10 Things We’ll Never Do Again at Disney World
Every Walt Disney World fan has a bucket list, but the smart ones also have lists of things we’ll never do again. This isn’t like our list of easy first-timer mistakes. Rather, these are things we’ve done and said to one another: “Wow, that was stupid on our part. Let’s avoid it at all costs in the future.”
Truthfully, there are very few things at Walt Disney World that we’d never do again. Our bucket lists far longer than our “never again” lists, because most things at Walt Disney World are worth of a second chance. Menus at restaurants change, hotels are overhauled, and attractions are tweaked or re-imagined over time.
In fact, since we originally published this a few years ago, a lot has changed. Perhaps we should take the immortal words of celebrated thinker Justin Bieber to heart and “never say never.” Thankfully, Walt Disney World tends to listen to guest feedback and correct mistakes and experiences that score poorly on guest satisfaction surveys. Over the years, we’ve had to remove several things from this list because we’ve done them again (sometimes inadvertently or not by choice) and had dramatically different–and better–experiences…
To that point, we’ve removed different entries from the list:
- Dinner at Chef Mickey’s – We have a daughter now. There isn’t a single character meal at Walt Disney World that we won’t be doing in the near future. With that said, we revisited breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and it exceeded expectations. So maybe we’ll just stick to that and continue avoiding dinner?
- New Year’s Eve at Magic Kingdom – The last two times we did NYE or December 30 (basically the same) at Magic Kingdom, it went far better than expected. Crowds aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be, and usually peak earlier in the week.
- All Stars During Youth Sports – I’ve stayed at All Star Sports during two youth events (couldn’t pass up the price, even if I knew I was playing with fire) and it honestly wasn’t that bad. You still might want to avoid the All Stars during these events, but it’s no longer a “never again” for us–especially now that Pop Warner is gone from Walt Disney World.
- Step Foot in Dino-Rama – It’s extinct.
- Tomorrowland Speedway – We have a daughter now–one who loves cars and pretending to drive. Uh oh.
Another thing to note is that this list only covers things that are within our control to never do again at Walt Disney World. Over the years, the company has made the “choice” for us, by eliminating a lot of things that we’d otherwise love to do again. We’ve taken our final ride on Disney’s Magical Express and redeemed our last FastPass.
Those are things we will technically never do again at Walt Disney World, but are very much not in the spirit of this list, which is more like “NEVER AGAIN!” What won’t we do again at Walt Disney World? Here are the top 10+ things…
TODDLER TIME BONUS: Two Queen Beds – When it was just the two of us, we’d book whichever standard room type was cheapest. This often meant getting two queen beds, which was perfectly fine. We had a queen bed at home for the longest time and it was plenty of space. The other bed could be used as a workspace or where one of us unpacks their suitcase.
This does not work with a crib added to the mix. I think this is where the phrase, two’s company, three’s a crowd, was born. If you have two queen beds plus a crib (and other baby stuff), the room becomes virtually unnavigable. We never really took room size or floor space into consideration, as every resort was fine for just the two of us. Holy cow does adding one small human to the mix change the equation! It’s king rooms exclusively for us…for now.
Honestly, it feels like this is already ‘evolving’ again. That our best option is queen rooms that have a second bed that folds down from the wall and converts into a table or sofa. This is doubly true as Megatron will soon graduate to a regular bed, making the space-saving two queen arrangement the optimal one. Regardless, the two standard queen bed arrangement is two cramped–we need the convertible room for extra space.
TODDLER TIME BONUS: Split Stays – Honestly, it pains me to include this. I love split stays and this blog has advocated them for so long. All the while, parents have questioned our sanity, and now that we have a toddler of our own, we completely get it.
When traveling solo for research trips, I can pack up a hotel room in under 10 minutes. When it was just the two of us, the time was a tad higher than that. With a toddler, it’s much longer–packing is two steps forward, one step backwards on repeat. Other moving pieces of switching hotels just makes it way more trouble than it’s worth with a small child. This was one of the Biggest Lessons Learned on Baby Bricker’s Christmas 2025 Trip to Walt Disney World.
