Grrr - Chef Mickeys vs. Ohana for Birthday Dinner

[StuartMI]

Okay, I have to say that I'm more than a little ticked right now.

I had specifically made a PS ressie for Chef Mickeys Dinner on 11/12/04 at 7pm for my wife's birthday dinner. When I called this morning to make the priority viewing reservation for Wishes fireworks, I was told that the MK park hours were moved up 1 hour so Wishes would then be at 8pm!!!!!!! Of course, this totally kills the idea of having a birthday dinner for her at Chef Mickeys.

So, the nice lady at WDW-Dining that understood my frustration also made me a PS ressie at O'Hana for 5:30pm on 11/12..

I guess my question is this.. We've NEVER eaten at Chef Mickeys before and have only had the character breakfast at O'Hana. Should I:

a) Cancel Chef Mickeys and lose the character meal, go to O'Hana, order a cake in, and then take the monorail over to MK to catch Wishes. I understand they play some ukelele or some such thing for birthdays, etc.

b) Forget going to Wishes, and keep the 7pm Chef Mickeys ressie. Order the cake in, and continue as planned -- just don't see the fireworks. On the up side, though, I guess I would be able to see the electric water pageant which we both think is cool.

What would you do?!

 

[Poohbearfan]

Wow, that is a tough one. We have gone to Chef Mickey's on every vacation. It is one that we would not miss. On the other hand we did go to Ohana for the first time this past May. That was also an excellent time.
Having been to both I would have to say that Chef Mickey's is a favorite for my family. We will go there on every vacation.
If you have never been there they also take a picture of you before you are seated. This is also something that we purchase for a nice memory of our dinner.
I guess it would just depend on how bad you want to see Wishes, but Chef Mickey's is a great character dinner.
I hope that this rambling helps some.
Good luck with your decision and have a great time on your trip!

 

[lmhall2000]

I really think you'll be fine...a ressie for 7 is probably better than a ressie for 8...lots probably plan dinners around it and most likely you aren't seated exactly at 7...sometimes there is a 10-20 or more minute wait...so you should still be there for the fireworks. If you had a 8 ressie then you might have to wait 20 minutes and miss it. Stick with it and eat slow!
Tara

 

[StuartMI]

No no.. Our PS ressie at CM's is 7pm. WISHES starts at 8pm. There's no way we can eat, and get to the reserved area for wishes in 45 minutes.

 

[PratersloveDW]

That's a tuffy! Maybe what you should do is ask your wife where she would like to go. I am not saying ruin any surprise but just talk about having dinner a different night and see where she would like to go. The good thing is, you can't go wrong at either place or with either show. And besides, it's your DW's birthday and she will be in WDW with her hubby! She will LOVE it either way! Best of luck and HAVE FUN!

 

[Lewski709]

Keep the 7p at Chef Mickeys, get there at 6:30 and maybe get in a little early. . . . if your heart is set on Chef Mickeys.

Ohana's is a great place too and after you were done eating, leisurely....you could go watch the fireworks on the beach OR head on over to MK.

 

[bjakmom]

We celebrated my b'day (50) dinner this year at O'Hana's - requested a window table and said we'd wait for it when we checked in. Sat down to dinner about 1.25 hour before Wishes - we all loved the food and the atmosphere - they dimmed the lights and played the music for Wishes - awesome perspective of the fireworks. You could also walk down to the beach and bundle up on a lounge to watch from there.

I had my birthday breakfast at Chef Mickey's - our first time there - loved the character interaction and there was a great selection of food - satisfied my desire to start my birthday with Mickey !!

Don't you hate it when the hours come out so late ?!! I have to call tomorrow and reschedule DSs birthday dinner at O'Hana's because I had also planned on 7 PM wishes and now they are at 8 - let's just hope they don't change the hours on us again !!! Have a wonderful trip - WDW is such a fun place for birthdays - don't forget to pick up the birthday button and have your wife wear it - of course only if she likes a lot of attention !

 

[turnlisa]

I would keep the PS for Chef Mickey's. We ate at Ohana's last year and were disappointed -- and it was my birthday. Chef Mickey's is so magical and the characters are a lot of fun.

 

[dpic]

I second watching the fireworks from the beach at the Poly. I was amazed how well you could see them from there. Here's a photo.

Although the castle is small (the tiny purple dot in tthis wide angle photo), the fireworks were awesome.

 

[Terk-1]

I would definitely cancel your PS at Chef Mickey's and go to O'hana's. The food is much, much better and the view of Wishes from the Polynesian's beach is wonderful!

Dined at CM's for dinner on my last trip and it was the worst meal I've had on Disney property. The food was awful and there was very little character interaction in the section they seated me in. Total waste of money in my honest opinion. I know I may be the minority regarding CM's, but I would not go back there for dinner again. Breakfast is great there, but dinner is not.

 

[RC Fan]

I would definitely do Ohana, especially if you like 'adult' beverages. Ohana is more fun and the drinks are AWESOME!