We currently have reservations at CM and I was looking at the menu at CMC and was really interested. We are paying for everything out of pocket, so dinner at CM is going to be pricey already, but is it truly worth it to do both?
I know the characters are similar, which kinda stinks, but none of the other places appeal to me.
I would suggest to think more about the character experience at Chef Mickey’s than the food. It should be a PREMIUM character experience. There will be some decent food for you, but some will be not so decent. It’s the PREMIUM character experience that you are paying for at Chef Mickey’s. Some might say it’s worth the price, others will not. The FOOD is definitely NOT worth the price. I’m of the opinion that everything considered, Chef Mickey’s is worth the price at least once. The photo opps are fantastic. The characters are playful, the decent food is decent, and the break from park crowds is part of it too. Also factor in the ability to skip any character meet/greets at parks that Chef Mickey’s can substitute for. You should easily be able to get pictures at your table with each of the characters at Chef Mickey’s if you want them. They should each stop at your table, and pretty much ask if you’d like a photo with them.
I only know what we can all read about Cape May. Never been, so I won’t comment.
After all of the reviews I read about Chef Mickey’s, I was under the impression they were serving dog food. I found several things on the buffet that were actually pretty good. I didn’t see any kids coughing all over the buffet, or running wild throughout the restaurant, and the buffet was very clean looking. I’m not DOUBTING any of the horror stories though. I can only imagine… We ate some pretty decent food, got some fantastic pics, laughed at the characters quite a few times when they put their goofy antics on display…we had a very good time, and yes, it’s expensive, but I think it’s worth it once.
Love Cape May. Food was better than Chef Mickey’s but as @seebee suggests, it’s great to go at least once to experience the whole thing.
Will it be convenient for you to get to the Beach Club? If so, my pick between the 2 is Cape May.
We recently did breakfast at Chef Mickeys and I must say that I was more impressed with the food than the character interactions. We had such wonderful character interactions at 1900 Park Fare and Garden Grill that the Chef Mickey’s interactions were a bit dull by comparison. Yes, the characters come to your table, but they did not interact with the kids as much as the characters at 1900 Park Fare and Garden Grill. On the upside, the breakfast buffet was fabulous! Lots of choices that were tasty.
Chef Mickey’s is an event in and of itself. The photo opps, the great interactions with the characters, the number of characters - they are the tops at WDW for this on a consistent basis. We’ve done both breakfast and dinner numerous times since my kids were preschoolers, and now that they are 12-22, this is still one of the restaurants that they insist on going to every time we visit WDW. The food is actually pretty decent. The last time we went, we were a party of nine, from three generations, and everyone found something to like at the buffet.
Cape May Cafe is busier at dinner, when it’s seafood and no characters. I’m not a seafood person but I still enjoy dinner there. If you are planning on going to the breakfast with the characters, it’s pretty quiet. There are only three or four characters, all dressed in beach gear. I found that they were nice and friendly and posed for photos, but this is not the high energy hugging and napkin waving and dancing characters from Chef Mickey’s. The breakfast food is pretty much the same, so if you are considering breakfast at both places, you might want to consider the temperament of your children and their reaction to the characters. CMC might be better for a first time, or kids who might be overwhelmed by the noise and energy of CM.
If you do both, I’d recommend breakfast at CMC and dinner at CM. For another good alternative, the breakfast at Ohana is family style, so they bring the food to you on an unlimited basis, and the characters are a little different - you will see Lilo, Stitch, and Pluto there, plus maybe Minnie and Mickey, and it’s also a little slower for more interaction time with the characters.