We still love split stays for a number of reasons, and recommend them to solo travelers and couples (especially those who pack light). We’ll absolutely do them again in the future once the logistics are easier, but for us for now, split stays are a no-go.
TODDLER TIME BONUS: Resorts Under Unavoidable Construction – We usually aren’t too fazed by construction at Walt Disney World, not even on the hotel side where it seems like there are perpetual projects at some resorts. A simple room request usually works wonders.
That’s still mostly our perspective, but after our Holiday Hotel Horror Stories at Walt Disney World, we will definitely be a little less cavalier about the unavoidable or all-encompassing projects. In particular, anything involving the lobby at a resort where the rooms radiate from the lobby, or any future projects at the tower-style hotels where everything is under one roof.
Note that this only applies while we’re traveling with a toddler and when it comes to unavoidable projects. We’d have zero hesitation to stay at Port Orleans Riverside between now and 2027 during its room overhauls, but would avoid the A-frame of the Contemporary if the Grand Canyon Concourse were redone. It’s a case-by-case basis.
10. Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along – This is a tricky one. We came of age during the Disney Renaissance and are huge fans of Beauty and the Beast as a result. On top of that, we’re new parents who cannot wait to share the movie with our daughter.
However, we also hate the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. I’ll spare you that rant again, but there’s a reason the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along is dead last on our rankings of all 87 attractions at Walt Disney World. It’s worse than the worst direct-to-video sequel, and even the authors of bad fanfic could’ve penned a better script.
For us, this is a delicate needle to thread–making Megatron a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, while preventing her from ever learning of this atrocious show’s existence. One of my big fears is that we will succeed at the first, but fail at the second…which is a recipe for disaster.
Instead of never doing this show again, we will do it every single time we visit EPCOT. It’ll become the attraction we do more than anything else at Walt Disney World. Our frequent viewership alone will single-handedly prop up guest utilization numbers and inadvertently help keep this show around. We will become the villains.
9. Magic Kingdom on ‘Red Flag’ Days During Party Season – Magic Kingdom crowd dynamics during Party Season have been one of the key discussion points of our August through December crowd calendars for several years.
We’ve strongly recommended readers visit Magic Kingdom during the day on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party nights, and Park Hop elsewhere around 4 pm. Conversely, we’ve recommended avoiding Magic Kingdom on non-party days.
There’s an added wrinkle to this from mid-October through December, Party Season “expands” from 2-3 days per week to 3-4 days per week. This results in some 4-5 days stretches when Magic Kingdom is only one until 10 pm or 11 pm once, and closes early all other nights. This creates major problems, especially on Main Street, as there are several days of crowds consolidated into a single date by virtue of those concentrated 6 pm closings.
If you do make the mistake of going–perhaps even on purpose as you want to see Magic Kingdom at night and it’s your only option–at least heed this one piece of advice: stay far away from Main Street before, during, and after Happily Ever After and Starlight Night Parade! Seriously. It can get downright uncomfortable and feel unsafe.
8. Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Animal Kingdom – Let’s just say that there’s a reason why Animal Kingdom is now the “cheapest” park for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. We beg of you: do not be fooled by this. It’s not actually a deal if it’s something you don’t need!
Even on busier days, you do not need LLMP at Animal Kingdom with even a scintilla of strategizing. This is discussed in countless posts, including in our Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World, which says all you need to know for DAK is “don’t go during the middle of the day and stand in long lines.”
Seriously, that’s about it. Arriving early or staying late work perfectly fine for beating the crowds because most guests still treat it like a half-day park and attendance is significantly lower at Animal Kingdom than any other park at Walt Disney World.
As a result, a lower advertised base price for Lightning Lanes at Animal Kingdom is almost meaningless. This is especially true on days when Animal Kingdom is under $20–crowd levels are never bad enough on those dates to justify LLMP in the first place!
