Should I cancel Chef Mickey ADR?

[BridetobeDisney]

Please justify how I'm feeling...I read another post that said Chef Mickey has bleh offerings on the buffet. The main thing you are paying for is the characters. I pretty much knew that the buffet would just be ok but we are paying OOP. This will be the first time my parents have been back to WDW since I was a preteen. I've been 5 times within the last four years. We are planning to go to CM our first night on Dec. 13 then take the monorail to the GF to see the christmas decorations. I'm torn between wanting my parents and DS to see characters and take a quick trip to GF or going to Boma.

My parents have never been to AKL or to Boma and I think they would be in for such a treat at this amazing restaurant. They are pretty adventurous eaters. But that would ruin going to GF to see decorations. We are only staying for three nights and my days are packed and this was when I set aside time for GF. If we go to a late dinner around 8 at Boma can we make it to GF? I just don't think so. I definitely don't see us leaving MK on another day to visit GF then going back into the park. If it was just DH, DS and I we would but my family would not be up for it. To them, when you are in the park you stay in the park. Last thing, I feel guilty because DS would love seeing Mickey on our first night but we are eating at Ohana for breakfast on the 15th so he will see him. I can see my dad getting really upset if the food is terrible and the bill is huge. I want to start off this trip in a good way!

What should I do?

 

[wdwrich]

You don't say if you will have a car or not, but if you will have a car, then go to Boma for dinner and drive to GF afterward. There's no "closing" time on the GF decorations. JMHO.

 

[averill94]

Ugh- How old is DS? Chef Mickey's is also ALL atmosphere. The food is okay, not bad. It is the whole combo that has made it a first night tradition for us. This will be our 3rd or 4th time there- kids will be 5 & 11. WOuld I rather try a new place at this point- maybe- but there is no other way to kick off a trip for us!

Just know that whatever you do decide on will be fabulous

 

[bigbabyblues]

I wouldn't cancel because of reviews. There are always people who have great experiences, ok experiences, and bad experiences all on the same day. Every restaurant is going to have good and bad, and you're more likely to hear about the bad.

That said, we love Boma!

 

[Ellie Mouse]

I've done both breakfast and dinner at Chef Mickey's and I would suggest breakfast over dinner. I was not impressed with the dinner buffet, but they do have just about every breakfast item you could want, a couple Disney Chef originals and it's reasonable -- especially if you take a 10:45 reservation and make it like a brunch. You won't want to eat again until dinner.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We did dinner there once and it was terrible, great character interaction but the food was horrible.

I cancelled our breakfast ressie there because of all the negative reviews and booked Tusker House instead

 

[Carmell226]

I hope I understood exactly what you were asking but here is my suggestion...
If you want your parents to see GF they have a great character breakfast and dinner there at 1900 Park Fare so you could kill two birds with one stone. Personally I did not enjoy Chef Mickey's that much as an adult, but a child would love the atmosphere. We were there for Breakfast and it was a pretty standard buffet, nothing special.
Boma is my favorite restaurant at Disney so I say it is a MUST for dinner. I would not skip that for anything

 

[disnut8]

I read the post several times. I noticed that you mentioned your son as wanting to see Mickey but he's already going to do that. For the rest of your post, you really concentrated on your parents. You've been there. Your son has been there. Your parents are really making their first trip. Do what you think THEY will want to do. Your son is still getting to see Mickey.

As for the decorations, ask your parents if they want to see them. If they don't and are fine with staying at Magic Kingdom all day, then don't worry about it. But if they do want to see the decorations that badly, then leave Magic Kingdom for a short time and boat or monorail over there for a break.

 

[RllngRckBrw]

We really enjoyed the food when we were there in May I would go even without the characters.

 

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

First of all depending on the crowds they usually limit people in and out of the Grand Floridian during the Christmas Season. During the Month of December it is really hard to get in to see the decorations without a reservation either to stay there or eat there. So here is my Suggestion.

Make a Dinner Reservation at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. You will get EXCELLENT food on the buffet and your DS gets to see Characters in a little more of a low key atmosphere. It is about the same price as Chef Mickey's but then you get all three. Great food, Characters and Decorations at the Grand Floridian.

The worst thing would be that you didn't get in to see the AMAZING decorations. We are annual pass holders and eat at 1900 Park Fare every year for our Christmas Day Dinner and we also were just there for the Supercalfragalistic Breakfast for Father's Day. Dinner is better Breakfast but you can't go wrong with that plan.

