Chef Mickeys and othe dining ?s

[TamiTaylor]

How bad is the food at Chef Mickey's? I have heard mixed reviews but I booked a dinner there our first night because I thought it would be a good way to get some characters in and that it would be fun for J to ride the monorail from Poly to into the Contemporary.

Also, who has done the dining plan and liked it? We are doing 3 character meals and I'm wondering if I should get it. It would save $136 dollars according to the dining calculator but last year we went and often split meals between us.

[bex]

We did breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I didn't think the food was bad, some things were better than others, but I definitely would not eat there again unless it was for the characters - I just think there are too many other good restaurants at Disney. BUT the character interaction was great and I think it was worth the price overall.

We did the dining plan last time we went (when it was free) and are doing it again this time (paying for it). We have some character meals planned (that are more expensive as you know) and H has a habit of always picking the most expensive thing on a menu, so I think we will come out ahead on it. I also like to prepay for my vacations as much as possible, so I realize that I'm paying for that convenience as well.

[abs]

We are doing Chef Mickey's our next trip. We've never done it and we are staying on the monorail so why not.

As far as the dining plan goes we love it. We do a lot of character meals and the snack credits are great, too! It's so nice to be able to just say yes to the Mickey ice cream bar requests or grab a bottle of water or whatever (we go in the summer). We don't save much but it certainly doesn't more and the convenience is worth it to me.

[revolution]

I've only heard good things about Chef Mickey's from friends. Online reviews are hit or miss. We are going in a couple weeks and are going to Chef Mickey's. For the characters and because I feel like it is something we need to do on one of our trips. I'm looking forward to it.

We do the dining plan. I love it.

[Deleted]

We did the dining plan. I still haven't done the math to see if it saved us any money but I liked having big expenses out of the way before we were on vacation.  I haven't been to Chef Mickey's yet but I like the idea of doing a character meal on a non-park day so you don't feel rushed.

[georgeglass]

Chef Mickey's is one I haven't done, but can't get past the horrendous reviews BUT if you're starting at the Poly, I'd go to Trader Sam's for a bit, and then you could probably tolerate anything. Crystal Palace is our favorite character meal (now that my kids have grown out of princesses).

When the kids were under 9, we always did the deluxe dining plan. It always worked out for us on the calculator, and that includes tax, which is great. I liked the freedom of having it paid for, and the snacks were a bonus. The break time in restaurants was great for us - air conditioned, mostly relaxing. The kids would play the games on the menus or with little characters I kept in my bag.

[L From The D]

I haven't been to Chef Mickey since I was a kid, so I can't comment on that one.

We did the dining plan and liked it (got free dining for next trip). We had (and will have) character-heavy dining, which made the DP worth it. We used the mugs, all of our TS credits, and almost all of our QS credits...we have to be better about snack credits next time.

[ribollita]

I am a food snob. We did brunch and I thought it was totally fine.

I avoid buffet dinners other than Biergarten.

[bronxgirl]

On our first trip we were planning to do a lot of character meals, so we got the dining plan. We had a great time and came out a couple hundred ahead with the plan. On subsequent trips we didn't feel we needed as many character meals or even sit down meals, so we're better off paying OOP.

[hymen]

It's ok, just expensive. We have done Chef Mickey two or three times. I much prefer Crystal Palace.

[dcrunnergirl52]

I know a lot of people don't like Chef Mickey's, but I love it. It just feels quintessentially Disney to me, and we did it both times we went (and I did it both times I went before having kids). I didn't find the food any different in quality than the other buffets. But, I also am not picky or a "foodie."

We also always do (and always will do) the dining plan. Like others have said, I like knowing all of our food is paid for, and I don't have to look at prices and think, "WTF, $50/pp for a character meal (or whatever the price is--I honestly have no idea). I've never totaled it up to see if we save money.

[ilikedonuts]

We've eaten at CM probably 8 times (have done all 3 meals-breakfast, brunch and dinner). It's been totally fine. DD2 asks for it every trip.

[carolinagirl831]

We did it for Breakfast because my DD was Mickey and and the gang crazy. I thought it was fine for breakfast. It was expensive but we paid for the ability to see all the Mickey people together and my DD loved it.
If your kid is crazy about Mickey its worth it. Its not worth it just to go.

[lishie]

We enjoyed Chef Mickey's. The food wasn't amazing, but I didn't find it terrible. My dad is very meat and potatoes, and he really enjoyed it there. He liked the food, and loved watching my boys with the kids.

With a bunch of buffets, the kids dining plan is a pretty good value. If you have a bunch of QS left at the end of the trip, you can convert those to snacks and take home mickey Krispies and other items like that for souvenirs for yourself or gifts for others.

I don't usually get the dining plan, but I would if we were doing lots of buffets.

[stephm0188]

It's standard Disney buffet food. It's better than Golden Corral, but I wouldn't expect it to be a fine dining experience. either.

The appeal of Chef Mickey's is that it's the only place on WDW property where you can meet the Fab 5 in one fell swoop.

I wouldn't like the reviews sway you. We've eaten at various places at WDW multiple times, and we've had different experiences each time.

[ssmjlm]

We enjoyed breakfast there. It was nice to have a non-park character option that was the main Mickey and friends.

I think we may do it for dinner this trip since we're at BLT again.