and hadn't for a few years and we asked ourselves what we were doing there. Our kids are not teeny tiny any more, and I noticed preschoolers having the most fun at Chef Mickey's. We kind of ate bad food very quickly and got out of there, after paying the huge check!

I honestly think there are better buffet character breakfasts at WDW. The person who said Chef Mickey's is like an "Old Country Buffet" breakfast hit the nail on the head.

I wouldn't go unless your kids are just dying to go.

 

[Christine]

My husband is a breakfast eater......how is Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet.
The reviews I'm getting for dinner aren't that great.....I was just wondering about breakfast.

The breakfast is better than the dinner; however, I much prefer Cape May. That said, if you have a young child who really wants to go, then go. If you are trying to go "just for the food" then don't go.

 

[Cyndirella]

Thanks for all the replies! After talking with the kids this morning, I think we'll pass. They didn't care at all if we didn't go. We've done the Crystal Palace, and wanted something different, so maybe we'll try LTT or Tony's. Or, better yet, just grab something from counter service and spend a little more time on attractions!

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

Thanks for all the replies! After talking with the kids this morning, I think we'll pass. They didn't care at all if we didn't go. We've done the Crystal Palace, and wanted something different, so maybe we'll try LTT or Tony's. Or, better yet, just grab something from counter service and spend a little more time on attractions!

Why don't you go over to Cosmic Ray's - the food is good and it's kind of fun to watch "Sunny" (or whatever his name is!)

 

[jpmom97]

I'm not sure if anyone goes to CM's just for the food. No, it's the not the best buffet on Disney but it is a lot of fun. The food isn't bad at all but it's not gourmet either. My pickey son, picky mother, and picky vegetarian father found stuff to eat and liked it so it's not bad at all. The characters came around a few times the night we were there which surprised me b/c they were crowded. They took time w/ my kids to sign autographs, take pics and even joke around. I don't go to Disney for fairly priced dinners and gourmet meals, I go for the fun and experience. Also, if I listened to all the bad reviews of restaurants on here I would have stayed in the hotel room and starved.

 

[spectrums]

We love Chef Mickey's for breakfast so we figured we would try them for dinner, which we are doing this coming week - and honestly, the main reason we go isn't for the food but for the characters. They are so good with daughter who has autism, well all of the characters are wherever we go , but this is a little more intimate for her, so we all enjoy it!

The only problem we ever had there was when they screwed up our meal plan thing and we had to wait for about 30 minutes for them to straighten things out so we could leave.

They were really apologetic though and they gave us cool things (like a Mickey napkin holder, free Chef Mickey pic). The staff was extremely accomodating.

 

[rarrington]

We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner last week and it was our favorite of the buffets and the character interaction and fun was the best. We also did 1900 park fare and Crystal Palace and they were all along the same lines but Chef Mickey's was our favorite and Crystal Palace was our least favorite (food not quite as good and characters slow to get around. also they were running behind in seating and we didn't experience that anywhere else).

I would do Chef Mickey's again in a heartbeat but that was just based on one experience....

 

[Christine]

We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner last week and it was our favorite of the buffets and the character interaction and fun was the best. We also did 1900 park fare and Crystal Palace and they were all along the same lines but Chef Mickey's was our favorite and Crystal Palace was our least favorite (food not quite as good and characters slow to get around. also they were running behind in seating and we didn't experience that anywhere else).

I would do Chef Mickey's again in a heartbeat but that was just based on one experience....

That's just so weird. My friend just got back from Disney last week. He did Chef Mickey's, CRT, and Crystal Palace, among a bunch of others. He said their favorite, for the food, was Crystal Palace. Thought it was a superb buffet. Didn't care to much for Chef Mickey's. Funny how people's reviews can be so opposite.

As far as another poster mentioned about not really "going for the food", I just think at $24 per person, they should have pretty good food AND characters.

 

[Cyndirella]

As far as another poster mentioned about not really "going for the food", I just think at $24 per person, they should have pretty good food AND characters.

I totally agree! Since the character interaction was not such a big deal for us, I'm thinking maybe O'hana instead. Those skewers look yummy!