Chef Mickey's - Worth the Hype?

[voodooboy]

Hello fellow travelers, I am buying dinner for my family and extended family on the evening of my daughters birthday. I have reservations for Chef Mickey's on a Thursday evening (7:30 pm) during a relativly slow time at WDW.

So to ask my questions, specifically, I am wondering what to expect at Chef Mickey's on a week night during a relativly slow time at WDW. And if choosing Chef Mickey's for my daughters birthday is really worth all the hype that I have read in various literature regarding WDW. I have read that Chef Mickey's is an animal house of sorts and can be very loud at times. While this is not a problem I would like some first hand advice regarding Chef Mickey's atmosphere and opinions as a birthday destination.

I appreciate any advice my fellow disney buffs can offer. Thanks in advance.

 

[Disneyof3]

Well I'm no expert by all means but we went on a Monday morning and it was fantastic. I went knowing people from this board had recommended it and I was not disappointed in the least. I feel it was well worth it and the characters were around our table 3-4 times over. It can be noisy but in a fun way. The characters every 20 minutes or so stop and do the Mickey dance and you use your napkins and wave them with your hands and the kids love it. We went in value season and we had no problems with crowds. If we go again in Feb. 2005 it will be on our list again.We some some people in shorts and others dressed up real nice. Either would be exceptable.

Hope this help

 

[canwegosoon]

They just profiled Chef Mickey on Food TV's Unwrapped. They showed all the great deserts the kids can make...it looked like a lot of fun.

I have only been there for breakfast, and we had a great time. It is not quiet, like an adult restaurant...but let's face it, the primary draw is the kids. There was a large selection of foods, and we had great character interaction. There was music playing, and there was something with waving napkins. So not your romantic dinner for 2 setting, but I walked out with a happy warm feeling, not a headache!

I have booked HDDR for my boys for their B-Day dinner, but am considering Chef Mickey for their breakfast...hope you have a great time!!!

 

[Harambe]

We celebrated DS's 7th birthday at Chef Mickey's, about ten of us all together. Food was okay - nothing outstanding - but the atmosphere is festive and our waiter brought out a cupcake with a candle in it for DS. Make sure to pick up birthday buttons (you can get them at City Hall in MK, probably other places too) for your birthday girls.

Have fun!

 

[ducklite]

I find the atmostphere NOISY and frantic, and not at all to my liking. The food, well, it's pretty bad. In fact about the worst buffet at WDW. Blech.

So to answer your question, no.

Anne

 

[robinson]

We just returned today from 6 days. We had PS's for Chef Mickey's for breakfest. It was our oldest's 13th birthday. I must say I was disappointed. The food was ok, nothing great. The character interaction was poor on the day that we went. We had to ask our waitresss twice if Mickey was headed over to our side of the restaurant. We were there when the parks were very slow but Mickey's was very busy. Our PS was for 11. I was not at all impressed. I won't go back. Can't say the same for CP. Absolutely loved it there.

 

[Kae]

We went for DS birthday the food okay, it was a buffet. The Char interaction we was great. Chip & dale were the best. I love the CR, we road the Monorail before dinner it was our first nite there.

Kae

 

[voodooboy]

I truly appreciate all of the comments and experiences, I suppose that I also should have asked for alternatives. My daughter will be turning 3 so please feel free to offer dining advice based on anything age appropriate with some sort of character involvement. Again, I appreciate all the feedback.

 

[sha_lyn]

Originally posted by ducklite
I find the atmostphere NOISY and frantic, and not at all to my liking. The food, well, it's pretty bad. In fact about the worst buffet at WDW. Blech.

So to answer your question, no.

Anne

ITA...also the servuce is horrible and the characters seem to only like the main dining room. We had to wait forever while they visited the main diningroom 3 or 4 times. All the kids in our area (up stairs behind the buffet) were in tears.

