Chef Mickey's Easter Dinner Did Not Disappoint

Allison Flynn1.23.2020Easter is an underrated time to visit Walt Disney World Resort, in my opinion. There are beautiful flower displays to see at Epcot because of the International Flower & Garden Festival, special meet-and-greets with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny, chocolate egg displays around various resorts… it can be just as gorgeous as other times of the year. (Let’s be honest, there’s not a bad time to visit Walt Disney World Resort!)If you find yourself planning a trip that will take you to the House of Mouse during Easter, then you’ll want to plan ahead for your Easter meal. Various locations will have special Easter brunches or dinners available for guests to enjoy. Dining reservations always open 180 days ahead of your visit, and it is highly recommended to save your spots for holiday meals quickly!However, sometimes a last-minute reservation can and does open up. Just before our spring break 2019 vacation, my youngest son asked when we would be eating at Chef Mickey’s. I panicked. I hadn’t reserved this experience because we’d done it before, and technically our on-property stay didn’t start until the day AFTER Easter. So, I did what I would do for my clients – I set up some dining reservation trackers and got to work seeking out a reservation.As luck would have it, an early dinner/late lunch reservation opened up – and it just happened to be on Easter Sunday! Since we’d made no plans for that day other than hanging out by our hotel’s pool, I grabbed it and hoped my family would be pleased.On Easter Sunday, we headed to Disney’s Contemporary Resort early for our dinner so that we could check out the Easter egg display in the lobby. (You can read about it here.) Then we made our way up to Chef Mickey’s to check in and have our picture taken.If you’ve never eaten at Chef Mickey’s, here’s how it works: Your party is seated in a section of the dining room. A Cast Member will give you a quick tour of the buffet before seating you. Once seated and drinks ordered, you can return to the buffet to begin digging into delicious food.My family has always eaten breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, which has my favorite food in all of Walt Disney World, Mickey waffles, as well as other pastries, eggs and egg dishes, meats, oatmeal, etc. We were excited to have dinner there to enjoy things like lobster mac-n-cheese (so, so good), carved meats, mashed potatoes, and more. It did not disappoint.While you eat, Mickey and friends will visit your table for pictures and autographs. This is my favorite way to meet characters – you have to eat, so why not eat, meet, and greet? It should be noted, however, that characters are not in Easter clothing, but rather in their chef clothes like normal.If you’re celebrating your birthday while visiting Chef Mickey’s, you receive a cupcake with a lighted candle after your meal. We’ve celebrated a few times, and cupcakes come out even with breakfast! Because it was Easter, there were other special desserts.I have to say, we absolutely love Chef Mickey’s for breakfast, but after experiencing the dinner foods, I’d definitely return at that time for a meal, too. It was convenient to have dinner at an off time since we weren’t visiting parks, but it also would’ve worked for a day we were visiting Magic Kingdom, too.I’d love to share more with you about character dining for your next vacation! You’re welcome to reach out to me via email at allisonf@wishesfamilytravel.com or through Facebook.