Chef Mickey’s – 5 Things You Need to Know

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is one of our favorite character dining experiences! We love the selection of characters available and enjoy the assortment of food. Here are 5 things to know about Chef Mickey’s.

1 – Advanced Dining Reservation

Chef Mickey and his pals, plus a plethora of food? As you can expect, reservations for Chef Mickey’s do go fast. Whether you are planning on dining for breakfast, brunch, or dinner, we highly recommend making an advanced dining reservation. We suggest you book the morning your 180-day advanced dining reservation opens (online at 6:00 am or by phone at 7:00 am). The sooner you make your reservation, the better chance you have at getting in for the day and time you are seeking. If you are adventuring out to a theme park the day of your reservation, be sure to give yourself a large enough window to dine and take transportation to the park. You don’t want to miss any FastPass+ you may have or your next dining reservations.

 2 – Atmosphere and Seating

Chef Mickey’s has an energetic and exciting atmosphere! There is a consistent hustle and bustle of people hugging Mickey, heading to the buffet, and spending time with family. There are three separate seating areas within Chef Mickey’s, all with their own Mickey and Pals décor that stay true to the Chef Mickey theme. The dining chairs are comfortable, and the tables are spacious. While it is typically crowded, the space surrounding each table allows for easy access to go to the buffet as many times as you would like without any problems. Keep in mind the beautiful space you are in! Surrounding you is the interior side of the Contemporary Resort. Check out the view from the large Bay Lake windows, stop for a moment to gaze at the 90-foot mural, and of course, you’ll want to have those cameras ready for when the monorail goes through the resort as you dine. Just as a heads up – don’t go to Chef Mickey’s expecting a quiet meal, but what else would you expect at a place that is meant for entertaining several children and families!

3 – Food Selection

Now serving breakfast, brunch, and dinner – Chef Mickey’s food selection will surely have something for everyone in your party to dine on. As soon as you are seated and have your drink orders taken, the server will tell you to head to the buffet! The buffet includes all the typical American style items to be expected. Breakfast buffet includes fruit, eggs, bacon, pancakes, potatoes, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal… so many options to select from. Don’t forget about the yummy pastry stand! The brunch buffet includes fruit, salad, BBQ, salmon, ham, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets – just an overall great variety of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner buffet includes chicken, beef, salad, pasta, fish, vegetables, turkey, and more. Did we mention the ice cream sundae bar? Let’s all be honest and just admit multiple trips to the buffet are in our future.

4 – Characters

Chef Mickey and his pals are really what it’s all about! Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto make a daily appearance unless otherwise noted by the hostess or server. We are always impressed with the characters’ excitement and joy they exude as if they’ve been awaiting your arrival – and of course, they have! Special music comes on when Chef Mickey enters the room, and everyone gets excited by waving their cloth napkins around. We love how each character interacts with the kids. Be sure to time your trips to the buffet so that you don’t miss a character stopping by your table. We also suggest you have those autograph books and pens readily available for characters to sign. If you are interested in expanding your kiddos experience at Chef Mickey’s, check out the “My Storybook Moment” with Mickey or Minnie. This is a special gift you can purchase from DisneyFloralAndGifts.com for your child. They will receive Mickey or Minnie ears and a best friend lanyard, then a special visit from Mickey or Minnie themselves for an autograph. This is just an added touch but in no way will take away from your dining/character experience in our opinion if you decide not to go that route.

5 – Shopping of course!

Lastly, we are impressed enough that it’s worth mentioning the gift shop the Contemporary Resort offers on the 4th floor near Chef Mickey’s – Bayview Gifts. It was obviously smart engineering to put the restaurant and gift shop on the same floor because we can’t help but stop in a browse each time we pass it by. This gift shop is one of the larger resort gift shops we’ve experienced and is worth the time.
We hope you have a magical time at Chef Mickey’s with your family. Expect exciting and fun family time, and you won’t be disappointed. In Mickey’s words – see ya real soon!