Need Mickey Character meal but hear Chef Mickey's is awful!

[mckinley]

We have only done Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's & Tusker House. In my opinion the best food we had was at Tusker House & we did see Mickey that day. I'm not saying that the other 2 was not good food,, but Tusker was the best tasting.

 

[Brook1099]

Tusker House = Yum!

 

[CaFeeney]

Another vote for Tusker House, the food is great, we love the juice and the character interaction is just wonderful. Kids do a parade with Mickey every 1/2 hour or so. Try to get a pre opening reservation - we had an 8:05 and we were able to get in front of the crowds and were on the 1st safari of the day.
IMHO Chef Mickey's was pretty gross, we felt the food was not good, it was not particularly clean, and the characters were rushed.
For the money, we really recommend Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House.

 

[Hoopfamily]

Chef Mickey's is great. When you see a negative review, remember that most of the time people have higher than average expectations.

 

[MSLRAC]

Chef Mickey's is great. When you see a negative review, remember that most of the time people have higher than average expectations.

We didn't have higher than average expectations at all. We just wanted a decent breakfast with Mickey and the gang. We got horrible food, bad service and had to beg to see Mickey.

The dining room area was a mess. There was food, straws and napkins in the floor and one area of the carpet was soaking wet from a spill that was never cleaned up.

There was food spilled and splattered all of the buffet area that was never cleaned up. There were many dishes that were empty when we got there (8 am) and never replenished during our entire meal (we could see the buffet from our table and were watching for more food to come out). The food that we did get was worse than any buffet we have ever eaten anywhere. It was either cold, crusty, rubbery, runny, undercooked or burnt.

Our server was rude from the get go. She brought us drinks and then disappeared. DH had to get up and go find her to get drink refills and then she acted like it was killing her to bring them to us.

The characters zipped by our table in lighting speed and Mickey outright skipped us. When our server brought our bill, we asked if we could see Mickey since he skipped us and she was very rude and snotty about it. The restaurant was all but empty when she finally realized that we were not leaving until our son got to see Mickey.

So it was outright horrible and it was not due to our expectations.

 

[growinupdisney]

'Ohana breakfast is really good and has Mickey as well as Pluto, Lilo & Stitch... we do it every trip!!

My kid dd14 and dd16 love O'hana for breakfast and my dd16 is a picky eater. This now our must place to eat when we go WDW. Food is great at O'HANA we ate at Crystal Palace last year for lunch too although it was good O'hana was sooo much better.

Also like to add the characters were great they spent alot of time at our table....also after we ate we enjoyed walking around and shopping at the POLY such a beautiful resort.

 

[crostorfer]

Personally, I think Chef Mickey's IS awful. I will never darken the entrance arch of that establishment again. It was so bad that I was OFFENDED.

Ohana and Tusker House both have Mickey and are EONS better than Chef Mickey. Tusker House has the best breakfast buffet in WDW.

 

[crostorfer]

We didn't have higher than average expectations at all. We just wanted a decent breakfast with Mickey and the gang. We got horrible food, bad service and had to beg to see Mickey.

The dining room area was a mess. There was food, straws and napkins in the floor and one area of the carpet was soaking wet from a spill that was never cleaned up.

There was food spilled and splattered all of the buffet area that was never cleaned up. There were many dishes that were empty when we got there (8 am) and never replenished during our entire meal (we could see the buffet from our table and were watching for more food to come out). The food that we did get was worse than any buffet we have ever eaten anywhere. It was either cold, crusty, rubbery, runny, undercooked or burnt.

Our server was rude from the get go. She brought us drinks and then disappeared. DH had to get up and go find her to get drink refills and then she acted like it was killing her to bring them to us.

The characters zipped by our table in lighting speed and Mickey outright skipped us. When our server brought our bill, we asked if we could see Mickey since he skipped us and she was very rude and snotty about it. The restaurant was all but empty when she finally realized that we were not leaving until our son got to see Mickey.

So it was outright horrible and it was not due to our expectations.

Our experience was very similar to this, only add to it that as a party of two were were stuck right next to the kitchen. Everytime one of the servers would enter or exit the door we had to lean out of their way. And we never did see Mickey, he stayed on the other side of the dining room the entire time. By the time the check came I was so frustrated and the food had been so awful that I didn't bother making an issue of it.

 

[scdak]

Chef Mickey breakfast is good, same basic foods as any other character breakfast, and as others have said, how hard is it to mess up breakfast?
I also thought Garden Grill was great for anyone that is thinking about it, the food was very simple but tasty, all you can eat served at your table and the best character interaction of the 5 character meals that we had on our last trip. I know that this isn't an option for OP since it won't be a park day for them but for others thinking about it, I recommend it. I am not sure why it gets such negative reviews.

