Chef Mickey’s Restaurant is a great place to see Mickey and friends and have a surprisingly good meal. This is a great place for a family gathering. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner and hosts character meals with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald and more. (Characters change without notice.)
During busier times of the year (like the Christmas Holiday season), Disney will sometimes open this place up for lunch. Whatever meal you get, you won’t want to miss this one.
Chef Mickey’s
Photo by Nicola Steen
Location
Mickey’s signature restaurant is located in the Grand Canyon Concourse in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. In fact when you ride the monorail to/from the Magic Kingdom you can see it as you slide through the hotel.
Dad’s Contemporary Resort page
Decor
Chef Mickey’s is an openish air restaurant. The open concourse absorbs some of the sound, but for some reason this area is always loud and boisterous. As you can see from the pictures, everything is open and light. (This is not a good place for a quiet, intimate, romantic dinner for 2.) After dark things change somewhat. Without light streaming in the windows, everything is more dark and subdued, but still it’s very loud.
The Characters
Photo by Emily James
At both breakfast and dinner, you will find the big Chef himself prancing around the restaurant. This is one of Disney’s top character meals. (Character meals are where selected characters roam the restaurant stopping for pictures and autographs at every table.)
There is no guarantee that any particular character will be at your table during your meal, but you should get a visit from 3-4, or more during your stay.
(Please be courteous of others and allow them to have their time with the characters. Characters do circulate on a set pattern and you will get visits from them.)
Characters normally around are Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald.
Dad’s Disney World Character Dining Page
The Menu
Disney has been moving to more and more buffet restaurants lately, and they are getting pretty good at it. There are a variety of offering, but unlike some of the more exotic buffets this one is pretty standard. It’s also pretty good.
The Buffet Area
Breakfast
Breakfast includes the standard offerings –
- Fruits and melons
- Cereal – Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies, Almond Granola
- Oatmeal and Grits
- Omelets, Scrambled Eggs,
- Pluto’s Cheese Blintz, Goofy’s Veggie Lasagna, Corned Beef and Hash,
- Breakfast Meats, Breakfast Potatoes, Minnie’s Breakfast Pizza
- Mickey Waffles, French Toast, Pancakes
- Croissants, Muffins, Rolls, Danishes
- and more
Breakfast costs around $27.00 per adult and $14.00 per child (3-9). That includes beverage.
It’s about family …
Photo by Shannon White
Dinner
Dinner centers around the carved meats and several special casserole type dishes. Some of these are a little adventurous, but still pretty tame.
- Madeira Wild Mushroom Beef Tips
- Chicken of the Day, Fish of the Day, Pasta of the Day
- Goofy’s Vegetable Lasagna, Carved Meats
- Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, Mickey Cheese Ravioli and Marinara Sauce
- Stir Fried Vegetables, Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes and Lemon Butter Sauce, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
Children’s specials
- Chef Mickey’s Macaroni and Cheese
- Goofy’s Cheese Pizza
- Chicken Breast Tenders, Pluto’s Chicken
It’s all about the love of Disney
Photo by Laney Yoho Gliser
Desserts
- Rice Krispy Treats, Peach Cobbler, and Warm Bread Pudding
- Seasonal Melon & Fresh Fruit Display
Dinner costs just over $34.00 per adult and $17.00 for kids (3-9)
Disney Restaurant odds and ends
You can make Advanced Dining Reservation 180 days prior to your arrival. This restaurant reservations are required most of the year. These can be made online at Disney’s Dining Reservations or by calling 407-WDW-DINE.
This restaurant is part of the Disney Dining Plan. Click on the link for more information about how the plan works.
All Disney Restaurants are non-smoking.
It’s all about perfection (Christmas morning 2003)
Dad and the whole family at Chef Mickey’s. (Dad’s the good looking one.)
More Pictures of Chef Mickey’s
Dad has hundreds of pictures of Chef Mickey’s, including some of his own. This is the place to take lots of pictures. I asked for pictures of the restaurant over on the Facebook page (some of which you see here) and within a few hours I had a whole bunch.
If you haven’t come by and liked Dad’s Facebook page, you probably should do that right now. Every day we talk about some new part of Walt Disney World, share pictures and stories, and have a bunch of fun. Trust me.
Dad’s Facebook Page
Dad’s Bottom Line
We took the whole bunch to Chef Mickey’s. All 15 of us, on Christmas Day no less. Nobody complained. Breakfast was good, filing, and the character interaction was timely and almost continuous. It’s also a pretty good deal seeing you won’t go away hungry.