I love character dining – where you get to meet Disney characters while eating – and Chef Mickey’s is no exception. I particularly like doing a character experience in the morning: you get a super dose of Disney at the start of your day, and fill up your family’s stomachs at the same time!
So, on to Chef Mickey’s: the restaurant is on the 4th floor of the Contemporary Resort’s tower. Now Contemporary Resort is made up of several buildings, so make sure you get the right one; it’s the colloquially-named A-Frame tower that has the monorail running through it:
There are several ways to get to Chef Mickey’s: if you are in a monorail resort – the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian – you can ride the monorail to the Contemporary. If you have a car, you can park your car at the Ticket & Transportation Center (TTC) and then take the monorail to the Contemporary as well.
If you’re in the Wilderness Resort, you can take the boat launch from Wilderness to Magic Kingdom, then ride the monorail from the Magic Kingdom’s monorail station directly to the Contemporary.
If you are in a different resort, getting to Chef Mickey’s is a bit more complex. If you’re doing a late breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the easiest way is to take your resort’s bus to Magic Kingdom, then walking from the Magic Kingdom’s front entrance (before you enter the MK gates) to the Contemporary. There is a short walking path that takes you directly to the Contemporary; see the blue arrows below:
If you have an early morning breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, or don’t want to walk, the best way to get to the Contemporary is via an Uber or a Lyft. An early morning breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey’s means you need to be there before potentially the Magic Kingdom buses even start up for the day, so you can’t use the above strategy. An Uber or a Lyft is guaranteed to get you on time to the resort.
When you order your Uber or Lyft, you can type in “Contemporary Resort” in the location box and the app should pop up “Disney’s Contemporary Resort” as a location to go to. When your Uber gets to the Contemporary, there is a gate with guards checking cars – show them your Chef Mickey’s reservation on your My Disney Experience app to go through. Once you’re in the Contemporary lobby, take the escalators to the 4th floor to get to Chef Mickey’s.
Once you get up to the Contemporary Resort’s 4th floor, you should see this big Chef Mickey’s sign (pictured above). If you’ve arrived early, there’s a gift shop on the other side of the floor and an arcade – both great places to visit and check out. The gift shop sells a large variety of items – the last time I was there I purchased a set of Mickey Mouse-branded rolling suitcases.
Chef Mickey’s was formerly a buffet style restaurant, but after the pandemic it has converted into a family style restaurant – which means that your table gets plates and dishes piled high with food, and then each person can take from the shared dish. Eat up, because soon you’ll see Mickey and his friends! If someone in your group loves monorails, ask the usher for a table with a view of the monorail line – it goes through the Contemporary just above the restaurant.
Mickey and his friends will come around to each table to sign autographs, take pictures, and play around with everyone. Make sure you know what to say! Each Disney character will be dressed up in chef’s clothing, so it’s a great and unique picture to get!
Chef Mickey’s is a wonderful place to go, I hope you love it as much as I do.
