Chef Mickey's

Contemporary Resort, MK Monorail Loop

January 2015

Overall Rating: 8.4 

Ambiance: 6 

Food: 8

Service: 10 

Chef Mickey's is a character buffet located on the main floor of the Contemporary Hotel.   If you are looking for good food and a great place to meet the "Fab 5" (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto), then this is your restaurant!

Ambiance/Theming : 6 

Chef Mickey's is located on the south end of the main concourse of the Contemporary Hotel.   That being said, it is not a very intimate environment that you find in most table service restaurants, but the main reason for dining here are the characters, so it may not really matter.   

The theming is on the weak side.   It is colorful, but there is no true theme that carries throughout or tells the typical story that is a hallmark Disney focus.  The other disconnect is that it doesn't really fit in with its surroundings.  The Contemporary Hotel is modern and sleek, whereas this restaurant is almost 80's throwback.  Again, this may not matter to most as the characters are the main focus and once they make their appearance, game over.

If I could compare the general vibe of this restaurant to anything, it would be that of a Las Vegas buffet.   Lots of noise, lots of people, lots of food.   It is a very fun and energetic place to be, and the energy kicks up once the characters start coming out of the kitchen.   The characters, on both of my visits to this restaurant, have been wonderful and so very interactive with the guests.   Their rotations are often, and they visit every table.   You would be hard pressed to find better photo ops with these characters anywhere else.

Food: 8 

For this visit, I will be reviewing the breakfast buffet.

This buffet is quite large and offers plenty of variety to check off almost anyone's list.   There is a fresh fruit and dairy section to start, and it moves into your typical breakfast fair.   One thing I thought was quite clever is that they have a lowered portion of the bar with the more kid-friendly options so they can be reached by the young ones with ease.   The more adult food and the carving station are located toward the end of the line.

I was very impressed with the food.  It was fresh, warm, and delicious.   The Mickey Waffles at WDW are famous, and they are found here in abundance.   I also very much enjoyed the several choices of eggs and carved meats.   For me, however, the two dishes not be missed are: 1) the cheesy hasbrown bake, and 2) the polish style sausage.  

Service: 10 

Our server was so very nice, and so accommodating considering we had a group of 13 at the restaurant that day.   Drink refill rating: outstanding.   She kept the beverages coming, and didn't mind us switching juices and milks throughout the meal.  

 

I also include the character portion in this category, and the character interaction this time was off the charts.   They encouraged us to make noise as the characters came out, and that we did!   What resulted was some very fun interaction with the characters, and we even ended up with 2 or 3 characters at our table on a couple of occasions.

Summary:

As previously noted, this is one of the greatest character meals in WDW.   The food could be horrible, and this would still be worth the entire experience.   Fortunately, the food is outstanding for a buffet, and sitting in an open area with the monorail passing overhead only enhances the excitement of this restaurant.   We will be back, most likely, every year!