Chef Mickey's????????

[tinacaplan]

Hello,all! I have been having quite the dilemma with this dining problem in my PTR, but I would love a range of opinions, so I'm posting this question here (feel free, of course, to also check out my PTR...link in my sig ) I do not know what to do about my Chef Mickey's dinner ADR????

I am hearing such awful things about the food, the service, and the character interaction, that I am seriously hesitant at this point.

So...we are a family of three, my husband, my beloved three year-old son Max, and myself. This will be our first trip with the kid. My husband and I went last February, did the Deluxe Dining Plan, and had a wonderful time trying a lot of signatures. This time, we've cut back on the signatures, but it should be noted that Max does well in restaurants, so that isn't a huge concern for us.

Background for this trip and this question, in particular: We are already doing Garden Grill in EPCOT, Tusker House breakfast, Crystal Palace breakfast, all BEFORE we're scheduled to go to CM's for dinner, so he will have had a great deal of character interaction before we get there.

We are on the DxDDP again this time, mostly to cover all the table service places we wanted.

I am looking, specifically, for something that is close to MK. We are also already doing California Grill and O'Hana earlier in the week, too.

Thus, my options as I see them:
1. Keep Chef Mickey's because the character interaction will just be so amazing, the horrible food will be worth it.
2. Whispering Canyon...hear mixed things...but we like BBQ.
3. Narcosee's
4. Kona
5. The Wave
6. Grand Floridian Cafe
7. 1900 Park Fare

Thoughts? I really want to know. Thanks!

 

[jsesp]

I have yet to figure out what some of these folks are so unhappy about with Chef Mickey's. Everytime we have went the food has been typical Disney buffet food (mostly good), the service has been good and the character interaction has been excellent. To us it is the same as Crystal Palace in regard to food and better in our opinion on service.

Unfortunately people build up their vacation to such a degree that if the characters aren't timed exactly and act exactly as they want they throw a fit. I say if you want to have your little guy see the Fab Five, then keep Chef Mickey's. Since this doesn't sound like the one and only time you're going to WDW you should try it for yourself and form your own opinion.

Enjoy your trip and have a great time.

 

[tinacaplan]

I have yet to figure out what some of these folks are so unhappy about with Chef Mickey's. Everytime we have went the food has been typical Disney buffet food (mostly good), the service has been good and the character interaction has been excellent. To us it is the same as Crystal Palace in regard to food and better in our opinion on service.

Unfortunately people build up their vacation to such a degree that if the characters aren't timed exactly and act exactly as they want they throw a fit. I say if you want to have your little guy see the Fab Five, then keep Chef Mickey's. Since this doesn't sound like the one and only time you're going to WDW you should try it for yourself and form your own opinion.

Enjoy your trip and have a great time.

Thank you...and I cetainly agree with you that people do build up their vacations quite a bit! And you're right that its not going to be a one shot trip, at least that's what we're hoping!

 

[crzy4my2]

I have to agree with jsesp
We loved Chef Mickey's. I actually don't remember if my kids even ate because they were so excited about the characters. We booked it again for our upcoming trip. We also LOVED Whispering Canyon. We had such a fun time there. The CM's really got it going and you get what you make of it. Our CM was not as crazy as the others but we got into it. This upcoming trip the only restaurants we are going to again(from the last trip) are Chef Mickey's and Le Cellier, not because the others were bad, just because we wanted to try other ones. Oh, and last trip people were saying how horrible Hollywood and Brown Durby was, and that was one of our better meals while in Disney.

 

[Nadjalu]

We too love CM. You will find that all restaurants will have lovers and haters, it goes in cycles if you are around long enough.


What I say is read the menu, if it appeals to you and you want to go....do so, don't let others "reviews" sway you. You will only know if you go yourself.

Most reviews are "I hated it, food was gross.....or We didn't like the character interaction and the buffet wasn't clean".
I always want to say be specific, what about the food was gross? Or what happened that you didn't like the interaction?

I read an Ohana review one time that said all the meat was dry and over done and laughed. The first time I went to Ohana I was served a over done piece of steak. I politely asked for a med/rare piece and my server went right there and got it. Didn't have to ask again.
So why didn't this person do the same??? That is what I ask myself.

Disney restaurants are like any other....if something isn't to your liking be nice and specific and I can assure you it would be fixed.

Enjoy your CM ressie!!!

 

[JacksGirlz]

Have been to Chef Mickey's many times and am always pleased. The food is standard buffet food and perfectly fine. My DD12 always likes the character interactions. I've had other family member and friends children love it too. I think you'll be happy with your ressie.

 

[Mousefan72]

I totally agree with the other posts here. Chef Mickey's has always been a good buffet with great Character interaction. Will it be the best meal you've ever had? Of course not, it's just a typical buffet. But they have alot of offerings and a fun atmosphere for kids.

 

[dislover8943]

I agree with everyone! We never went to cm for dinner but, we went for breakfast and it was great!

 

[tinacaplan]

Thanks everyone! I'm mostly concerned with the quality of the character interaction, although I don't want the food to be completely awful, either.

 

[cmcinc]

Go for it. We always do the breakfast on our last morning. The food is fine, not great and not bad. My kids and us have always had great encounters with the characters.

 

[ignatz1957]

My DH wanted to make sure we were going to Chef Mickey's for breakfast during our next trip in January, even though we would not have our kids/grandkids on the trip! He LOVES Chef Mickey's!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

CM is our favorite. We have gone to it on every single one of our trips and always will. The food is good, the characters are amazing, it is perfect to us! We always go for breakfast on our departure day and usually (though we are paying OOP this trip so we cut it) go for Thanksgiving dinner. Never have left disapointed. For all the bad reviews it is still one of the hardest ones to get, makes you wonder why if it was soooo bad?

I don't think you will be disapointed. My DD16 went for her first trip for her 3rd b-day. We got on the monerail to MK after breakfast and she thanked us for taking her to Disney World, said it was the best day of her life. We had only been to CM breakfast, she thought that was worth the 24 hour car ride. Now, 13 years later, that is where she asked to celebrate her 16th b-day. It's awesome!!!

 

[ChrisMouse]

My kids adore Chef Mickey! No, it's not the best food on earth, but for kids it's comforting & recognizable food, plus a great way to see their favorite characters without waiting in line.

It's a win-win for us, and even I love the sundae bar!

 

[bijoli666]

DH begged me to make our Chef Mickey ressie for our December trip, b/c he saw the monorail goes right over (or by) you and he's super excited LOL. Plus, the kids will love the characters!

I say keep it, I'm sure you'll have a great time

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We're eating there our first time in Dec. I've read lots of bad reviews also - but really how badly can you mess up mickey mouse waffles, eggs & bacon for breakfast? I love mickey mouse & it looks fun to me.

 

[MJAJmom]

Our family loves Chef Mickey's. It's now our traditional 'last supper' the night before we leave. I've only been to dinner, never to breakfast. I love the Fab5 characters and I think the character interaction is wonderful. Typically we see the 5 characters twice because they circulate around so much. I have yet to feel they are rushed when they visit us (whereas they are very rushed at Ohana bfast). I would describe the food as an average disney buffet (it's not a delicious Le Cellier steak and it's not cafeteria disgusting). I always find plenty to eat. We really love their dessert selections, the boys especially love the make your sundae area with all the toppings.

If CM is a place you'd like to try, then please go and check it out! If you are looking for fabulous food, you'll never find that at a character meal, you should pick a different TS place or signature place. But if you're looking to try a fun character meal, then CM if one of the better ones in my opinion.