My suggestion would be crystal palace in MK
or 'Ohana at the Poly

. No characters at poly, but lots of activities for kids

 

[luvsTink]

This thread is doing a good job of showing how different each family's experience can be. We loved Chef Mickey's..we ate there for dinner in value season and found it to be great fun. It was full but we didn't find it to be "that" loud....it clearly isn't an intimate, adult affair, but for the family it was great. We found both the Whispering Canyon and Hollywood and VIne to be much louder.

We had great character interaction and all of our children (3 DD's 16, 6, 4) agreed that it was there favorite dining experience (we ate at CP, CRT, 50's, Sci--Fi, H &V, and Whispering Canyon plus some counter services).


We will be going back for sure in January. Good luck with your decision!

Anne

 

[cjsmom5]

This is one of our least favorite buffets for both breakfast and dinner. The atmosphere is festive, the characters typically really good, the activity they do during the meal is also entertaining but the food ... well we prefer others. I think it depends on what you are looking for .... but for us this is one we skip now ... for both breakfast and dinner.

That being said, many people rave about it on the boards....I"m sure you will have fun wherever you choose ... afterall it is DisneyWorld.

As far as alternatives, at that age my DS loved Crystal Palace for breakfast. It is noisy but we liked the food much better. The other place we like the food, and the character interaction, for breakfast was Park Fare 1900. And, finally, for dinner, we like Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. My DS likes the mac and cheese, the serve a traditional fare Thanksgiving dinner so it depends on your taste but we like it.

I have also heard that the Beach Club breakfast with characters at Cape May is pretty good...both food and interaction. That gives you just a couple alternatives...but for the age ... I think Crystal Palace for breakfast would be my first choice followed by Park Fare for Breakfast ...we aren't big dinner eaters, though.

 

[jcemom]

I've never been to Chef Mickey's so I can't help there, but if you need an alternative I would recommend Crystal Palace! My DD (2) loves Pooh and Friends!

 

[jenjen212]

well, dh and i actually love chef mickey's!

we always make a visit there everytime that we visit. i find that the atmosphere is comfortable and inviting to kids. if you have kids, this is a must for them. there is mickey, minnie, goofy, donald, chip, and dale that make their rounds to each table, usually they will pass by your table several times before you leave. the food is good, some of it is awesome (like the prime rib at dinner) and some of it is not so good. but everyone has their own taste. it is not a gourmet restaurant, but it is a great place to go...

i would definitely give you a thumbs up and a vote to go!

JEN

 

[Rafikifan]

We have had dinner at Chef Mickey's 4 times and love it. It is a great place for a 3 year old to celebrate her birthday! Maybe we've just been lucky but we have always had good food and service.

 

[hookedondizney]

The atmosphere is great....food not so great! We had great interaction with the characters. IMO I would return to other ones such as Ohana's (Breakfast of course) or LTT, Cindy's. I just didn't like the food selections. But that is just my 2 cents worth.

Hookedondizney

 

[berly1657]

We LOVE Chef Mickey - but then we have always been in the main dining room. The food is yummy and hot. This is a must everytime we go do WDW.

We didn't care for Crystal Palace - we tried it with couples 3 years ago. We didn't care for the food selection. But maybe we will give it another try next spring!

 

[mom2rb]

I would choose CP over Chef Micky's. I just like the food better. Now I did breakfast for both so dinner may be different.

 

[mrsltg]

Is it worth the hype? No!!!

Erin

 

[year2late]

We love it! The character interaction was top notch!

 

[KCMiller]

I loved Chef Mickeys - frankly, any excuse to get close to Goofy is a good excuse. I'm hoping to get a good picture on this next trip to hang in my kitchen !

My only problem was the table next to ours - the father was micromanaging his daughters and wife, and I would say took about 100 pictures before allowing Mickey, Minnie and Goofy to come see us. Plus, he was wearing too much cologne ! But of course, you can't blame Chef Mickey's for that . . . .



KC