Nervous about CM's ADR now....

[harpetj]

So, after reading lots of negative comments about CM's on here, I am nervous about our Jan ADR. We will be on the dining plan, staying at BLT, and have 2 toddlers, so I thought this would be great. Is the food really so bad that we should change our ADR? I know we aren't paying "OOP" for the meal, but my DH still would be a little ticked if the food is icky! TIA!

 

[AmandaRG]

Which meal are you having? We scored a last-minute breakfast at our recent trip, and it was pretty good. I'm fairly picky about what I like and don't like (not picky about food in general but that if it doesn't taste good I won't eat it just because it is there).

 

[coltsfanatic]

Relatives of mine dined at CM's this summer and they loved it. I believe their daughters are 10 and 12. They didn't go into detail but I assume they enjoyed a mix of the atmosphere, characters and food. They were also on the dining plan so naturally they tried out many restaurants and it was one of their favorites.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

WE went to CM in September for dinner.It was my DH's favorite place, he didn't care for the character thing, but the grandaughters loved it.

I think that the trick is to get an ADR for the first seating. The food is fresh & not picked over, soit looks edible. I liked it also, it was good for what it was.

 

[pixarmom]

harpetj, I'd stick with your ADR. We've been to Chef Mickey's several times and took it out of our rotation long ago. The food isn't great, we have two pre-teen "Disney adults" and there are so many restaurants we prefer.

But I'll be back in April anyway. Our youngest (now almost 5 years old) has never been there, so I booked an ADR. It's a classic and he should have a chance to enjoy it. Also, we haven't done the dining plan in a long time, but we're doing DxDP for this visit and that makes it an even better value.

For you, on the dining plan, kids ages 4 and 2 and staying at BLT - CMs sounds good! So I say keep the ADR, but don't expect great food. I also agree that the earliest ADR is best - ours is 7am and I'm very happy with that!

 

[1girln3boys]

My boys loved it when we went. The food was ok I would keep the ADR.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Had dinner at Chef Mickey's in September. There was nothing horrible about the food like some say. All the food was good. Comparing to other character buffets... it's a LOT better than Hollywood and Vine but a few steps below the quality of Crystal Palace.

The character interaction is nice. We were there and the characters did the usual meet and greet at the table, not in a hurry, but really didn't do anything else (the napkin twirling, or parade or anything like that) but we dined early so maybe it gets more fun later. It is a nice way to meet 5 characters (more than some other character meals).

 

[gobo2]

We are considering doing the unthinkable and letting my DD13 and her DBFF13 eat at CM while DH and I eat at the Wave. We will be DDP and will have plenty of meals together. The girls will love this and DH and I won't have to "waste" credits on CM.
I actually find it hit or miss. It has gone downhill for sure. Last year was ok, two years ago wasn't. Don't go there for the food but kids love it.
They will shriek when we tell them. Aw, the freedom!
It will of course depend on good behavior and them getting along. Its like an elf on the shelf for barely teens!

 

[Hootch]

at CM breakfast every trip as our farewell meal. There is plenty of food I like and some I don't. I have my gripes - no omelet station, strawberries in syrup and not fresh, etc - but I find plenty to eat. We have settled on a late breakfast and the character interaction has been great - which is our main focus.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I personally wasnt thrilled about the food quality at CM's breakfast. I wouldnt go back, but im glad we tried it once at least. I think its worth a shot once in your life. Just dont go back if your disappointed. The one and only good thing about this place are the characters. Theyre awesome! your tots will have fun.

 

[OhThePain]

You are puting too much stock into other peoples reviews. You have to take other peoples opinions with a big grain of salt. You don't know them or their habbits, likes or dislikes, type of person they are, type of day they had, etc. For every positive review you read, you'll find a negative one. I say keep your ADR and form your own opinion, you never know what you may end up missing out on.

 

[chartle]

Every Disney restaurant gets bad reviews here.

There was a thread just a few days back asking for the worst restaurant and if you went be the results, all of them are the worst, even the Holy Grail of Diney ADR's Le Cellier.

So you have to balance all the reviews.

 

[HunnyJar]

You are puting too much stock into other peoples reviews. You have to take other peoples opinions with a big grain of salt. You don't know them or their habbits, likes or dislikes, type of person they are, type of day they had, etc. For every positive review you read, you'll find a negative one. I say keep your ADR and form your own opinion, you never know what you may end up missing out on.

Every Disney restaurant gets bad reviews here.There was a thread just a few days back asking for the worst restaurant and if you went be the results, all of them are the worst, even the Holy Grail of Diney ADR's Le Cellier.

So you have to balance all the reviews.

I totally agree with both of these posters.

