Chef Mickey or Crystal Palace for 1st character meal

[2BEKs]

This will be our first day in the MK (kids first time EVER) and obviously their first character meal.

We're looking at scheduling a LATE breakfast (11:15 Chef Mickey) or 11:45 (lunch) at Crystal Palace.

couple of questions:

1) does Chef M have enough "lunch stuff" on the breakfast menu? Since this will really be lunch... not sure if we'll be in the mood for another breakfast.

2) Which one gets your vote and why?

THANKS!

 

[maureeny]

my vote would be for Crystal Palace. We had breakfast reservations at about 8:15 am... we got to walk into the part prior to it opening (which was VERY cool), and the food was great. Now I know you are looking for lunch. Crystal Palace is already in the park (saves time), and you would have to take a monorail over to Chef Mickey's.

Chef Mickey's was very cool (the atmosphere), however, I don't know if we hit it at a bad time (10:30 or 10:45 ressies), maybe just a bad day... but we had to wait almost an hour past our ADR before getting seated. I just felt like our time could have been used better in MK than sitting waiting to be seated for an hour. Like I said, it was probably a fluke??

Good luck!

 

[2BEKs]

i keep going back and forth between doing an AM crystal palace breakfast OR doing RD.

is the RD show that fun? or is being @ the park prior to opening wayyy cooler?

i'm kinda excited at the thought of getting pics without anyone else around.



(though - these are WAYYY cool problems to have!)

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I vote early ADR.

 

[KatMark]

Crystal Palace gets our vote every time.

 

[Swimalie]

Crystal Palace gets our vote every time.

Same here. We did it as our son's first trip to Disney and as our first meal there, too and he loved it. We had our reservation for 8:10 and walking in early was great. If you can get in an early reservation, that would be ideal.

We also did Chef Mickeys a few days later as an 8:25 reservation and we didn't enjoy it as much. The food wasn't as good and where they seated us wasn't as nice (cold, too).

 

[Tara]

Crystal Palace for sure. The only drawback is that you get the Pooh characters, not Mickey and friends. But at least at Crystal Palace you'll want to eat the food. I've pretty much given up on having a good meal at Chef Mickey's!

 

[abdb]

Crystal Palace gets my vote too. The food choices were good and we had wonderful pictures of main street and the castle with basically no one around.

 

[Hootch]

CP has better overall food. I also like the Pooh characters. Many kids will prefer the CM characters though.

As to lunch food at CM at 11:25. I had that ADR time last summer. Unless this is a period where Disney is serving lunch at CM, which happens during very high attendance periods, you will get refills of the breakfast items. They do replenish the food frequently and the character interaction was the best we ever had at CM.

 

[2Tiggies]

How old are your children?

My vote is also CP. I don't know if it is to do with the layout of the restaurant or what it is, but it doesn't feel quite as rushed as CM. I prefer the food as well. However if you are going to do another character meal, CM is still a great option. I think it is worth doing at least once with young children.

 

[damone]

Crystal Palace.

Chef Mickey's is overrated. The food is average at best.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The only time Chef Mickey's has a lunch menu is only during the free dining period, however others have said if you go for a late breakfast they keep making the food fresh and with less guests in the restaurant you might get more time with the characters.

 

[texasgirl73]

I prefer Crystal Palace, I love Tigger, but my kids prefer Chef Mickeys (by a lot.) Both are hectic when checking in. When in Disneyworld the kids win out (mommy gets her own trip in Vegas later in the summer.)

 

[Rosetta89]

Most definitely Crystal Palace!! Please do not make Chef Mickey's your first character meal. Crystal Palace is my family's must do, great food awesome characters, we go every trip to WDW.
Magical Wishes

 

[Girly_Qs]

I'm the oddball. (not a first, lol) Maybe it's just the meals we hit last time?

