Best Character Buffet Breakfast???

Chef Mickey's for breakfast is perfectly adequate. You get the added bonus of seeing 5 characters. Cape May is great but Mickey is not there. I don't love Ohana because the food selection is limited and I don't care for Lilo and Stitch as much as the other characters. If you want to see the fab 5, I would definitely consider Chef Mickey. IMO, the food is no worse at breakfast than the other buffets. I've also been to CM for dinner and the food was adequate. Nothing exceptional, but adequate.
 
Well each trip (5 so far) we always do Garden Grill and Tusker House. I have done Chef Mickey's for breakfast and it is actually a lot better than people give it credit for. That being said it was an early breakfast.
 
We do Tusker House every year. (We make the reservation for the very latest breakfast seating. That way we can enjoy the parks in the early morning, and get in a few rides before we sit down to eat.)
We are not big on buffets. I might get 2 scrambled eggs, a few slices of bacon and some toast. So, I'm not much of an expert on buffet foods. I will say though, that I really enjoyed Ohana breakfast.
The food at Chef Mickey's wasn't my favorite, but, really, the food isn't the real star of these places. We do it for the same reason that you are considering it. It saves time waiting in line to meet the characters. Plus, it sounds like there is some nostalgia there.
 


Chef Mickey is not good food and is a total madhouse. Tusker House has the buffet in a separate area which seems to cut down on the madness a lot. But when mine were too little to carry their own plates, I really preferred the places where the food was brought to the table. I think Topolino's fits that description. Garden Grill was always a hit with my boys.
 
We've done Chef Mickey's for breakfast and it was good. DH's favorite buffet character breakfast is Tusker House.
 


I’m not sure about other places, but we were able to use the ice cream machine at Crystal Palace for breakfast.

You have not lived until you’ve had Mickey waffles with ice cream.
 
I’m not sure about other places, but we were able to use the ice cream machine at Crystal Palace for breakfast.

You have not lived until you’ve had Mickey waffles with ice cream.
Mickey Waffles and Ice Cream? How did I not think of that combo! Might have to indulge on that when I go this fall. thank you :drinking:
 
Another vote for Tusker House! The food is so much better than your average breakfast offerings, with lots of interesting and tasty options.
 
If you're looking for the fab 5, then I would try Tusker House or Topolino's Terrace. I haven't been to Topolino's yet, but have heard great things. I can't speak to the food at Chef Mickey's, but have never heard good reviews really and since it's basically in the middle of the contemporary it seems so much louder to me. We really enjoyed Tusker House and the characters in their Safari gear is super cute! We've also done Garden Grill and enjoyed that as well, but out of the fab 5 you're only getting Mickey. The plus side to Garden Grill is that it's family style so you don't actually have to get up and go to the buffet, which is really nice when you have a little one that you either have to carry around with you at the buffet or one sits with baby while other gets food and then you're rarely at the table together really.
 
I do think there is something special abut Chef Mickey's, but like many it's a start the trip tradition for us, so it's more about that than the food. We've only done dinner, but have enjoyed the food and didn't think it was poor quality. I feel like breakfast is hard to mess up if there are Mickey Waffles involved.

We have done Tusker house breakfast several times (though usually at 10:30, the last breakfast seating, so they bring out lunch foods before we're done) The food has also been good there, with a variety of normal breakfast foods and some more interesting themed foods... the kids are more likely to try something new in that setting. The character interactions are also fun, and a good selection of characters. This is one of the few places to see Daisy, which was a must for my girls.
 
We got back 2 weeks ago having returned to our first character meal location, Cape May Cafe for the Minnie Beach Bash.............the food was good but I must admit it took some time to get the characters around. The best breakfast for both food and character interaction has got to be Garden Grill. Every time we go there we see the characters multiple times. The food is also great!

Doug :goofy:
 
We went to Topolino's last week and it was awesome! Great food, relaxed vibe, excellent character interaction, great service, and the lighting was great for pictures! We met Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Minnie and had a fabulous breakfast in less than an hour, and never felt rushed! Our DD2 almost licked her plate (they brought her her own plate of whatever she liked, even though she was free!), she loved the waffle dippers so much she ate more than her 5-year old brother! The waffles dipper was served in a very cute plate that looked like an artist palette, with the colors being strawberry coulis, chocolate and maple syrup. They even brought a special glass with a lid so she could enjoy her POG juice without spilling. Also, the pastry basket was great to have food right away before our plates got to the table so the kids didn'T get restless. Have fun!
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We went to Topolino's last week and it was awesome! Great food, relaxed vibe, excellent character interaction, great service, and the lighting was great for pictures! We met Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Minnie and had a fabulous breakfast in less than an hour, and never felt rushed! Our DD2 almost licked her plate (they brought her her own plate of whatever she liked, even though she was free!), she loved the waffle dippers so much she ate more than her 5-year old brother! The waffles dipper was served in a very cute plate that looked like an artist palette, with the colors being strawberry coulis, chocolate and maple syrup. They even brought a special glass with a lid so she could enjoy her POG juice without spilling. Also, the pastry basket was great to have food right away before our plates got to the table so the kids didn'T get restless. Have fun!
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Excellent! Thank you for sharing and including photos. I think you just sold me on Toppolinos! Cant wait to go there.
 
When it comes to Chef Mickeys, is it best to do it as early as possible ie 7am?

Or do you run into crowds hoping to eat and then get to MK for RD? And therefore is it best to wait for eg 10am?

We are staying at the Contemporary so commute won’t be an issue and want to do CMs on a non-park day.
 
When it comes to Chef Mickeys, is it best to do it as early as possible ie 7am?

Or do you run into crowds hoping to eat and then get to MK for RD? And therefore is it best to wait for eg 10am?

We are staying at the Contemporary so commute won’t be an issue and want to do CMs on a non-park day.
I have seen it recommended to do the “brunch” option at Chef Mickey’s because you get the widest variety of food, and it’s supposedly also not as crowded as breakfast. I have not done it myself, but I see that recommendation made a lot.

If you want to avoid crowds, my family tends to go later in the evening on our arrival day (we’re 2 hours behind EST so an 8:30 Chef Mickey’s dinner is 6:30 to our stomachs) and the crowds are very low. Usually only about 2/3 of the tables are full when we’ve done that.
 
Chef Mickeys is way over rated.
Love Tusker House.
Haven't tried it yet, but the reviews for Topolino's Terrace have been great.
 
Chef Mickeys is way over rated.
Love Tusker House.
Haven't tried it yet, but the reviews for Topolino's Terrace have been great.

Yeah I’ve heard similar but we are staying at the Contemporary so it’s perfect for ‘doing something’ for the kids on a non-park day and not having to trek somewhere.
 

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