Should I be giving up Chef Mickey's (and a few other breakfasts) for Boma?

[centurythree]

Here's the situation. I'm taking a friend and her son on their first trip to Disney.

Right now our ADRs look like this:

Arrival Night:
Garden Grill--7:30 pm

Day 1:
Chef Mickey's--7 am
Brown Derby Fantasmic Package--4 pm

Day 2:
Whispering Canyon-7:30 am
Cosmic Ray's (whenever, just so it's off peak time)
Hoop de Doo--9:30 pm

Day 3:
Spoodles--7:30 am
Coral Reef--1 pm
Rose and Crown--8 pm

Day 4:
Boma--7:40 am
CS if needed
Cinderella's Royal Table--4pm

Day 5:
The Wave--7:30 am
?
Narcoosee's--7:00

Day 6:
CS or snacks
Garden View Tea Room--2 pm
Jiko--8 pm

Day 7:
Kona Cafe--7:30 am
San Angel Inn--12 pm
Le Cellier--6:55 pm

Day 8:
Crystal Palace--8 am
CS
California Grill--5:30 pm

Day 9:
Captain's Grille--7:30 am
CS
Chefs de France--8:00 am

We've just transferred over to AKL, so we could now just walk over to Boma for breakfast any day. My first concern is Chef Mickey's on our first park day--we'll have just had a character breakfast the night before and we could sleep in a bit longer if we went with Boma. I'm also wondering if I shouldn't replace a few other breakfast spots with Boma. Any ideas? I'm especially concerned about Chef Mickey's, so I'm making a poll for that one. I'd really like to take them to Garden Grill that first night for a few reasons, so I'm not willing to switch it. Thanks in advance!

 

[dawnball]

I think that from AKL to CM early in the morning and then trying to make rope-drop (if that's you're goal) at DHS is an awful lot of travel time, particularly for your second day.

I'd be inclined to do Boma on Day 1, and then Chef Mickey's on a MK or Epcot morning.

The day 3 spoodles would also be really hard for my family to get to, since Hoop will make for a very late night.

 

[cokenut33]

I think it depends on a couple of things. First, the son's age & if he would be into Chef Mickeys. Second, depending on when you go, CM can be hard to get into, so make sure before you cancel . That being said, IMHO Boma is GREAT!!!! & I would eat breakfast there every morning if possible. Also, Boma has more to offer than CM . Just my 2 cents.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I didn't vote, but I would go with Door #3. For restaurant vs. restaurant, I'd go to Tusker House over CM or Boma. TH has food similar to Boma, plus characters & a more fun atmosphere. Then again, we weren't blown away by Boma like many here. We thought everything about TH was better. Actually, ignoring scheduling & choosing based solely on the meal, I'd keep CM & add TH over Boma. For 2 adults who've already been there & done that, "no". For newbies to WDW, I think they'd prefer CM & TH. Boma's food is better than CM, but CM wins the atmosphere race by a mile. Of course, you'll need to work your meals into your schedule, & your resort makes a difference. Good luck with that!

 

[Stitchfans]

We weren't fond of Boma. I would pick CM any day over Boma. JMO

 

[kar0066]

I would go to Boma because of the convenience.

 

[DLBDS]

CM is good for the character interaction but you can't go wrong with Boma. The decor is much better, it'll be much more convenient for you and the food is great. It's my only must-do each trip. I love both the breakfast and dinner there. I'm not a huge fan of AKL though. I've never stayed there. It's just a theming issue for me. There are other resorts I like better. I'm not saying I would never stay there though. Who knows, if the right code/promotion where to come out....

 

[OKW Lover]

I'd suggest a third alternative - don't do Boma or Chef Mickey's on the day you are headed to the MK. Instead, grab something fast at Mara and head for the MK early so you can do more before the crowds get heavy.

 

[centurythree]

Hmm, the poll says keep Chef Mickey's, but the arguments for Boma are so persuasive . . .

 

[jcemom]

Oh my. You didn't ask but I'm giving my opinion anyway, LOL, just ignore me if you want, my DH does it all the time.

I think you have too many early table service breakfasts. 9:30 HDDR followed by 7:30 breakfast? You'll get out of HDDR around 11:15, will need to make your way back to your resort, and will need to be up in time to get ready to make your way to Spoodles for a 7:30 breakfast? I'm thinking you'll get to your room around 12:15 or later, then will need to be up again by around 5:30 or 6:00? Ugh.

