Is anyone else not that thrilled with Chef Mickey's???

[goofy4tink]

Disgusting food? Bad service? Dirty? Perhaps we all have different expectations. Chef Mickey's used to be much better than it is now. We go there once, either first or last meal, on every trip. While it isn't as good as it was 5 years ago, it's certainly not bad now. Yes, there are birds. Very small birds flying around, usually up much higher. The CR is open on both ends...the monorail has to get in and out you know. I never gave the birds a second thought.
The food variety has suffered in the past two years. All the buffets have pretty much the same food offerings. But, the food is fine. Not great, just fine. For the most part, guests are going to character meals to see and interact with characters, not for great dining. I have had good service every single time. And like another poster, I was put into that side room, up the stairs, with a huge group at a nearby table. That group made our meal miserable. I think they made their CM server miserable as well!!! They were rude, noisy and completely obnoxious. They would get up for food, even though a character was on it's way. Then, when they got back with their food, they would just go over to a table where that character was and jump in, saying...'Oh, we missed Goofy at our table, you don't mind if we see him quickly??' They did that at our table as well. They tried to get in front of my dd when it was time for a photo with Mickey. I 'politely' asked them to please wait until my dd was done with Mickey...she had waited her turn and it was only fair. They were a bit miffed but stood aside. Then, Mickey's handler (who had watched this continuing behaviour) told them Mickey would be back around again, but had to go use the 'facilities'!! Man, that group was peeved!!
But, on Thanksgiving Day, 04, we were put in that same room and had a wonderful experience...terrific food, wonderful service.

Nope, Chef Mickeys is not the same place it was just a few years ago. But, it's okay now..not great, but okay.

 

[mickeynut1]

We were at Chef Mickey's in March and the food was great as always . We have been going to Disney every year since 2001 and have done a Chef Mickey breakfast and dinner every trip, but we will be skipping it on our next visit in July 2009.......not because we've had a bad experience, but because we have gone so much that we're giving it a rest. I have read many reports over the last month or 2 that the service/food is on the decline, but we have yet to experience that .

 

[imthatgirl]

Nope, Chef Mickeys is not the same place it was just a few years ago. But, it's okay now..not great, but okay.

im wondering, wouldnt you say that about all the restaurants at disney? not just chef mickeys?

i agree with your post. its a good time. i certainly hope that people who are planning to go still go. remember for every person who doesnt like it, there are 10 who love it. if there werent it wouldnt be such a hard ADR to get sometimes.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We ate there for dinner in Oct 06 and will not go back the food was horrible! Character interaction was great but the food was anything but

 

[nbodyhome]

I'd been going to Chef Mickeys for many years. The last time I went (last year), the salad bar/food area was disheveled and food not filled. I wouldn't say it was dirty at all, and neither was the seating area. The server was great. But I don't have a need to go back again anytime soon.

 

[Tink901]

Chef Mickey's is ok - we went in January for my nephew's 5 yr old birthday and the server was horrible and then Mickey walked by our table and never came back and the character handler just said he won't be coming back and no apology or anything - the server didn't even acknowledge his birthday like they normally do. For our family - it's lost it's magic.

 

[dreamscometrue101]

We went less than a year ago and ened up at Chef Mickey's twice. We did both breakfast and dinner. I agree the food at dinner was not great but the interaction with the characters is the main reason we go anyway.

I didn't notice any birds and the area where we sat was clean, and they actually had people cleaning up spills on the floor as soon as they happened.

I'm heading back in a couple of months and this has been requested by everyone in our group, so we'll definitely be going back. Hopefully those who have had problems, just caught CM on a bad day.

 

[sherabby]

i love chef mickeys!! ive never found it dirty, and i dont know what you mean by birds flying around.
the food is just your basic buffet cuisine. i suppose if you were looking for something fancier it wouldnt be the place. but then again i dont find the food at any of the disney restaurants all that special .
we go there because its a great time and we get to eat.

There were birds flying around. Our server told us that they come in where it is open for the monorail and there is not much they can do about it. The day we went (July 15th) it rained like crazy all.day.long. The roof leaked on my seat. We were offered to move but there was no where to move us too!

