Donald's Breakfastosaurus deja vu

[Lorelai]

By the description of Donald's Breakfastosaurus, it sounds like the same food & almost the same characters/atmosphere as Chef Mickey's. (Minus the monorail view however!)

We are trying Donald for the first time, and if it is in fact reminiscent of Chef Mickey, we will be very happy. Chef Mickey is our faveorite character breakfast, but I just love the idea of a breakfast buffet in AK - very special.

Am I close here, or is it very different from Chef Mickey?

 

[Lorelai]

bumpety, bump, bump, BUMP

 

[byoung]

We are going in May for the first time, looking forward to eating there.

 

[goofy4tink]

It is very similar to Chef Mickey's. With the exception that Donald does go from table to table. It is a bit harder to navigate but that is because of the way the restuarant is set up. They do take a group photo out front before you are seated.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

It is close to Chef Mickey but some of the food offerings are different. We enjoy it and generally have a great time there. It can also take a while to get to the food if you are in the very back of the restaurant.

 

[CamColt]

I found it to be totally differnet than Chef Mickeys.

At Chef Mickeys we have always been able to come and go to the buffet as we please. Our one experience at Doanlds we were yelled at while at the buffet to return to our table, then told we had to sit there and wait for all the characters to come by. Not what we wanted to do as we had an early PS (8:10) and they were running behind.

Our service at Chef Mickeys has always been wonderful. Here our waiter was rude and shouted orders at us from the minute he met us at the gate.

I love the (plain) Breakfast Pizza at Chef Mickeys and saw this was on the menu at Doanlds. I was looking forward to it. The one at Doanlds was very different, and it had stuff (peppers, maybe?) all over it.

And lastly to me Chef Mickeys is bright, fun, a very enjoyable experience. Doanlds was dark and very stressful. We couldnt wait to leave.

But as you can see, thats not everyones experience.

 

[JFrey4240]

I don't think you can even compare the two. We really enjoy Chef's Mickey's but absolutely hated Donald's Breakfastosaurus. The character interactions was so rushed I couldn't even get out of my seat to take a picture. The hot buffet wasn't very good and the lines were terrible--it was if there wasn't enough room for everyone to move around. We will never go to Donald's again but will continue to go to Chef Mickey's.

 

[philaround]

I found it to be totally differnet than Chef Mickeys.

At Chef Mickeys we have always been able to come and go to the buffet as we please. Our one experience at Doanlds we were yelled at while at the buffet to return to our table, then told we had to sit there and wait for all the characters to come by. Not what we wanted to do as we had an early PS (8:10) and they were running behind.

Our service at Chef Mickeys has always been wonderful. Here our waiter was rude and shouted orders at us from the minute he met us at the gate.

I love the (plain) Breakfast Pizza at Chef Mickeys and saw this was on the menu at Doanlds. I was looking forward to it. The one at Doanlds was very different, and it had stuff (peppers, maybe?) all over it.

And lastly to me Chef Mickeys is bright, fun, a very enjoyable experience. Doanlds was dark and very stressful. We couldnt wait to leave.

But as you can see, thats not everyones experience.

We have been several times. The first time we also had an 8:10 PS on a day that the park did not open until 9. Our experience was very similar to yours but we had a pretty good time. We have been back twice since then and had PS's for after park opening and had a much different experience. The early PSs before park opening have to be scripted almost down to the second so the restaurant can be ready for the regular crowd after the park opens. It is much more relaxed after park opening.

 

[Lorelai]

I found it to be totally differnet than Chef Mickeys.

At Chef Mickeys we have always been able to come and go to the buffet as we please. Our one experience at Doanlds we were yelled at while at the buffet to return to our table, then told we had to sit there and wait for all the characters to come by. Not what we wanted to do as we had an early PS (8:10) and they were running behind.

Our service at Chef Mickeys has always been wonderful. Here our waiter was rude and shouted orders at us from the minute he met us at the gate.

I love the (plain) Breakfast Pizza at Chef Mickeys and saw this was on the menu at Doanlds. I was looking forward to it. The one at Doanlds was very different, and it had stuff (peppers, maybe?) all over it.

And lastly to me Chef Mickeys is bright, fun, a very enjoyable experience. Doanlds was dark and very stressful. We couldnt wait to leave.

But as you can see, thats not everyones experience.

CamColt -

Are customers only allowed to go to the buffet for one round? We are thinking that maybe we should cancel because our kids kind of like to grab some healthy (or healthier - this is a Disney buffet - stuff) food then we let them go get the sweet stuff. If it is a one time plate thing, than it may not be the place for us. Any more info is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[estnh]

CamColt -

Are customers only allowed to go to the buffet for one round? We are thinking that maybe we should cancel because our kids kind of like to grab some healthy (or healthier - this is a Disney buffet - stuff) food then we let them go get the sweet stuff. If it is a one time plate thing, than it may not be the place for us. Any more info is appreciated. Thanks!

Absolutely not! It is an all you can eat affair. We have been to Donald's on each of our trips for the past four years, and it is our favorite character meal.
We found the food to be excellent, with a wide choice of buffet items. We also found the buffet to be cleaner and better maintained than some other WDW buffet lines. (They even have Krispy Kreme donuts!!)

Each time we've been there, our server has been a riot, and the character interaction is as good as anywhere else. We particularly like the cast of characters here, including Donald, who is almost invisible everywhere else at WDW.

You can't really compare this to Chef Mickey's, as it is themed much differently, but we think it is just as much fun!

