Chef Mickey's or not?

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'm driving down from about 12 hours away. Given the logicstics, we'll probably leave early morning around 3 am thereby Bypassing Atlanta and Macon Rush Hour Traffic, and arrive most likely at about 3-4 pm. This means we won't likely want to use up one of our days in the parks. I had planned to go play mini golf if time allows, then go to Chef Mickeys for dinner. Then, if you could see some fireworks from outside the park ok, find a spot. But given some of the reviews on this site and others, I'm having second thoughts. One mentioned it was like an Old Country. In what way? Now the Old Country near me has mainly plain food, but there are a ton of choices and is well prepared and always fresh. I've heard the food is awful at other Old countrys, however. And the one thing I hate more than anything is if it's advertised as home cookin or southern cookin and all it is is deep fat fried with extra salt and grease.

So in what way were you speaking? I assume it was meant as a jab. But a jab on what? Is the food rather plain? Is there just not much selection? Or is it prepared badlly and stale from sitting too long? The third problem is death as far as our happiness about the food is concerned. The first might be an annoyance at 27 bux, the second same. I know there are menus posted on other sites but they seem a bit old for this particular establishment and many a complaint I've read is mainly that it isn't as good as it once was. So I don't know how accurate they are. BTW, those menus looked decent, but not great. I know it's a character meal so kids, noise, and a trashed desert bar just come with the program. I'm not too worried about that. My number one priority is the quality of the food. Then probably selection, then how fancy it is. I have a young son and thus character interaction is a HUGE factor. I thought a character meal the first day would get us into the spirit. I have planned to go to the Crystal Palace for Pooh and the gang, but not the Liberty Tavern (the brochure had the phrase home cookin in it which as you've seen above, I always distrust). Given my likes, And given our arrival time, Does Chef Mickeys seem OK? And if not Chef Mickeys, then where else (outside the parks) should we go for a character meal and what characters would it have?

Thanx.

 

[sarahandhannahsmom]

I think some are being a bit rough on Chef Mickey's. We have our first dinner there every trip. They have a great kids buffet. I liked their prime rib and peel and eat shrimp. They had a yummy potato casserole. It's not great food, but it's a ton of fun. We participate in the napkin dance every 20 minutes.

I think Chef Mickey's get you in the spirit. We always end our trip with 1900 Park Fare.

I don't think the food is anything like Old Country Buffet. There isn't a lot of "home cookin"

12 hours away....and coming through Atlanta.....where are you from? We're coming from Southern Indiana....Evansville to be exact.

 

[Suzanne74]

Chef Mickey's has the most characters (mickey, minnie, goofy, donald, chip and dale and sometimes belue (sp?), the food is good (not the best but good)and the atmosphere is loud but fun. My dd who is 3 loves it. When we went to Ohana's character breakfast - all she did was ask over and over again to go back to Chef Mickey's. This is what we do everynight for our first night.

They have a cute little kids bar with their own plates, with Mickey Mac N Cheese, pizza, chicken tenders, fries, etc.. My dd loves the Mickey Ravioli's and I love the peel your own shrimp, salads, soup is always good and the mashed potatoes are yummy!! The Ice cream station is a dream come true to my dd as well. Goofy helped pick her toppings, LOL.

That being said, unless it is a family tradition (which it is for us now but started when dd was young) or your kids are 6-7 and under, I would not recommend it. For an 8 and 11 yr old if they aren't that interested in the characters they might not like the kid like atmosphere. It gets very hectic in there and personally I think your kids would probably rather go to MK early and hit some rides. There is a new Noodle Station in Tomorrowland that is wonderful or even do Liberty Tree Tavern if you feel the need for charcters and relaxing sit down service. I did Crystal Palace breakfast and was VERY disappointed in it although the bulidng and service was great. character interaction was fast and not personable like Chef Mickey's and the omlette bar was 8 people deep!! Besides Chef Mickey's I much prefer the sit down versions of character meals like CRT and LTT. It is so much more relaxing esp when you are running around.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It is pricey--otherwise we would go more. We last went for DD's 2nd birthday and when she turns 5 we are going back. It is the best place for a Disney birthday (for kids in that age range).

I thought the food was Excellent--but I guess my palate might be rather pedestrian.

An alternative for a Mickey character meal would be Garden Grill at the Land Pavillion at EPCOT. It is family style food---but you can get 2nds or 3rds. It was yummy.

 

[disneydreamer98]

It is pricey--otherwise we would go more. We last went for DD's 2nd birthday and when she turns 5 we are going back. It is the best place for a Disney birthday (for kids in that age range).

I thought the food was Excellent--but I guess my palate might be rather pedestrian.

An alternative for a Mickey character meal would be Garden Grill at the Land Pavillion at EPCOT. It is family style food---but you can get 2nds or 3rds. It was yummy.

Garden Grill is no longer "family style" they just reopened with an all new menu. This has always been one of our favorites but we are going back in June and do not plan to eat at Garden Grill with the menu changes. They are trying to make it "more upscale" which I do not understand because there are tons of places like that at Epcot!

I agree that Chef Mickey's is a great place to start out a WDW vacation! It is overflowing with celebration and fun! I too think that people have been too hard on Chef Mickey's. Yes, it's a buffet, but they have a good selection and a great kids bar. It is always a must do for us when we go.

