Cannot_Wait_4Disney
The Pharaoh of Green.
- Joined
- May 18, 2005
- Messages
- 19,518
This was our first meal. In short, we loved it!!! A perfect way to start the trip after a long drive.
I tend to rate things based upon what I think they were intended to be rather than what I would prefer them to be. For example, If I want a quiet romantic meal and I ended up at CM's, I'm not going to deadpan it simply because I wanted a quiet romantic upscale meal. To do so would be completely unfair and really wouldn't help you, the reader, make a better decision as to whether to go there. So keep that in mind as you read.
We got there at about 6:10 for a 6:20 reservation. They turned away walkups. Every place we went was turning them away when we were there. So make those ressies. Chef Mickeys isn't quite as open as I thought it would be. But nevertheless, if you're looking for a quiet meal, this isn't the place. If you're looking for upscale eating, this isn't the place. But if you're looking for good food and good character interaction and you're in a party mood, then this is the perfect place for you.
We arrived at the contemporary at about 6:00. It took us 10 minutes to get parked and up to CM's. We took pictures for the photographers and got to see Donald in the front section. We were seated at about 6:25. One thing that amazed me was the cleanliness of the place. It wasn't just clean. It was spotless. It was oh so busy too. Not what I expected at all given some of the reviews here. We got seated in the transition area near where the food counter is and the door to the back. This ended up being a great place to sit. We could tell when the characters would be around easily, and they came fast and furious when we sat down. The women got their food and the kid's as well. Daddy got to stay at the table and take the pics. The characters certainly were on a schedule, but they weren't rushed in the least. They did the napkin twirl party song about 4 times while we were there. And every time a character came past, they'd high five my son or such. Chip was at the table on the right and Dale ended up at the table on the left at one point. I said to my son rather loudly. Look there's Dale N Chip!!! Chip turned around and gave me the you're naughty hand gesture and Dale turned around and jumped up and pointed at Chip as if to say hehehehehe. Later in the evening, Chip snuck up on the adults in the area and used his napkin as a garrett. It was funny. Minnie and Mickey were also fun.
The food was better than I expected also. They had 5 dishes that were really good.
1. The Prime Rib. I'd have to guess it at choice grade. It didn't have fat outside the normal. I sampled the prime rib at 3 different places during the trip and this was the best of the lot.
One caveat. They had 3 different roasts. My rare one was about at the middle. They had a medium one that was also in the middle. The more well done one was near the end and the carver sent back to the kitchen to get another. That one (which was at the end) didn't look as good as what I got or the medium one.
2. The Salmon. It was rather plain in presentation but I'd have to rate the quality of the piece of fish itself as the best of the 4 places I tried Salmon. And it had a good sauce on it. I can't recall exactly what it was (I'm writing this over a week later.)
3. Seafood Penne Pasta. MMMMMMMMMMM. It had shrimp and scallops in it and a sauce that was great.
4. Seafood salad. This had ocean scallops in it and shrimp, plus other seafood.
5. Ham. This was very good. It wasn't too salty, nor was it that precooked, processed stuff served so often these days.
Other items that were good.
6. My son raved about the Mac N Cheese. I tasted it too. It was good. If you're used to Mac N Cheese with the powdered cheese sauce from the box, DO NOT GET THIS. You'll hate it.
7. The make your own Sundae bar. The kids love it and there's alot of items.
8. Parmesian Mashed Potatos. Grrrreat.
Other dishes that were decent, but didn't stand out over that served elsewhere or were just average.
1. Mickey Raviolis.
The sauce was rather plain. I think it's sort of blanded down for the kids.
2. Chicken. It tasted really good but well chicken is really hard to mess up. Nothing out of the ordinary.
3. Good Salad Bar. Nothing out of the ordinary.
4. Potato Salad. Definitely better than the stuff you get from the super or from a Golden Corral, but with all the other yummy stuff there, even though it was excellent potato salad, it was still well potato salad.
5. Peel N Eat Shrimp. These were really good but many places serve these now. So they no longer stand out.
6. Broccoli with olives and feta. Well I thought that was going to be great. It was good, but not great. The broccoli was cooked properly, not limp, which is always a plus.
