Traditional meet and greets are back in Walt Disney World, and with that is good old fashioned character dining! Dust off those autograph books and get ready to hug your favorite characters. Let’s dive into the best places to eat with Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney World!
Chef Mickey’s
Located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Adult: $42 | n/a | Adult: $55 |
| Child (3-9): $27 | n/a | Child (3-9): $36 |
Chef Mickey’s is an iconic family-style restaurant in the Contemporary Resort. The location makes it an ideal restaurant for you to take a mid-afternoon break ( https://www.wdwvacationtips.com/great-places-to-rest-and-take-a-break-in-disney-world/ ) on your Magic Kingdom day. You can either walk from the Magic Kingdom or take the monorail. Speaking on monorails: if you have a train enthusiast in the family, they will love that the monorail actually runs through the Contemporary Resort. Yes, through it.
Food Options at Chef Mickey's
This is an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal, so you are free to ask for more of anything that you would like. Keep those Mickey waffles coming, please! Breakfast features an assortment of traditional dishes, such as fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course, the famous Mickey waffles. Dinner features a slightly fancier faire with a first course of salad, bread service, and shrimp. Entrees include chicken, salmon, carving stations, as well as vegetarian options, such as gnocchi. Side dishes are typically roasted or mashed potatoes and vegetables. Nothing really exciting there. Children will enjoy chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, tater tots, and steamed broccoli. Remember, it is all-you-care-to-enjoy, so go ahead, eat those tots off your kid’s plate! They’re endless! Note: Chef Mickey’s is not open for lunch.
Character Experience at Chef Mickey's
There is a reason that this restaurant is so iconic. Chef Mickey’s features the Fab 5, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Oh yeah, and they are wearing chef costumes!! Because, you know, the chef of Chef Mickey’s is Mickey…Makes sense. While you are eating, all five will come parading out in their cute outfits and come around to each table individually.
Want to be a little “extra”? The contemporary resort sells mickey ears with the iconic chefs hat so you and Mickey can be twinning for your selfies!
PROS:
- You get to see all five of the top characters in one place
- Easy to get to from the Magic Kingdom
- Super cute and unique costumes
CONS:
- Very busy and very loud
- Characters have a lot of tables to get to, so interactions feel rushed
- Nothing “special” about any of the food. It’s good, but it’s not like Ohana noodles…#iykyk
Hollywood & Vine
Located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Adult: $42 | Adult: $55 | Adult: $55 |
| Child (3-9): $27 | Child (3-9): $36 | Child (3-9): $36 |
Located right on Hollywood Boulevard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Hollywood & Vine is the only character dining available in Hollywood Studios… for now. (We’re keeping an eye on you, Roundup Rodeo BBQ.) This restaurant used to be a buffet but has since changed since Disney World reopened back in 2020. What hasn’t changed is the classic 1940s Hollywood feel. The theme: You are a hungry Hollywood star visiting a 1920s art deco diner after your big movie premier. Now, Hollywood & Vine is a prix fixe menu, featuring more exciting dishes that reflect the restaurant’s glam vibe versus the old buffet.
Food Options at Hollywood and Vine
Gone are the days of trays of sub-par scrambled eggs and boring banquet-style food. Adult options for breakfast include hazelnut spread, (or as we know it, Nutella), stuffed french toast, open-faced salmon bagel, and even a plant-based egg frittata. That’s not just fancy, it’s fancy-schmancy. Kids can choose from classics, such as scrambled eggs, fruit with yogurt, mickey waffles, or even boring old Cheerios. I don’t know about you, but those would be some expensive Cheerios, am I right? But to each their own…
Lunch and dinner, at Hollywood & Vine, starts with a family-style salad, and then adults can choose from selections like garlic and cracked black pepper beef tenderloin, macaroni and cheese with shrimp, and asparagus and summer truffle risotto. Kids can choose from seared salmon, roast beef, roast turkey, or macaroni and cheese. Lunch and dinner include a dessert. These desserts will make you feel like a Hollywood star with options such as, white chocolate cheesecake, spiced cherry cake, and lemon cake with fresh strawberries. Though, sadly, the children’s desserts are not nearly as exciting with fruit, ice cream sundae, sugar-free lemon sorbet, and apple pie being the only options. Disney, kids like fun treats, too!
Character Experience at Hollywood and Vine
Hollywood & Vine has a truly unique character dining experience. Breakfast is hosted by your favorite Disney Junior pals during Hollywood & Vine’s Play n’ Dine. You can see Vampirina, Doc McStuffins, Fancy Nancy, and Goofy. At first, I was a little confused about why Goofy would be in this lineup, but then it occurred to me that all of the other characters are young children and Goofy is the most experienced at looking after little ones. He is a dad after all!