There’s one big exception to this, which is strategic Park Hopping. Some Lightning Lane power users might be able to leverage LLMP at DAK by pairing it with another park, savvy strategy, and a strong refresh game!
7. Pinocchio Village Haus Lunch Rush – We covered this one in Magic Kingdom’s Biggest Love-Hate Restaurant. After a fast and furious morning racing through Fantasyland, it’s common for kids and parents alike to hit a wall, needing food immediately or risking a meltdown. Enter Pinocchio Village Haus. Literally, they all enter Pinocchio Village Haus because it’s the nearest restaurant when the clock is ticking on a nuclear meltdown.
The core demographic of Pinocchio Village Haus during the midday rush is “hangry families that are 90 seconds to midnight on the WDW Doomsday Clock.” This is exactly why merely mentioning it can send shudders down the spine of longtime fans. We’ve almost all been there, with the war stories to tell about Pinocchio Village Haus and eerily similar not-so-fond memories of the restaurant.
Pinocchio Village Haus is the most infamous Magic Kingdom large-scale eatery, but it’s a similar story with the other high-capacity counter service restaurants. We’ve wandered aimlessly at Cosmic Ray’s trying to find a table and had people literally run into us rounding corners at Pecos Bills. The moral of the story is not to avoid these restaurants entirely–as they each have redeeming qualities–but to not do it during the lunch rush when it’s bonkers. Go early or late to save your time and sanity.
6. Pandora, Star Wars or Toy Story Lands Midday – There are a few components to this. First is crowds, which are always chaotic and take away from enjoying the lands. These lands have a lot of fun details, but when they’re packed with people, the crowds impede anyone’s ability to truly soak up these lands.
Long lines during the middle of the day certainly don’t help. This isn’t just triple-digit waits for the attractions, either. Walkways and shops become congested, and it’s more difficult to see everything as a result. Good luck meeting the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda or trying to find a table at Woody’s Lunch Box!
Second, you’re running a risk if rain is in the forecast. These lands are large and have few indoor escapes if the weather takes a turn for the worse. Adding insult to injury, they are a bit isolated from the rest of their respective parks. In short, if it starts raining in either and you’re not already inside, you will get wet. Your options for quickly ducking indoors are limited if not nonexistent.
Finally, there’s the simple reality that these lands are best at the beginning and end of the day. Pandora’s bioluminescence and organic life comes alive in the evening, and it truly feels like another planet. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has a spooky and serene sense to it, except in the marketplace where a variety of beautiful light fixtures give added texture and depth to everything. Toy Story Land’s cartoonish quality is even more exaggerated, with show lighting and popcorn lights adding even more vibrance to the land.
5. Summit Plummet – Despite my claim for years that I’m good on this, when we visited Blizzard Beach this year, I did Summit Plummet again. Almost as soon as it began, the realization washed over me like water that I had made a terrible mistake. To borrow the immortal words of Roger Murtaugh: I’m too old for this slide.
This is the only attraction on this list, and the reason for that is that we think people should judge attractions for themselves, because everyone has different preferences. (For example, there are probably a few of you who don’t like Country Bear Jamboree. That’s fine–some people don’t like masterpieces like The Godfather and Citizen Kane, either.)
For me, Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach water park is something that’s moderately enjoyable and I’m glad it exists, because it looks really cool and is a great water slide concept…but once was enough. From the insanely long line to the feeling of pure terror to the crazy wedgie, I’m good on it for one lifetime. Actually, I’ll probably do it when I’m 65, against my better judgment once more, just to feel young and reckless again. 😉
4. “Improperly Pack” – This is somewhat of a blanket statement because it’s a mistake I’ve made repeatedly in different ways. Basically, I have a propensity to simultaneously under and over-pack, and bring clothing for the weather I want rather than the weather that’s actually forecast.
