We went tonight, and it was pretty terrible, disappointing, and a waste of money. I wish I had not made this reservation, and had known in advance of the restaurant change.
My kids liked meeting the characters, but the character interaction was kind of mechanical and impersonal. They seemed rushed. I do agree with a previous poster that the spread out space was a definite plus to make it easier to take character photos, I was also kind of turned off by the Christmas tree photo op upon arrival, as opposed to the Chef Mickey backdrop photo op. I am guessing that many guests do not celebrate Christmas, so it did not seem like a great option.
Theming was......very sterile and conference-like, as opposed to Disney-like. Layout was weird. Food choices seemed extremely lacking, as compared to typical Chef Mickey's food choices. No ice cream machine. Barely any salad options. Ribs were kind of burnt with way too much sauce. Salmon and carved meats were overcooked. Pasta was very good, and the goat cheese spread with the bread was a nice touch. All of the hot food was displayed in closed lid platters, which made it very awkward and difficult to serve yourself, with little to no room on the table to set down your plate to open the platter and spoon out your serving. Our server was very sweet and attentive.
To top it off, the monorail broke down after dinner, with a 30-45 minute wait till the next one, so it was kind of chaotic with families trying to get out of the monorail platform to walk to MK afterwards.
I'm not sure we will be back to Chef Mickey's, even when it returns to its regular location. Our last experience was not so hot either. Food was terrific, but character interaction was lacking & the music was SO loud in there. I really miss the Liberty Tree Tavern character meal