Chef Mickey's serves up lunch for the first time, hit or miss?

What I have found about eating at Disney World in Orlando Fla. is that it is often hit or a BIG miss. Breakfasts at the park are typically horrible i.e. Bagel sandwich at either Epcot or Animal Kingdom parks are truly over priced and terrible. However, that's not to say that Disney doesn't offer an awesome breakfast..it does at Boma in the Animal Kingdom lodge, and of course the buffet at Chef Mickey's is known for good food as well, but more of a junction where you can meet all of the popular characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald) without standing in line..as a matter of fact they come right to the table.

I digress, this is after all not about breakfast but Lunch...the first lunch ever served at Chef Mickey's to be exact.

We had a party of 7 (including two 2 year olds). As we arrived we noticed 2 things in particular that didn't bode well.

1. Some staff had no idea about a lunch service (I guess they viewed it as an extended breakfast shift?)
2. No lunch menu was posted by the greeter. Just breakfast & dinner menus where up.

Price: $21 for Adults, $12 for children (3 to 9), and Free for kids 2 & under.

Reservations are a must! This is a very popular spot to eat due to the characters.

Arrival
You check in at a main podium where a greeter will access your reservation. You are then cued up for a group picture with a little mickey statue. I believe the picture is over $30 if you choose purchase it. They have improved on seating times and we sat almost right away.

Decor
We where seated in the back portion of the restaurant that has a glass wall with a good view of the castle. The tables are spaced far enough apart for the character to dance and move about table to table without giving you a feeling of being jammed in or claustrophobic. It is a very plain decor not many notable Disney trademarks other than the characters. The bathrooms are located down a very tight hallway toward the front of the restaurant.

Service
The service was adequate. This is a buffet so not much to expect other than drink orders.

The Food
I wish I could end this review on a positive note however I found the food to by slightly over cooked and bland. NO FLAVOR. I tried just about everything except for the salmon and nothing is memorable enough to comment on. They have a decent dessert bar I guess but I was just so disappointed in the main entrees that it was just a footnote instead of a cherry on top.

I give it 2 out of 5 stars and I would not recommend for the food. If you have small children and you want to meet the characters without long lines this is your best bet.