For example, I have a tendency to pack shorts and polos for winter trips–a mistake I’ve made as recently as last year, even despite having written our Winter Packing Tips for Disney. For early fall trips, I’ve been known to bring jeans and button-downs, even when the weather is still sweltering. Beyond that, I leave behind practical items I end up missing to avoid overpacking, while bringing pointless stuff “just in case” that I never use.
Unfortunately, I don’t have an elephant-caliber memory…or I try to convince myself that “it’ll be different this time” (for reasons unknown), only to have history repeat itself. In other words, I say this is a mistake I’ll never make again…but I almost certainly will. Fortunately, there’s now a UNIQLO at Disney Springs, and that store has bailed me out many times!
3. Food & Wine Festival on a Weekend – We want to start out by saying that we really enjoy Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival…but we don’t love it on weekends. Ever been to a UCF frat party? Well, if you answered “no”, it’s not too late!
Weekend evenings are prime time for college students with disposable incomes to descend upon the Festival to get sloshed. For them, it sure beats drinking Old Style in a dank basement (like we did in college), but that atmosphere plus the huge crowds can make this the least pleasant time to be at Food & Wine Festival.
Weekdays during the festival are far more enjoyable. It’s also far more enjoyable to attend Food & Wine in mid-November when the temperatures and humidity are more bearable, but we invariably attend in September because that’s usually when we visit for Halloween.
BONUS: Italy Booth – If not “required” for the sake of research, we’d never do the Italy booth at any festival ever again. The kiosk is notorious for high prices, elementary school cafeteria-inspired cuisine, and just a startling lack of ambition. If you enjoy paying $10 for a sample-sized version of microwaved TV dinners, Italy is a great option. If not, stay far away.
2. Rainforest Cafe – How this restaurant still has multiple locations around the United States, much less multiple locations in Walt Disney World, defies logic. The food is awful, and the ambiance reminds me of 1980s-relic ShowBiz Pizza Place, but “modernized” for the 1990s and devoid of character/charm.
The dark cloud that hangs over Rainforest Cafe almost extended to cast a shadow over T-Rex Cafe for me. Fortunately, I gave that a chance because dinosaurs, and was pleasantly surprised. If you are thinking, “but our kids love Rainforest Cafe!” consider taking them to T-Rex instead.
1. Leave Early – Nighttime is when the parks come alive with beautiful lighting and enchanting ambiance. It’s also when the weather starts to cool and lines start to die down. From a practical perspective, nights are now more advantageous than mornings, with lower wait times in the last couple of hours of the night than in the first couple hours after rope drop.
On top of that, one of my favorite “attractions” is strolling through World Showcase after Epcot’s fireworks end, just soaking up the ambiance, listening to the music, and seeing the stunning architecture. I’d rather do this for an hour than spend 8 daylight hours in the park. Same goes for wandering along the Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom or being bathed in the neon glow of Tomorrowland.
BONUS: Sleep In – We stress this so much on the blog that it’s probably becoming cliche. However, it’s good advice–especially if you’re staying on-site and are eligible for Early Entry. There’s no better way to beat the crowds at most parks. Basically, we would never not be tired at Walt Disney World again. Well, that’s not true–midday naps are a game-changer if you can manage them.
