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Last weekend, baby girl and I took a much-needed break to some warm weather. We spent five days in Orlando, Florida with my cousin and her three kids! Now when people think Orlando, naturally, they think of Disney World. And believe me, Disney World is amazing! And tiring! And expensive! So on this trip we took a mellower jaunt to the Greatest Place on Earth – a character meal at Chef Mickey Brunch! If you are short on time, or funds, checking out a character meal is a great way to experience the park in a more low key way. I highly recommend this, so I am so excited to share my Chef Mickey Review!
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Photo credit: Michael Kappel via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC
Chef Mickey’s Review
If you don’t have time, or you don’t want to spend a full day at Disney, booking a character meal is a great activity that will let you have a great Disney experience – and a decent meal. Of course, if you are in the throws of a longer WDW vacation, a character meal is always fun to include on your agenda as well. In a setting like a character meal, you always get a more personal experience with your favorite Disney characters!
This is an especially great tip with babies and toddlers. When little man was about 10 months, and again when baby girl was almost a year, we traveled to Orlando and only did a character meal. When the kids were a little older, we spent three whole days at Disney, and did eat at the 1900 Park Fare, the Winnie the Pooh & Alice In Wonderland character breakfast at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. In the summer of 2020, when spending two days at Walt Disney World during the pandemic, we got to finally try Breakfast ala Art with Mickey and Friends at Topolino’s Terrace!
This time we opted for Chef Mickey Brunch at the Contemporary Resort.
Planning a Disney trip is tough. Which resort? Ticket type? Park Passes? Touring Plan? Of course, there is your budget to consider as well!
For those reasons, it’s always best to work with a travel professional to help plan a WDW vacation. I help you with EVERYTHING, And the best part? My services are free! That’s right, you pay the same price whether you book through me or directly through Disney.
Chef Mickey Reservations
We booked Chef Mickey because this meal has the most iconic Disney characters. Chef Mickey Characters include: Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck! I booked through the Disney Dining Reservations site. I already had a full profile set up from our 2015 trip to WDW. I booked a few weeks out, but I recommend booking your character meals as early as possible. As a non-resort guest, you may book up to 180 days prior to dining.
Chef Mickey is an all you care to eat, self service, buffet. Servers bring you coffee, water and non-alcoholic beverages. Characters circle the dining room, coming to your table to take photos and give hugs! Every 10 minutes or so, the characters dance around, waving their napkins and getting the crowd excited.
We had planned for breakfast with Chef Mickey, but the earliest reservation on a Sunday in January (for six people) was at 1:05pm. Breakfast is served from 7:00 am until 11:15 am, at which time they switch the buffet offerings to brunch. Chef Mickey Brunch is a hybrid of breakfast foods (eggs, Mickey waffles, pancakes) and lunch foods (cold salads, chicken nuggets, tator tots, tofu scramble etc.). See the full menu HERE. Brunch is served until 2:30 and then dinner from 5:00 until 9:30.
Chef Mickey Brunch Price
Personally, I would recommend the Chef Mickey breakfast over the brunch, if you can get the reservation. I think the food was better for breakfast, and the cost is the same. We paid $40 for each adult, and $22 per child over the age of 2. Our baby cousin, age 10 months was free. Since we had a party of 6 or more, an 18% gratuity was added to our bill.
HEADING TO THE PARKS? READ MORE ABOUT HOW TO PACK THE PERFECT DISNEY PARK BAG
Chef Mickey Brunch Review
Baby girl said the Chef Mickey brunch was her favorite Orlando adventure. I loved seeing the smile on the kid’s faces each time the characters came around! The food was good, the tofu scramble was really tasty and the cheesy potatoes were amazing! I also had some really tasty chocolate mousse dessert. The kids had Mickey waffles, chicken nuggets and of course, ice cream!
Free Fun at Walt Disney World
After eating, we took a ride around the resort on the Walt Disney World Monorail. It’s free, and there is a station right in the Contemporary Resort. The train goes in a big circle, stopping at the Transportation Station, the Polynesian Resort, the Grand Floridian Hotel and Magic Kingdom. With little kids, they were so excited about what they were doing, they didn’t even realize they weren’t actually in the theme parks!
