Help Bad Reviews! Where to eat 1st night?

[JJsmama]

Please help me decide where to eat the first night on property. We will be arriving a Saturday afternoon in July and staying at CR. We'll have 3 boys 11,9 and 2. I made ADR for Chef Mickeys (dinner) because I thought the boys would be so happy to have the Fab Five come over soon after arrival. Plus the parks might be slammed by that time.


However, the reviews for dinner are AWWWWful. Yikes! Actually, my kids have never eaten there. Please suggest somewhere else. I need to make another ADR fast, I think!

Thanks

 

[Perditamarie]

Here is my 2 cents:

* Ohana if you can get it

* Consider Epcot - Teppan Edo sounds like yummy fun (we are trying next trip) or Garden Grove (not my fave, but has characters in a rotating restaurant). We also enjoy Biergarten - love the Oompah band!

Happy planning!

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Personally, I would keep Chef Mickey's. It's not about the food. It's not the best food ever but there's nothing better than starting out with the Fab 5 on the first night.

 

[vicki_c]

It's not my favorite, but I don't think there's anything wrong with Chef Mickey's for dinner. You really need to not focus on the reviews - for as many people that might be slamming it, you'll find an equal number saying it was the most wonderful thing ever -- that goes for any restaurant.

I would keep what you have -- Chef Mickey's isn't that easy to get, you'll see all the characters, AND it's at your own resort -- if you have to eat somewhere on arrival day, that is an ideal situation.

(Although I don't understand your comment about "my boys have never eaten there" - does that mean you have been there and they won't eat? Because originally I thought you had never been there. Most kids eat very little at character meals, in my experience.)

 

[Perditamarie]

On our trip last June, we were one of the first dinner seatings to CMs and the offerings were sparse and already tired!! The character interaction was great and the dessert bar was pretty great too. As with many WDW restaurants (and some buses) the AC was ARCTIC!! I think you can find great character interaction elsewhere w/o having to endure a bad meal! I like the character meet and greet at Epcot, too!

 

[JJsmama]

(Although I don't understand your comment about "my boys have never eaten there" - does that mean you have been there and they won't eat? Because originally I thought you had never been there. Most kids eat very little at character meals, in my experience.)

My children have never been to Chef Mickey's at all. I have been there as a child many moons ago.

 

[Totoro]

If you end up keeping there ADR, I don't think you can go wrong. PP is right in that this is a tough ADR to obtain. We go to Chef Mickey's every time we visit WDW. I have not found the food to be all that bad, characters are great, the atmosphere is very lively, and I really enjoyed their dessert (make your own sundaes with gummy bears, m&ms, etc). Also they have these great Oreo Mickey domes that are yummy. Plus it looks like you are staying at the Contemporary so you are right there.

 

[Nadjalu]

In my opinion don't worry about all the "bad reviews", if you spend any length of time on the boards you will find the good and bad about every restaurant on WDW property.
That said, if I would've listened to all the bad reviews for CM or WCC or San Angel Inn we would never have eaten there........and we would've missed out of some of the best food, best times and best atmospheres of WDW.

In my opinion, which is just that, my opinion, you are staying at CR, will need to eat.......Chef Mickey's is the PERFECT place to do so!

Really the food is good, a grade above typical buffet food, but very good.
Hopefully you realize everyone's opinion is just an opinion and you will not know for yourself until you go. We loved Chef Mickey's, food, characters and the place itself.

But know this......it does seem that "trends" happen here on the boards. Like all of a sudden you see tons of "bad reviews" about a specific restaurant, next week it will be a different one and so on.

 

[shellbelle]

We've ate at Chef Mickeys once and my family really enjoyed it.

Not so much for the food, as it was just okay, but for the characters. They even asked why we hadn't been there before. That being said, we were on the dining plan when we went. We have not wanted to go back and pay a lot for just okay food. We are glad we went once.

 

[texasgirl73]

My kids loved Chef Mickeys more than any other restaurant and it was the only place they requested that we return to. I had a dinner reservation (we've only had breakfast) but I let the reviews spook me and I canceled it. When I told them we weren't going they were very disappointed and now I feel bad. The trip is for them and I should have kept the reservation because now I can't get one at a decent time. We're doing Ohana instead but I still feel bad. It's just a dinner. If the food isn't out of this world, so what, it's the characters that they will remember, my kids sure did.

