Do I have to Chef Mickey?

Walt Disney World Dining
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Now that we are considering part of our stay at Contemporary or Bay Lake I feel compelled to eat at Chef Mickey’s. Honestly, it has never held any appeal from me. The reviews say it’s meh food and a loud and crazy atmosphere. But since we are going to be right there, should we try it?

The other character meals we have planned are:
Storybook Dining
1900 Park Fare (Breakfast and Dinner)
Hollywood & Vine (Dinner)
Be Our Guest
Trattoria al Forno
Garden Grill (we did this one last year too)
Tusker House (we may or may not keep this, we did it last year)
Crystal Palace (if I can make it work in our TP, but we did do it last year)

Last year we also did Akershus and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.

Thanks for the input!!

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I wouldn’t. The food is not good and you have a lot of other character meals. I would eat at the Wave for breakfast or Cali Grill for dinner instead. Way better food and much less noise and commotion. We went to Chef Mickeys on our first trip and have never had the desire to return. We do Garden Grill breakfast and Tusker House brunch every trip, so it isn’t like we are against character meals. That one is not worth it though, in my opinion.

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No I wouldn’t. If you don’t particularly want to go, you’re not obliged just because it’s there.

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Although I enjoyed CM, I can’t see how you are obligated! I’d have no problem skipping it for something you liked better!

(I have regret I never got to MBYBBQ. It was always on my “next time” list.)

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It is the number one thing my DS7 requested for our next trip. I hated having to tell him it was cancelled. :cry:

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I know I’m not obligated. I guess I just feel like if we are ever going to do it, it would be while we are already there. I know I’m never going to make a special trip to the Contemporary for it.

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IIRC it’s the same food as CP more or less.

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To me character meals are to guarantee character meets. With your trip you aren’t likely going to miss any of these guys.

Since learning yesterday we can’t meet Piglet and eeyore at the parks I now have a Res Finder for CP.

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Me too!

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No

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I would do ANYTHING instead of H&V.
Chef Mickey may be … meh, and it is.
H&V … rates with Rain Forest and T-Rex food. Just not good.

The appeal of CM to us … is all nostalgia from when the kids were little and it was still over at Down-Town Disney (now Disney Springs). CM is occasionally on our restaurant list, but not often.

Minnie’s Beach Party Breakfast (Beach Club) is a decent option.

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I would not do it but I am with @tline35. We have done CM for breakfast and it was OK and just like the reviews predicted. We have done H&V for dinner two times. First time was passable, second time it was just awful.

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My kids loved Chef Mickey. It was loud, the food was okay (it wasn’t any worse than most buffets IMO), but the kids had amazing character interactions. And they absolutely loved the giant dessert buffet. I don’t think you’re obligated, but I also don’t think it’s that bad. :woman_shrugging:t2:

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nooooooo

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No, not at all. You have plenty of other better character meals planned (although not Hollywood and Vine—I would do CM over it).

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I think you should judge by how hard it is to get a dinner reservation there. It is generally packed and they do have the true Mickey Mouse characters. The make sure you see them all and interact with them for all the picture you wish. I don’t understand all this naysaying about the food. It is a buffet and if you don’t like something don’t take it. I thought the food was quite good. No, it is NOT a high class restaurant so if you are looking for that try Hollywood and Vine or Tiffin’s. Now on the other hand people just rave about Tusker House but my family can’t stand it. Too much curry. Want a fun place to go, try Hoop De Do Review, you can’t go wrong. Like Thanksgiving Dinner? Do the Liberty Tavern.

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Yesssss—- do it!!! It’s a fun place for kids and the food is just like every other
Buffet at Disney. I’m
All about pick your meals for experiences not the food at Disney. I love it for nostalgia but my kids 2 and 5 were in Awe at the characters walking around. Not a popular opinion here but I say do it if you have room. It’s fun! You do have a lot of ADRs. I don’t know if I would add it but if you wanted to swap.

How old are you kids?

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I think this is what is getting me…it’s such a classic. I feel like we should do it at least once.

I’ve been iffy about H&V, but I thought the characters in Christmas costumes would be cute.

DS7, DS4, DD2

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With kids that little, eating at your resort sounds great. I would do CM over H & V even without it being at your resort, but in this case, go for it!

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Doing Chef Mickey on a resort or late start day would be great. Their brunch has a decent selection of breakfast & lunch foods from my experience 2 years ago.

My general philosophy with character meals is to soak it up now while my kids enjoy it. Because before I know it they won’t care about characters as much, if at all.

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