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Buffets all across the country are a thing of the past. Disney no longer offers any buffets, opting for family-style service instead. Chances are it will be this way for a long time coming. So what is it like to eat at Chef Mickey’s, one of Walt Disney World’s most well-known character dining experiences without the characters and buffet? Well, that depends on who you ask. If you’re a guest without kids or who doesn’t care for the characters, then it’s great! But, if you’re dining with children it can be a disappointment. Let’s take a look at what our team experienced at Chef Mickey’s this week.

Our readers have submitted over 500,000 surveys over the years, and we have ratings and rankings for all Walt Disney World restaurants on our site. Chef Mickey’s is a middle-of-the-pack dining option according to our readers. It has earned a 85% thumbs up rating and is ranked 55 out of 103 full-service restaurants at Disney. A lot of the mediocre ratings can be attributed to the price. Character dining at Disney usually runs from $55 – $75, but now at Chef Mickey’s breakfast is $25 for adults and $14.00 for children age 3-9 (plus tax and gratuity).

Chef Mickey’s is currently only open for breakfast, from 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. The menu is almost exactly the same as what was offered during the breakfast buffet, except everything is served in family-style platters. When you arrive and are seated your server will explain what is on the menu, and may ask if you wish to have them bring out everything, or only certain items. Whatever you decide to dine on is all-you-care-to-eat. Your server will gladly bring out additional servings of any of the items.

Items available include:

• Scrambled Eggs
• Sausage Links
• Bacon
• Roasted Kielbasa
• Mickey Waffles
• Potato-Cheese Casserole
• Honey-glazed Slow-roasted Pit Ham
• Mini Pancakes and Syrup
• French Toast Sticks
• Tater Bites
• Fruits Of The Season
• Mini Yogurt Parfaits
• Smoked Salmon with Accompaniments
• Assorted Cold Cuts and Cheeses

The quality of the food is about the same as the quality offered during the days of the buffet. Everything is flavorful and plentiful, the meat a little oversalted and the waffles, pancakes, and french toast were a little chewy. This is often the case with food prepared in mass quantity sitting under heat lamps waiting to be served. Still, it was a hearty, satisfying breakfast.

The lack of characters does take away from the atmosphere a little, however, there is still the grand, awe-inspiring atrium of the Contemporary to revel in. Plus, the iconic monorail passes by overhead throughout your dining experience. It’s tough to beat a breakfast with a view of the beloved monorail.

Our team observed a fair amount of families with kids dining at Chef Mickey’s despite the lack of characters, but with reduced crowds, it was actually fairly quiet. Reservations are accepted, and recommended here, though lots of same-day spots are available during this phase.

You can review ratings, rankings, and tips for all Walt Disney World dining locations on our website and in our Lines app. Stuff yourself with delicious Disney food and helpful Disney tips and information by becoming a TouringPlans Subscriber.

Have you eaten at any buffets turned family-style lately? Will you visit Chef Mickey’s anytime soon?

The post REVIEW: Is Chef Mickey’s Better Without the Buffet and Characters? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Dining, Dos and Don’ts, kids, Magic Kingdom, Observations, Resorts, Chef Mickey’s, disney breakfast, disney buffet, disney dining, disney resort hotels

We recently ran a post that listed attractions at Disney World that might trigger a specific fear or phobia. Now we’re here to discuss thoughts on coping with those fears, particularly when dealing with children.

An adult with a phobia is likely to be aware of the intensity of his fears, be able to assess the situation, articulate his concerns, and regulate his environment. I’m petrified of spiders. I’ve heard there are spiders in It’s Tough to Be a Bug. This makes me uneasy. I’ll sit this one out, you can visit it without me. However, a child might not possess any of these skills. It’s up to the parent or adult caregiver to make sure that a wonderful day in the parks doesn’t become the stuff of nightmares.

I’m going to briefly bore you with two family anecdotes to tell you what I mean, and then I’ll talk about some strategies to deal with fearful children at the Disney parks.

• At the time of my only childhood visit to Walt Disney World, I was ten years old and my sister was five. The crowd was headed toward Space Mountain, so my family headed toward Space Mountain, not really knowing what it was. My sister, who was afraid of the dark, emerged from the ride a shattered mess of tears. She subsequently screamed at the start of any ride for the duration of our trip, even ones as innocuous as it’s a small world.
• When my daughter Louisa was six, we took her on the now dearly departed Maelstrom attraction at the Norway pavilion at Epcot. While I had been on this ride before, it had been a few years since I had done so. I remembered it as a fairly gentle attraction, with a troll that might be scary for a second, but no big deal. I told Louisa it was going to be fine and made her go on the ride, despite her protests and look of unease. She was visibly shaken after her troll encounter, non-communicative and fighting tears, but the rest of our trip continued uneventfully. A few months later, my girls needed new shoes. I told them we were going shopping at the department store Nordstrom. Louisa, who normally enjoyed shopping, was apoplectic. “No mommy, no Nordstrom, no Nordstrom!” After much calming and cajoling, we were able to uncover that she thought Nordstrom was like the similar-sounding Maelstrom and that trolls might pop out at her from behind the Ugg display.