Beyond a couple of other restaurants that are blacklisted (for now) and attractions we avoid for personal reasons, but that’s about it. Hopefully you can learn from some of our mistakes…or find solace in knowing that we have made these same mistakes as you. Think of this as a support group for those who have been awoken by loud construction at off-hours or who have dropped $200 on a family “dinner” at Rainforest Cafe. Share your own “NEVER AGAIN!” items in the comments–venting can be therapeutic!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What things at Walt Disney World would you never do again? Is any restaurant, resort, or ride beyond redemption for you? Any time of year you’d never visit? Do you agree or disagree with our list? Would you do any of these things again? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We were there last July, and it was awful! There was some sort of sweet 15 birthday thing going on, and there were thousands upon thousands of 15 year old girls there. I asked one of the security guards what in the world is going on here, and he said it is half of Argentina and Brazil girls 15th birthday. These little kids were so rude and arrogant. They stayed in groups out in the courtyards, and each group had a portable Bluetooth speaker, and they played their music as loud as it would go. I wanted to have my kids stay at a value resort (bad idea) And see Woody and buzz lightyear extra huge. Plus i was being a bit on the cheap side! our next trip will be at a moderate, but the same guard told me they were there too and at most all resorts. When it came time to eat with our dining plan, they filled the entire place! If we got up to refill a drink or get ketchup, they would steal your chair. I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old, both of which they walked right into and over, knocking both on the ground on a few separate occasions. I live in a suburb of Rochester ny, not a huge place but a city none the less, and leaving our room after midnight seemed like walking through the city at night. The only thing missing was steam coming from the sewers and trash everywhere, it was just like a ghetto. My wife and kids didn’t even want to go out there or walk to the room late at night after a day at the parks. It was the most awful trip to Disney and $5k I’ve ever spent. Our last trip before that in November 2015 was beautiful, Thanksgiving week. Partum was beautiful, crowds were ehh.. But not like July.
Agree with the Mission Space comment. Never again. FP+ for Illuminations. It’s so loud that you can’t enjoy the show. Waste of fastpass. (For the record, I only got it as it was an evening at Epcot after Sea World and all other Tier 1’s were gone. Would never hold one all day and certainly won’t book this one again!)
Tom you scared me with that picture of Country Bears at the top. As for overpaying and the linked post, I have read that Target no longer allows the purchase of any gift cards with Target gift cards. Can you or anyone verify the truth. Thanks!
I tried it just the other day, and I can confirm that Target DOES NOT allow you to purchase Disney Gift Cards using Target Gift Cards any longer (at least not from their websit). 🙁 I tried, and an error message popped up saying you cannot use a gift card to purchase a gift card.
I was able to save almost 15% off my vacation two years ago using this method, but not this year. You can however use a Target Red Card to purchase Disney Gift Cards and save 5%.
It’s true, you cannot buy a Disney card with a Target GC online but you still can in the store (although some store managers say no). They had a glitch in their system a couple months ago that was not allowing it but that has been fixed. I know several people, myself included, that take the applicable Target company policies with them to the store. It states that the only cards that can’t be purchased with a Target GC are other Target cards & Visa/Master card type cards. Just thought I’d put that out there. There are several saving at Disney type facebook groups that discuss this and more. I love a good way to save! (Sidenote- as of mid-May 2018, Best Buy no longer allows you to use a BB GC to buy Disney ones.)
The luau at The Polynesian. Absolutely horrendous. There’s not one good thing I can say about it.
Also, the Saturday night Epcot frat party isn’t reserved for the Food & Wine Festival. It’s basically every Saturday, thanks to the promotion of drinking around the world. I refuse to go there after 2 pm now. I feel bad for parents who don’t know any better and have to explain to their children why someone’s puking on the train set in Germany. Not very Disney.
How many days around pop Warner weekend should be avoided?
Dino-Rama at Animal Kingdom ! Never again … such a misfit. What were they thinking???
Honestly, I’ve really come to dislike Disney Springs ( Downtown Disney ). They have taken all the Disney out of it and replaced it with overpriced stores. These same stores whose outlets are really not that far away. The parking garages are a great addition but otherwise disappointing.
I totally agree!! We’ve been coming every year since 1990 and that used to be our favorite place! We would make sure we went every day no matter what else we did… now it really is catered to high end stores and no family atmosphere at all. I’m so disappointed as well and the last two times we went I kept trying t Like it to no avail.. bring family fun back to Disney Springs
As for #4 Chef Mickey’s, yes only go there for breakfast. We went 2 years ago for breakfast and both the kids and us really loved it. The food was great and the characters were great. We are going again in December and booked breakfast again.