Every restaurant can have an off day and everyone does have different taste. What my family might love your family might absolutely hate. That being said, we have gone to Chef Mickey's almost every visit and I will say that I have never had a unclean or bad experience here. The worst I will say was that we had a grouchy server one trip. Our most recent visit (September) we tried Chef Mickey's for breakfast for the first time - we are normally dinner visitors and we found the breakfast to be quite good. The food was fresh and it was tasty. The characters were good but went by a little quicker than we would have liked, but you know that happens sometimes.

We will definitely be going back, but like I said our tastes might not be your tastes.

 

[harpetj]

We are sticking with our ADR for dinner and I switched it to 5:20, so one of the early seatings. We have done CP for dinner and Hollywood Vine for lunch, so if it is somewhere in between I will be happy! I think mediocre food that I am not paying a ton of money "OOP" for the kids to not eat and them be so happy to see the characters is worth it. Plus, not having to take transportation to get to an ADR is priceless
Thanks for the opinions. I know there are lots of places we like that others don't, but it seems like CM gets a lot of negative comments, so I just wanted to double check!
30 days and counting to check-in!

 

[3pletprincesses]

well we had dinner there last year and weren't happy about it. We then tried breakfast and it wasn't so bad. that being said, not because I ddin't like that you won't like it. Maybe I went on an off day or something like that. I beleive in trying restaurants on my own and take all the reviews with a grain of salt. People in general are more subject to right bad reviews vs good reviews KWIM. I would say you made the right decision by keeping your ADR. I always go in expecting the worse and you might be surprise. That's how I think when I go anywhere new.

 

[AimeeMichele]

I very much prefer dinner at Chef Mickey's than breakfast. We always get a reservation for right when they open, so all the food is fresh and not picked over (picked over buffets are gross IMO). Character interaction is fantastic and I'm a huge fan of the mashed potatos, ribs (when they have them) and their bourbon bbq chicken. They also have a great assortment of food and desserts. The price is great when on the dining plan and for all the time is saves to meet the characters compared to waiting in line for each of them is priceless to me

 

[my4mickeys]

We did breakfast at CM last December.....a few cons about CM over some of the other character meals. CM seems to be so much busier and more crowded than the others. We had very little time with characters, felt rushed both getting food and eating. Food was standard , much like some of the others...but lacked personalization. For example Tusker House had signature juice, and some offerings that were unique to there. Crystal palace, in addition to traditional offerings had specialty items like Winnie the Pooh French toast...worth going back for on it's own!! At CM, there was nothing that stood out as special or unique, just rushed. Food was fine though.
Tusker house would always be mu first choice for Breakfast...early as possible.
The pros: photos with charcters at CM elimninates having to wait on lines at parks and hit or miss characters. That is worth it's wait on gold...literally.
You know you will see the charcters that you want. (same can be said of Tusker tho)
Good luck with your decision!

 

[mjp12831]

It's like being at a very expensive very overpriced very crowded Golden Corral.

I'd seriously second guess this ADR - I personally would not go back.
- poor food quality
- least clean buffet line of any WDW buffet I've been to
- bathroom is downstairs in a basement quite far from the dining area which is a serious pain if you have young kids drinking lots of soda
- it's insanely crowded - they pack too many people in small spaces making it difficult to enjoy the character visits - you'll have someone elses behind in your back while you're eating.
- atmosphere is not like even eating in a restaurant - essentially it's tables stuffed in a hotel lobby

 

[Bearybear]

I think a foodie would hate it there. However, the food when we were there last December for breakfast was actually pretty good. It isn't gourmet food, but it is IMO about 3 or 4 steps up from Old Country Buffet. And you get to meet the characters without waiting forever in line. We have an ADR for dinner this trip, because my DS really wants to meet Flynn and Rapunzel, and this will help balance out the wait times for characters.

And to prove the point that everyone has different experiences and every restaurant has good and bad days, when we went to Tusker House for Breakfast, we thought it was gross. And one note about Tusker, is that Donald doesn't interact with you, just a photo op when you walk in.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Had dinner at Chef Mickey's in September. There was nothing horrible about the food like some say. All the food was good. Comparing to other character buffets... it's a LOT better than Hollywood and Vine but a few steps below the quality of Crystal Palace.

The character interaction is nice. We were there and the characters did the usual meet and greet at the table, not in a hurry, but really didn't do anything else (the napkin twirling, or parade or anything like that) but we dined early so maybe it gets more fun later. It is a nice way to meet 5 characters (more than some other character meals).

What do people expect for breakfast? They have all the usual items...eggs, potatoes, meat, waffles, pancakes, cereal etc.....it's breakfast...usual faire as seen at any buffet...really quite good.....ample supply and the Disney characters spend ample time at each table...better than chasing them around the parks or waiting in a pine to meet them...it is noisy, but hey, it's children and characters....such happy faces on the children.....I wouldn't hesitate going there for breakfast and children reaction to characters at all....alittle heavy on the price but we prefer it to all the other character breakfast on property.....with children, a must do!