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View Full Version : Chef Mickeys, 1900 Park Fare or Whispering Canyon Cafe



MississippiDisneyFreak
11-27-2007, 01:28 PM
:cloud9: I have an extra table service credit to use on my upcoming trip and have it narrowed down to three restaurants I have never tried. I've looked at all three menus and the selections are all great. There are no small children in our group so character dining is optional...based on food quality and atmosphere, which would you recommend? Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary, 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian or Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge?

Tygger7
11-27-2007, 02:52 PM
Personally, I'd recommend Whispering Canyon. It's not a character meal, but is without a doubt one of the funnest meals you'll ever have. While there are things for kids to do, it's great for adults....and the food is excellent. It's one of our "must do" restaurants on every trip. :thumbsup:

buzznwoodysmom
11-27-2007, 03:53 PM
We just did 1900 Park Fair during Thanksgiving week and it was the worst meal of the trip. It was the only meal we didn't like all week. I've never done Chef Mickey's for dinner, but WCC is always fun. We had dinner here last week as well and the food was much better than 1900 Park Fair.

DDuck66
11-27-2007, 04:46 PM
Based on food quality and atmosphere I would go with Whispering Canyon. The food has always been good wheather you get the skillet or order an individual menu selection. If you want character interaction, then go with 1900 Park Faire. I have always thought CM was overated at dinner...but I love the breakfast there. Hope that helps.

EPCOT84
11-27-2007, 05:18 PM
I can comment on Chef Mickey's and Whispering Canyon but I have not tried 1900 Park Fair.

For a wonderful lodge atmosphere and barbeque inspired cuisine, I give a thumbs up to Whispering Canyon. Just walking into the amazing Wilderness Lodge is a mini-vacation within a vacation. It is a true sit down restaurant, and yes, it can get noisy, but that's the fun of the place. The server's antics can be crazy but so long as you're game, enjoy it. The skillet and the salads are wonderful. In the last trip, a boat ride from MK to WL made for a great lunch break before taking the boat back to the park.

If you want a more pure Disney-fied experience, at least once try Chef Mickey's. The atmosphere is colder than Wilderness being in the lobby of the Contemporary, but it is astounding in its own right. You can't beat seeing the monorails pass all the time. Having the classic Disney characters around makes it a true classic Disney experience. It is a buffet with, in my opinion, average American fair, nothing exotic or creative. The good thing about buffets is you can select what you like. It is noisy in that there are more kids and the din of the Contemporary Concourse adds its own noise, but the sheer scale of dining in the concourse is memorable for older kids and adults.

Jared
11-27-2007, 05:25 PM
We just did 1900 Park Fair during Thanksgiving week and it was the worst meal of the trip.
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but my family really enjoyed 1900 Park Fare and would consider trying it again. Chef Mickey's is quite chaotic and better for breakfast dinner. We really enjoyed the buffet selection and character interaction at 1900 Park Fare.

I've never tried Whispering Canyon Cafe, so I can't comment on it.

:tasty:

dephenn
11-27-2007, 06:35 PM
I would agree with every thing Jared said.

luvdiznee
11-27-2007, 07:37 PM
WCC!:cloud9::mickey:

MississippiDisneyFreak
11-28-2007, 09:56 AM
:thumbsup: Whispering Canyon Cafe seems to be the overwhelming choice. I was kind of leaning towards that one too! Thanks a lot!

SBETigg
11-28-2007, 09:59 AM
:thumbsup: Whispering Canyon Cafe seems to be the overwhelming choice. I was kind of leaning towards that one too! Thanks a lot!

That's what I was going to say, too. I've never tried any of them but that's the one I would try first of the bunch. I do love GF dining and would highly recommend the Grand Floridian Cafe if you haven't tried that one, maybe some other time.

#1donaldfan
11-28-2007, 12:31 PM
What a hard question !! Without kids I'd opt out of CM.......WC is great and a lot of interaction...plus the lodge is beautiful......1900 ?? ......I love the Grand.......if pushed into a corner I'd have to choose WC ...... the atmosphere makes the meal.......:mickey:

Figgyluv03
11-28-2007, 12:52 PM
I haven't eaten at any of these places, but DBF and I are eating dinner at WCC, and breakfast at Chef Mickeys. We've heard pretty good reviews on both.

jpH/keD
11-28-2007, 02:23 PM
We just got back Saturday and we ate at all three of your choices! We love Chef Mickey's food and characters are great! This is the only repeat we did from our previous trip! You cannot go wrong here! Everyone will find something they like! CGF was our least favorite buffet but its still fun and the characters are great! Still not a bad choice. WCC was wonderful for us! We loved all the food and the antics were funny too! The Christmas tree in the lobby had a total WOW factor for me! If I had to pick it would be between CM and WCC. Since you dont have a small princess skip CGF!