Tom, I read various different “Disney” blogs, but yours is bar far my favorite. Your writing is authentic and hilarious. I so appreciate the angle you come from with your mad love of Disney coupled with realistic views and expectations. I have yet to find that on another blog. Thanks for always making me laugh! Keep up the great work ☺ï¸
YES! Took the words right out of my mouth!
Ditto!
Primeval Hurl…I was never so happy to get off a ride! I don’t do spinning rides and wasn’t paying close enough attention when I got on it.
My mom’s is missions space orange – after we landed on Mars a few choice adjectives were muttered and hoping to god we don’t have to fly home. The new Green version is lame so that is now a never again.
Great article. I agree with everything but Epcot on NYE. We have done this 3 times and love it. It’s really crowded (surprise) but we eat a late dinner and then find a place to stand and wait for the NYE fireworks.
We LOVED Hollywood Studios on New Years Eve 2017! We were planning to go to Epcot that day but for various reasons decided against it. We arrived around 10:30 that day and the crowds were relatively low until mid-afternoon. We got to see/do everything we wanted. We avoided places with extremely loud dance music but got a great views of the countdown and fireworks about 20 minutes till midnight. Even near midnight crowds were manageable and no one seemed out-of-their-minds drunk. BUT, not sure how 2018 will be….
I will never, ever attend Epcot’’s Food and Wine Festival again. Unfortunately I can’t remember if it was a weekenbut touring around Epcot with throngs of drunks, standing in outrageously long food lines, and putting up with terrible drunken behavior on the rides is not my thing, especially at DIsney prices. We were so concerned about tangling with drunks in the parking lot, we left before fireworks. And we are not teetotallers either
This won’t be popular but we won’t do the Hoop De Doo Review again… the food was ok as was the entertainment but the main reason why we won’t do it again is the time commitment. For someone who doesn’t go to the parks that often – time is a very precious commodity and having to take the boat from MK to get there, being there at least an hour early to check-in, dinner and then waiting for a bus to get out of there takes up a TON of time…
I agree w/ Chef Mickey’s… it was a good character spot but my kids are older and are less interested in doing that.
“…the main reason why we won’t do it again is the time commitment.”
I was getting ready to disagree vehemently, but I really can’t argue with this. If you’re not staying at Fort Wilderness or Wilderness Lodge (or otherwise wanting to visit), it’s a huge time drain. That’s a very fair point!
I know you are not a fan of July for Disney but having kids leaves us with little choice around summer break. An asterisk to pop Warner nationals would also be AAU basketball nationals – happens the third week in July and coincides with the international tourist crowd weeks. AAU is much larger the Pop Warner and spans thousands of teams ages 6-17 years old. weekend in July is painful!
Go for a walk in Westside Disney Springs. It ruins the Disney bubble for me with the loud pop music and non-Disney stores.
Hi, you have Rainforest Cafe mentioned, but a photo of T-REX. We LOVE T-Rex, best half rotisserie chicken I have every had at the parks. Expensive, yes, but worth it. The atmosphere is crazy, but the food is GREAT! : )
We make sure to go to T-Rex every time we visit. LOVE LOVE LOVE
Honestly, the only “NEVER” I have that I can think of is “It’s Tough To Be A Bug.” I hate the 4D kind of attractions, if that’s what they’re called. Interactive seats are NOT OKAY. “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” and “Stitch’s Great Escape” are gone, otherwise they would be on the list for me as well. Did them all once. NEVER again. I even tried Mission: Space again after they changed it and can now go on that. I can ride pretty much anything. But not this. I actually hate it.
Yes! Hate hate hate It’s Tough to be a Bug. It traumatizes kids and creeps out adults. I have never heard anyone say they like that show.
I agree with It’s Tough to be a Bug. Never again. My usually fearless 25-year-old niece actually jumped out of her seat and crouched on the floor in fear during the climax. Who wants to be frightened to death at Walt Disney World?
I like the show
Love love love the show!
