Character dining is popular at Disney World but Chef Mickeys is probably the most famous of them all! Located in the Contemporary Resort you can dine with Mickey and Friends all while enjoying watch the monorail go by. The Magic Kingdom is right next door so it makes for a nice break from the park but still be able to go back after your meal is over.
The cost of dinner here at Chef Mickey is $55 for adults and $36 for children (not including tax and gratuity).
Chef Mickey Quick Facts
- Service: Table-Service, Family Style
- Type of Food: Steak, Turkey, Vegan
- Price: $$$$
- Location: Contemporary
- Disney Dining Plan: Yes, 1 Credit
- Discounts: Annual Passholder, DVC
- Features: Reservations, Character Dining
- Good For: Seeing the fab 5 Disney Characters
- Menu: Official Disney Dinner Menu
A Look Around Chef Mickey’s
Dinner is served daily starting at 5:00 pm.
The center of the restaurant is kind of the star of the show. This is where you used to be able to come up and get items from the buffet. Now that it’s family style it just sits empty.
Menu Items from Chef Mickey’s
Let take a look at all the yummy options that were brought out during this new family style meal at Chef Mickey’s.
Mickey Smoothie
To start I got suckered into ordering a specialty drink. They have these adorable Minnie and Mickey options. I opted for Mickey which was a Minute Maid strawberry and mango smoothie topped with whipped cream and Oreo ears.
The Minnie version is Minute Maid strawberry and vanilla smoothie topped with whipped cream and signature chocolate bow.
Pastry Chef’s Bread Selections
Our meal started with what was probably my favorite thing of the whole meal. It was the rolls that were topped with something along the lines of everything but the bagel seasoning, over the course of the meal I am pretty sure I gobble down a whole basket of these rolls.
Citrus-poached Baby Shrimp
This was a unique salad unlike anything else I have ever had at Disney World before. It’s a Creamy Cilantro-Lime Broccoli Slaw, Greens, Avocado, Tomato. It was good and the shrimp was cooked perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised and felt like this starter item it added more of a value to the high price tag of the meal.
Chef Mickey’s Caesar
This was simply a regular caesar salad. It was pretty bland and honestly, I normally love a Ceasar salad but I didn’t eat much more than I bite of this one. An unusual addition to this Ceasar was the red onions sprinkled in.
Seasonal Composed Plant-based Salad
This salad was good and fresh but nothing super exciting. Honestly I could have skipped the whole salad portion of the meal and been fine.
Potato Gnocchi
This creamy dish of gnocchi was perfect. Though we must admit it doesn’t live up to the famed gnocchi served over at Topolino’s Terrace. Here the gnocchi is served with roasted mushroom cream, baby spinach, parmesan, and herbs.
Plant-based Farro Wheat Fried Rice
It’s curious that they labeled this one as fried rice, I really didn’t get any fried rice vibes from it. It does consist of all the fried rice traditional ingredients but doesn’t have the overly greasy taste that comes with fried rice.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good I still really enjoyed this hearty rice. It was part of the vegan options that my husband and I both took some seconds. We love when we find some new healthier things that we actually enjoy.
Roasted Garlic Gratin Potatoes
The potatoes gratin was just what you would expect and hope it would be. My favorite part though is the hidden Mickey in the form of a parmesan crisp.
Prime Rib and Traditional Roasted Breast of Turkey
This pairing confused me and the turkey made the meal feel a little Thanksgiving to me. The good news is the turkey wasn’t over dry and still was enjoyable to eat. On the side was a perfect pairing of asparagus and carrots. I loved that these vegetables were still crunchy and not overcooked.
As for the prime rib it made the meal. It was perfectly cooked and packed with all the flavor you would expect out of a cut of prime rib. The steak is topped with a Mushroom Ragoût and Roasted Onions.
The hidden surprise was the succotash. We had no idea how much we loved this veggie, edamame mix. So much so we have made some succotash for dinners here back home.
Roasted Salmon
In addition to the meat above you also get a fish dish too! We were served salmon. The salmon is toped with a Sweet Mustard Glaze and Southern-style Braised Kale.
Desserts
Desserts are the standard buffet faire of petite little mini offerings. First up in the front is the Apple Crumble tart. It gets bonus points for the glitter and Chef Mickey chocolate. It was a good little bit with a crumbly crust with fresh apple in the center.
The winner of the dessert options was definitely the Oreo Mickey Mousse Dome. My husband loves Oreos and this didn’t disappoint.
Last but not least was the Strawberry Cream Cake. I enjoyed this a lot but I think it’s because I used to have it as a child and it had been years since I enjoyed a strawberry cake with cream cheese.
Chef Mickey Characters
You may be wondering what characters you meet when dining in at Chef Mickey’s. If you want a chance to meet them all make sure you stick around for at least an hour. It seemed like everyone rotated to come out again on the hour mark of us eating there.
The quick list of characters you can see here is:
- Mickey
- Minnie
- Goofy
- Pluto
- Donald
Minnie Mouse
Minnie is dressed in a red and pink retro chef outfit. Her outfit really stands out amongst the rest of the characters here and I totally loved that it was so special. We loved her cupcake on her apron! Be sure to have Minnie do a 360 twirl for you when she stops by!
Mickey Mouse
Of course, we can’t forget the Chef and star of the show Mickey Mouse.
Goofy
The always goofy, Goofy! We loved how much time Goofy took to interact with each table.
Pluto
Be sure to compare your ears to Pluto. I didn’t even notice until I was back home editing but he is perfectly poised with the Pluto artwork in the background too!
Donald
Last but not least was Donald Duck! The ever angry duck was out and having fun with all the guests dining with us.
Of course before your leave make sure you get the autograph card of all the characters. In our visit we were not able to walk up to the characters for photos and they were not doing autographs. So this signed character card is in place of doing the standard autographs.
Conclusion on Chef Mickeys
We enjoyed our character experience here at Chef Mickey’s. The food wasn’t bad here but we also weren’t wowed by it for the high price tag. I know we are spoiled but I could have enjoyed a better meal upstairs at the California Grill for a similar price if I watched what I picked off the menu.
On the plus side, the food here is unlimited. It is an all you care to enjoy family-style dinner, just like a buffet but delivered to your table. Anything we showed above you were allowed to request more of and some of it we definitely did. What I don’t like about this style of food is I feel like I overeat just to get my money’s worth out of the experience. However, if you go into it starving after a long day of running around a theme park I rather doubt you will mind the abundance of food offered here.
Have you dined at Chef Mickey’s for dinner? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. Be sure to share your favorite dish with us as well! Any questions we can help you answer? Just let us know in the comment section below.
Want more dining tips? Check out our Best Disney World Restaurants recommendations along with Worst Disney Dining Sit Down Restaurants. If you are visiting with young ones read our Best Places to Eat with Kids at Disney World.
I have been visiting the parks annually since my parents first brought me at just a year old. Recently I was able to fulfill my life long dream of being a Florida local and moved from the wintery Northeast to the sunshine and fun of central Florida. Now I am hoping to share my Disney knowledge with you so you can have the best vacation possible!
