Mickey's Backyard BBQ

[coachlevy]

I have a few questions about Mickey's Backyard BBQ. I'm visiting at the end of June with my son (he'll be 4 and this is his 5th trip) and daughter (she'll be 18 months). We are going to Chef Mickey's for dinner one night.
Is BBQ worth the money?
How is the food?
How much do the characters interact with the kids?
Any details about what happens would be great.
Thanks!

 

[badblackpug]

I'd like to know, too. What do they serve? Is it buffet or family style?

 

[cnorth]

They serve chicken, ribs, hot dogs, corn on the cob, that kind of stuff. It's all served buffet style. We really like the experience. Character interaction is good on the dance floor, but a mad dash to get autographs once they are done dancing. The seating is first come first serve, so you need to get there early to get a seat where you can see.

 

[everylastbreath]

First I have to say I have never been to BBQ, but last time we took my GS (then 3) I had it booked, and after reading reviews, I cancelled it. I suggest you search for threads on it, because I heard it was a "free for all" the kids were wild, and little ones didn't stand a chance of getting near the characters, sounded a little too wild for me, I would research it before booking - your kids are young, might be better off with a more "controlled" environment.

 

[Mason's Mom]

Loved the BBQ!!!

The food is not the selling point in my opinion. Your basic buffet ribs, chicken, hot dogs, corn, beans, slaw ect. Also included are icecreams!!! (my son's favorite part)

They have pre dinner little games set up before you enter the eating area. (checkers, ring toss, and so on) Characters are there when you arrive to snap a few pics without everyone being around. You are seated first come first serve. We of course wanted to be up front but chose the side. They had a guy doing cowboy trick roping which was really cool. The band played and everyone danced. Then out came the characters to dance too. They stayed out longer than I thought. I was happy. My son loved being so close and interacting with them. It was crowded on the dance floor with kids but it can't be avoided in that situation.

All in all we enjoyed it. It was very relaxing. We could sit at the table and watch our son dance and play around with other kids while enjoying the characters as well. We will be returning!!!

 

[megthewonderful]

Our family loves Mickey's Backyard BBQ! We went into it knowing that it was typical BBQ food and not expecting outstanding food. It's just a fun dance party with the characters. They have a great band and my kids loved the rope tricks. The first dance with the characters is a bit crazy, but after that it really mellowed out and my kids were able to enjoy themselves.

We have reservations again for it in April. My kids are 6, 5, and 2 and seem to be a great age for it.

My one tip: get there early! You need to be at least a half hour early to get decent seating to be able to watch your kids on the dance floor from your seat.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

I got an ADR in June and am really excited. Is the dance floor only for the kids, or are whole families out there? My DD3 can be a little reserved and I know she'll dance if I can go with her, but I am not sure of the protocol.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

Adults can go out with the kids - I have a great picture of my 70 year old mother dancing with my then 4 year old DD and Goofy. Our kids love Mickeys BBQ. There was NO autograph signing when we were there.

It was nice I have gone with a child as young as 18 months and even he had a blast. None of our kids got trampled! Our kids also like the all you can eat Mickey ice cream bars and itzakadoozle (sp?). Our kids really love dancing with the characters. it is a completely different experience from the traditional character meals.

We have been twice and it was my 3 year old son's first request for our next trip. My kids and I love it (DH not so much).

 

[candielips]

First I have to say I have never been to BBQ, but last time we took my GS (then 3) I had it booked, and after reading reviews, I cancelled it. I suggest you search for threads on it, because I heard it was a "free for all" the kids were wild, and little ones didn't stand a chance of getting near the characters, sounded a little too wild for me, I would research it before booking - your kids are young, might be better off with a more "controlled" environment.

I, too, was worried about the craziness as my DD will be 3, DS will be 10 months, but my DD is shy to begin with and wouldn't even get up and dance if there was anyone other than us watching.
BUT I know she will love watching the other kids and will still have a good time.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

I read somewhere that there is line dancing involved. Does anyone know what specific dances they do?

 

[disnee4mygirls]

I had tried forever to get a res for this and last year I got one. Plan on extra time to get on a bus to take you to the place where the BBQ happens. (we didn't know about this extra step and it did cost us some time) ANyway, I was very dissappointed in it. No one was really telling anyone what to do or what was going on. We had a baby with us and it was not a good environment for him. He cried the whole time as the music was VERY loud. The characters weren't out the day we went when we arrived nor were there any games set up anywhere. They did come out periodically but would leave as well. They did rotate so if you sit near one of the dance floors, at least you get to see a different character every once in a while. We ended up on a side and could see nothing. We were leary of letting our kids go off to the main dance floor as we could see nothing going on there and tried to keep them at the one on the side but that was so crowded you could hardly even dance. The kids all just stood and looked at each other. The food, well, nothing spectacular but did have good ice cream was the only plus to us. I would have rather spent my money on some other dining experience and can say I'll never do it again. It was just too hot and crowded for us.

 

[jsesp]

We went last night and were highly disappointed. Our girls love to sing and dance, but they don't listen to 90's country music so they didn't know any of the songs. They mostly stood around. I will agree with the pp about how crazy it is in there. Our girls are not shy at all, but after getting pushed around on the dance floor by helicopter parents, not the kids our oldest asked if they could go play on the Ft Wilderness playground instead. The quality of the band (at least last night) was below what I expect for Disney. For the first time our "happy anniversary" buttons got us worse seating as others in front of us walked in and sat themselves. We were taken to the "reserved" seating which was off in a corner parallel to the stage. Needless to say, we couldn't see much.

The food was served buffet style and was some of the worst Disney food we've had. Hamburgers were what you usually get at counter service restaurants and the ribs were not as good as Flame Tree in AK. They had burgers (no veggies or cheese, just meat and bun), hot dogs, BBQ chicken, ribs, cole slaw, Disney's new potato salad (not sure how to describe it, but it's different than any potato salad I've ever had), mac & cheese, BBQ beans, and corn bread. The best part of the meal was the standard mickey ice cream bar.

We left after less than an hour. While we watched the kids play on the playground, there was a steady stream of folks leaving after us.

To top it all off our oldest woke up sick to her stomach. Overall a bad experience and we'll not be going back to that. Go to Chef Mickey's for characters or Hoop De Do for the musical experience.

 

[Joshua_me]

Go over to YouTube and search 'Mickey's Backyard BBQ'.

There are a few "home movies" there that will give you a good idea of what goes on...

Personally, we wouldn't go there again if you paid us. (The heat, the bugs, the rude drunken crowds -the adults were far worse than the kids...)

But, some folks seem to love it.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

The first dance with the characters is a bit crazy, but after that it really mellowed out and my kids were able to enjoy themselves.

My one tip: get there early! You need to be at least a half hour early to get decent seating to be able to watch your kids on the dance floor from your seat.

These statements are right on!

We had a great time with our 3 and 4 year old on our last trip. The first dance is chaotic, but there are so mny chances to dance, so just let your kids know that and maybe you can convince them to just keep eating during the first dance.

The character interaction is great! People start to leave early (Don't!) The end was the best part becasue the crowd thinned out. My boys got time to dance with every character individually! A fun time!

The food was good. My kids love watermelon and they ate plenty of that along with other offerings that appealed to them too. We all love Mickey bars so that was great too!

I would definately recommend it!

 

[gisgt]

This has turned into an every trip must do for my family. Great music (if you like country), good food, and the best thing no one has mentioned - free beer!! I can't say about the dance floor, though - my kids are 2 & 4, so we don't bother. They love the blocks & sidewalk chalk too. We closed the place down last time playing! (Well okay, mommy was drinking)