During one of our recent trips to Walt Disney World, we were able to check out Chef Mickey’s for breakfast and it gave us a chance to finally do a Chef Mickey’s Review. If you aren’t aware, Chef Mickey’s is one of the most popular character buffet dining experience at Disney World. It’s located inside Disney World’s Contemporary Resort, serving breakfast and dinner Monday through Saturday, and serving brunch and dinner on Sunday. Chef Mickey’s reservations are hard to get at this popular restaurant that features Chef Mickey Mouse, Chef Minnie Mouse, Chef Donald Duck, Chef Goofy and Pluto – all in their Chef’s best. We, of course, wanted to report for you guys, so here is our review!
Our Chef Mickey’s Review
Below you will find our full review of Chef Mickey’s including what we thought, how the character interactions were, the food and would we recommend it.
If You Would Like To Listen To This Chef Mickey’s Review Instead
If you would rather listen to this Chef Mickey’s Review or if you would like to listen to it and also read it (we always recommend such things) then you can listen to this review directly below.
Checking In At Chef Mickey’s
When we arrived to start our Chef Mickey’s Review that morning, there was quite a long line to check in. After about 10 minutes, we were greeted by, and checked in with, the hostess. After checking in, we moved into a waiting area that has a few benches to sit at. There is also a Disney PhotoPass+ photographer available that will take your family photos with a Chef Mickey’s statue.
Basically, it’s something to do while you wait (who doesn’t wait at Disney World), and prepare yourself for the sensory overload that is the Chef Mickey’s experience. The line to take photos moved pretty quickly and I think we waited about 20 minutes before we were seated.
Once we were inside, Chef Mickey’s felt very busy and it was loud – both in sound and in colors – like I said, sensory overload (especially for young children). The décor in Chef Mickey’s is very cartoonish (sort of the older Disney World feel), there were characters everywhere, and it felt very 1990’s. But once you get into Chef Mickey’s itself, it actually felt very cramped, the tables felt very close together, with low ceilings.
Chef Mickey’s Dining Area
The dining area of Chef Mickey’s is separated into three sections – the section to the left was open air so you could see up to the rest of Disney World’s Contemporary Resort ; the section directly in front of where you walk in is also fairly open-air, and also overlooks Bay Lake; and the section to the right is not open-air like the left side, but instead has a ceiling overhead.
The right side of Chef Mickey’s is closest to the main buffet area and has the most seating. We were seated in the right-hand section. Maybe that is why we felt a bit cramped and it sounded a bit louder – it was more enclosed than the rest of the restaurant, had the most guests seated, and also had the traffic of other guests going to the buffet.
This was one of the more unimpressive elements of the Chef Mickey’s Review as the dining area seemed very dated, cramped and just odd in many aspects compared to other character meals we’ve had at Disney World.
The Food At Chef Mickey’s
This is the part of the Chef Mickey’s Review that you may be the most interested in (unless you just care about meeting the characters). As far as the breakfast buffet is concerned, it was your typical Disney World breakfast buffet – yogurt, fruit, bagels, pastries, eggs, bacon, hash browns, hash brown casserole, pancakes, and of course, Mickey waffles.
The breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey’s was set up so that there were two sides to it so people could move through on both sides. There is also a section with toppings for your waffles with ice cream, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Food quality wise, Chef Mickey’s wasn’t nearly as good as some other places at Disney World like Boma or ‘Ohana. It’s not that it was terrible, just not the same quality.
Chef Mickey & The Other Chef Characters
Now to perhaps the most asked about part of any Chef Mickey’s Review (or any Disney World character dining review), the character interactions. When we first sat down, Chef Donald Duck greeted us at our table almost immediately. After Donald, the other chef characters came around pretty quickly. And I will say at Chef Mickey’s, the chef characters seemed very organized.
We’ve been to other character meals at Disney World and sometimes it can be 10 or 15 minutes between character meetings (pretty common for most Disney World character meals), but at Chef Mickey’s it was boom, boom, boom! One right after the other, which is a good thing if you have that coveted early morning ADR and want to get into Disney World as soon as you can
You typically will only get to see each character once; they don’t come back through your section for a while as the restaurant is so big and it takes time to get through all of the tables.
As for interaction with Chef Mickey himself and the other chef characters, it was good, but not the greatest you’ll find on Disney World property.
Okay, So What is the Price for Chef Mickey’s?
As with any character meal at Disney World, Chef Mickey’s ain’t cheap. It was $42 per adult and $25 for kids 3 to 9. Prices have since been raised to $49 per adult and $29 for kids 3 to 9. Chef Mickey’s accepts Disney World Annual Passholder, Disney Vacation Club, and Tables in Wonderland discounts.
What Score Would We Put On Our Chef Mickey’s Review?
On a scale of 1 to 10, we would give Chef Mickey’s a 6.5. Felt the characters needed to slow down and take more time at each table and love on the kids more. The food could also be better quality. Most people go to Chef Mickey’s to meet the characters, and not savor the food, but that’s no reason to skimp on quality, especially since you have someplace like ‘Ohana which does both very well.
If we had to rank Chef Mickey’s with some other Disney World character breakfasts we’ve done like ‘Ohana and Tusker House, then this would be our least favorite. The food wasn’t great and the interaction at Chef Mickey’s was just okay. To give you a perspective, we’d give Tusker House and ‘Ohana an 8 and 9 out of 10. Food and interactions were great at both of these Disney World breakfast experiences.
What Could Disney Do To Improve Their Chef Mickey’s Review Score?
Disney World could make the character interactions for Chef Mickey’s longer, improve the quality of the food, and change the layout of the restaurant so it doesn’t feel so outdated and cramped. I know that this pretty much encompasses everything about the experience, but they are all in need of updating, and making these updates would help Chef Mickey’s improve their score with us in the future.
Would We Go Back to Chef Mickey’s or Recommend It To A Friend?
Now, would we recommend making reservations to Chef Mickey’s? Well, if you are wanting to meet the Fab 5 in one single setting, and be close to the Magic Kingdom, then I would say it should definitely be considered as you can’t do that anywhere else on Disney World property. If you want to accomplish 2 things (breakfast and meet and greets) at one time, then Chef Mickey’s would be a good option. However, if you are looking for quality food and extensive character interaction, you may want to consider another character breakfast option besides Chef Mickey’s at Walt Disney World.
If you enjoyed our Chef Mickey’s review, then you should check out some of other articles like our Three Bridges Bar & Grill Review or our Pop Century Resort Review for your next Disney World trip!