 

[JJsmama]

My kids loved Chef Mickeys more than any other restaurant and it was the only place they requested that we return to. I had a dinner reservation (we've only had breakfast) but I let the reviews spook me and I canceled it. When I told them we weren't going they were very disappointed and now I feel bad. The trip is for them and I should have kept the reservation because now I can't get one at a decent time. We're doing Ohana instead but I still feel bad. It's just a dinner. If the food isn't out of this world, so what, it's the characters that they will remember, my kids sure did.

I suggest you keep checking. Even though we are going in the middle of the summer crowds, I have not had any trouble getting CM or any other ADRs. Of course, I am willing to do a 5:45 or 6PM ADR since we are really morning people. Good luck.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Well, we didn't love the food at Chef Mickey's but we sure had a fun time!

 

[jdisnut]

I admit I have bashed Chef Mickey's in the past. I have never liked the dinner buffet and avoid the restaurant now in favor of other character meals. But food, not characters and atmosphere, is my primary concern in making dining reservations. I realize that not everybody has that perspective.

Chef Mickey's is perhaps the most fun and exciting character meal. It's loud, boisterous and electric. Children are buzzing because Mickey and Minnie are roaming around. They don't care about the food quality! Chicken tenders and pizza are ubiquitous!

So don't worry about the negative reviews. Chef Mickey's is absolutely worth trying at least once. Your kids will be thrilled, and you'll have a wonderful memory to take home with you. And if you don't like it, don't go again!

 

[danielle.st]

It was one of my kids favorite meals of the trip.
It wasn't one of my faves, but it definitely wasn't horrible or inedible or anything. Just not really very memorable, foodwise, for me. I'm glad we did it for dinner last time and this time we are going to try breakfast, just for a bit of a change.
I would keep the ADR if I were you.

 

[JerseyJanice]

We have eaten at Chef Mickey's for dinner every trip we've been on.

Every time, the characters were a blast and the kid(s) with us had a ball. Most of the times, the food has been very good.

That said, we were somewhat disappointed by the selection of food in 2/08 and 9/09. It wasn't as good as it had been in the past; in particular, the selection of desserts was a lot less. In 9/09, there wasn't any prime rib, and we really missed it. They served some kind of tough roast beef that we didn't like.

I have signatures turned off, so I'm not seeing how old your boys are, but if they're little--i.e., younger than 7, I would do it. The meals we had there with DS when he was little are some of my favorite Disney memories.

 

[Tara]

Chef Mickey's used to be a must-do every trip for us, but I suppose visiting so frequently has made the decline in quality a little more apparent. Or maybe the novelty has worn off - I'm not sure. I do still enjoy the parmesan mashed potatoes there and the soft serve ice cream (which is more like a frozen custard) is really good. I just think it's overpriced for the quality of food and service I've experienced. And they seem to always be running behind, so we always have to wait to be seated. But it is a lively and fun atmosphere for kids - and it can be a nice "first night" meal to warm up for the parks and see the major characters at one time. Just know going in that it's not going to be the end-all, be-all and that it may seem a little chaotic and I think you'll be fine. Then you can decide for yourself if that box has been checked for good or if you'll be returning.

And being at CR makes it a little nicer - you'll be tired from your day of travel and being able to go right back to your room after dinner is a bonus.

 

[Girly_Qs]

Just said it on another thread: our last trip w/ 4 adults and 2 young kids, we ALL enjoyed CM, both the characters AND the food.

Perhaps our expectations just aren't that high? lol But, my attitude is: I can do "fine dining" any time I'd like in Atlanta (preferably w/o the kids, so I can truly enjoy it, lol) . . . WDW is ALL about Mickey (and friends) for us!

We all enjoyed the meal and felt it was a FABULOUS way to kick off our trip. So much so that we're bookending our next trip with CM visits. We'll start the trip with dinner the evening we arrive and end it with breakfast before we leave!

 

[MinnieGirl33]

If your 2 y.o. has never seen characters I would NOT do a character meal on the first night.

If they scare him, you might not get him anywhere near them for the rest of the trip.

 

[seadd67]

Well the food will not knock your shoes off! but Its not going to make you wonder what you ate. The Kids will love the chacters and not everything there Is bad.Where going again cant wait,and my little one(he stands taller then me and just turn 17) and my self can not wait to do the napkin dance

 

[mccathy]

It's not that bad... We ate there twice - we will wait awhile before going back, but it's something you've got to try.

I suggest you go.

If you still feel the need to cancel - try to get ADRs at Garden Grill in EPCOT - pluto, chip, dale, and mickey... Or Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness - of course I've read bad reviews about the food there, but we loved it and the atomosphere was a lot of fun!