Heading into WDW? Then be sure to read this Walt Disney World Fast Pass Guide to help you plan your trip!
Chef Mickey Brunch Tips
- Chef Mickey Brunch ends at 2:30. Our reservation was for 1:05 and we arrived right on time. We had to wait a few minutes to be seated. When we sat, we took our time waiting for characters, checking out the buffet, and going to the bathroom. BUT we then realized they do start taking the food away at 2:30 – and we were there to eat our money’s worth! So if your reservation is on the later side, don’t dilly-dally. Eat first!
- When driving to The Contemporary Resort, you come to a toll booth (there is a fee to park at the Magic Kingdom and the resorts) but if you tell the guard you are going to a character meal, they do not make you pay to park. Same as you enter the Contemporary Resort self-park.
- Click here to get your Disney tickets!
Have you had breakfast with Mickey? What is your favorite Walt Disney World character meal? Any Disney dining tips to share?
Looking to plan a Walt Disney World Trip? Let us help you navigate all things Disney and plan your most amazing (and stress-free) Disney Trip! Click here to learn more about the 5 Walt Disney World Planning Tips your travel advisor uses! And CLICK HERE to get started planning your magical adventure!
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Other Walt Disney World Character Meals You Might Like:
A Complete Guide to ‘Ohana at WDW by Five for the Road
1900 Park Fair: Cinderella’s Happily Ever After, by Smart Mouse Travel
Disney Princess Dining: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, by Love, Laughter and Luggage
Bon Voyage Breakfast Review, by Have Diapers will Travel
If someone in your party has food allergies, be sure to check out these tips from Smart Mouse Travel, 5 Minute Guide to Dealing with Food Allergies at Disney
Other Awesome Orlando Posts:
48 Hours In…. Orlando, Florida
Wild Florida, Everglades Airboat Tour
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Thanks for the great review! We like doing the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace but I think we are ready for a change and Chef Mickey’s has been on my radar.
ohhh I didnt know about that one! I’ve been to the 1900 Park fare three times, and chef mickey twice now
What is not to love about this restaurant. Disney does it again. Sure it is very popular place to go.
This is a great information. I want to take my kids there one day.
We haven’t been to Disney as a family yet. We are waiting until our kids are a little older. This restaurant would be a hit with all of our boys. We would totally do the buffett if we are ever able to do this.
i agree, our first disney trip the kids were 3.5 and 6. good age, but we still had to deal with strollers, naps and little one being too small for some rides. plus waiting an hour for some rides were hard!
This is so cute! Your daughter looks so extremely happy in the photos! Thank you for sharing!
I loved Chef Mickey’s when I was a kid!
It seems a bit pricey for brunch/ lunch but its Disney so I guess its about right. We spent a week there a few years ago and soent more than our week.in Paris a few weeks later. But its a nice memory we’ll always have.
I believe it. Yeah $65 + for the two of us was a bit much, BUT we spent the better part of the day there, ate a ton & didnt need to eat much for dinner or breakfast 🙂
I love Disney!! We haven’t done Chef Mickey yet. Thanks for the great review. We will add it to our list!
Great post Harm! It was a great experience and worth the price. Yes it is pricey but the one-on-one interaction with the characters and the memories with all the photos and video we captured was worth it! The food was good too! Especially the dessert bar! Take advantage of 2nds and 3rds!
agreed! sometimes you have to splurge on life experiences.
We’ve done the princess meals at Disney but have never visited Chef Mickey. We’re heading to Disney on Saturday and this is such great info to have. My kids would love this. 🙂
have a great trip! we got shut out of the princess meal in 2015 would love to do that on our next visit!
What a great review! It looks like such a fun place to have a meal and enjoy a “Disney” experience, if you don’t want to go all out. I haven’t been to America, and never even knew the character meals existed! Will definitely keep an eye on this if we ever go over with our little one! #humpdayhype
we have done character meals at Sesame Place, and the Nick hotel. super fun!
Thats a great tip about getting the Disney experience without having to enter the parks!
Chef Mickey’s is always a fun place for a meal, though I agree with you on the fact that Breakfast is better than Brunch! 1900 Park fare is a lot of fun when the kids get to the age that they may want to meet face characters too!
