My opinion on Chef Mickeys

[julieannbabe]

I come back from WDW about two weeks ago.

It was my first trip there and i am itching to go back!

I went to Chef Mickeys on a Sunday evening at 6.30.

I expected it to be a chaotic which was fine with me.

The food was lovely and the characters came round to the table, as promised.

But what kindda put me off was that the waiters/waitresses all ahd headsets on and kept rushing around loads: it sort of spoilt it a bit and took the magic out of it. They almost looked like bouncers for a nightclub!
As i was reminded that it was a business.

Also there were no french fries in the buffett and i thought that the whole meal was a tad expensive...

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[OzFan]

I'm probably gonna get flamed for this one but.... WE hated it. This was our "traditional" last night meal, not anymore! The food was cold, the characters were very scarace, and our waitress was non existent. We saw her only 2 times once when we were seated and then when she brought the check. Someone else brought our drinks (no refills). The characters came by when we were at the buffet so we only saw Minnie. On the other hand the dessert bar was one of the BEST at Disney. But that price for dessert...

 

[strawberryblonde]

We didn't eat there for dinner, but we had breakfast there. It was my DS's 6th birthday and my sister's 31st. We had made note of it on our reservation as this was the meal we celebrated their birthday at. This info didn't make it to our server however. After about 45 min. had passed and no mention or fuss had been made over the bday "kids" I asked my server. She had under a min. to fix things as the time for the birthday song and dance was nearly there. She made it (most likely with help from the headset she was wearing) and two lit cupcakes made it to our table in time for the song. It is loud in this rest. so I'm thinking the headsets are necessary to hear one another and keep things running smooth. I got the feeling our server was really trying to please us and the kids loved the "hyper" atmosphere. We would eat here again, but I do agree that it is pricey for the food you recieve.

 

[sha_lyn]

OzFan .. No flame from me. sounds like we had the same experience. We did get to see all the character however, since it so long for our server to bring the check. did you have the misfoutune of sitting upstairs too. Sure no problem for adults, but a buffet, kids and steps is a very bad combination.

In fact when I posted a thread last yr "please convince me to return to CM's" most comments were "we hated it too, but were afraid to say anything here".

 

[OzFan]

As a matter of fact yes we were "upstairs" or what we call it NEVER NEVERLAND (never any characters, never any service). Maybe breakfast would be better but, I can't give up Donald's Breakfast at the Animal Kingdom!

 

[sha_lyn]

Got to love Donald's. It is a must do for us.

 

[kdibattista]

I cannot comment on dinner but we find the breakfast to be awesome. We always go there at least once, most times twice during our vacation. Sorry you had a bad experience!!

 

[Elk34]

We really enjoyed it. It was our first WDW experience as we went the day we got there. We had interaction with all of the characters more than once. The food was good. Good salad, soup and great mashed potatoes. Our server was very good. several of us were drinking Diet Coke so she just kept bringing us pitchers of refills and leaving them on the table. As of right now I would say that it will be something that we do every trip. It is nice to have a WDW experience without having to go to the park.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Chef Mickeys USED to be a great meal (either breakfast or dinner) for my DW and I. But over the years the quality of food has gone way downhill and service has become almost non-existent. Since we are 2 adults and no kids, we are always shuffled off to "never neverland -- basically as far back from any action as they can put us.

CM's gets a BIG thumbs down from me. My DW still likes it and I tag along just to humor her, but for me it's just tolerable and barely at that.

 

[Ratpack]

We have only had the breakfast and it is a must do for us. Always had more character interaction than we needed. saw all the characters several times. Service was great. Now this year we are trying the dinner, maybe it will be different but for now, gotta have CM's.

 

[dmonroe]

The character interaction was good; but the food was just so-so. There was nothing spectacular about it--not worth the $70 dollars it cost to feed our family!

We also did a meal at Hollywood and Vine (which is going away). That was a great meal. Our ps was for the beginning of lunch, so all of the food was hot and fresh. We had great character interaction there too!

 

[genetic jackhammer]

Our family of 4 went to Chef Mickeys twice last year on our vacation. Out two daughters loved it and the character interaction was very good especially from Minnie. Perhaps the key to our good experience was that we ate dinner both times at a 5:15 to 5:30 seating. Our experience with buffets of any kind where the restaurant is crowded is that the later the time, the more likely you are to have tired waiters, food service that is falling behind due to demand of certain items or cold items when people don't eat some items in a timely manner.

We are going to WDW in 4 weeks and will again be eating dinner at Chef Mickeys twice with 5:30 PS's both times. Hopefully the experience will be as enjoyable as last year. I know early PS's are not for everyone but it leaves time for early evening activiities before the little ones collapse!!

Have a great time!!

 

[susy]

Since we are up so early at WDW we always eat each meal early-8am (if we have a PS), 11:30am, 5:30pm. we have never had a problemwith service or food being cold.

We will be eating at Chef Mickey for my Ds' birthday Thanskgiving weekend. I plan on mentioning his birthday when I make the PS, when I check in at the podium and the minute I see my waitress/waiter. The gifts on the table and our matching shirts- "Celebrating Marcus' 6th birthday at WDW" should be sufficient!

 

[CHIPSTER]

OzFan - I'm with you. We were regulars at Chef Mickey's on every trip until it started going down hill - and fast. Unlike baseball - it's 2 strikes and your off the list!