Character meals, the ultimate definition of magic in Disney World. What better way to spend your rest time than with Disney food, family and friends, and of course, Disney characters! Getting to see, talk to, and now hug once again, Mickey, Minnie and all of their friends, all while consuming copious amounts of delicious food sounds like a pretty amazing way to spend some of your time at the resorts, don’t you?! I think so too.
Now, I have experienced many character meals in my time, but there are two in particular that tend to compete for top pick, above the rest, especially for breakfast! My family and I have always enjoyed character breakfast’s, specifically, because it is a fantastic way to get your day started, and they tend to be a little more affordable than the character dinners. I have been an avid Chef Mickey’s goer since I was a little girl, and recently, my husband and I decided to check out Ohana’s for breakfast as well for the very first time and now it’s time to compare these two top contenders!
OHANA’S
Ohana’s is located on the second floor of the Polynesian Resort in Walt Disney World, which is a Deluxe resort located within the Magic Kingdom section of Disney World. Both Ohana’s and Chef Mickey’s (which we will talk more about further down in this article) are connected by the Monorail transportation system, which I am a huge advocate for. The monorail not only makes this restaurant fun to get to, but it is also convenient and can take you over to the Magic Kingdom when you are finished with your breakfast, if that is where you are headed for the day afterwards.
The smell of this resort is incredible, and the ambience is perfection, making you feel like you just stepped foot into Hawaii, no plane needed! It is a very calm and serene resort, and the look and feel of the restaurant makes you feel so immersed in the magic. Ohana’s is surrounded by a huge bay of windows that overlooks Seven Seas Lagoon, and of course, Magic Kingdom and Cinderella’s Castle. If you get seated right, you can see all of this and more right from your table, and it is absolutely breathtaking.
The last thing I want to really highlight for Ohana’s is the Cast Member interaction. I have been to many Disney resorts and restaurants over the years, and I can honestly say I have never had a better experience with cast members, than at this hotel and this restaurant. From the moment we stepped into the resort, to the hostess, to the waiter, to the grounds workers and beyond, we were just continuously touched with smile after smile, and an aloha and good morning, the entire time. Our waiter was both sweet and entertaining and made sure our POG juice stayed full throughout the whole meal (we love us some POG juice, heehee).
Now, I will quickly touch upon the food here, because after all, it is a restaurant. I will start off by saying I was really looking forward to having a meal here, because I have heard so many great things about Ohana’s, I honestly did not expect anything less, considering how touched we were just walking in.
However, the food did fall short for us on this one. Unfortunately, the food came out cold, and quite bland, leaving us wanting more in the end. We were immediately served with POG juice, fresh cut fruit and their famous morning sweet bread. This portion of the meal was fine. We love our POG juice and that always puts a smile on my face either way, so I was happy that we got to have some of that. The sweet bread was actually my favorite part of the entire meal. It was sweet, had a touch of pineapple and went great with the juice. Shortly after they brought out the all-you-care-to-eat mickey and stitch waffles, ham, sausage and potatoes. I do think they could have offered more options and more creative dishes. The ham had a fun pineapple sauce on it which was tasted nice, but because it was cold, it didn’t make us leave wanting to come back.
In the end, I do feel that Ohana’s is a great place to experience, due to the views, feelings and the cast members, alone. Just be prepared to have subpar food. Right now, characters are still not back at this location yet. which is unfortunate. However, because of this, the breakfast itself is very affordable at the moment.
Let’s take a look at Chef Mickey’s…
CHEF MICKEY’S
Just a forewarning, I may get emotional talking about our next breakfast Character meal, because this one is near and dear to my heart. I grew up going to Chef Mickey’s as a child, and then continued the tradition with my own children, as you can see above, and I just have to say, there is something about this character meal, that just keeps you coming back for more.
Back in the pre-COVID-19 days, Chef Mickey’s was a buffet style character meal, with loads of options. However, now, it is a sit down family style type meal, and it is my top choice for a Character breakfast with young kids. Not only do they have kid friendly food choices, but the characters also sing and dance and get the kids involved. The characters here are what I like to call the Fab five, and they include Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck. One of the great things about the characters here, is that you get to see them more than once, which is awesome. The last time we went, we got to see and interact with Minnie and Mickey three times, and with Goofy, Donald, and Pluto four times. To me, this is worth the steeper price tag alone.
Yes, the prices here are not cheap. At $59/adult and $35/child, you will definitely be feeling that one afterwards, especially if you have a larger family like myself. However, if you can budget for it, I would absolutely recommend doing so.
Unlike Ohana’s, Chef Mickey’s is definitely more loud and high energy. After all, it is geared more towards families with children. So if you are going as a couple, or adults only, just be prepared for this. However like Ohana’s, it is an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal and can be accessed via the Monorail as well.
Chef Mickey’s is located in the Contemporary Resort, which is located immediately next to Magic Kingdom, and if you don’t want to take the Monorail, there is a walking path that connects to the Park, which is a great benefit as well. If you decide to walk, just know you will need to take the elevator up to the second floor to get to the restaurant. The ambience is much more robust and lively compared to Ohana’s. It was also recently update with new Incredible themed rooms and has some beautiful Mary Blair murals and paintings throughout the main areas of the resort.
Now, let’s talk about the food. My daughter has Celiac Disease and cannot eat Gluten. However, Chef Mickey’s made her feel incredibly special with all of the options they had available to her, all while bringing her her own dishes and extra portions. My daughter said she hasn’t left a restaurant feeling that full in a very long time, and she loved it. It is her favorite restaurant right now in all of Walt Disney World. So if you or anyone in your family has any allergies, I would urge you to please check out Chef Mickey’s because they did an amazing job accommodating to my daughters needs.
The meal itself came with so much food. We had fresh fruit, pastry and yogurt parfaits, followed by mickey waffles, sausages, bacon, eggs, cheesy potato hash and the best banana bread french toast I have ever had in my life. You also get to choose your drinks here, including some alcoholic specialities like Bloody Mary’s and Mimosa’s! Compared to its buffet predecessor, the all-you-care-to-enjoy meal wins by leaps and bounds. Although there are less options than with the buffet, including that fun cereal bar, the quality of the food has improved immensely.
So, in the end, I can genuinely say the Ohana’s vs. Chef Mickey’s Breakfast battle is a tough one to call. They are two extremely different experiences and although similar in location and class, you just cannot compare the two. For me, however, personally Chef Mickey’s wins by a mile. With it’s fun atmosphere, character interaction, great food, and allergy accommodations, I have yet to find a better Character meal in all of my years going to Disney World.
Don’t let me sway you one way or the other, though. Why not go check both of them out for yourself and just enjoy the magic.