Lunch and dinner are hosted by Minnie Mouse, and also feature Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and sometimes, Pluto. Not only does the time of day dictate your experience, so does the time of year! Minnie Mouse is a style icon, so of course she wouldn’t miss a chance to show a little fashion flair. You will see fashionable and seasonal costumes on all of the characters for Hollywood & Vine’s Silver Screen Dine, Springtime Dine, Summertime Dine, Halloween Dine, and Minnie’s Holiday Dine. Something about these characters and different costumes just tickles me!
PROS:
- Lots of characters to meet in unique costumes! You could come back multiple times and have different experiences
- Great new menu options
- The only restaurant to feature Disney Junior
CONS:
- This restaurant is a tight squeeze so interactions can be a little awkward
- Not the most kid-friendly menu unless your pickier kid doesn’t mind eating macaroni and cheese with a side order of macaroni and cheese
- The desserts… Y’all I can’t fathom in any universe that I, mom, get some beautifully decorated complex dessert and my kids get a scoop of boring vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, that they wouldn’t be all over mine with that deceivingly innocent, “Can I have a bite?”. We know how that goes. Boom, you have no dessert. I can’t be the only one who has three little moochers in place of children!
Tusker House
Located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Adult: $42 | Adult: $55 | Adult: $55 |
| Child (3-9): $27 | Child (3-9): $36 | Child (3-9): $36 |
Careful, you might walk on by this unsuspecting gem in Animal Kingdom! Located near the Harambe Market in the Africa section, Tusker House melts right into the theme of a quaint African village. Remember, Disney Imagineers don’t place anything without reason, so be sure to soak in as much of the decor and signs as you can.
Food Options at Tusker House
Tusker House is a restaurant that has traditional American fare with an African flair. Try saying that 5 times fast! Just as the tongue twister suggests, there is just enough African inspiration to be a little different and exciting, but it is not so much that you need to worry about picky eaters. Breakfast is all-you-care-to-enjoy featuring a series of baskets: fruit, pastries, and breakfast classics, such as scrambled eggs, durbin chicken, egg curry, jasmine rice, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and of course, Mickey waffles. But that’s not all! This is one of the few restaurants in Disney World where you can get a different character waffle. Tusker House serves up Simba waffles alongside their Mickeys.
Bring out your wild side for dinner with a stronger African influence on the menu. Start with the famous Tusker House bread service, which includes a variety of breads with different chutneys and hummus. Entree selections include Moroccan spiced beef, spit-roasted herb chicken, green curry shrimp, and berbere marinated pork. Too adventurous for you? No worries. You can always order off of the children’s menu if their items are more your speed. The children’s menu at Tusker House features perfect kid-friendly items like chicken nuggets, corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, and sometimes even peanut butter and jelly. Just know, if you are over 9 years old you will be given an adult portion and be charged an adult price. Personally, the idea that there are chicken nuggets as a backup plan makes me feel better about picking something out of my comfort zone.
Character Experience at Tusker House
Tusker House features Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy all dressed up to go on safari. Really, these costumes are so incredibly intricate with a lot of pieces. Mickey even has a special safari hat that accommodates his ears! All of that, but no one can seem to get Donald a pair of pants…? I digress - Each character takes a minute at each table to greet guests individually. Pro tip: Let yourself be in the story and come with yes or no questions for the characters about their explorations and adventures.
PROS:
- Located right inside Animal Kingdom, so it is a perfect place to take a mid-day break
- Great place to try something new, but not too new
- Two words: Safari. Outfits. Sorry, I am a sucker for a theme and a great photo op!
CONS:
- Tough menu for picky eaters
- If you do have a picky eater, that is one expensive PB&J
- Imagineers are really good at their job. If you aren’t aware that you are in the Harambe Market in Africa, you might be confused as to why this restaurant is so “run-down” looking
Garden Grill
Located at Disney’s EPCOT
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| n/a | Adult: $55 | Adult: $55 |
| n/a | Child (3-9): $36 | Child (3-9): $36 |
Garden Grill is a rotating restaurant in the Land building in EPCOT. Now, rotating here does not mean like the tilt-a-whirl in the county fair. This is a slow-moving restaurant that you cannot feel. The rotations allow you a glimpse into the Living with the Land boat ride attraction below. Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride through various styles of greenhouses, horticulture, and modernized ways to grow food. It is here that over 30 tons of food are grown and harvested to serve guests each year! Garden Grill showcases Disney’s sustainable agriculture by filling the menu with simple and delicious food grown right in their own greenhouses.
Currently, there is no bre