Topolino's or Chef Mickeys!!! Help a mama out!

[Marissarhae]

Hi everyone! Looking for some advice! We have never been to Disney - we are going on a cruise and booked two nights at a resort without park tickets. We want to do a character breakfast and are torn between Topolino's and Chef Mickeys. We want the best value and best character interactions - I don't know when we'll get back to Disney so really just wanting the BEST experience for the kids.

Thoughts?

 

[Skippyboo]

Topolino’s is great character meal but it’s a hard adr to get especially since you only have 2 days. It’s only characters at breakfast. Chef Mickey’s will have more availability since it’s breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food isn’t as good but you get Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

Ohana is another character breakfast option with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I have 5 kids who’ve done literally every character meal in WDW and the favorite of each of them is Chef Mickey. It’s definitely not my favorite but for some reasons my kids have always loved it. Now no character meal is a good value and the one with the best character interaction is in Epcot, and you have no park tickets so I’d go with Chef Mickeys.

 

[DeeBee3]

The food is going to be way better at Topolino's, but I would see what you can get.
Where are you staying?

 

[jemtx]

Topolino’s is great character meal but it’s a hard adr to get especially since you only have 2 days. It’s only characters at breakfast. Chef Mickey’s will have more availability since it’s breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food isn’t as good but you get Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

Ohana is another character breakfast option with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto

Chef mickey only serves breakfast now, no lunch, but breakfast goes until about 12 or 12:30. Pluto is also there along with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

 

[Eastern]

Go to Chef Mickey's and afterwards you can ride around on the monorail. You can even switch monorails lines and take the one that goes through Epcot. I still like doing that.

 

[erinch]

Are you going on a Disney cruise? Lots of characters. You could do breakfast at Boma and enjoy the terrific food and the savannas

 

[jtopp]

My vote is chef mickeys. While the food is not spectacular, the atmosphere and experience is something every child should experience at least once.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Depends on your family really. We have done both. Topolinos is a clear winner for us, great food and a quiet-ish environment. One of my kids gets over stimulated easy and chef mickeys was too much for him but he loved topilinos and hopped right up to greet the characters while he hid at chef mickeys. So if any sort of sensory issues exist in your family really be aware of the environmental differences. While Topolinos is not exactly quiet it is no where near as loud or bright as chef mickeys.
For food options chef mickeys is a winner now especially since its back to buffett...lots of options. Very handy if you have picked eaters. The more limited menu at topolinos is delicious though!
Aim for "brunch" time at topolinos and you won't need lunch...this is my approach when we can get an adr.
if you have trouble getting an adr for topolinos but can get chef mickeys take it! Then lurk as availability may open up later at topilinos...you can always cancel chef mickeys but you'll have it if topilinos does not pop up.
A lot will also depend on where you are staying. Getting to chef mickeys is easier since you can take any method of transport to MK then walk to contemporary. Riveria is harder to get to...if you do not have park tickets do not go to epoct expecting to take the skyliner to Riveria as the buses and skyliner are in two different places. You would need to bus to one of the other parks then bus (or skyliner from HS) to Riveria. If you want to walk around post meal chef mickeys will give you more to see and do after given its proximity to the MK area resorts.
If your family wants a filling meal with characters a plenty there is no wrong choice as both are a solid experience and time/money well spent. But if transportation or sensory issues are a factor hopefully this post helps you!

 

[LMO429]

Topolino is the winner. It seems much more sophisticated and not as chaotic as chef mickeys. I also am not a fan of buffets Chef Mickeys is a buffet Topo is not. If I had to pick one it be Topo Lino that being said my kids who are 6 and 2 prefer chef mickeys. I also find the wait times to be sat at chef mickeys so long and I feel completely over stimulated there

 

[kshu2014]

Depends on your family really. We have done both. Topolinos is a clear winner for us, great food and a quiet-ish environment. One of my kids gets over stimulated easy and chef mickeys was too much for him but he loved topilinos and hopped right up to greet the characters while he hid at chef mickeys. So if any sort of sensory issues exist in your family really be aware of the environmental differences. While Topolinos is not exactly quiet it is no where near as loud or bright as chef mickeys.
For food options chef mickeys is a winner now especially since its back to buffett...lots of options. Very handy if you have picked eaters. The more limited menu at topolinos is delicious though!
Aim for "brunch" time at topolinos and you won't need lunch...this is my approach when we can get an adr.
if you have trouble getting an adr for topolinos but can get chef mickeys take it! Then lurk as availability may open up later at topilinos...you can always cancel chef mickeys but you'll have it if topilinos does not pop up.
A lot will also depend on where you are staying. Getting to chef mickeys is easier since you can take any method of transport to MK then walk to contemporary. Riveria is harder to get to...if you do not have park tickets do not go to epoct expecting to take the skyliner to Riveria as the buses and skyliner are in two different places. You would need to bus to one of the other parks then bus (or skyliner from HS) to Riveria. If you want to walk around post meal chef mickeys will give you more to see and do after given its proximity to the MK area resorts.
If your family wants a filling meal with characters a plenty there is no wrong choice as both are a solid experience and time/money well spent. But if transportation or sensory issues are a factor hopefully this post helps you!

Wholeheartedly agree with this review - we've also done both and now lean towards Topolino's, but we're also staying at Riviera. We're DVC members at Poly, so the Contemporary isn't too out of our way, but we prefer the food and atmosphere at Topolino's more.

 

[Mazz519]

We just recently did both this past Septembe, Topolinos was our top choice for food, both places have great character interaction

 

[buzzrelly]

Where are you staying?

I am all about convenience so if you're on the monorail I would go with Chef Mickey's, if on the Skyliner, go with Topolino's. If neither, it's kind of a draw.

Honestly, Topolino's has better food but I think the atmosphere at Chef Mickey's is more fun, especially for kids, plus it has a buffet so many more choices if you have picky eaters (like I did!).