Chef Mickey or Crystal Palace for 1st character meal

[Coconuts]

I would definetly stay in the park and do CP. We had an early ADR last time and nothing beats walking up an empty Main Street! It was AWESOME and it will be something we do on every trip from now on.

 

[MSMomTJ]

We just took our first family trip to WDW, (I am the only one who'd been before.) and our first breakfast/first character meal was Crystal Palace. I chose it for two reasons:
1) It was the Magic Kingdom. Best place to start the first day at WDW!
2) I knew my kids would be shy, maybe even a little intimidated, by characters at first. Pooh & friends are very non-threatening characters they've known for a long time, so I thought they would be an easy and fun way to introduce characters.

We did not dine at Chef Mickey's, so I can't compare. I can say that we had a great experience with food and characters at CP, and I would definitely recommend it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

We've been to both several times and enjoyed our meals in both places very much.

You know your children better than anyone. Will they be more excited to see Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore? Or Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald? That's how I would choose.

 

[HARVEYSGIRL]

Crystal palace. I am planning to go twice on my next trip!!

 

[keishashadow]

when my kids were younger, after arriving @ our resort; we'd try for pool time (packed carryon bag w/bathing suits). Then, we'd get settled into room, change & head to CMickeys...always with a spin around the monorail 1st.

We'd be able to catch MK FW most nights, then beat crowds back to hotel for a good night's sleep before tackling the parks, usually an am EMH.

During our stay, we'd work in CP too for dinner or late lunch

We always tend to get the most bang for our buck in the parks early, can't see using the time for lingering breakfast.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Since it's your child's FIRST trip, and their FIRST character meal, you HAVE to go to Chef Mickey's. I mean, COME ON! It's MICKEY!

 

[BebopBaloo]

Crystal Palace will get my vote every time without a doubt! Getting in early is fantastic! The atmosphere is lovely and the character interaction is great. Food...quite good as well. We would be content to go to Crystal Palace and nowhere else!

 

[jodls01]

CP gets my vote. We always get the earliest lunch we can get around 11:45. This has worked out for us because while we are waiting to be called it gives us time to take a PP with the castle as the background. We get to MK at RD and then take our time getting to the CP area. We usually have 12 people in our group so one person checks in and stays in the area while the others walk around the area. As soon as we are called we use our cell phones to get everyone together. We all enjoy the food, Pooh and friends. We have never been rushed while taking pictures or eating our food. The photopass guys have always been patient with our large group and accommodated our requests. Last year I was nominated to stay behind and it was very hot waiting in the small area, but I found a nice place in front of a door and got cool air from inside.

 

[DW2010]

We were booked for lunch at CP but then rescheduled for an 8:15AM breakfast . I'm looking forward to it. I've heard some awful things about CM so I didn't even consider it. HTH.