Chef Mickey's ~

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Written by Kerri Kelleher, Rope Drop Travel Diamond Advisor

When I began planning my first Walt Disney World trip as a mom, I knew that I needed to make Chef Mickey’s Breakfast a priority. 60 days out from a July 2020 trip, which unfortunately never happened, I made sure to secure a reservation even though things for the trip were not looking good. Fast forward to two years later, I knew that my main dining reservation priority was again going to be breakfast at the famed Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort.

My boys were going to be newly 4 and just over 1 so I knew that this would be an epic experience for them, but I never imagined how it would feel for my husband and I. Our entire trip, I felt like we got to our dining reservations early and were looking for favors to move up our timing, but this timing was perfect (9:00 AM). We got ready and donned our boys in their matching Mickey Mouse Hawaiian button downs and drove our rental car from our Disney’s Pop Century home over to Disney’s Contemporary Resort to find magic at every turn. Despite having traveled to Walt Disney World so very many times before with my family growing up and my husband, I had never entered the Contemporary from the main entrance. I had always visited this special resort via monorail.

After navigating the amazing Disney-themed art installations on the walkway in and through the lobby straight to the elevators, we easily maneuvered our side-by-side double stroller up to the floor where Chef Mickey’s, the Contempo Cafe, the Outer Rim bar, and other amazing shops and views awaited us. Stroller parking was easily right ahead and we checked in immediately at the desk. It really adds to the ambiance and ease of waiting anyway to get to see the hustle and bustle of the main floor of the Contemporary with the added bonus of constant monorails entering and leaving just a floor above.

Our table was in the inner portion of the restaurant; however, we still had a beautiful view of the monorail coming in and out, a perfect section of space for our family and an incredible opportunity for the most magical character interactions of our entire trip.

I was not prepared for the emotions I felt watching my children experience their favorite characters up close and personal on a rotating basis while they ate some of their favorite foods.

Each of the “Sensational Five” (Daisy was reportedly sick that day, according to Donald), came to our table at least once. They rotated past our table at least three more times during our hour-long breakfast. They stopped and posed for pictures and videos and interacted with my children in such genuine and magical ways. My 1-year old was still “unsure” of the characters even five days in, but was loving every second. I think that my 4-year olds extreme excitement helped in this regard. When the characters were not rotating from table to table, they were dancing in the aisles between families and waving at all who entered and exited.

I chose to enjoy a Joffrey’s cold brew spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream while my husband enjoyed a Budweiser. He definitely said “Bud Light,” but secretly I think he was delighted. The food is family style currently so they are happy to bring you as much of each of the offerings as you would like and most of those items are Disney breakfast favorites. Mickey waffles and pancakes were my boys’ favorites (including my husband), while my favorite was the cheesy potatoes. The cast member wait staff are so accommodating even in this setting and so conscious of allergies (my husband has a few). Seconds are not only allowed, but encouraged!

I never expected the character breakfast on the last day of our trip to be our favorite memory. I’m so glad that we chose a rest day for this experience also because then we had the opportunity to monorail resort hop and explore each of those incredibly special resorts one last time. Being a mom at Walt Disney World, especially a mom that loves Disney so very deeply, this was an experience that I would characterize as a “must do.” As another important note, we thought that the pricing was very reasonable considering the amount of prime character interaction, ambiance of the resort and the restaurant itself, as well as, deliciousness of our breakfasts (and the cocktails for the parents). As your personal travel advisor for your Walt Disney World vacation, I can’t wait to help you secure and create this caliber of experience catered exactly to your family.

As a Diamond Advisor with Rope Drop Travel, I relish every opportunity to assist clients with their dream vacations. Email me today – [email protected] for help in booking your next Walt Disney World vacation!