Chef Mickey's party of 12 over $430!!!

[mom22boys]

OK, I have always wanted to go to Chef Mickey's so I went ahead and made reservations for our party of 12. We have seven adults (one is an 11 year old) and four children. My rough estimate is it will cost us $438! That is a lot of money. Is Chef Mickey's worth it? Is the experience that great, the atmosphere that wonderful, the food that good? Help!

 

[koolaidmoms]

OK, I have always wanted to go to Chef Mickey's so I went ahead and made reservations for our party of 12. We have seven adults (one is an 11 year old) and four children. My rough estimate is it will cost us $438! That is a lot of money. Is Chef Mickey's worth it? Is the experience that great, the atmosphere that wonderful, the food that good? Help!

It is cute. You get to see the Fab 5 at your table. But it is not our favorite for food. We just went in June and it was okay. We are glad we did it once but will not be going again.

Because of the open sides of the building there are birds flying in the restaurant. Not huge birds but little wren type things. My partner is afraid of birds and it made it very uncomfortable for dining for her. Every time they flew over her head she ducked. After awhile she was just annoyed at everything.

Our meal was $158 for 4 - 3 adults (1 is 11) and a child so I completely understand it from a cost perspective.

We prefer the food at CP over CM if we are going to do a character buffet. This is just my families preference.

 

[fla4fun]

One thing to consider, in regards to the expense, is what would you spend on that meal if you dined elsewhere. You only need to justify the difference between what you would spend elsewhere and what you would spend at CM. For example, if you would spend 320.00 somewhere else, then you are asking if CM is worth $118 more. If you would spend 400.00 elsewhere, then you are asking if CM is worth $38 more. That will bring it into perspective for you. Only you can decide if the difference in price is worth seeing the characters or not (which is the real reason most people go there).

Personally, I don't like buffets, so I don't dine at CM. But if you like buffets, it's as good as any of the other character experiences.

 

[crostorfer]

The food is awful. AWFUL. Chef Mickey's was so bad it OFFENDED me.

Consider if it's worth it to you to have bad food with Minnie and Mickey for over $400. If it's not, save your money, eat elsewhere, and meet the characters in the parks.

 

[MichiganMomto4]

That's $36.50 per person average. That is pretty typical for most Disney character buffets. As far as that goes - it is what it is if you want to dine with characters in Disney.

We did the breakfast in June and thought it was really good food with a wide variety of options. haven't done the dinner in a very long time so I can't comment on that. The character interaction was just okay. I think they seemed more rushed than others we've attended. But, we were also a large party (maybe 12-15, i can't remember now how many of us did it).

 

[icc2515]

Cm is a great place to get up close and personal with the big characters. My kids loved it each character came up and interacted with each child, allowed for photos to be taken, and gave them hugs. The food was average, but tons better than Hollywood and vine. The only thing that I did not like was that they tried to get you to have your picture taken with a statue of chef mickey then sell you the pics at your table. Why would I want to pay for pictures with a statue when I can get pics with live character For free. I did not like this very obvious grab for more money.

 

[MelMel11]

Chef Mickey's is not worth it. We were there in July and the food was terrible. We will not be going back there.

 

[sukhakuli]

A party of 12 is just going to cost you a lot of money, no matter where you go.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Chef Mickey's dinner food is bad- there's just no pretty way of saying it. It's a rip off for a party of 4 or a party of 12. However, I think breakfast is worth considering. Breakfast is pretty hard to mess up (although Tusker House managed to accomplish nasty breakfast food) and we had a good breakfast experience at Chef Mickey's- so I'd recommend that.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

For that many people, if you want to do a character buffet, I would strongly consider Crystal Palace for LUNCH. You can do a late lunch seating (check menus online to see how late they serve lunch ... I think 3:45?). They will switch over to the dinner buffet and you'll be good. Or you could have lunch there at a regular lunch time.

I believe their lunch price is approx. $21.99 -- depending on the 'season' you're traveling. We always go in 'value season' and I think that's roughly what the price is. That would be $263.88 total.

This is what we always do with a group of about 20 people for the MVMCP.

Also ... if any of you have an Annual Pass, you can get a Tables in Wonderland card that will save you 20% off meals at many locations.

 

[mom22boys]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

[annnewjerz]

I believe their lunch price is approx. $21.99 -- depending on the 'season' you're traveling. We always go in 'value season' and I think that's roughly what the price is. That would be $263.88 total.

I agree with the CP recommendation but I would check that price. We only travel during value season and the price hasn't been less than $25 per person for breakfast (adult), but upon looking up the new price listed on AllEarsNet the breakfast price is up to $30 for breakfast and more for lunch and dinner.

 

[ariel5884]

I have heard great things about tusker house at AK

 

[MisterGoofy1]

CM is extremely overrated. The service is terrible, the food is even worse, and the characters barely take time to stay at your table. We prefer the character breakfast at Cape May Cafe over any other place. And I think when we were there is January of 2010, it was about $21.00 per person.

 

[dzorn]

Chef Mickey's is not worth it. We were there in July and the food was terrible. We will not be going back there.

Yep been there twice and both times food was blah.

Denise in MI

 

[RMulieri]

A party of 12 is just going to cost you a lot of money, no matter where you go.

This...While CM is not our favorite and we are not fans of the food, it is pretty much on par for what you will pay dining with a party of 12 at a buffet in Disney

 

[mom2daisyandonald]

Funky food and Funky service!!! We just gave it a 3rd chance and never again. If you want good food and service and great character interaction try Garden Grill.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

OK, I have always wanted to go to Chef Mickey's so I went ahead and made reservations for our party of 12. We have seven adults (one is an 11 year old) and four children. My rough estimate is it will cost us $438! That is a lot of money. Is Chef Mickey's worth it? Is the experience that great, the atmosphere that wonderful, the food that good? Help!

Is that just the cost of food or did you already factor in the 18% tip they are going to add on to your bill for being a party of more than 6?

 

[Lumiere Lover]

Wow. It is interesting how bad news travels fast. I have only eaten at Chef Mickey's twice, and both times the food was very good. It is typical buffet food, but I never thought the food was bad. We had no complaints in our party of four.

I liked Chef Mickey's way better then the Crystal Palace at MK. Last year at the Crystal Palace the characters seemed to stay as far away from us as possible. I believe in waiting until the characters come to you. The characters at CM spend quite a bit of time at your table.

No matter where you go, a character meal is going to be expensive. If I only had the funds to do one Character Meal, it would definitely be Chef Mickey's. I would vote for Chef Mickey's at dinner time. You can easily leave the MK for dinner, return, and see Wishes.

 

[Aunt Bee]

Go for the experience of seeing the characters, but not for the food. The food is "ok", but, for some reason, every time I've been to this particular buffet it's messy, the food is so-so, and the buffet is crowded. Not sure why....

Anyhow, Mickey and gang are really cute and the pictures come out nice...

$430 is a LOT of money. The older I get, the more I'm looking at value. You can see Mickey in the park; it's included in your admission. You can buy a lot of sweatshirts or much better food for $430.

You're the one, though, that will have to decide whether or not Mickey with you Meal is worth the money.