WHAT WENT WRONG

As these stories illustrate, a little bit of planning could have gone a long way toward preventing meltdown. Here are some classic mistakes that my family made:

• Not pre-evaluating the child’s fears.
• Not investigating the contents of the attraction prior to boarding.
• Not giving the child the skills/tools to cope with new experiences.
• Starting the trip with the most challenging attraction.
• Not being honest with the child about the ride’s potential trouble spots.
• Not listening to the child’s needs.
• Not being realistic about what your child can handle.
• Not following up after a frightful experience.

HOW TO DO IT RIGHT

The first step in undertaking any new experience with a child is to honestly assess his or her strengths and weaknesses for clues about how the upcoming event might impact them. For example, if he’s afraid of the dark at home, this is a good indication that he might be fearful in dark attractions. If she’s shy about meeting strangers, this might tell you that interacting with Cinderella could be troublesome. Or if loud noises are a challenge at home, then this could mean that fireworks may prove difficult. Also bear in mind that the heat and constant activity at Walt Disney World may mean overtired kids (and adults) with lower-than-normal coping skills.

With any new attraction, you owe it to yourself and your child to do your research to make sure you’re not subjecting them to something intensely fear-provoking. Luckily there is plenty of information out there to help. Our previous posts lists some potential trouble points and there are countless guest videos on YouTube where you can see the ride features in advance. Cast members at the attraction can provide detailed information. If you child has a particularly fragile constitution, it may be worth asking pointed questions of the staff at even the most innocuous of attractions. Things like: “Are there any periods of complete darkness?” “Are there any surprise loud noises?” or, “Are there any animatronic dogs?” I’ve witnessed child guest meltdowns at even the gentle Peter Pan (big crocodile) and Enchanted Tiki Room (simulated thunderstorm).

You can prepare your child for theme park challenges in ways both physical and mental. Something as easy as earplugs to muffle loud booms or advance warning to close your eyes before the troll appears can go a long way toward easing discomfort with an attraction.

For a larger issue, such as fear of meeting characters or fear of roller coasters in general, a longer term plan of desensitization may be in order. Take baby steps toward your goal. Practice in similar situations at home. For example, for a fear of characters, first try having your child talk to “friendly strangers” such as a clerk in a local store. Then seek out local costumed characters, perhaps the high school mascot or the entertainment at a birthday party.

For roller coaster novices, it often works best to start with the tamer versions of the genre. Begin with Test Track, which has a familiar car-shaped vehicle, or the out-in-the-open Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before attempting in-the-dark Space Mountain or backwards Expedition Everest. Even in the child-friendly Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom, a particularly high-strung youngster might need to work up from the totally tame Small World to merely tame Winnie the Pooh (bolder colors, florescent lighting, quicker turns).

If you are expecting a ride to pose an issue, don’t try to pull a fast one on your child. Lying about whether a ride will be scary/dark/loud may get your child on that particular ride, but it will also undermine your trustworthiness as a source of information, perhaps making the transition to other rides more troublesome.

Being honest with a child may sometimes result in that child declaring that he or she is not ready for that ride. Try to take the child’s needs seriously, perhaps bypassing the attraction until the next trip . There are countless things to do at Walt Disney World. Is it really worth enduring the tears and screams of your frightened child just for a trip on Space Mountain? Perhaps a spin on the teacups or a dip in your resort’s pool would be a better source of happy memories. Similarly, as the parent it is your job to realistically evaluate what your child can handle, even if he can’t express his needs himself. If the mild darkness of Pirates of the Caribbean was problematic, then the Haunted Mansion might not be on your to-do list for this trip.

If, despite your best efforts, your child does become frightened on a ride, don’t forget to follow up later. This may mean using your experience to inform future attraction choices, giving your child some extra hugs and attention at bedtime, admitting your mistake, or asking the child for additional feedback about the experience.

With all the incredible experiences available at any Disney park, there’s no need to have fear become a factor in your vacation.

With the Lines app, you can have information about attractions right at your fingertips anywhere you go. Unlock all the features of Lines 2.0 by becoming a TouringPlans subscriber.

What have you learned about child (or adult) fright issues in the parks? Are there any attractions that seem tame to most but threw your child out of whack? Do you have any good coping strategies? Let us know in the comments.

 

The post Coping with Phobias at Walt Disney World appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), fears and phobias, travel with children