First Time - Garden Grill or Chef Mickey's?

[be1985]

We are going in October for the first time with our 5 year old son. Which is a more fun/ memorable experience?

We aren't on a dining plan so would be paying for it ourselves. We were intending to do Chef Mickey's until I saw a video showing the size of the restaurant and worried it would feel as personal.

[AliceCooper9]

Out of CM and GG for dinner I would do GG.

CM was loud, character interaction was not very good and the dinner food was at best average.

CM seems to get better breakfast reviews so maybe that might be a better option if you choose CM.

[ianmilly]

Garden grill gets my vote

[wifey]

Garden grill for us too their kids food is very yummy when our DS was that age they laughed about how much appetite he had and just kept bringing him more of anything he wanted. The characters come to the tables too and if you sit your son on the outside seat he’s going to get some great interactions with them.👍🥰

[jillyb]

We have ate a few times at garden grill and have enjoyed it every time.
The characters are good with everyone and not rushed.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by be1985

We are going in October for the first time with our 5 year old son. Which is a more fun/ memorable experience?

We aren't on a dining plan so would be paying for it ourselves. We were intending to do Chef Mickey's until I saw a video showing the size of the restaurant and worried it would feel as personal.

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I don’t think any Disney character meal is going to feel personal. They are all busy, large and rowdy. CM probably the rowdiest of them all.

But my vote would be for Chef Mickeys, it has all the classic Disney characters and perfect for a first trip and first character meal, we did it for breakfast first morning of our first ever trip.

We are two adults and can get over looked at character meals but at CM the characters took their time with us and let us get all the photos we wanted.

I am doing both in April, GG for breakfast one day and I will be trying CM for dinner on another.

[mason1]

Having done both, GG is my preference. Ask for a booth when you check in, as it feels more private. The character interaction has always been good. My son loves Chip and Dale and always takes his cuddly versions, which get hilarious reactions from the characters.

We found CM more like a cafeteria. The character interaction for us was poor and rushed. It was loud and noisy, which we didn’t enjoy.

I think from memory GG is slightly cheaper than CM when paying for it.

[mandco]

when booking character meals I always go with which characters would they prefer and what food suits us best?

My lot love chef mickeys and its always the one they want to go back to but it is one of the most expensive and can be loud/hectic.

We've never done GG as my lot wouldn't eat much of the food and they are not fussed about meeting chip & dale but it does seem really popular.

[Tinkermom]

GG every time, we’ve tried Chef Mickeys a few times over the years and have always been disappointed. Lovely character interaction at GG where as CM feels very rushed and the food is definitely below par.

How about Cape May or Tusker House?

[be1985]

Thanks everyone, Garden Grill it is! I'd definitely be doing both if we were on dining plan, but the numbers don't seem to be adding up to make it worth it for us.