Disney World’s Chef Mickey Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort Hotel

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Is Disney World’s Chef Mickey Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort Hotel really worth it? Chef Mickey’s is one of the most popular Disney World character meal, but is it the right choice for dinner for you and your family?

Chef Mickey’s is a Disney character dining restaurant which you have to experience at least once in a lifetime. Chef Mickey is a Disney dining classic – it was one of the first Disney World restaurants to offer dining with the characters. Chef Mickey has been located at the Disney Contemporary Resort since 1996. Before that it was to be found in the Village House restaurant (where the Rainforest Cafe is now located).

It’s funny to think that Disney character dining was not always part of the Disney experience.The character dining experience is first reference at Disney World in 1977. That was a buffet experience at Cocino Cove in the Contemporary Resort. Guests could enjoy a character buffet breakfast every Sunday.

Title photo by Ashley

Chef Mickey Character Dinner Location

Photo by Lee

The Chef Mickey breakfast, brunch and dinner is held in Disney’s Contemporary Resort Hotel. It is located in the atrium of the hotel – it is one of the few hotels in the world where you can dine and watch a monorail go past!

Chef Mickey’s is one of the few Disney character dining locations which is located outside a Disney park. This makes it a great idea to have a character meal here when you do not want to use up a park ticket day. It can be a good idea to book a Disney character dinner here on your first day so that you know you will definitely have something ‘themed’ to do, without needing to spend money on a ticket for the day, or using up valuable park exploration time.

For more places to enjoy character dining without park admission see our guide at:

Disney World Character Dining Without Park Admission

Chef Mickey Characters

Photo by lorenjavier

The characters who appear at Chef Mickey’s are:

Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Pluto
Donald Duck
Goofy

The costumes which they wear are all chef themed.

Chef Mickey Dinner Pricing

Enough of the history lesson and back to the actual experience of dining at Chef Mickey’s for a character dinner. The first thing to say is that this is not a cheap meal. In fact it’s a pretty expensive meal. Do not engage unless you are prepared for some serious damage to your wallet.

Prices vary according to the season – meaning you will pay more at peak attendance times such as Christmas, New Year, July 4th and Thanksgiving. The least you will pay it $45.53 for an adult and $25.23 for a child. This can go up to $52.05 for an adult and $29.55 for a child at peak times. These prices include tax but not gratuity.

The meal includes an all you care to eat buffet and unlimited non alcoholic beverages (coffee, tea, soda, and milk). Alcoholic beverages and specialty drinks are available for an extra charge.

Therefore, for a family of 4 with 2 kids aged between 3 and 9, this is a $200 dinner. That’s a whole lot of cash.

Chef Mickey’s is included on the Disney Dining Plan, and is one of the best uses of your full service dining credit (because of its high cost). If you are on the Dining Plan you will still have to pay the gratuity as an additional cost.

You can also use your Tables in Wonderland discount card – but this does have blackout dates at some times of the year.

How To Get A Reservation At Disney Chef Mickey’s

It is one of the most popular of all the Disney World restaurants, and it can be difficult to get a reservation. It is essential that you book ahead and get an Advance Dining Reservation.

How do you get an Advance Dining Reservation? The easiest way is to go online to

Chef Mickey Dining Reservation

You can make a reservation up to 180 days in advance. If you are staying at a Disney World resort hotel, you can book 10 days earlier. This is a great perk of staying in a Disney World resort as it is easier to get dining reservations for popular restaurants such as Chef Mickey’s.

Dinner is served from 5.00 pm to 9.30 pm every day.

Disney World’s Chef Mickey Character Dinner Menu

Photo by Micheal Kappel

The Chef Mickey menu is an all you care to eat buffet. The menu will vary, but usually these items are available for dinner.

Cold Selections

Seasonal Mixed Fruit
Freshly tossed Caesar Salad
Peel-n-Eat Shrimp
Endive and Apple Salad
Sushi Selection with Accompaniments
Roasted Vegetables with Pasta in a Tomato Vinaigrette
Antipasto Salad
Citrus Seafood Salad

Carved To Order Station

Herb-marinated Sirloin of Beef
Oven-roasted Turkey Breast

Chef Mickey Specialties

Chef’s Daily Soup
Mango Barbecue Pork Ribs
Smoked Kielbasa Sausage and Cheese Potato Pierogis
Oven-roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken
Baked Salmon Filet
Lobster Macaroni and Cheese
Freshly Breaded Eggplant Parmesan
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Kid’s Menu

Kid’s can eat from the adult selection, but the special, easy to reach kid’s buffet has the usual favorites of:

Mickey’s Macaroni and Cheese
Goofy’s Mini Corn Dogs
Chicken Nuggets
Minnie’s Vegetables

Desserts

Rice Krispy Treats
Peach Cobbler
Warm Bread Pudding
Seasonal Melon
Fresh Fruit Display
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Minnie’s Chocolate & Red Velvet Cupcake
Key Lime and Seasonal Fruit Tarts

Is Chef Mickey’s Worth It?

We have already seen that this is one of the most expensive character dining experiences in Walt Disney World. Is it worth it? We would say it most definitely is not worth it if you are going for the food. We feel that Chef Mickey’s is probably one of the worst food quality offerings in the whole of Disney World. It’s mediocre at best, and inedible at worst. If you imagine mass market, low quality buffet food, you won’t be far wrong.

The atmosphere is loud. Astonishingly loud. The design of the atrium amplifies every sound, and bearing in mind a great majority of the people in Chef Mickey’s are young children, this adds up to a very loud dining experience.

So does this mean that we don’t recommend Chef Mickey’s? Even though the food is poor and expensive we still say it is worth giving Chef Mickey’s a try. Why? It is just a whole lot of fun. Chef Mickey’s has some of the best character interactions of all of the Disney dining restaurants. The characters just seem to go above and beyond to ensure that everyone has a good time.

If you have young kids give the Chef Mickey dinner a try (or the breakfast or brunch because they are priced lower). Don’t go for the food. Go for the Disney characters and the experience.

Will you be going to Disney World’s Chef Mickey Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort Hotel? Tell us what you think.