Timing for Chef Mickeys

[Frozen2014]

We have an ADR at 8:30am on a Saturday. Without rushing, what time can we expect to be done and walking out of the restaurant? Just asking since deciding if it's worth going to Magic Kingdom that day before our flight (need to then check out, and have bell services store our bags). Also not sure if our ADR is 8:30am, they may not actually give us a table at that time.

 

[OKW Lover]

What time is your flight that day? What resort?

At any rate, I'd expect to be out of there by 10:00 am. Probably sooner.

 

[Her Dotness]

We generally spend around 90 minutes at character meals for leisurely dining and character meets. That doesn't include delays getting seated.

One advantage you'll have there for getting to the MK is its being about a 10-15 minute walk from the CR.

All told, I'd say it'll depend on whether or not you've family members who'll want to meet every character. Waiting for all of them can take more time than you'd think.

 

[Frozen2014]

What time is your flight that day? What resort?

At any rate, I'd expect to be out of there by 10:00 am. Probably sooner.

Thanks. Staying at Contemporary and so contemplating adding a park day and going to MK for a few hours. Our flight is 6:30pm from MCO back to Canada.

We actually dismissed this option since we pre-purchased Genie+ and so it would be the park cost plus Genie+, which makes it around $115 for just a few hours. But...I still keep thinking about it as it would be a nice way to end our trip.

P.S. - Would love to hear thoughts if others would do this...or if not for just a couple hours. DH dismissed it, so I would need to convince him...lol

 

[Frozen2014]

We generally spend around 90 minutes at character meals for leisurely dining and character meets. That doesn't include delays getting seated.

One advantage you'll have there for getting to the MK is its being about a 10-15 minute walk from the CR.

All told, I'd say it'll depend on whether or not you've family members who'll want to meet every character. Waiting for all of them can take more time than you'd think.

Thanks. We have a 17 and 13 year old....so seeing a few characters is always nice, but I don't think they would require to wait for every character, or even a specific one.

We ended our WDW trip at Chef Mickey's last time (when it was a buffet) and really enjoyed the food so thought booking breakfast again would be a nice tradition...Plus, it works well as we are staying at Contemporary this time.

 

[Her Dotness]

We have a 17 and 13 year old....so seeing a few characters is always nice, but I don't think they would require to wait for every character, or even a specific one.

They're more mature than I, then, because I've refused to leave character meals until I'd met every character. And that was less than a half dozen years ago.

Thankfully, DH indulges my being a 4-year-old trapped in a retiree's body, or we'd have divorced years ago.

 

[STJ]

You should be out by 10, especially if you aren't waiting around for a specific character. You could do MK for 4+ hours. I'm not sure I'd add genie+ for that if I didn't have to, but I would probably hop on over and enjoy the last bit of my day there. You've got a pretty early reservation so hopefully it won't be too crowded and you wont have to wait for a table which will make it that much quicker.

 

[Frozen2014]

You should be out by 10, especially if you aren't waiting around for a specific character. You could do MK for 4+ hours. I'm not sure I'd add genie+ for that if I didn't have to, but I would probably hop on over and enjoy the last bit of my day there. You've got a pretty early reservation so hopefully it won't be too crowded and you wont have to wait for a table which will make it that much quicker.

Thank you. Yes, we wouldn't add Genie+ if we didn't have to (as the cost is more than the additional park day for the four of us)....but...we pre-purchased it so my understanding is we have to include it as an additional day as well.

So...thinking it through.... after Chef Mickey's ADR, we would need to check out, store our bags, then walk over to MK. Guessing we would be through the gates between 10:45am and 11am?

Would probably have to leave MK at 2:30-2:45pm or so to return to MK (walk over) and get our bags and grab an uber (DH is extra cautious on travel day as he gets nervous with missing a flight)

 

[STJ]

You should be able to leave your bags with bell services while you are in the parks. I would go ahead and do that, and check out before heading to chef mickey's, that way its done. I'm thinking done by 10, in the park by 1030ish?? leaving by 230ish? I will say if you think it's going to cause too much anxiety, hang out at the resort or DS. Also, if you buy the ticket separately, instead of adding it to your existing tickets, you might eb able to get around the G+ issue, but I'm not sure how that cost breakdown would go.

 

[SG131]

You may not get seated right away, but I think it's still reasonable to be out of there by 10. But, until you actually get into the park, 10.30. Then assuming you have booked a shuttle you're getting picked up at 2.30. So you'd have to leave the park by 2 at the absolute latest, probably a little earlier to account for your bags being brought out by bell services. So that leaves 3.5 hours. I would pick one or the other either the park or the meal. If you do the meal, maybe just relax by the pool until pickup time.