We did both CM and CP for dinner's last trip. 4 adults and 2 young kids all preferred CM for both food and character interaction. We didn't feel "rushed" at all (but, I've never totally understood that either - it's a buffet, I'm going to get what I want and not leave til I'm done). We all really enjoyed the food at CM, and all found CP to be so-so (not bad at all, but not all that good either). And the characters at CP for us, could be likened to a drive-by, whereas at CM they all stopped for pictures, autographs, and even 'played' a bit with my younger dd who was feeling a bit shy.

That said, like all things WDW IMO, it can vary greatly by the day, time of day, moods of CM's and guests, lol, etc. We'll be going back to CP for 2 breakfasts next trip - giving breakfast a try, but especially for pre-rope-drop entrance to MK. We'll also be going back to CM 2 times - bookending our trip, dinner the night we arrive and breakfast the morning we leave!

We'll see - maybe after the next trip we'll be won over to CP . . . but for now, we're CM fans!

 

[scootch]

I vote Chef Mickey's.... Mickey, Minnie and the gang, how can you beat that? We have gone to CP twice and have not had very good luck, at al! My girls have been going to disney since 2 and 5 and at 7 and 10.... they still ask to go to Chef Mickey's every trip!! The monorail thru the hotel is another cool point with the kids!

 

[Tarzan&Cinderella]

I would definitely go with Chef Mickey's. They food is good and they have a wide selection. The atmosphere is great. It's the best for your first character dining experience because you meet all the main characters. Unless your kids really like Pooh, they will be much more excited to meet Mickey, Goofy, and the gang.

 

[MECH8T7]

We're not big fans of CP in any event but here the factors that I would take into account (some of which have already been mentioned above).

1. Food quality. Personally, I don't feel that the food at any of the character meals is all that great. So, while a number of people may comment that the food at CP is of higher quality than CM....with your first day of your first trip to WDW, nobody in your party is likely to care much about the food and likely won't eat much in any event.

2. Park opening. For a 11:45 meal at CM, you would probably have to be at the MK exit on your way to MK by 11:30 (resort monorail). (I presume that this is the latest seating that you could get for the breakfast, so being a little late will not be a good idea since it might screw up timing for character interaction.) With that in mind, what time does the park open and how long will you have in there before you have to leave? BTW, if you are in Fantasyland, one timesaver might be to take the MK railroad to the exit (but you can't take a stroller).

3. Seating delay and being distracted by MK. I think we've had to wait for our table at CP every time we've eaten there. On your first trip to WDW, I think it could be distracting to be sitting around waiting for your table to be ready or sitting at your table eating when you can see all this stuff that you want to do just beyond the hub of the park. The nice thing about CM is that your one step removed from MK. My kids always thought it was neat to see the hotel that the monorail drives into. Also, the odds are pretty good that you members of your party will be able to ride with pilot of the monorail (need to ask at the platform) on the resort monorail to CR from MK in the middle of the morning (and the kids can get their pilot's licence).

4. Any other character meals on the trip? If we were doing only one character meal, I would want to make sure that it was one of the meals with Mickey and the gang. They have a photo set-up at CM, where the take a picture of your family in front of a sign that says Chef Mickey's (for a fee), if that is something that interests you. They don't do that at CP.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[Steelersfan]

The lunch at CP hands down.

First, I find it to be a much less hectic environment than CM.

Next, the food is great.

In addition, the characters seemed to spend more time with you at CP. You are a little rushed at CM.

Finally, You don't have to leave the park. You will get a little more time in the park before you hae to eat. Although CM is just one monorail stop away, it will take at least some time.

Hope this helps!

 

[Girly_Qs]

. . . Also, the odds are pretty good that you members of your party will be able to ride with pilot of the monorail (need to ask at the platform) on the resort monorail to CR from MK in the middle of the morning (and the kids can get their pilot's licence).

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (kind of hope I am, as we always enjoyed the opportunity!), but I don't think they allow guests to ride with the pilot anymore (since the collision).