Review of the New Menu at Chef Mickey's

Recently, Chef Mickey’s, a classic Disney character meal, received some positive updates. We went to check it out to report back to you! Here is a review so you know whether you want to book a meal at Chef Mickey’s on your next Walt Disney World Vacation.

Chef Mickey’s

Many people have come to think of Chef Mickey’s as a quintessential character dining experience in Walt Disney World. After all, a meal with Mickey Mouse and his pals as Monorails go swooping by seems like it has all the makings for magic!

You will find Chef Mickey’s in Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which is walkable from the Magic Kingdom. Chef Mickey’s is inside the main tower on the 4th floor. It offers views of the hotel’s artwork, The Monorail, and even the Magic Kingdom depending on where you are seated.

Positive Change

When I (Kate) read Monica’s story about the positive wave of changes coming to Chef Mickey’s, I knew it was time to take my family back to try it again! We had such fun when we visited pre-2020. However, the changes that came along with the restaurant’s post-2020 re-opening made me hesitant to book it again when there are so many fantastic options for character dining in Walt Disney World.

After that visit, I can assuredly say that the changes noted did indeed turn out to be positive ones. And, there were some pleasant surprises, too!

Pricing

Chef Mickey’s is a rather expensive experience, even by Disney standards. Breakfast here currently costs $54 per adult and $34 per child (which can fluctuate seasonally).

For reference, my party of four (2 adults, and 2 children) booked breakfast here, and we ended up spending over $200 including tax and tip for our server. We did not order any specialty drinks or extras. We actually spent LESS than this for our dinner at Narcoosee’s, which is a Signature restaurant with some of the best food that Disney has to offer.

That said, Chef Mickey’s is a GREAT use of a meal credit if you are using the Disney Dining plan. This is especially true if you book dinner here.

Pirate Tip: You can maximize your value even more if you book a late breakfast/brunch. Then you can probably fill up enough to last all the way to dinner time with a snack in between meals.

However, character meals do come with their share of perks, particularly the delight that spreads across children’s faces as they watch for their favorite Disney pals to head their way. So, if you have room for one in your budget, it is a great deal of fun!

Ambiance and Timing

Chef Mickey’s is big, loud, and bustling. It is almost always busy; furthermore, it is often over-booked and on a bit of a delay. So, you will need to plan to build in some extra time for your dining experience.

Many character meals can take around 90 minutes to enjoy in the first place. It is a good idea to give yourself at least two hours for Chef Mickey’s in case you are not seated at your reserved time.

Pirate Tip: Do not make your Chef Mickey’s reservation for a day when you anticipate you will be in a hurry. It is not something you can squeeze in.

Characters

While you are at Chef Mickey’s, you can typically expect to meet 5 characters. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy make appearances dressed in their chef outfits! They sign autographs and pose for photographs. You can also expect some fun interactions if you or someone in your travel party cares to engage.

We did note that Mickey is once again in the rotation with the characters! Guests no longer have to stand and wait for a picture with the famous mouse at the end of the meal! In addition, Minnie is not there anymore either.

Mickey Mouse is back in the normal rotation at Chef Mickey’s.

We mentioned our excitement about this change to our server. He told us the change was made due to so much negative feedback regarding having to wait at the end of the meal for a photo with Mickey.

Additionally, the characters periodically have a dance party around the restaurant. They are stationed a specific points throughout the venue, and it is pretty much impossible to see them all, but you should be able to see at least one. They no longer do the napkin dance. However, many diners seem to remember it, so you might see a few people twirling napkins during the dance number for old-time’s sake.

Pirate Tip: Even though there are usually 5 characters in attendance, sometimes something unexpected comes up, and you will not end up seeing the full cast of characters. If you have little ones in your travel party, it may be best to promise they will see characters without elaborating on which characters they will see to avoid any disappointment.

PhotoPass

Guests can still pose for a Chef Mickey’s photo with a PhotoPass photographer at the end of the meal. But, there are no characters at the station.

Guests simply pose in front of a Chef Mickey’s Plate, and they have the option to hold up a Chef Mickey’s sign, or a Mickey Waffle, or BOTH.

Food

All meals at Chef Mickey’s are buffets. This can be positive if you or someone you are traveling with likes to be able to try unlimited quantities of anything available on the menu. However, it can be tricky if you have small children in your party who need help filling their plates. You might prefer family-style character dining instead where the food comes to you at your table. This is available at places like Garden Grill.

We visited for breakfast so that we could try out the new menu offerings. Besides, breakfast is generally a safe option considering it is tough to mess up Mickey Waffles!

Breakfast comes with beverages such as soft drinks, hot tea, coffee, or juice. Happily, Chef Mickey’s serves POG juice.

The breakfast buffet has SO many offerings. These include: Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Corned Beef Hash, Steak and Egg Scramble, Omelets, and Tofu Scramble, Cheesy Hash Brown, Bacon, Sausage Links, Carved Pit Ham, Andouille, Peppers, and Onions, cheese grits, tater tots, muffins, potato wedges, cinnamon rolls, assorted pastries, and cereal.

We were delighted to find a station with Charcuterie and Cheese Boards with Accouterments and a nice selection of fruit, primarily grapes, pineapple, and melon along with bananas. Here, there were also plenty of options such as cheese, smoked salmon, yogurt and granola, dried fruits, oatmeal, and boiled eggs.

And of course, there were Mickey Waffles, House-made French Toast, and Seasonal Pancakes. Finally, the all-new Croissant Beignets were there along with fruit toppings.

While some of the food was pretty lackluster and unappealing, including the omelets, some of it was good! My family’s favorites were the abundant Mickey Waffles, the Steak and Egg Scramble, the cheese grits, and the tater tots.

The New Croissant Beignets

Truly, the star of the show at Chef Mickey’s is the new Croissant Beignets. I will note that these are not traditional beignets, and they certainly are not Mickey-shaped like the ones you find at Port Orleans – French Quarter.

Instead, they are a deep-fried croissant and beignet hybrid. They are flakey, buttery, sugary layers of goodness, and they are just sweet enough. You don’t really even need any of the fruit compote toppings to enhance them. They are best enjoyed hot and fresh, so if you can catch them as they are being put out, you are in luck! But, they are tasty cold, too.

I actually prefer them to traditional beignets. They are THAT tasty. Should you book the meal JUST for the beignets? No. But, do not sleep on them if you do go and you have no dietary preferences, restrictions, or allergies that prevent you from eating them.

Overall

Positive Changes for Chef Mickey's at Disney World — Credit: Monica

There are still some issues with Chef Mickey’s. One is the increased wait time. And, while some of the food is good and even great, some of it is still very mediocre. This is almost unavoidable for buffets of this magnitude, and we are happy to see that there are at least some noteworthy options. At this point, breakfast is probably your best bet when it comes to overall enjoyment of the food items.

There are also some areas of the restaurant that are distinctly darker than others and less conducive to great photos. If this matters to you, you may want to request one of the well-lit rooms with large windows and nice natural light. The seating under the lower ceilings away from the windows is the main culprit, especially if you have an overcast day.

Regardless, we did enjoy our most recent experience at Chef Mickey’s very much. I most likely will not be in a hurry to rebook as we have multiple-character meals that we prefer over Chef Mickey’s, but it is a lot of fun.

Do you want more options for great character dining in Walt Disney World? Check out some of our reviews here:

Let us know what you think about Chef Mickey’s in the comments! Do you like the changes happening? And, feel free to share this review with anyone you know planning to visit Disney World so they know whether or not to book Chef Mickey’s.