Overall, the variety in selection was good but not great.
Everything was to temperature. Nothing was cold or was left out too long. They replaced several items while I was there before they ran out. The restock rate was adequate.
The quality of the food varied with the item. But there was really nothing that was just plain bad and more importantly when eating at a buffet, nothing that was out so long, I'd fear getting sick on it.
Again, don't come here expecting true upscale food. You won't find it. Also, if you're a picky eater or have special needs, be sure to talk to the chef bevore you go. But if you come looking for a solid meal and a great character experience, It certainly gets my thumbs up as well as thumbs up from the other members of my party. The perfect get into the Disney Mood meal.
Service. No complaints. Glasses were filled as needed. Plates removed. The waitress also explained how things worked, where each character would be coming from, etc.
Ambience. Again don't come here expecting quiet or upscale. But ironically, I found Boma, Cali Grill, Marakesh, and Spoodles to be just as noisy as Chef Mickeys. CM's got noisier as the party song came on but the noise level in between such times was comparable. But the kids weren't as wild or rampant tonight as I was given to believe based upon some reports. The staff did have to explain to one child that he couldn't just run around after all the characters, but it was far from the total chaos some have experienced. All the other kids were very well behaved and well restrained by their parents. I must say the meal was a bit chaotic simply because I had to stay and wait for the characters, so I ended up out of siynch with the rest of my party. They were on Desert just as I finished my salad. But other than that, everything went well. And even that wasn't all that bad a thing given the fun we were having with the characters and such.
We went to 6 sit down dinners, plus one breakfast and one lunch. It rated better than the lunch. It's totally unfair to compare a breakfast to a dinner but I'd rate it above the breakfast too. It rated food wise better than just one of the dinners and tied with another (H&V) But I'd have to rate the overall experience 3rd out of all 8 places we went. And note I wouldn't rate any of the places I went completely bad.
I'd do it again on the meal plan.
I'd also do it again if I were paying cash.
Overall I'd give the food a 4 out of 5,
3 for selection. 5 for proper temperature/cooking. 4 for flavor and presentation. I'd give the value of the food a 4 out of 5, and the overall experience (including the characters and party atmosphere) a 5 out of 5 for what it's supposed to be.
I tend to rate things based upon what I think they were intended to be rather than what I would prefer them to be. For example, If I want a quiet romantic meal and I ended up at CM's, I'm not going to deadpan it simply because I wanted a quiet romantic upscale meal. To do so would be completely unfair and really wouldn't help you, the reader, make a better decision as to whether to go there. So keep that in mind as you read.
We got there at about 6:10 for a 6:20 reservation. They turned away walkups. Every place we went was turning them away when we were there. So make those ressies. Chef Mickeys isn't quite as open as I thought it would be. But nevertheless, if you're looking for a quiet meal, this isn't the place. If you're looking for upscale eating, this isn't the place. But if you're looking for good food and good character interaction and you're in a party mood, then this is the perfect place for you.
We arrived at the contemporary at about 6:00. It took us 10 minutes to get parked and up to CM's. We took pictures for the photographers and got to see Donald in the front section. We were seated at about 6:25. One thing that amazed me was the cleanliness of the place. It wasn't just clean. It was spotless. It was oh so busy too. Not what I expected at all given some of the reviews here. We got seated in the transition area near where the food counter is and the door to the back. This ended up being a great place to sit. We could tell when the characters would be around easily, and they came fast and furious when we sat down. The women got their food and the kid's as well. Daddy got to stay at the table and take the pics. The characters certainly were on a schedule, but they weren't rushed in the least. They did the napkin twirl party song about 4 times while we were there. And every time a character came past, they'd high five my son or such. Chip was at the table on the right and Dale ended up at the table on the left at one point. I said to my son rather loudly. Look there's Dale N Chip!!! Chip turned around and gave me the you're naughty hand gesture and Dale turned around and jumped up and pointed at Chip as if to say hehehehehe. Later in the evening, Chip snuck up on the adults in the area and used his napkin as a garrett. It was funny. Minnie and Mickey were also fun.
The food was better than I expected also. They had 5 dishes that were really good.