 

[Frozen2014]

You should be able to leave your bags with bell services while you are in the parks. I would go ahead and do that, and check out before heading to chef mickey's, that way its done. I'm thinking done by 10, in the park by 1030ish?? leaving by 230ish? I will say if you think it's going to cause too much anxiety, hang out at the resort or DS. Also, if you buy the ticket separately, instead of adding it to your existing tickets, you might eb able to get around the G+ issue, but I'm not sure how that cost breakdown would go.

Good idea. Silly question...if we check out prior to our ADR, then how does payment work?
That would save time if we could get all that organized first. Then literally head over to the park when done.

It's not too much anxiety (well, maybe for DH...lol). Just trying to figure out if we can do it and maximize rides. I actually watched Genie+ times today but looking at rides that have return times close to current time that I'm checking. So we would most likely stick to these (and let our kids pick one headliner that we can book for 1030 or 11am and book it at 7am...or whenever that time opens up.
The beauty of Contemporary/Chef Mickeys to MK is that we are in control as it's all walking distance (vs travelling by monorail or bus).

Our other alternatives are either hang out at the pool, or maybe resort hop on the monorail right after breakfast for a couple hours.

 

[Frozen2014]

You may not get seated right away, but I think it's still reasonable to be out of there by 10. But, until you actually get into the park, 10.30. Then assuming you have booked a shuttle you're getting picked up at 2.30. So you'd have to leave the park by 2 at the absolute latest, probably a little earlier to account for your bags being brought out by bell services. So that leaves 3.5 hours. I would pick one or the other either the park or the meal. If you do the meal, maybe just relax by the pool until pickup time.

Yeah...if we added the park, it would just be for a few hours. Thanks for confirming prob at park by 10:30am. We do want to keep Chef Mickeys...just seeing if we can add a bonus of ending our trip at MK. If not, it wasn't in our plan initially so nothing lost.

 

[Her Dotness]

You're technically still there even though out of the room.

Anyway, when there was a dining plan, you could use remaining credits until midnight of your checkout day. I'm guessing that your card-on-file would remain chargeable.

Don't know for sure because we prefer to check the room charge statement the afternoon before we leave to be certain all are authorized charges. We use our Disney Visa for room charge backup and just put departure day expenses directly onto the card rather than risk any errors.

 

[rlk]

Thank you. Yes, we wouldn't add Genie+ if we didn't have to (as the cost is more than the additional park day for the four of us)....but...we pre-purchased it so my understanding is we have to include it as an additional day as well.

I know for tickets purchased separately (not part of a package) if you modify them, you will lose the Genie+. I've already inquired. I don't know if the same holds true for packages.

 

[OKW Lover]

if we check out prior to our ADR, then how does payment work?

It makes no difference. They will still charge the card you have on file even if you have "checked out". All that really means is that you've left the room. You still have all the benefits of a resort guest until the end of the day.

 

[Frozen2014]

It makes no difference. They will still charge the card you have on file even if you have "checked out". All that really means is that you've left the room. You still have all the benefits of a resort guest until the end of the day.

That's great. Thanks for explaining.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

If it were up to me I would book Chef Mickey's for a 1pm lunch and head to the MK first thing in the morning to take advantage of early entry and slightly smaller crowds. I would drop bags first thing and then use mobile checkout from your phone. There is no need to go to the front desk. You can review your charges on in the app and they will automatically email you your final bill. You can always just pay for your last meal with a credit card if you don't want to worry about last minute room charges.

 

[Frozen2014]

If it were up to me I would book Chef Mickey's for a 1pm lunch and head to the MK first thing in the morning to take advantage of early entry and slightly smaller crowds. I would drop bags first thing and then use mobile checkout from your phone. There is no need to go to the front desk. You can review your charges on in the app and they will automatically email you your final bill. You can always just pay for your last meal with a credit card if you don't want to worry about last minute room charges.

Chef Mickey's only does breakfast and dinner. Also, we booked at the 60 day mark...all booked up now. But that would have been an idea if it was an option.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

Chef Mickey's only does breakfast and dinner. Also, we booked at the 60 day mark...all booked up now. But that would have been an idea if it was an option.

Chef Mickey’s has breakfast all the way till 12:30. I would keep looking for cancellations and call it brunch.