I do know that the food on the buffet at Chef Mickey's is better for Breakfast than it is for lunch or dinner. We are taking My DS for his 1st Birthday in 3 weeks. Hope this helps!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I have had dinner at both Chef Mickey's and Boma. While the food was not awful at Chef Mickey's if we had a choice between there and Boma for dinner, we would pick Boma because we thought their food was a bit better.

 

[BebopBaloo]

I actually cancelled our CM breakfast and changed it to a dinner at Boma for the upcoming trip. The only reason I changed was because we have a young toddler and it was a very early breakfast reservation- after having to get up for a very early flight the day before. However, when I think back to going to CM's as a teenager (a couple times), I can't remember much about the food at all. It's been probably 13ish years, so I'm sure things have changed a bit, but I really only remember the characters.

I can remember lots about the food we had at other places, though. I definitely remember Boma from about the same time and from a couple years afterward. It was fantastic and the atmosphere so unique! Plus, right outside are the giraffes, zebras, etc. Boma was just a more memorable experience (for me).

 

[HonnyDipp]

I'm in the same situation. We have 8:10 ADR's fror CM's and (because of the bad comments) I'm considering moving the ressie's to Boma's.

 

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

NO WAY! Keep it! The food is delish!

 

[JoePa4Ever]

I wouldn't cancel because of reviews. There are always people who have great experiences, ok experiences, and bad experiences all on the same day. Every restaurant is going to have good and bad, and you're more likely to hear about the bad.

That said, we love Boma!

This is exactly right. If we searched the threads on this forum, we would find threads praising Chef Mickey's & threads ridiculing Chef Mickey's as with all the other restaurants at WDW. Personally, we love Chef Mickeys for breakfast, but if pleasing your parents is the priority then perhaps you should switch to Boma, since you know it is a great dining experience.

 

[BridetobeDisney]

Wow! Thank you so much for all the responses. I know I rambled in my post. It was late and I couldn't wrap my mind around what I wanted to say.

My DS will be 21 months at the time of our trip. Yes, my parents are a very important part of this trip. That being said, they care mostly about how much fun DS has. Thank you for the suggestion of 1900 Park Fare but DS has no clue who Cinderella or any of her characters are. He likes Mickey, Minnie, Pluto etc. I thought about going to 1900 PF but its not worth the money if DS doesn't care about the characters. We do have a car so we could drive over to GF after Boma but AKL is a bit of a drive from MK and if we go to CM it would only be a ride on the monorail.

I the best thing to do is what one poster said, keep my parents in mind. I'm going to ask my mom what she would rather do. I'm still torn. I want to go to CM because it would be a great start to the vacation but only if the food is good. However, Boma is amazing. I just don't know!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I the best thing to do is what one poster said, keep my parents in mind. I'm going to ask my mom what she would rather do. I'm still torn. I want to go to CM because it would be a great start to the vacation but only if the food is good. However, Boma is amazing. I just don't know!!

Since both restaurants are great I think it's a good problem to have, because you can't go wrong with either one.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Chef Mickey is a tradition for us we have always been to dinner there once during every trip. The food has always been good and one of the best character interactions at a meal. We have also been to Boma and have enjoyed our meal there as well. Both are very different exoeriences so it is really going to depend on what kind of experience you and your parents are looking for. Whatever you choose to do I am sure you will have a great time.

 

[Hibernians]

Wow, what an interesing dilemma. My family has loved Chef Mickey and now it has become a tradition to have our last supper at Chef Mickeys.
I think the food is fine and the desserts are really good.
My kids are now ages 6 - 9 and this will be our 4th straight year at Chef Mickeys for dinner.
Its fun; good interaction with the characters and you also have the opportunity to buy a nice photo of your family with Chef Mickey - they take the photo before you are seated and then bring it to your table. We have always left there happy.

We are heading down this October and we will be having dinner at both Boma and 1900 Park Fare, so it will good to compare.

 

[dalstitch45]

Another vote for Chef Mickey's. I even go there solo. I have never done dinner, only breakfast. We try not to miss it. I am really big on the character dining experiences, and the food is good.

Also, my DS(27) and I tried 1900 Park Fare in June. I was not sure if we would like the atmosphere. We loved it. We both loved the stepsisters. Booked it again for September.