 

[quest4dl]

Love Chef Mickey's for the festive party atmosphere (the napkin twirling is fun) but food really is not that good. I think the family-style meals have better food and are more relaxing - you don't have to worry about missing the characters when you go up for your food. So for guaranteed Mickey interaction I would pick Ohana breakfast or Garden Grill dinner - we are doingthe latter because my younger ds is a Chip and Dale fan. We'll be sorry to miss Goofy, though, at Chef Mickey's. On our first visit we had great interaction with Goofy - he put a napkin on my older ds (then 4) and an napkin on his back and they pretended to be superheroes!

 

[Minniemouse07]

We didn't have higher than average expectations at all. We just wanted a decent breakfast with Mickey and the gang. We got horrible food, bad service and had to beg to see Mickey.

The dining room area was a mess. There was food, straws and napkins in the floor and one area of the carpet was soaking wet from a spill that was never cleaned up.

There was food spilled and splattered all of the buffet area that was never cleaned up. There were many dishes that were empty when we got there (8 am) and never replenished during our entire meal (we could see the buffet from our table and were watching for more food to come out). The food that we did get was worse than any buffet we have ever eaten anywhere. It was either cold, crusty, rubbery, runny, undercooked or burnt.

Our server was rude from the get go. She brought us drinks and then disappeared. DH had to get up and go find her to get drink refills and then she acted like it was killing her to bring them to us.

The characters zipped by our table in lighting speed and Mickey outright skipped us. When our server brought our bill, we asked if we could see Mickey since he skipped us and she was very rude and snotty about it. The restaurant was all but empty when she finally realized that we were not leaving until our son got to see Mickey.

So it was outright horrible and it was not due to our expectations.

Sounds like our experience at Crystal Palace. I always sit and read the glowing reviews of CP and can't imagine it was the same place we ate at.

Conversely..we've always had a great experience at CMs for breakfast and dinner (mostly dinner). We make a point of starting every trip here so the kids (and me!) get to see the Fab 5 w/o having to wait on any lines in the parks.

Just an example of how everyone can have different experiences on different days.

Oh and FWIW...we have never even considered going to Ohana for breakfast...my lack of Stitch love keeps me away!

 

[haPevraftr]

And now is a time for me to lament the loss of characters at Liberty Tree Tavern... When Mickey was there, that was our favorite Mickey character meal. So sad that it isn't an option anymore...

 

[Hoopfamily]

We didn't have higher than average expectations at all. We just wanted a decent breakfast with Mickey and the gang. We got horrible food, bad service and had to beg to see Mickey.

The dining room area was a mess. There was food, straws and napkins in the floor and one area of the carpet was soaking wet from a spill that was never cleaned up.

There was food spilled and splattered all of the buffet area that was never cleaned up. There were many dishes that were empty when we got there (8 am) and never replenished during our entire meal (we could see the buffet from our table and were watching for more food to come out). The food that we did get was worse than any buffet we have ever eaten anywhere. It was either cold, crusty, rubbery, runny, undercooked or burnt.

Our server was rude from the get go. She brought us drinks and then disappeared. DH had to get up and go find her to get drink refills and then she acted like it was killing her to bring them to us.

The characters zipped by our table in lighting speed and Mickey outright skipped us. When our server brought our bill, we asked if we could see Mickey since he skipped us and she was very rude and snotty about it. The restaurant was all but empty when she finally realized that we were not leaving until our son got to see Mickey.

So it was outright horrible and it was not due to our expectations.

Yikes.
We've been there 3 times for breakfast never had anything but good food, good service. It sounds like maybe you went on their worst day ever, Tell you what you go again, forgetting your past experience and if it's still so horrible then tell people not to go.

 

[MSLRAC]

Yikes.
We've been there 3 times for breakfast never had anything but good food, good service. It sounds like maybe you went on their worst day ever, Tell you what you go again, forgetting your past experience and if it's still so horrible then tell people not to go.

I can share my experience and advise people to go elsewhere. I do not need to go back there to know it was not a bad day for them. I would have thought that if I hadn't read countless questionable reviews before and after our trip. We found much, much, MUCH better breakfast buffets on property and we can find the Fab 5 at those buffets so we are not wasting the credits to go back to CMs any time soon...if ever.

Sounds like our experience at Crystal Palace. I always sit and read the glowing reviews of CP and can't imagine it was the same place we ate at.