1. The Prime Rib. I'd have to guess it at choice grade. It didn't have fat outside the normal. I sampled the prime rib at 3 different places during the trip and this was the best of the lot.
One caveat. They had 3 different roasts. My rare one was about at the middle. They had a medium one that was also in the middle. The more well done one was near the end and the carver sent back to the kitchen to get another. That one (which was at the end) didn't look as good as what I got or the medium one.
2. The Salmon. It was rather plain in presentation but I'd have to rate the quality of the piece of fish itself as the best of the 4 places I tried Salmon. And it had a good sauce on it. I can't recall exactly what it was (I'm writing this over a week later.)
3. Seafood Penne Pasta. MMMMMMMMMMM. It had shrimp and scallops in it and a sauce that was great.
4. Seafood salad. This had ocean scallops in it and shrimp, plus other seafood.
5. Ham. This was very good. It wasn't too salty, nor was it that precooked, processed stuff served so often these days.
Other items that were good.
6. My son raved about the Mac N Cheese. I tasted it too. It was good. If you're used to Mac N Cheese with the powdered cheese sauce from the box, DO NOT GET THIS. You'll hate it.
7. The make your own Sundae bar. The kids love it and there's alot of items.
8. Parmesian Mashed Potatos. Grrrreat.
Other dishes that were decent, but didn't stand out over that served elsewhere or were just average.
1. Mickey Raviolis.
The sauce was rather plain. I think it's sort of blanded down for the kids.
2. Chicken. It tasted really good but well chicken is really hard to mess up. Nothing out of the ordinary.
3. Good Salad Bar. Nothing out of the ordinary.
4. Potato Salad. Definitely better than the stuff you get from the super or from a Golden Corral, but with all the other yummy stuff there, even though it was excellent potato salad, it was still well potato salad.
5. Peel N Eat Shrimp. These were really good but many places serve these now. So they no longer stand out.
6. Broccoli with olives and feta. Well I thought that was going to be great. It was good, but not great. The broccoli was cooked properly, not limp, which is always a plus.
Overall, the variety in selection was good but not great.
Everything was to temperature. Nothing was cold or was left out too long. They replaced several items while I was there before they ran out. The restock rate was adequate.
The quality of the food varied with the item. But there was really nothing that was just plain bad and more importantly when eating at a buffet, nothing that was out so long, I'd fear getting sick on it.
Again, don't come here expecting true upscale food. You won't find it. Also, if you're a picky eater or have special needs, be sure to talk to the chef bevore you go. But if you come looking for a solid meal and a great character experience, It certainly gets my thumbs up as well as thumbs up from the other members of my party. The perfect get into the Disney Mood meal.
Service. No complaints. Glasses were filled as needed. Plates removed. The waitress also explained how things worked, where each character would be coming from, etc.
Ambience. Again don't come here expecting quiet or upscale. But ironically, I found Boma, Cali Grill, Marakesh, and Spoodles to be just as noisy as Chef Mickeys. CM's got noisier as the party song came on but the noise level in between such times was comparable. But the kids weren't as wild or rampant tonight as I was given to believe based upon some reports. The staff did have to explain to one child that he couldn't just run around after all the characters, but it was far from the total chaos some have experienced. All the other kids were very well behaved and well restrained by their parents. I must say the meal was a bit chaotic simply because I had to stay and wait for the characters, so I ended up out of siynch with the rest of my party. They were on Desert just as I finished my salad. But other than that, everything went well. And even that wasn't all that bad a thing given the fun we were having with the characters and such.
We went to 6 sit down dinners, plus one breakfast and one lunch. It rated better than the lunch. It's totally unfair to compare a breakfast to a dinner but I'd rate it above the breakfast too. It rated food wise better than just one of the dinners and tied with another (H&V) But I'd have to rate the overall experience 3rd out of all 8 places we went. And note I wouldn't rate any of the places I went completely bad.
I'd do it again on the meal plan.
I'd also do it again if I were paying cash.
Overall I'd give the food a 4 out of 5,
3 for selection. 5 for proper temperature/cooking. 4 for flavor and presentation. I'd give the value of the food a 4 out of 5, and the overall experience (including the characters and party atmosphere) a 5 out of 5 for what it's supposed to be.
Now I'll know what to expect.