Of course, my family doesn't like big breakfasts early in the morning in general. One per trip is enough for us. We don't get really hungry until after 10:00 and we're not willing to wake up an hour earlier just to eat a big breakfast. I know not everyone is like us. We're happy with a piece of fruit, a cereal bar or a pastry, something like that.

 

[forgop]

I'm in a similar predicament. I'll be staying at AKV and in order to have some variety away from breakfast @ Boma, I chose to have breakfast reservations at Chef Mickeys(twice) and once at Grand Floridian on the days we're going to be at EP or MK. My thought was since we were heading that way anyway, we could just get on the monorail to go to breakfast and then back to the park. So far I have 2 reservations for Chef Mickeys at 7:30am, so assuming a 9am opening, is that enough time?

Is there enough difference between Boma/Chef Mickeys/Grand Floridian that you'd go through this much hassle in the morning? To me, if I have the same options(eggs, bacon, hash browns, french toast, pancakes, etc) it would almost be easier to eat breakfast at Boma every morning. My other plans were for Boma twice and Tusker House on the morning we went to AK.

Thanks for any suggestions you have.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I would never give up Chef Mickey's especially when you have young kids going with you.

 

[jcemom]

I'm in a similar predicament. I'll be staying at AKV and in order to have some variety away from breakfast @ Boma, I chose to have breakfast reservations at Chef Mickeys(twice) and once at Grand Floridian on the days we're going to be at EP or MK. My thought was since we were heading that way anyway, we could just get on the monorail to go to breakfast and then back to the park. So far I have 2 reservations for Chef Mickeys at 7:30am, so assuming a 9am opening, is that enough time?

Is there enough difference between Boma/Chef Mickeys/Grand Floridian that you'd go through this much hassle in the morning? To me, if I have the same options(eggs, bacon, hash browns, french toast, pancakes, etc) it would almost be easier to eat breakfast at Boma every morning. My other plans were for Boma twice and Tusker House on the morning we went to AK.

Thanks for any suggestions you have.

My family isn't willing to give up the extra hour of sleep for a big breakfast more than once per trip, so we don't do TS breakfasts in general, unless it's the last seating as more of a brunch on a day 'off' or something like that. If you're going to be up that early anyway then it's not so much of an issue. We also don't eat enough at 7:30 am to make it worth paying $20 each for breakfast, we're just not that hungry until later in the morning.

How are you getting to the monorail? Are you driving? I'm not sure you can catch a bus early enough to make a 7:30 resort breakfast. I *think* most of them start running a little after 7:00 for those folks who have 8:00 ADRs inside the park. But you'll need to get to the park and then hop the monorail. I don't think you'd make it to the GF in time. As for the CR, t's faster to walk from the MK bus stop than monorail. If you're driving you need to allow time to park at the TTC, walk to the monorail, board and ride. I'm not sure what time the lot opens as we never drive there.

The difference between Boma/CM's/GF is the characters, I'd guess. Boma has a terrific breakfast buffet so if you're going for the food alone I'd stick with Boma. They have a great variety and their special juice mixture is wonderful. It's also more convenient since you're staying right there. I wouldn't give up travel time to do Chef Mickey's more than once.

Tusker House is pretty good, but Boma is better, IMO. We did Tusker for the last breakfast seating and considered it brunch, but again, my family isn't very hungry early in the morning. 10:30 works much better for us than 8:00. But the 10:30 breakfasts interferes with park touring somewhat so we don't do more than one of those per trip.

If you're going to be eating breakfast early anyway, I see nothing wrong with choosing a restaurant within the park if you can get that 8:00 ADR or something not much later. Tusker House would fit the bill.

Instead of Chef Mickey's twice maybe you could consider Crystal Palace at MK if you can get the 8:00 ADR there. At leat it would be different characters, AND it would be more convenient, saving you the travel time to and from a resort.

Epcot doesn't have an 8:00 TS breakfast that I know of. Akershus serves breakfast but doesn't start seating until 8:20 or 8:30, too late to make it out in time for rope drop.

 

[tinkerbellmichelle]

Have you thought of doing Chef Mickey's for dinner?


We had/have a few character breakfasts planned but we keep switching them in favour of dinner... that way we can eat our eggs/waffles CS (or if we were you, TS at the resort), enjoy the morning park hours, come back for an afternoon rest, have dinner somewhere fun, and then enjoy the evenings in the park.

