Chef Mickey's or Cinderellas Table?

[SerenityinPA]

hello!
We will be going back "home" in Nov, and I want to plan a nice meal, but am torn in deciding which one. Chef Mickey's or Cinderella? :shrug:
I'm looking for the opinions of people who have eaten at both. We are probably looking at a brunch. Atmosphere & Food are the most important to me than price.
THanks as always, you guys are always SOOOOO helpful!

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

hello!
We will be going back "home" in Nov, and I want to plan a nice meal, but am torn in deciding which one. Chef Mickey's or Cinderella? :shrug:
I'm looking for the opinions of people who have eaten at both. We are probably looking at a brunch. Atmosphere & Food are the most important to me than price.
THanks as always, you guys are always SOOOOO helpful!

Whew... that's a loaded question! Well first i hope you enjoy your trip, very jealous.

My family and I have eaten at both numerous times. Instead of "which is better" I feel it's best to point out the negatives and positives of each, you determine which qualities are more important to you and your family, and make your decision from there. The most glaring difference, price. Chef Mickey's is $35 per for adult, $19 for children, both plus tip, and if you're on the dinining plan, only uses 1 of your table service credits (this is breakfast btw, your post said "Brunch"). Now, CRT for breakfast will set you back about $45 for adult, $30 for children (tip included already), and if your on the dining plan, will use 2 of your table service credits.

Chef Mickey: Great/energetic atmosphere, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald. Incredible selection of food since this is a buffet. You'll walk out of here stuffed to the gills.

CRT: Not as high energy, definitely geared towards the girls. Food selection not as vast, however, the quality is outstanding. Even though it's not a buffet, you just order as much as you want if you're still hungry. Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Aurora are the characters. If it helps, your meal comes with the picture with Cinderalla downstairs included, it's a nice keepsake. Another plus, the experience alone of just dining "inside" the castle..very cool and if you get lucky enough to get window seating you can see Fantasyland. May i recommend the stuffed french toast :slurp:

Good luck and i hope you enjoy your choice!

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Sorry, I forgot a few things.

Transportation: If you're staying on Disney property, much easier to get to CRT. Simple bus to MK. If you get an early ressie, you get to go in early and take pictures of an empty MK and Main Street. Most of the time the bus won't stop at Contemporary, so for Chef Mickey you need a bus to the MK, monorail over to Contemporary..so that adds extra travel.

Availability: While the dining plan has made both of these ADR's harder to get. CRT is especially tough, one of the coveted ADR's around these parts along with Le Cellier. So if you're close to your 180 days, call that morning!

 

[SerenityinPA]

Thank you for your opinion! Yes I know that was kind of a broad question, and I apologize (Im doing it in between my breaks at work). I have a disney princess who will be 5 then, and we are going with my nephew who does not want to see the princesses( we will be doing this while he and my sister will be at Universal ), so Ive been leaning more toward Cindy, but I heard some negative reviews also so Im torn.
If not Cindys, then maybe the place in Norway? Is that a buffet?
This will also be on a lazy/relax/sleep in day so Im not in a rush to do anything else or get to the parks early. :snore:
We are staying outside the World, no dining plan.

 

[roadtripper]

Of course all things are subjective, but with that being said...we have never had a good meal at Chef Mickey's. We've tried it a couple of times and at different times (hoping for a better outcome) and still did not enjoy it. I found the buffet to be picked over and dried out. We usually love Disney buffets for the variety and the chance to try new, creative, ethnic foods...but this one is just kind of :shrug: for us. I find the atmosphere to be frenetic. I love the character meals, but each time we have been to CMs, I have felt it to be very rushed and therefore not as enjoyable for the adults or the kids. With some of the buffets, I have experienced servers who will make sure that you don't miss the characters. At CMs, I have always gotten the feeling of "you missed a character...oh well, your loss."

On the flip side, we have been to CRT several times at various times (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I have loved it every time! They really went out of their way to make celebrations extra special. They give the kids swords or princess wands. The last couple of times there was also a start take home for the kids. I love the pictures. I just feel like they are extra accomodating. One of the last times we dined there, my son explained to the server how he had a friend at home who also needed a sword so that they could have sword fights...the server gave him an extra! One other visit he wanted a wand like his sisters and the server gave him that. Some people worry that their sons will not enjoy the princess theme...I have to say, my little guy LOVES the attention he gets from the royal girls! He's been known to get a little smooch now and then.

We have also been to Akershus (Storybook Princess meal in Norway, Epcot). Another personal favorite for all the same experience kinds of reasons listed for CRT. The food is good and the characters are more personable with the kids.

Have fun choosing!

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

We have done CRT twice for breakfast and once for dinner, and Chef Mickey's twice for dinner and once for breakfast. I prefer CRT for a few reasons. First I try to make my ressies for before park opening, this way we can get some nice shots of Main Street and the castle without a hundred people in the picture. It is also nice to be one of the first few people in the park after opening (if you plan your meal right, you should be done with time to spare and you can wait and meet the fairy godmother before being let into Fantasyland). I also really enjoy eating inside the castle, the views are great if you are lucky enough to have a table next to one of the windows. I also enjoy seeing the Princesses instead of the Fab 5 which you can pretty much meet anywhere. As far as the food goes, we have not enjoyed Chef Mickey's. As others have said, CRT is not a buffet, but its all you can eat, so you can request more of whatever you like. Even though the price is a little higher for CRT, you get the picture of you and Cindy, and they give you little wands for girls, and swords for boys (me and my DH are obviously too old for this, however we asked and they were more than happy to give us each one as well).

 

[bmarkelon]

Since you have a princess you should absolutely go with CRT, it would be the most magical dining experience for her. Chef Mickeys is a blast with a huge variety of food. Even though there were only a few choices, we were very pleased with our breakfast at Cindy's. You can't beat the atmosphere in the castle, so worth it! We missed it not being on our last trip itinerary so it's on our upcoming August trip. Enjoy!

 

[DizneyPryncess]

My personal opinions on these:
Chef Mickey's has a bigger selection of food, and ultimately I think better quality of food. This restaurant suits both boy & girls because of the Fab 5 characters. Atmosphere of being at the Contemporary is a lot of fun.

With a little girl though, nothing is more magical than Cinderella's Royal Table & meeting the Princesses. The food isn't bad. I would go this route with a 5 year old girl without question.

Skip Akershus if you eat at Cindy's. The breakfast foods are both essentially the same thing, and the atmosphere of eating in a castle is more magical to me than eating in Norway. I thought Akershus was more rushed & kind of jammed into a room than Cindy's. But I was there for lunch and not bf, so perhaps it's different.

 

[MarkTwain]

Based on what you said you were looking for, I'm going to vouch for Cinderella's Royal Table. You mentioned food and atmosphere specifically, so as for food, the lamb shank I had when I ate there was one of the best entrees I've ever had... anywhere. And, as for atmosphere, well...

Let's just say the inside of Cinderella Castle is hard to beat. :animwink:

That said, I can't attest for what brunch is like, when the restaurant is more likely to have lots of kids around. Whenever we've decided to eat there, we've booked a late evening reservation for when the place was almost empty. Your call, though.