 

[Zdog]

We've just returned from an 8 day trip, which included on meal at Chef Mickey's. While I would agree that the food is not 5-star restaurant quality, you have to keep in mind what Chef Mickey's is offering: table-side character photo ops for the kids. The food is basic, and we actually found the prime rib to be quite tasty. Like most character meals, it's expensive, but then again, what on-site restaurant isn't? If you have a young one who wants a chance to hug the characters, enjoy a fun environment, and eat a meal that's fit for a kid, by all means this is the place for you. We enjoyed it, but out of all the places we ate during our stay (on the DDP) this one probably ranked at the bottom. However, when I asked my 8 year old daughter which meal she enjoyed the most, her reply was Chef Mickey's.

 

[nbodyhome]

The thing is - Chef Mickeys used to have better food (so you got both character dining and good food). Not that the food is bad - but it was better. The dessert bar used to be a favorite of mine too.

 

[imthatgirl]

There were birds flying around. Our server told us that they come in where it is open for the monorail and there is not much they can do about it. The day we went (July 15th) it rained like crazy all.day.long. The roof leaked on my seat. We were offered to move but there was no where to move us too!

ive never noticed them. but im sure i will now

 

[nbodyhome]

The thing is - Chef Mickeys used to have better food (so you got both character dining and good food). Not that the food is bad - but it was better. The dessert bar used to be a favorite of mine too.

 

[LisaInNc]

You don't go there for the food! It's a lot of fun and I found the character interaction to be really good.

The food is your basic buffet. Nothing memorable.

We have it booked for breakfast for the Sept trip. I am looking forward to it.

 

[annie1995]

We weren't thrilled with the food. The characters were great, but that was it

 

[luvtheBuzz]

I ate there yesterday for a late breakfast before heading home. We always eat there for our last meal, love to see the characters.

I don't know if I'll do it again, though. I truly feel it is overpriced for what you get. The foods okay, it's very chaotic, the staff isn't overly attentive, and yes, there are birds flying overhead.

 

[KEH113]

We had dinner there back in Feb. and will never go back. The food was worse than Golden Corral. Our server was not so great. There are so many wonderful places to eat in Disney-with or without characters. This was THE worst meal we've had there in all the years we've been going. We can deal with mediocre service, but terrible food we can't stand.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We love Chef Mickey's! It is one of 2 buffets at WDW that we can always count on great service, a clean restaurant, decent food, and great character interaction. Crystal Palace is the other that is always great!

Sorry to those who had a bad experience at Chef Mickeys.

 

[Alexander]

Wow! I am so surprised to see this thread! For years I avoided going to Chef Mickey's (well the buffet one, we LOVED it when it was downtown) because, well, I just get creeped out with buffets. But thought I was in the minority.

However, in Feb. we decided to give it a go. We had the first, I mean first dinner seating. The food wasn't even on the buffet when we checked-in. They did a whole little thing with a family, kind of like a grand opening. We thought the food was really, really good. The buffet was very clean and neat. You know, the messy spills people make....There weren't any yet.

However, as we went back for seconds, there was quite a mess, and I was really irritated with people who just cut the line because they only wanted the (fill in the blank here). Yeah, well, so did I, but I am patiently waiting behind the people in front of me!

Anywhoo, to make a long story longer...I would only book the first seating again. As the dinner hour went on, it did get pretty messy and crowded. I was very pleasantly surprised with our dinner and we are giving it a go again in Nov.

 

[Abharmagic]

I think it's on par with any other character meal at WDW- none are that great. I don't really think the food at WDW is all that great in general- and find most of the restaurants to have a 'dirty' feel to them (heck- they serve 100s to 1000s of people a day with no real break). We'll go to Chef Mickeys again this trip we had a wonderful time there last trip- it was DD's birthday and they really made her feel special- the food not so great, but I think ALL the WDW food is pretty terrible.

 

[jenjersnap]

Chef Mickey's used to be our first night tradition but last time it was not good - the selections were dramatically downsized and, except for the potatoes, not delicious. We did breakfast on our last morning last trip and it too had fewer food options. I would still recommend it to newbies because it's high energy, fun and quintessential Disney but I am honest to them about the food. For us, though, who have tried most of WDW's ts restaurants, well, we've got better options for us.