 

[CamColt]

CamColt -

Are customers only allowed to go to the buffet for one round? We are thinking that maybe we should cancel because our kids kind of like to grab some healthy (or healthier - this is a Disney buffet - stuff) food then we let them go get the sweet stuff. If it is a one time plate thing, than it may not be the place for us. Any more info is appreciated. Thanks!

Oh no, Im sorry if I worded that wrong. You can make as many trips to the buffet as you want...but you may be told when.
What happened was we were seated and our waiter gave us the orders we could go to the buffet, or wait for the characters (none were out). Since there was no line at the buffet we (party of 7) went up. Some of us had 1 or 2 things, some had none and we heard our waiter yelling " 'Smith' family, get back to your table, Donald is at your table!!!". We turned and looked, he knew we heard him, and he continued to yell at us by name. By this point other characters were out and taking pictures at tables so we had to dodge our way back to the table. He saw this and still yelled at us. We were so stressed we left our 2 yo at the buffet for a quick second til we realized no one had him, LOL! Once we did make it back to our table our waiter told us to sit and wait for the characters. It was well past 8:30 before we could get to the buffet....with our 8:10 PS. We had wanted to be out of the restaurant by 9:00, so then we felt rushed. We just couldnt wait to leave there.

 

[Lorelai]

Oh no, Im sorry if I worded that wrong. You can make as many trips to the buffet as you want...but you may be told when.
What happened was we were seated and our waiter gave us the orders we could go to the buffet, or wait for the characters (none were out). Since there was no line at the buffet we (party of 7) went up. Some of us had 1 or 2 things, some had none and we heard our waiter yelling " 'Smith' family, get back to your table, Donald is at your table!!!". We turned and looked, he knew we heard him, and he continued to yell at us by name. By this point other characters were out and taking pictures at tables so we had to dodge our way back to the table. He saw this and still yelled at us. We were so stressed we left our 2 yo at the buffet for a quick second til we realized no one had him, LOL! Once we did make it back to our table our waiter told us to sit and wait for the characters. It was well past 8:30 before we could get to the buffet....with our 8:10 PS. We had wanted to be out of the restaurant by 9:00, so then we felt rushed. We just couldnt wait to leave there.

Hi CamColt!

Thanks for clarifying. It's so hard to tell what someone means sometimes, when you're reading their words, rather than having them spoken to you.

That does sound uncomfortable though - I can just imagine the look on peoples faces as they get to the buffet, and then have to drop & run. I think that I would imploy the deer in the headlights look. Do I drop my plate (and my doughnut!) or do I get to Donald??

Especially since part of the reason we love Chef Mickey is that, to us, it seems very laid back. But we'll give Donald a try I guess. I think we may be contending with the same situation you did though, as we also have an early PS. Thanks again for the info!

 

[Lorelai]

Absolutely not! It is an all you can eat affair. We have been to Donald's on each of our trips for the past four years, and it is our favorite character meal.
We found the food to be excellent, with a wide choice of buffet items. We also found the buffet to be cleaner and better maintained than some other WDW buffet lines. (They even have Krispy Kreme donuts!!)

Each time we've been there, our server has been a riot, and the character interaction is as good as anywhere else. We particularly like the cast of characters here, including Donald, who is almost invisible everywhere else at WDW.

You can't really compare this to Chef Mickey's, as it is themed much differently, but we think it is just as much fun!

Hi estnh -

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping that we have a good experience.

Do you remember what time your reservation was for? And also how long you were in Restaurantosaurus for? We are hoping to get out into the park before opening. Our PS is for 8am.

Thank you!

 

[CamColt]

Hi CamColt!

Thanks for clarifying. It's so hard to tell what someone means sometimes, when you're reading their words, rather than having them spoken to you.

That does sound uncomfortable though - I can just imagine the look on peoples faces as they get to the buffet, and then have to drop & run. I think that I would imploy the deer in the headlights look. Do I drop my plate (and my doughnut!) or do I get to Donald??

Especially since part of the reason we love Chef Mickey is that, to us, it seems very laid back. But we'll give Donald a try I guess. I think we may be contending with the same situation you did though, as we also have an early PS. Thanks again for the info!

You are right, thats exactly how we felt. But even though we had a bad experience, I always think people should try it for themselves. Many people have had great experiences there. I do believe we are in the minority.
And as Phil said, hes had 2 different experiences there. You just never know.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I also do not think that Donald's is anything like Chef Mickey's.

Chef Mickey's is bright and fun and I really like the food there.

Donald's is dark and rustic and we didn't care for the food.

That being said, I am all for people trying new places. You should go and form your own opinion.

Have fun!!

 

[Lorelai]

I also do not think that Donald's is anything like Chef Mickey's.

Chef Mickey's is bright and fun and I really like the food there.

Donald's is dark and rustic and we didn't care for the food.

That being said, I am all for people trying new places. You should go and form your own opinion.

Have fun!!

Yeah, we're going to try it. But it does sound like a few people felt it was a less cheerful atmosphere than Mickey's because of the darkness. Does it have a log cabin/wilderness type feel to it? I'm almost thinking of a building that seems old fashioned. Or maybe like Liberty Tree - lots of wood??

 

[estnh]

Hi estnh -

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping that we have a good experience.

Do you remember what time your reservation was for? And also how long you were in Restaurantosaurus for? We are hoping to get out into the park before opening. Our PS is for 8am.

Thank you!

We were there at 8:00 last trip, and finished breakfast shortly before the park opened. However, they had areas roped off, and we weren't able to roam freely around the park until a few minutes before official opening.

As I say, we have been there four times, and have never been told when we could go to the buffet line--we just go! The theming of the restaurant is kind of hard to explain--it's like an old beat up diner! You'll have a ball!