Video: Chef Mickey’s: A Disney World Dining Review

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Chef Mickey’s is the reigning #1 character meal at Disney World. Find out why in this Video: Chef Mickey’s: A Disney World Dining Review.

Video: Chef Mickey’s: A Disney World Dining Review

Chef Mickey’s has been the quintessential favorite for character meals since it opened its doors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in 1996. Its history and convenient location just outside of Magic Kingdom make it a must do for so many families. Add in the fantastic character lineup and it’s easy to see why this reservation is always a tough one to snag.

The Characters

Video: Chef Mickey's: A Disney Dining ReviewAs mentioned above, the character lineup is the real star of the show at this dining reservation. This is the ONLY restaurant on property where you can meet the Fab Five. You will be able to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at any meal you reserve at Chef Mickey’s. You can choose from breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some restaurants only have characters for breakfast and sometimes lunch, but Chef Mickey’s has the Fab Five at every meal! The characters are known as the Fab Five because they are the five characters that were featured most in the classic Mickey Mouse cartoons.

My family thinks that Chef Mickey’s is a win-win, because we get a meal and tons of autographs all at one time! It’s a huge time saver to meet so many classic characters during a meal. For us, that means our children can get autographs and pictures with the characters here and we can spend park time meeting other characters and enjoying the attractions and rides. The only downfall with the characters at Chef Mickey’s is that sometimes the one-on-one interaction feels a bit rushed. This is the case at several character meals, so if you are really wanting to spend quality time interacting with characters, you might want to choose a traditional meet and greet instead of a character meal. However, this meal is not short on fun!

Celebrate Good Times

Video: Chef Mickey's: A Disney Dining ReviewYou definitely want to have your party attitude on tap for this restaurant. Go in ready for lots of fun at Chef Mickey’s. You will be surrounded by singing, laughing, and lots of children and adults clamoring to love on the fantastic characters. There are tons of fun littles touches throughout the meal. My favorite is when they play “Celebrate with Mickey Mouse” and everyone twirls their napkins, as I captured in the video above. Sometimes the characters even do a parade around the restaurant and invite everyone to twirl their napkins too. This is so much fun and it reminds me of dining in Italy years ago with my mother, where napkin twirling was quite the tradition.

Chef Mickey’s is a fantastic place to celebrate birthdays and special occasions too. The waiters and waitresses do a great job of trying to make the meal extra special if they know you are celebrating ahead of time. We always call in before our trip and have it added to our reservation. This is easy to do yourself or if you are using a travel planner, ask them to do it for you. Sometimes you might receive a special birthday card or cupcake and even a little extra fanfare. The last two visits, our waitress brought over our cupcakes and had the characters stop by for an extra birthday hug. Now that’s what you call magical!

The Food

Video: Chef Mickey's: A Disney Dining ReviewIf you have read our reviews before, you know that we are honest about what we experience. With that being said, let’s just say that Chef Mickey isn’t likely going to win a Michelin Star for the menus he creates for this restaurant. Chef Mickey’s is a buffet, so expect buffet style food. Keeping that in mind, we actually like the food (notice I did not say love). There are plenty of great kid choices and several dishes the adults in our group always enjoy too. But seriously, don’t go to a buffet at Walt Disney World expecting anything to blow your mind and tastebuds away. However, don’t let that discourage you. Let’s talk about which foods we think are worth a second helping.

At breakfast, my kids eat enough bacon to pay for their portion of the meal. Seriously, have you bought bacon recently? That stuff is getting super expensive. They also enjoy the sausage and fresh fruit. But what they really get excited about (other than meeting characters) is the Mickey waffles! Ahhhh! You can almost hear angels singing when you take that first bite of a Mickey waffle. They are a delicious blend of malty, carby goodness that melts in your mouth with the warm, sweet syrup. The adults also like the cheesy potato casserole, ham and cheese frittata, and the cheese and berry blintzes. Brunch isn’t much different, but the offerings there combine both breakfast and some of dinner (so keep reading). For dinner, try the all you can eat peel and eat shrimp. Also, the carving station has some pretty yummy offerings. For the kiddos, the chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are always a big hit. No matter which meal you reserve, don’t skip dessert. Desserts are hard to mess up and Chef Mickey’s does a nice job with lots of yummy choices that will make your sweet tooth happy, happy, happy.

Video: Chef Mickey's: A Disney World Dining ReviewTips

  • If you don’t feel like waiting on the monorail, you can quickly walk to Disney’s Contemporary resort from Magic Kingdom.
  • If your feet are tired, take the monorail to Chef Mickey’s.
  • Chef Mickey’s is LOUD! If you or your children do not do well with loud restaurants, avoid this one.
  • This restaurant accepts most Disney Dining Plans and would make a great addition to your magical vacation! Go HERE for more information on this fabulous restaurant!

What did you think of the Chef Mickey’s? Does it earn its ears for being the most popular character meal on property? Join the Disney Express Lane Facebook Group to tell us what you think about Chef Mickey’s and to discuss other Disney related topics.


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Mandi is a wife, Mom of 3, writer, creator of WaltExpress.com, and self-proclaimed Disney nerd. She loves to travel to Disney Destinations and blog about her magical experiences so she can share all the tips, tricks and tidbits she picks up during her travel. She and her family visit Disney World several times a year and she is always in the know when something new is happening and she shares it here first! Mandi also works as an online consultant by empowering women to be all they can be in all aspects of their life. You can find her at www.AmandaMiddleton.me

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