I enjoyed it. Not everyhting in life is cupcakes, princesses and Pooh bear (which I also enjoy) but I love the attratcions that have a bit of an edge to them:
Dinosaur Ride
Tower of Terror
and this show all come to mind
Geeze. Amen. We got intoBug not knowing anything about it with 5 and 9 year olds. As my daughter said “only 9:30 and we already traumatized both kids.”
Were you joking about sleeping in? Our family can’t seem to make rope drops to save our life. (Okay, we made it to one for Pandora.) Personally, I’d love to see a post about any strategy instead of the almighty “rope-drop.” But I’m guessing by your tired at Disney comment, you were recommending rope drop & park close with the equally popular recommended mid-day break and nap. Always wonder if adults really nap mid-day? We can’t imagine it & really like 8 hours of sleep on our “vacation.” I know we are crazy, right?
When my husband & I go to Disney World with or without our kids, we almost always take a mid-day nap at our hotel. But then, I’m usually so excited I can’t sleep in to save my life when we’re at WDW. I love rope drop and after dark, but I’m happy to skip the mid-day heat and crowds.
DON’T DO IT TOM! Stay away from breakfast at Chef Mickeys. Unless you like waiting an hour at 7am past your reservation time, eating undercooked scrambled eggs and cold burnt waffes because all the other food plated at the buffet are empty and have not been refilled, and characters rushing through so fast you don’t even have time to unlock your phone for a picture before they are waving and walking away. Just don’t.
Never say never. Specifically, Chef Mickey’s. We have very personal reasons for loving Chef Mickey’s. My wife and I first went in 2001…with my parents, my middle brother, his wife and their 3 children, 2 girls who were at the single-digit autograph-mad stage, and my 7-month old nephew, who gaped in wonder at the ongoings. As we left, we took what would be the best family picture of our lives. There we all are, happily smiling (nephew behaving), but what makes it special are my Mom and Dad. Dad has a mischevious grin on his face while my Mom has an expression of surprised outrage: Dad made bunny ears on her while the photo was taken, and as the picture shows, complete with visible bunny ears, they were the only two who knew what Dad was up to. It was the most popular picture at both of their funerals, as it totally captured the loving dynamic between them,
Our child’s first visit was at age 6, and he loved it, and we went for a 4th time last week, at which point he was far more interested in inhaling the buffet than in the characters. My wife loves the characters and so she had a blast, but the interaction with the characters helped put the kid, as he put it, into a more proper Disney mood for a middle-years teenager. Plus we had to get the usual family portrait; no bunny ears, but a growth chart of the boy for a decade.
While we were there, a family of passholders came in. Their son was just over 1, and his reactions with the characters, especially Donald and Minnie, were utterly priceless, and hysterical. That child (who goes to Chef Mickey’s several times a month), will never remember these early encounters, but his parents will.
Chef Mickey’s is an event for the family. It is not so much about the food, but about the atmosphere and the sheer fun of it all, especially for the kids, who can make their own soft-serve desserts with any number of toppings. But it’s also for the parents who can see the joy and awe their kids are experiencing, and will treasure those memories for the rest of their lives.
Having said that, I have to say that the food last week was better than I remembered from my previous visit. The salmon was delicious (the salmon everywhere we went was the best I’ve ever had at Disney), and there were a number of very tasty desserts, aside from the soft-serve. The cheeses were also very good. It was a solid dinner. Not great, but far from the epicurean disaster as it is often described. And being from New Orleans (despite being aware of your being one of the tiny minority of those who’ve never discovered the magic that is New Orleans…face it, it takes zero ability to find the issues of New Orleans), I KNOW food. So much so that my greatest fear on visiting Disney is that during Turtle Talk I’ll ask Crush which is better: turtle soup with or without sherry? (The correct answer, of course: With).
Chef Mickey’s is not for a couple looking for a romantic dinner. Just wait till kid(s) come your way. But as of late May, early June, 2018, dinners there are not culinary catastrophes, but are actually solidly pleasant meals. Commander’s Palace it’s not, but then, that’s not what it’s meant to be. However, for the intended audience, it is a James Beard award-winner.