REVIEW: A WARNING About Going to Chef Mickey’s for Lunch

Did you know you can dine with CELEBRITIES in Disney World? Well…sort of!

Let’s go to Chef Mickey’s!

Cause let’s be honest here — Mickey and Minnie Mouse are definitely celebrities. They’re famous all over the world! And all around Disney World, there are plenty of character meals where you can meet the main mice along with all of their friends. Recently, I went to check out one of the most well-known options, and I have some spicy thoughts to share!

Atmosphere

Recently, I got a “lunchtime” (you’ll understand why I put that in quotes shortly) reservation to head to Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort for a restaurant review. This is that iconic character meal that you can see as you ride through the hotel on the monorail!

There’s a photo op as you enter the restaurant!

It’s located on the 4th floor Grand Concourse of the resort, right between Contempo Cafe and Outer Rim. Reservations are definitely recommended, as this can be a pretty popular spot during peak mealtimes.

The autograph card!

The restaurant offers buffet-style dining (more on that in a minute), with a few signature dishes available.

The buffet in the middle

But the most important note? It’s a character meal! Here you can meet Mickey Mouse and friends.

Mickey Mouse

Mickey and his pals are dressed up in their chef’s best (they helped cook the food on the buffet!) and their outfits are simply adorable. We talked with Minnie…

Isn’t she stunning?!

…snapped photos with Donald…

He’s #1!

…said “hi” to Daisy…

It’s Miss Daisy!

…and waved at Pluto!

His dog tag is a cast iron pan!

Service here is pretty simple — I was seated at my table in the dining area and then my server came by to take my drink order. After that, I was free to get up and check out the buffet.

The table

Now we’ve got a look at the restaurant, let’s talk about the food!

Menu

There was a menu available with adult beverages at each table, including options like a mimosa, the Chef’s Bloody Mary, White Chocolate Cold Brew, or a Peach Bellini.

Morning Cocktails Menu

There are also some kid-friendly non-alcoholic drinks that you can get. There’s a Mickey Mouse Smoothie and a Minnie Mouse Smoothie along with the typical Disney mocktails. These are an additional charge on top of your meal, but regular beverages like juice, tea, coffee, and soda are included in the price.

You can get non-alcoholic options too!

Before we dive into the buffet, there’s one thing you should know. Chef Mickey’s doesn’t currently serve lunch! My reservation time was after 12PM, but they still serve breakfast here until 12:30PM. So it’s totally possible to make a reservation for “lunch” and not realize that it’s still the breakfast buffet menu.

Buffet plates

There are multiple sections to the buffet, so let’s start with the cold bar. Here, you can build your own yogurt creation with fruit and other toppings.

Cold bar

There are a variety of fruit choices, including pineapple and watermelon.

Lots of fruits!

There’s also a make-your-own charcuterie section with eggs, onions, guacamole, meat, and cheese.

You can make your own charcuterie!

They had ham, salami, and several other types of meat, along with cheese cubes and slices.

Several meat and cheese choices

Moving around to the hot side of the buffet, we started with grits and oatmeal.

Grits and oatmeal

Next to that you’ll find the biscuits, which are on the smaller side so you can try more things.

Biscuits

And what would be biscuits without gravy?! Also with the gravy is the famous cheesy potato casserole, which is an iconic item here at Chef Mickey’s.

GRAVVVYYYYY

Since it’s a breakfast buffet, they’ve of course got eggs and bacon.

The classics

There are also some sauces you can use to top your eats! On the day we visited they were blueberry and strawberry flavored.

Two different sauces!

For the little ones, there’s a small buffet section that’s at the perfect height. They have chicken sausage, eggs, and tater tots.

Kids’ buffet

If you want some lighter options, they have a Frittata along with a Tofu Scramble.

Frittata and Tofu

And we can’t forget about the pancakes!

Pancakes!

It wouldn’t be a Disney breakfast without Mickey waffles, and here you can also grab french toast sticks. They had tiny cups of syrup sitting over here as well.

Mickey Waffles are an essential!

And last but not least, we’ve got braised beef brisket and sliced ham.

MEAAAAT

On a separate buffet, you’ll find pastry and dessert options like turnovers…

Pastries

…danishes…

Delicious!

…croissants…

Croissants

…and mini muffins.

Muffins!

But the highlight is the Banana Bread Pudding. Just look at it!

The iconic bread pudding!

There’s a thick caramel sauce you can get on the side to top it with.

Sauce!!

That’s everything on the buffet, it’s time to EAT!

Eats

There’s a LOT of stuff to try here, and I made sure to load my plate up with plenty of tasty options! But before we talk about that, let’s discuss the Mickey Mouse Smoothie. This is $6.99 and made with frozen Minute Maid mango smoothie and strawberry smoothie topped with whipped cream and cookies ‘n’ cream crumbles.

It was pretty sweet, but the mango flavor really shone through. It melts SUPER fast, so make sure to drink it quickly if you don’t want a mess from that whipped cream!

Mickey Mouse Smoothie

First up, let’s talk about the biscuits and gravy. The biscuit had a nice buttery flavor, but was definitely on the dry side. It was hard to pull apart and actually quite chewy, which isn’t exactly a trait I want from my biscuits. The gravy had a strange flavor to it that was oddly earthy and didn’t taste like traditional gravy. The gravy was also already cold when I got it. Overall, not my favorite rendition of biscuits and gravy I’ve tried.

The full plate!