Conversely..we've always had a great experience at CMs for breakfast and dinner (mostly dinner). We make a point of starting every trip here so the kids (and me!) get to see the Fab 5 w/o having to wait on any lines in the parks.

Just an example of how everyone can have different experiences on different days.

Oh and FWIW...we have never even considered going to Ohana for breakfast...my lack of Stitch love keeps me away!

I know that every place can have their bad days but CM's consistently gets bad reviews whereas, bad reviews for CP are few and far between. If you had a bad meal at CP, then I think that you need to share it. I come here for honest reviews. I read the good, I read the bad and I make my choice. I know that all reviews are subjective but I appreciate honest reviews and that is all I was trying to offer.

All that said, we also had a really bad meal at Cape May Clambake but we had been there for breakfast twice and had a fabulous meal and the clambake tends to get rave reviews. So in that case, I do think it was an off night for them and we will try them again. We might not try them next trip but I would not hesitate to book them if we needed a dinner next trip but I would hesitate, to the point of finding another option, before I booked CM's again.

 

[kari B.]

Well, as a Disney World lover, I often make excuses for the lack of quality in a Disney Restaurant for varying reasons. Sometimes I like the atmosphere of a restaurant and can find one or two things to pick on. I have tried Chef Mickey's time and time again... HOPING that I've just visited on an off night. But no... I can't make excuses anymore. Even the Stouffers Mac and Cheese that tastes "fine" in every other buffet, tastes soggy and gross here. It is the worst, most consistently bad restaurant on Disney property. I refuse to even try it again until I hear something has changed. Think about those One dollar tv dinners in the super market... Then take it down 100 notches. There's plenty other places to see Mickey and the Gang. Everyone has different tastes, and expectations. I could be a food snob as I know the difference.... but at Disney I can let it go. Here, at Chef Mickey's, I just cant'. It's totally inedible food. If it was as good as a Swansons or Stouffers tv dinner, I'd be happy, lol!

 

[Hoopfamily]

So long as everyone keeps an open mind it's all good. Best advice would be find a place you think sounds good, try it and form your own opinion. If you listen to some, you may miss out on the experience of a lifetime. If it's bad, just don't go there again. By all means if you're dissatisfied with an establishment, avoid it. But it's hard to tell someone to go somewhere else all together, when you don't give a place the benefit of the doubt and try it one more time. I've gotten bad service at some of my favorite places to eat here at home, but also have gotten outstanding service other times. If I stopped going to a restaurant after 1 bad experience I'd run out of places to eat. It's impossible for anyone in the service industry to bat a 1000.

 

[tinkstyle]

I am sad to say that I am one that didn't have a very good experience at CM and loved Ohana's. I do agree with Hoopfamily, to give it a try and form your own opinion. Good Luck!

 

[lupp2217]

My DS (15) wants to have a meal with Mickey in April. I currently have ressies at Chef Mickey's for breakfast. I previously had dinner ressies there, but due to all of the negative reviews I'm really concerned. Suggestions please!!!! We have the Dining Plan but I do not mind paying OOP. I might be picky but I want a good meal and to please my son with Mickey.

** We are not going to the parks when our meal plan applies, so that makes it a little more challenging.

Thanks in advance!

My vote goes for Ohanas breakfast! We eat there every trip on our last day. It is served family style and the characters are fun. It has Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch. We were disappointed in CM dinner. It was soooo crowded and characters were hit and miss. We love Ohanas atmosphere better and it might be better for a 15 year old. Happy planning!

 

[Order66]

We've done Chef Mickey several times. I wouldn't go back for dinner...but I don't like any of the buffets for dinner. It's just not the kind of stuff I like. But breakfast is fine. But give me some waffles, bacon and potatoes and I'm good. We experienced quick seating, good servers and hot fresh breakfast food. It's not the best meal you ever had......but it's typical breakfast stuff. It's my one son's request every trip.

I agree that O'hana has better food, but our service there last time was so awful.....it's off my radar for a while until I forget. Tusker House is probably my favorite. Last time we had a horrible wait to be seated, but once inside we weren't rushed and actually got to try some of the lunch offerings as well. I'm giving them another chance this year because the food was worth the trouble we had.

regards

 

[ratlenhum]

We hate CMs, bad food, bad service and rushed character interaction. Of all the character meals we've done it's the only one we all agree that we won't be doing again....EVER!

Tusker House Donald's Safari Breakfast on the other hand.... GREAT!!! The food is great, the juice is amazing and the characters don't seem rushed. Mickey is there too!