Mickey's Backyard BBQ

[Mommy Poppins]

Has anyone been to the BBQ recently? Thinking of going there our first night for my 5 year old's birthday.

 

[Lesia]

I haven't been, but I've heard it is chaos. The characters don't come around to the tables, it is more of a mob scene. It is open seating, it is outside.

 

[Mayl]

Oh, I can answer this one for you..

My family went last year (me, wife, inlaws and 6, 7 year old kids)

We stayed at the Cabins and figured this be a perfect character dinner..

Out of the whole week at Disney, this was the only horrible experience we had.. As we did a ton of things (including many meals) we just dealt with it and moved on..

Here is my recap of the night..

We had a cart so getting there was not an issue. However if you are not in the campgrouds/cabins, it can be a long haul

Once there, we were treated like cattle.. Literally yelled at by CM to move along, move here, get there, etc..

We don't do the character meals for the food. If it is good, that is a bonus. (WE have different expectations regarding the other resturants mind you)

But the food here was beyond bad.. Cold, rubbery hot dogs, chix and burgers..

Vats (no better word for them) of drinks and a lousy dessert..

Ok so the characters.. Nope.. horrible also.. The music was way too loud, they spent little time interacting.

couple that with family style seating (ie picnic tables in looooong rows) you just had way too many people there to deal with the number of characters that came thru..

Again, we LOVE Disney and go every 18 months or so.. We do almost all our meals via ADR and/or character events.. This was the only one my whole famlily put a big red X thru..

 

[eva]

That's a real shame. We did this about 10 years ago and it was one of the highlights of the week. The the food, especially the ribs, was fabulous. I couldn't believe they had fresh corn on the cob, not frozen. You could eat throughout the entire two or so hours. They had some really fun line dancing. Then the characters came out and they took all the children to the back of the pavilion to get pictures and autographs, while the adults drank a couple beers and sang songs. Then the characters came back and danced with all the kids for quite some time. I was really surprised how long the characters stayed, because the high that day was nearly 100. After the dancing they had a story teller come out and to tell stories and jokes. It was a very good time and well worth the money. But I would not recommend this event to anyone that likes to sit back and be entertained. It was definitely an event for participation. Everyone in our group loved it.

 

[bicker]

I got my first first-hand report from the Backyard BBQ yesterday. A co-worker, who I encouraged to find a better alternative but didn't listen to me (shame shame) came back to tell me my advice was sound. He said the food was mediocre. (He's a salesman. That might be salesman-speak for "bad". ) He didn't have as much problem with the character interaction portion of it. His was a group of 11 and they had a table to themselves, more or less.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Thanks everyone! Guess we'll skip the Backyard BBQ and find something else!

 

[marmermea]

I disagree with most of the comments. We went in October and took our 8 and 9 year old daughters. I think that this is no different than any other place in Disney. The key is getting there early! We were there about a half hour ahead of the time they said to be there. So were about 100 other people. But they do let you in early and greet you with large trays of lemonade, punch and cold beers. This was welcome as it was very hot outside. Because we were early, we got a great table up front and we were able to get our food early as well. I do agree the food is mediocre. But we knew we weren't going for the food. But it is edible. As far as the character interaction, I am confused by the previous posters saying there wasn't much. I thought it was the most interaction we had had anywhere. The characters were always around and they really danced with the kids on the dance floor. I know my daughters danced with all the characters many times! They also have a great show with cowboys doing rope tricks. All the kids go up and sit around the dance floor and watch. I think your 5 year old would love it!