As far as other dinner character meals that are not in the parks...the only others there are, are at the Swan at Gulliver's Garden Grove which is all A la carte with usually Goofy and sometimes Timon or at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian which is a buffet with Cinderella and various other characters (sometimes...Fairy Godmother, Mad Hatter, Alice, Prince Charming, Perla and Suzy)

We've done all of them and prefer Chef Mickey's. I guess that it is all in the eye (or stomach) of the beholder! Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[cutienibbler]

We had dinner at Chef Mickey’s last month. The food was terrible. Golden Corral (a cheap buffet I have tried in the past) was tasty compared to Chef Mickey’s. I understand that most go to CM's for the atmosphere and not the food, but for the price I at least want an edible meal. My kids were happy with the character interaction, so no complaints there. I will never do dinner at CM's again. If anything I will try the breakfast, Dd is Mickey's biggest fan, so I gotta do what I gotta do!

 

[Christine]

So in what way were you speaking? I assume it was meant as a jab. But a jab on what? Is the food rather plain? Is there just not much selection? Or is it prepared badlly and stale from sitting too long? The third problem is death as far as our happiness about the food is concerned. The first might be an annoyance at 27 bux, the second same. I know there are menus posted on other sites but they seem a bit old for this particular establishment and many a complaint I've read is mainly that it isn't as good as it once was. So I don't know how accurate they are. BTW, those menus looked decent, but not great. I know it's a character meal so kids, noise, and a trashed desert bar just come with the program. I'm not too worried about that. My number one priority is the quality of the food. Then probably selection, then how fancy it is. I have a young son and thus character interaction is a HUGE factor. I thought a character meal the first day would get us into the spirit. I have planned to go to the Crystal Palace for Pooh and the gang, but not the Liberty Tavern (the brochure had the phrase home cookin in it which as you've seen above, I always distrust). Given my likes, And given our arrival time, Does Chef Mickeys seem OK? And if not Chef Mickeys, then where else (outside the parks) should we go for a character meal and what characters would it have?

Thanx.

I think if your child is VERY young, you should go to Chef Mickey's. It will be fine (and I am one of the anti-Chef Mickey people after having been there 3 or 4 times). The last time I went, from what I can remember, there was some very squishy broccoli on the buffet, plain corn, a lasagna that tasted pretty bad (think Stouffer's). Of course there is lots more but I just can't remember them. They has some soft serve ice cream that you could make sundaes with. Several times, some of the flavors weren't "working" right. The buffet was definitely messy and I disagree that it's because there are so many kids and what not. I've been to 1900 Park Faire, Cape May, etc. and they keep those very tidy.

Honestly, I don't really "hate" Chef Mickey's. I could eat there and be fine but knowing what I know and food being important, I would pick any of the other buffets over Chef Mickey's. I feel that they are all just a notch better.

In our area the Old Country Buffet is an absolute dump. I used to go there when it first opened about 10 years ago and it wasn't bad at all. But it sure slid and I wouldn't go there again. Chef Mickey's actually isn't quite that bad (I think I made the comparison earlier in the thread) but there are some components of it that are a little bit too similar for my taste.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

12 hours away....and coming through Atlanta.....where are you from? We're coming from Southern Indiana....Evansville to be exact.



Ahhh. You're about 2 hours from me then. A hop up 1-24, then a skip through Kentucky past the base to Henderson, then a jump across the river (man the Ohio is huge) I'm in the Middle Tennessee area.

 

[sarahandhannahsmom]

12 hours away....and coming through Atlanta.....where are you from? We're coming from Southern Indiana....Evansville to be exact.



Ahhh. You're about 2 hours from me then. A hop up 1-24, then a skip through Kentucky past the base to Henderson, then a jump across the river (man the Ohio is huge) I'm in the Middle Tennessee area.

You're right. You'd have to have some long legs to jump across the Ohio. Have a safe trip down and thanks for responding.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I think if your child is VERY young, you should go to Chef Mickey's. It will be fine (and I am one of the anti-Chef Mickey people after having been there 3 or 4 times). The last time I went, from what I can remember, there was some very squishy broccoli on the buffet, plain corn, a lasagna that tasted pretty bad (think Stouffer's). Of course there is lots more but I just can't remember them. They has some soft serve ice cream that you could make sundaes with. Several times, some of the flavors weren't "working" right. The buffet was definitely messy and I disagree that it's because there are so many kids and what not. I've been to 1900 Park Faire, Cape May, etc. and they keep those very tidy.

Honestly, I don't really "hate" Chef Mickey's. I could eat there and be fine but knowing what I know and food being important, I would pick any of the other buffets over Chef Mickey's. I feel that they are all just a notch better.

In our area the Old Country Buffet is an absolute dump. I used to go there when it first opened about 10 years ago and it wasn't bad at all. But it sure slid and I wouldn't go there again. Chef Mickey's actually isn't quite that bad (I think I made the comparison earlier in the thread) but there are some components of it that are a little bit too similar for my taste.

Thx for responding. Ewwwww Squishy broccoli... Hate it. Although one in my party won't even touch the broccoli UNLESS it is squishy. She's one where it's not cooked untill the water runs green. YEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUCK!!! I bet you can imagine how squishy her broccoli is after it's "cooked"

The problem you noted with your Old Country is starting with the one by me. They started whizzbang then have slightly become worse. Mine's about two years old. But most everyone I've talked to that's had one in their area awhile says they're garbage.

It's really a common problem I note at several establishements.

Edit: (long section deleted as it has nothing to do with the topic)


Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think I'll go to Chef Mickeys. The Characters are up my sons alley and I think he'll like the kids food. It seems like a little something to do that first night rather than just wait around at the pool all night. After a day of travel and given the food on the way (oh boy, look at all these gourmet choices here in Tifton, Georgia!!!!) Chef Mickeys is going to seem like heaven in comparison.

 

[Ziggie]

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.

Very well put, imo. Our last few times at Chef Mickey's weren't the greatest either (sadly ) Our food was served cold and the server clearly was very over-worked. Hubby's steak was tough and he actually left part of it on his plate (a first for him).

Perhaps you could choose another place?