Hype about Chef Mickey's?

[bhillier]

I've been seeing a lot of positive comments on the boards about chef mickey's. Is it the food or maybe the atmosphere that people like so much?


We have a trip in May scheduled and I'm thinking that we might want to try CM's (DH 34, DS 9, DD 5 and I'm 34).

 

[WeluvDisney2]

I think it is the atmosphere. It is a really fun place. First, there are the characters, and then every so often a "party" breaks out with you swinging your napkins etc. I think your kids would really like it.

 

[Suzabelle]

We love chef Mickey's. We've been taking our daughter since she was three, she's now six. She love's the napkin twirling, the interaction from the charachters and the make your own sundae bar. My husband like the buffet and that it's not too exotic. We always start our vacation with Dinner at Chef Mickey's. And the parmesean mashed potatoes do live up to the hype.

Have fun!!

 

[Terk-1]

I had dinner there for the first time last trip and it was the worst meal I've ever had at WDW. The food was awful and I thought it was a total waste of money. Won't dine there for dinner again.

Breakfast on the other hand is much better. If I had to choose between the 2 meals, I would do breakfast over dinner in a heartbeat.

 

[cd&kids]

We've had three breakfasts there and loved it every time (food, atmosphere, character interaction, monorail going thru lobby...everything!!!). Never had dinner there...primarily because of mixed reviews on these boards.
But, we make it our little family tradition that Chef Mickey's is our breakfast stop on the very first morning of our trip (and that includes this November!) Have fun...you'll love it!

 

[bhillier]

Parmesean mashed potatoes, YUM!!! Twirling napkins, fun!!!!. Thanks for the posts. This sounds like something the kids would love to do, me too. I'll add breakfast to the must do list.

I bet I'll get some great pictures. Thanks again, Laurie.

 

[mlg32]

We just returned home from our first trip to WDW with our DD 3 and 5 and my 5 year old would say that Chef Mickey's was the best ever! We ate dinner here on our arrival day(no parks that day). When we first arrived I thought the place was a zoo there were people everywhere but then we started pointing out the characters to the girls and they were so excited. We had a PS so waited maybe 5 minutes and then were seated. It seemed like we had Minnie at our table right away and then they just kept coming! The girls loved twirling there napkins. I was totally pleased with the food. I am so not a buffet kind of person but I thought everything was very good. I had a pasta dish with chicken and mushrooms that was totally delicious and the cheesecake with assorted berries was fabulous. Not to mention the kids loved the sundae bar! and the mickey shaped ravioli and mac and cheese! I guess I would say at this point I thought it was the best buffet I have had, now we ate at Boma at the end of the week and that was out of this world!

 

[Patty3]

We ate dinner at Chef Mickeys for the first time in May. I really did not want to dine there, but we had the Grandkids, so this was a must do. I absolutely loved this place! I am not a buffet person, but I thought that the buffet was great, much better than Cape May. I thought the CM's were all so nice and the character interaction was great. This is now a definite on every trip.

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

The atmosphere is fun. I'm not a big fan of the food, but it's not inedible either. You are paying for the character interaction. I'm in the minority by saying I think the parmesan mashed potatoes are gluey, but that's just my taste. Next time we might try breakfast. It's kinda hard to mess that up. But go and have fun, just don't expect gourmet food. That's what I do!

 

[Mickey's Sister]

I can't comment on the CM dinner because we haven't done it, but the breakfast is part of our family's Disney 'tradition'. You know how depressing it is on the day you go home! We try to extend the magic a bit, so after we check out of our hotel, we head over to Chef Mickey's for a final breakfast. We do a late seating so that it is more like brunch & will last us longer on the road. The buffet is extensive so there is something for everyone to enjoy - everything from omelettes to Mickey waffles, even my vegan sister finds items here. If you are looking for Victoria & Albert's, obviously you won't find it. But everything I've eaten here has been both tasty & warm...better than many buffets! The character interaction has been excellent during all 3 of our visits. Plus we love the song & napkin twirling.

Another thing you may enjoy... Before they seat us, we have the whole group photographed in front of the big Chef Mickey's plate. They offer a package, which is they bring to you before your meal is over. It is a lovely momento of the final moments of our vacation.