MississippiDisneyFreak
11-28-2007, 04:06 PM
We just got back Saturday and we ate at all three of your choices! We love Chef Mickey's food and characters are great! This is the only repeat we did from our previous trip! You cannot go wrong here! Everyone will find something they like! CGF was our least favorite buffet but its still fun and the characters are great! Still not a bad choice. WCC was wonderful for us! We loved all the food and the antics were funny too! The Christmas tree in the lobby had a total WOW factor for me! If I had to pick it would be between CM and WCC. Since you dont have a small princess skip CGF! :thumbsup: Actually, I have a 13 year old son who probably wouldn't be too thrilled about the princesses anyway. Thanks for the help.

SBETigg
11-28-2007, 04:50 PM
I'm not sure what CGF is, but I assume the poster means 1900 Park Fare? Just to clarify, Grand Floridian Cafe and 1900 Park Fare are totally different restaurants. GF Cafe is not a character experience and not a buffet. 1900 Park Fare is the buffet with characters.

natkevnol
11-29-2007, 10:50 PM
Based on the reviews from this board we tried a new dinner this time and went to WCC....wow what a true disappointment. There were so many positive things said about this restaurant I thought for sure we couldn't go wrong.....guess I was the one who was wrong.

To start with the food was dismal. Husband had the skillet..dried out. I had the prime rib...tough and no flavor. Milkshakes...better called flavored milk. And the cheese dip (which was the only thing the waiter recommended) was extremely gummy and the chips were stale. I will however, say that the desserts (we took them to go) the s'more cheesecake and the chocolate cake were the best desserts we had all week.

But the food aside, I think I was most disappointed in the "fun atmosphere" that I came in expecting. The waitstaff seemed bored with the whole "ketchup" thing. However, I do understand that considering almost every table was asking for it whether they wanted it or not. I don't know maybe my expectations were too high but we won't be going there on our next trip.

And I do hate to say this but our dinner at Chef Mickey's Saturday night was not the best either. And we always go there at least twice a trip and strongly recommend it to others. So, maybe it was just an off night.

Guess I'd pick 1900 Park Fare...never been there but it can't be any worse..:mickey:

MississippiDisneyFreak
11-30-2007, 11:47 AM
Based on the reviews from this board we tried a new dinner this time and went to WCC....wow what a true disappointment. There were so many positive things said about this restaurant I thought for sure we couldn't go wrong.....guess I was the one who was wrong.

To start with the food was dismal. Husband had the skillet..dried out. I had the prime rib...tough and no flavor. Milkshakes...better called flavored milk. And the cheese dip (which was the only thing the waiter recommended) was extremely gummy and the chips were stale. I will however, say that the desserts (we took them to go) the s'more cheesecake and the chocolate cake were the best desserts we had all week.

But the food aside, I think I was most disappointed in the "fun atmosphere" that I came in expecting. The waitstaff seemed bored with the whole "ketchup" thing. However, I do understand that considering almost every table was asking for it whether they wanted it or not. I don't know maybe my expectations were too high but we won't be going there on our next trip.

And I do hate to say this but our dinner at Chef Mickey's Saturday night was not the best either. And we always go there at least twice a trip and strongly recommend it to others. So, maybe it was just an off night.

Guess I'd pick 1900 Park Fare...never been there but it can't be any worse..:mickey::( Bummer, I wonder if anyone else recommending it has been there recently or if their recommendations are based on past experiences.

mouseketeer mom
11-30-2007, 02:58 PM
We have always had positive experiences at both Chef Mickeys and WCC!
We do tho, go to Chef Mickeys for the characters. We go to WCC for the food and fun! So...without kids, my votes for the WCC! And...I'll throw something else in.. have you considered Ohanas???? That would always be my #1 pick if I had to choose.

MississippiDisneyFreak
12-03-2007, 04:03 PM
We have always had positive experiences at both Chef Mickeys and WCC!
We do tho, go to Chef Mickeys for the characters. We go to WCC for the food and fun! So...without kids, my votes for the WCC! And...I'll throw something else in.. have you considered Ohanas???? That would always be my #1 pick if I had to choose. The menu looks pretty good to me but my 13 year old is picky and doesn't care for the menu selections (Its kind of limited)

swampfox28
01-17-2008, 12:08 PM
When we went last year we tried WC based on recommendations from Intercot. I was probably least excited about this restaurant because it wasn't a character meal, etc. But this meal was one of the best we had all week! I'm so sorry to hear that someone had an awful experience at WC - I suppose ANY restaurant can have an "off" night, but I swear this was such a delightful treat I think if I had to pick ONLY one restaurant to eat at again next time, I'd be torn between WC and the Aloha breakfast at the Poly... and based solely on food, I'd have to pick WC!


-Sarah

vamaggie
01-17-2008, 02:58 PM
The menu looks pretty good to me but my 13 year old is picky and doesn't care for the menu selections (Its kind of limited)

What is it about the menu that doesn't appeal to him? Could he ask for something w/o sauce? He could also always order from the kids menu ( We have never been to Ohanas but at other places have heard kids ask for nuggets and were given them)

jakeybake
01-17-2008, 03:46 PM
Definitely 1900 Park Fare.

I have been to all 3 places and the food and atmosphere at the Park Fare and by far the best of the bunch. It's a must do for us every trip.

Also, you can walk around the beautiful grounds of the Grand Floridian after your meal.