We specialise in Planning Disney trips and so love reading about peoples experiences!
Thanks for checking out my site! I really cant wait to go back to WDW although we have a summer Cali trip on the brain… havent been to DL since 1988!
Being in Australia we don’t have anything like this here! I know my kids would love all the Disney things you guys have! Hopefully one day we will get over the experience all the magic!
#humpdayhype
We really love to eat at Chef Mickey’s! In fact, we really love any character meal. My daughter seems to like this one the best, though. It’s the one she always asks for when we start planning a trip! I see your daughter loves it, too! This is a great review of your experience!
Going to Chef Mickey would be a treat and so fun. Wonderful you have family to visit and enjoy what disney has to offer.
Even I would love those adorable Mickey waffles! Wonder if you can buy a Mickey waffle iron somewhere – my grands would be amazed. ?
that would be a great invention!
I remember visiting Chef Mickey when I was a kid and it was one of my favorites! I can’t wait to take my daughter someday. I love those Mickey waffles!
Such a great concept to have character meals like that – I have to admit even as an adult I’m still a huge Disney fan and going to chef mickeys has been added to my list, the big kid inside me is screaming out for the pancakes haha
Great review of your experience! These are always fun times at Disney!
We want to do a character meal at Chef Mickey. The classic characters are my favorite so we will probably do this on our next visit to WDW. We only started doing the character meals on our last trip to Disneyland and now we’re hooked. The princess breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto is pretty fun.
sadly we did not do a character meal on our recent DL trip. the one day ticket for a family of four was so expensive so we had to skip it 🙁
Looks like such a fun place! My daughter would love to go somewhere like this 🙂
I am a Disney FREAK! Being from Orlando we had season passes for a year and before that we tacked onto my parents Silver pass for Disney contractors. This was the first year in a long time that I haven’t been to the parks at least once and my heart misses it! Maybe we will have to give this a go!! I have actually never done Chef Mickeys, though I have thought about it every time the monorail passes through the Contemporary. Thanks for all the great tips!!
I love Disney too! Chef Mickeys is one of the best!
We have done the princess tea party but never chef Mickey! We will have to try that out next time! Thanks for sharing!
Looks like you guys had a blast! I remember going to something similar (not sure if it’s the same restaurant or not) when I was younger with my parents. It’s a great childhood memory of mine, and I’m sure it will be for your little girl, too! I would honestly love this now as an adult, too…I’m still a huge Disney fan.
Great review! We went to Chef Mickey’s a really long time ago, and my oldest, who was 5 at the time, hid under the table when characters came around :). We need to make it back with my 4 year old, because I suspect he’d be a lot braver!
my daughter did that one year at sesame!
Cute! I really want to get my kids back to Disney again before they get too old! We never did a character meal, but even thought they are getting older it might still be a fun experience for them!
How sweet! Looks like y’all had a blast.
Great Review. It sounds like a fun day without having to visit the parks.We ate dinner at Chef Mickey’s for the first time during our last trip. We had avoided it before thinking it was more for kids, but we tagged along with friends who wanted to eat there and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was good. I especially loved unlimited rice crispy treats and Minnie Mouse gave me extra hugs. #WeekendWanderlust
I had no idea that you could do a character meal without actually go to the park. That’s great to know.
yes! Perfect with little kids who don’t know better or if you are in Orlando and want a little Disney magic.
This is a great idea. I have friends who add a character meal to their trip to the park. But, I have not though about the possibility of doing the meal bu itself. It is less of a time and money compromise. #WeekendWanderlust
We love Chef Mickey’s too! We had a room in Contemporary on one trip overlooking Chef Mickey’s. We loved starting and ending our day seeing the Characters below. It’s iconic and definitely worth a visit.
You and little girl take such fun trips!! I was really impressed with how Disney handles allergies and such. We went the week after my son was diagnosed with Celiac disease and were new to the whole gluten-free food idea and they chefs helped us a lot!
What a great way to get just a little Disney without stressing too much with littles! Thanks for sharing on #mousefanmondays
Our kids (actually us too) seem to remember those special moments long after other stuff has faded away. One of the reasons we love to travel is because we will always have the memories…