On the other hand, the carved ham was DELICIOUS. It’s served with a spicy pineapple sauce as the accompaniment and it wasn’t too spicy, but added a nice fruity Hawaiian-like element. It’s a really thick and salty piece of ham, and it was so big of a serving that it took up half of my plate. It’s probably a smidge too salty, but not overwhelmingly so.

I really enjoyed eating the ham alongside some fresh pineapple I put on my plate. The pineapple was sweet and juicy and they made a delightful pair.

Pineapple and Ham

Next up, we have to talk about what was (in my humble opinion) the STAR of the meal — the cheesy potato casserole. This is pretty similar to a hash brown casserole, and the potatoes were absolutely amazing and very creamy with a strong cheese flavor. There was a little bit of a crust on top, and it added a good crispy element. I would eat a whole BOWL of these — and I totally would’ve actually tried to if I hadn’t been there at the end of the breakfast hours.

That potato casserole, Y’ALL!

Now it’s time for some eggs! The frittata was light and SO fresh with tomatoes, cheese, and herbs. It was much fluffier than I expected and it made me wonder if it was whipped with ricotta. The tomatoes and greens added brightness to the frittata overall, and I wanted to eat the whole thing.

The hard-boiled egg was exactly that — a hard-boiled egg. Pretty basic, cooked all the way through, a breakfast staple. I also grabbed a few cubes of cheese that tasted like cheddar and were pretty standard.

The egg eats!

Moving around to the other side, we’ve got to talk about the smoked salmon that I pulled from the charcuterie bar. It was quite yummy and lightly smoked so that the flavor wasn’t too “punch you in the teeth.” This would be excellent with other accouterments from the cold bar.

Disney also serves up a breakfast hash here, which had peppers, potatoes, and meat. There are lots of good textural elements here with soft, chewy, and crunchy bits, but there wasn’t much flavor except for the brightness of the pepper. This was also one dish that was cold when I got it, so I think it would be better warm.

Salmon and potatoes

Next up, we’ve got the CARBS. (And what’s a breakfast without lots of those?!) I of course picked up some Mickey waffles, along with french toast sticks.

The french toast sticks were definitely on the disappointing side. They were SO chewy that it was difficult to eat them, but they did have a nice cinnamon flavor.

Breakfast of champions

But the Mickey waffle? This was perfection! Like always, these were absolutely amazing — fluffy inside with a slight chew on the outside and a mild sweetness that brings it all together.

Mickey waffle!

Last but not least, we’ve got to talk about the banana bread pudding, which was really hyped up for me ahead of time. I love a good bread pudding, and I’ve had some truly delicious versions in Disney World. But this one fell flat.

It was incredibly mushy in texture and looked like it might have been cooked a little too hot because it was crisp on the outside but underdone and doughy in the middle. The flavor was nice, but it reminded me of banana oatmeal. If you’re into that, this might be your cup of tea!

Banana Bread Bread Pudding

That’s everything that I ate! So what did I think of the meal and experience?

Overall

Let me start by saying something that you probably don’t expect — I do NOT recommend going to Chef Mickey’s for lunch…and it has nothing to do with the food! Since they don’t actually serve lunch here, you’re just getting the same food they serve for breakfast, but later in the day. And my reservation at 12:20PM seemed to be the last one before the restaurant shut down breakfast at 12:30PM.

Dining room

This was a problem for multiple reasons. First of all, it took me a while to get seated, so I wasn’t at my table until 12:45PM. Then, when I sat down, the characters were coming by immediately and making their last round for the breakfast shift. There’s no chance of seeing them twice if you eat this late, and if I had gotten up to go to the buffet right away, I would’ve missed them altogether. Speaking of the buffet — it was closed shortly after I got my food, so that I didn’t have the opportunity to get seconds. 

Full spread

With the food I ate, there were some things I enjoyed (the cheesy potatoes, the ham, the frittata) and some I didn’t (the hash, the bread pudding, the french toast sticks), but there are plenty of options for a variety of palettes. For me, the problem with this meal was more about the timing. So if you want to go eat breakfast, make sure you plan to be there BEFORE noon. Preferably even earlier than that.

One of the tables

Chef Mickey’s can be a great experience, but you’ll want to time it properly! And with buffet eats, the quality of the food can vary wildly from day to day, so just keep that in mind.

Nosh or Not?

Pal around with Chef Mickey and friends for breakfast if…

• You make an early reservation. Don’t try to pass this off as lunch! If you come later, the meal will likely be stressful and rushed. Plan it for the morning and give yourself plenty of time!
• You have a variety of tastes in your party. The buffet had lots of crowd-pleaser options to choose from. I think a lot of palettes would enjoy this.
• You want to meet 5/6 of the sensational six in one spot. This meal has all the classic pals except Goofy, and because of that, it’s a great starter character meal. You can please a lot of Disney fans in one go!

Have your food made by a chef that ISN’T a mouse if…

• You’re on a time constraint. This isn’t really a fast meal. You’ll have to wait around for characters to drop by, and then you’ll have to go up to the buffet and get all your food. It’s definitely a full experience that you don’t want to rush.
• You want to eat a true lunch. Sure, you can eat during lunchtime (which I don’t recommend), but they don’t serve lunch food here. Instead, make a reservation for breakfast or later on for dinner.
• You want some exotic eats. The menu here is pretty simple and very American-based cuisine-wise. Don’t go in here expecting anything over the top or fancy!

Chef Mickey’s spread

That’s a wrap on my visit to Chef Mickey’s! Stay tuned to DFB for more food reviews from the restaurants around Disney World, and all the updates you need to know for your next vacation.

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