Finally, after our meal is complete, we take one last ride on the monorail just to say goodbye, before heading on the road. We plan to do this again for our next trip and probably many more to follow. ENJOY!!!

Jessica

 

[CrazyChristie416]

I was pretty dissapointed with Chef Mickey's last August. We had a PS and waited over an hour for a table The food was flavorless and not a good selection at all. My family ended up eating chicken fingers and mac and cheese from the kids buffet table because everything else was so bad. How can you mess up a salad bar? The lettuce was wilted and brown, nothing else even looked edible.

I think people definately go for the atmosphere. You can take some great pictures there

Crystal

 

[hockey mom]

We have done both breakfast and dinner and like the dinner better. This place is more of a party atmaosphere so be warned it is a bit noisy and I find some claim not to like this place because of that.

 

[sha_lyn]

I really don't understand all the hype over CM. The food was horrid, we coulodn't eat a thing. It was all overcooked and bland. The mashed potatoes were awful. I agree with the one UK DIS'er who said a while back that if those are good potatoes in the US, thne no one in the US has had good potatoes.
The character interaction and service were non existent, and the place was so loud we all left with headaches

 

[uktigger]

hi

what is CM like for celebrating a childs birthday? we have made a ps for breakfast at 10.10 and i asked the CM to note it was a birthday celebration
i was also told on the phone that graduity is included (we have a party of 11)what does this mean(this is our first time doing a character meal)and that we can order a birthday cake

thanks eve

 

[goofy4tink]

Chef Mickey's is traditionally our first meal in WDW. We have eaten both breakfast and dinner there. I prefer the Cape May breakfast. But we enjoy the dinner. We have never had bad food. Maybe not the greatest food but we don't go for the quality of the food. We have always found the character interaction to be good. On our trip last week, we had breakfast and were lucky enough to be seated right next to the Concourse Steakhouse. Much quieter. However, after doing Crystal Palace for dinner last Friday and Cape May for breakfast on Sat., we may have some new favorites!!!

 

[Patty3]

When we were at Chef Mickey's in May, I thought that the food was great. Everything was fresh and I was very impressed. We had ps for 6:15, maybe that is why everything was fresh, because we went early in the evening? We also did not wait more than 5 minutes to be seated and the characters came around to our table at least twice in the hour time frame we were there.

 

[TnKrBeLlA012]

I'm sorry to say but the food at Chef Mickey's is horrible. You are paying for the characters only. If it was based on their food alone,believe me few people would be dining there. The food is cold, not that much of a selection,and the area around the food was a mess. I have been there twice for dinner and once for breakfast. The only reason I went was for my kids. Again not for the food. As a Disney veteran I sadly say Disney ,to me, does not have the best food. You are paying for the atmosphere.I had better luck with food and prices off property.

 

[Mainebound]

Originally posted by TnKrBeLlA012
I'm sorry to say but the food at Chef Mickey's is horrible. You are paying for the characters only. If it was based on their food alone,believe me few people would be dining there. The food is cold, not that much of a selection,and the area around the food was a mess. I have been there twice for dinner and once for breakfast. The only reason I went was for my kids. Again not for the food. As a Disney veteran I sadly say Disney ,to me, does not have the best food. You are paying for the atmosphere.I had better luck with food and prices off property.

Except for the last sentence, I have to agree. We have had many terrific meals at WDW, but Chef Mickey's dinner ranks as the worst.

 

[Puffy2]

We did this for dinner once - I suppose the food was ok, but it was the only restaurant where we had a long wait even with the priority seating, it was noisy, the kids got tired (one almost fell asleep in her plate) - I sent Dad and sleepy kid up to the room (we were staying at the Cont.) and I finished my meal with kid 2. Quite frankly, by 8pm the children could have cared less about a character, fireworks, etc... - sometimes there is just too much of a good thing.
I'm not dying to go back there. Maybe breakfast would be better.

 

[Strings]

CM seems to be hit or miss. When we went for dinner in October 2003, it was fabulous. We did have an early PS. The food was tastly, and the character interaction was the best we experienced. We will definately do it again, with the early PS.