To be honest, Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort has never been at the top of my list of places to try. It had a reputation for mediocre buffet food and a chaotic atmosphere–not exactly enticing. However, since the reopening of Walt Disney World, Chef Mickey’s has returned in a slightly different form. Gone are the days of the large buffet. In its place is an all-you-care to eat experience that is more similar to what you would find at Garden Grill, minus the character experience. Servers bring platters of food straight to your table. For $25 per adult or $14 per child 9 and under (before the 10% DVC or Annual Passholder discount), this seemed like a great deal, and Timothy and I decided to give it a try.
The Ambiance
Chef Mickey’s is located on the second floor concourse of the Contemporary, and it’s right in the middle of all the action. To its right is the quick service restaurant, Contempo Cafe, and within view are the iconic monorails that pass through the main building. The decor itself is bright and, well contemporary, with many nods to Mickey and his friends throughout. After doing mobile check-in about 15 minutes prior to our reservation time, we were called to the front desk where we had our temperatures taken. Once that was done, we were seated at a table by the windows. It gave a decent view of the Magic Kingdom, including Cinderella Castle and Astro Orbiter off in the distance. With COVID safety precautions, tables were nicely spaced apart. Signs designated which tables were not available to guests. Without the characters and with fewer guests, the restaurant was not nearly as packed or loud as it usually is.
The Service
Tammie was our server at breakfast, and she was wonderfully attentive. She not only triple checked some items for my allergies, but she also brought us refills on our juice and coffee before we could even ask for them. She also checked on us often to see if we were interested in additional helpings of any of the platters, which we happily agreed to.
The Food
The food here is your pretty standard Disney World breakfast fare. You get a bread and pastry basket and several chilled selections, including fruit, yogurt parfait, smoked salmon, cold cuts, and cheeses. The hot selections were scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, roasted kielbasa, Mickey waffles, potato-cheese casserole, ham, pancakes (with Mickey sprinkles!), French toast sticks, and tater bites. If this list seems long, it’s because there truly was a lot of food to be had. The highlights were the potato-cheese casserole, smoked salmon, and ham. While I was most excited for unlimited Mickey waffles, I did find them a bit underdone/doughy as were the pancakes.
Regular menu and allergy menu 
Bread basket with a croissant, roll, cinnamon roll, and danish 
Mini yogurt parfait 
Fruit, smoked salmon, and assorted cold cuts and cheeses 
Tater bites, potato-cheese casserole, scrambled eggs 
Honey-glazed slow-roasted pit ham, sausage, bacon, and roasted kielbasa 
Mickey waffles, mini pancakes, and French toast sticks
All in all, it’s hard to beat the value of this breakfast. There was plenty of variety, and the quality was more than decent. We also found the all-you-care-to-eat setup very convenient and in all honesty much more sanitary than a normal buffet. We didn’t mind the lack of characters either though we could see that as an issue for families with young children.
Have any of you been to Chef Mickey’s since its reopening? Let me know in the comments below what you thought about the modified dining experience.
*Please note that this dining review was conducted during Walt Disney World’s initial reopening period. We ask that you take into consideration that any negative impacts may be a result of situations surrounding the ongoing pandemic, and may not accurately represent the restaurant once the resort has fully reopened.
I’m not sure why Disney reopened Chef Mickey’s, given the character restrictions. The Wave, also at the Contemporary, offers a much better breakfast and better value.
I was there a couple of weeks ago (I think I had the same server, too.) This is a perfect description of my experience, all the tasty food up to and including the bad mickey waffles. I love that potato casserole; it saved me a trip to the beach club marketplace when I was able to have some here.
As a side note, I had mickey waffles one other place (roaring fork quick service at wilderness lodge) and they were also bad there. I hope Covid didn’t ruin mickey waffles!!
That’s too bad that the Mickey waffles weren’t too good at Roaring Fork either. I think the only ones that were close to normal for us were the ones from Sanaa.