I'd do breakfast at the resort as much as possible..... and CS as much as possible for breakfast too! But that's just me

 

[forgop]

My family isn't willing to give up the extra hour of sleep for a big breakfast more than once per trip, so we don't do TS breakfasts in general, unless it's the last seating as more of a brunch on a day 'off' or something like that. If you're going to be up that early anyway then it's not so much of an issue. We also don't eat enough at 7:30 am to make it worth paying $20 each for breakfast, we're just not that hungry until later in the morning.

How are you getting to the monorail? Are you driving? I'm not sure you can catch a bus early enough to make a 7:30 resort breakfast. I *think* most of them start running a little after 7:00 for those folks who have 8:00 ADRs inside the park. But you'll need to get to the park and then hop the monorail. I don't think you'd make it to the GF in time. As for the CR, t's faster to walk from the MK bus stop than monorail. If you're driving you need to allow time to park at the TTC, walk to the monorail, board and ride. I'm not sure what time the lot opens as we never drive there.

The difference between Boma/CM's/GF is the characters, I'd guess. Boma has a terrific breakfast buffet so if you're going for the food alone I'd stick with Boma. They have a great variety and their special juice mixture is wonderful. It's also more convenient since you're staying right there. I wouldn't give up travel time to do Chef Mickey's more than once.

Tusker House is pretty good, but Boma is better, IMO. We did Tusker for the last breakfast seating and considered it brunch, but again, my family isn't very hungry early in the morning. 10:30 works much better for us than 8:00. But the 10:30 breakfasts interferes with park touring somewhat so we don't do more than one of those per trip.

If you're going to be eating breakfast early anyway, I see nothing wrong with choosing a restaurant within the park if you can get that 8:00 ADR or something not much later. Tusker House would fit the bill.

Instead of Chef Mickey's twice maybe you could consider Crystal Palace at MK if you can get the 8:00 ADR there. At leat it would be different characters, AND it would be more convenient, saving you the travel time to and from a resort.

Epcot doesn't have an 8:00 TS breakfast that I know of. Akershus serves breakfast but doesn't start seating until 8:20 or 8:30, too late to make it out in time for rope drop.

We'd be leaving from Animal Kingdom via bus, so this is all stuff I'm not sure of in terms of transportation that early in the morning. Crystal Palace would be fine for the days at MK as well.

To me, if all 3 are comparable with food options (Boma, Chef Mickeys, and Grand Floridian), I would probably be fine eating breakfast at Boma every morning to avoid the hassle unless there was a good option in the park like Tusker House or Cyrstal Palace.

If it's not doable, I'm fine with that. I was just trying to get a little more variety.

 

[jcemom]

We'd be leaving from Animal Kingdom via bus, so this is all stuff I'm not sure of in terms of transportation that early in the morning. Crystal Palace would be fine for the days at MK as well.

To me, if all 3 are comparable with food options (Boma, Chef Mickeys, and Grand Floridian), I would probably be fine eating breakfast at Boma every morning to avoid the hassle unless there was a good option in the park like Tusker House or Cyrstal Palace.

If it's not doable, I'm fine with that. I was just trying to get a little more variety.

I understand. Personally, *I* think Boma has great variety, but I know a change of scenery is nice too. I think if I were you I'd avoid the resort breakfasts unless you really want to eat at Chef Mickey's and can't fit in in for dinner, for example, or unless you have a non-parks day or a sleep-in day in there somewhere where you can eat a little later and not worry about getting to rope drop. If you're using the bus it's going to be tough to make a 7:30 resort breakfast. *IF* the earliest bus picks you up at 7:00 (the earliest bus we were able to catch to the MK came at 7:15 but that wasn't from AKL, it was from POFQ if I remember correctly) you could be to MK by 7:20ish and walk over to the CR in five minutes. If it comes any later though you'll be late for your ADR. I don't think there's any way you could make it to the GF by 7:30 using WDW transportation. You could take a taxi though if you really want to make those breakfasts. However, the breakfasts inside the park are pretty great since you get in prior to everyone else and get to see a nearly-empty park... if you don't mind missing the opening show/ceremony at the front of the park. I prefer Crystal Palace over Tusker House, though TH was good too.

 

[lizzyb]

Thats a hard one. I loved the character interaction at Chef Mickeys but Bomas was great!

 

[webray]

Boma is the number one buffet on disney property, and for a good reason.
The food is delicious and there is something for everyone.

Yes, you get to see the characters at CM's, but, you can see them anywhere. The food is disgusting. Many, many years ago this was the place to go...now, it isn't, especially if you enjoy a good breakfast!