Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace

[Seaton]

I am tentatively planning on taking a trip to WDW in early June. It will be a solo trip so I can do absolutely whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. Anyway, I love a good breakfast and have heard a lot about Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace and have a few questions about them:

1. What hours do they serve breakfast?

2. Any reservations required/suggested?

3. Any key differences between the two restaurants?

4. Which, in your opinion, is better?

 

[Disney DieHard]

Hey there Seaton!

3 out of 4 questions I can answer for sure but one I'm going to suggest you look up.

The first question is the one I am going to suggest you look up. I am not 100% positive on the specific times for breakfast ... I'm GUESSING from 7ish to 11ish but PLEASE look that up if your looking to do either a really early or a real late breakfast so you don't get shut out.

Your second question ... YES! Reservations are required for both! I know I sound like a broken record to people who read my posts often but there used to be a time back before the Dining Plan started that you could make arrangements for a meal while you were on vacation ... not anymore though. I would call as soon as you find out when your vacation dates are and what day you would want to go. 180 Days out is the earliest you can book dining ... book sooner rather than later because you are looking at two very popular places!

Third, the real key difference between the two ... with out being a smart butt and saying something like "Well, they are in two different places Uhhyuck!" ... are the characters. At Chef Mickey you have Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, & Pluto walking around and at Crystal Palace it is Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger. Both are buffets with the same basic breakfast cuisine and both are VERY noisy!

For me and my family we enjoy Crystal Palace better. We think the food, even though it is the same items, tastes better and with Crystal Palace you are IN the Magic Kingdom so once you are finished you can just get up and do some rides! If you eat at Chef Mickey in the Contemp you are looking at ... ehh, about a 20 to 30 minute Monorail ride to make the loop back to M.K. ... OR if you are feeling chipper that morning can walk from Contemp to M.K.

I will make a suggestion ... if you are looking for a REALLY nice buffet featuring Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale I highly recommend "Cape May Cafe" at the Beach Club! I think Cape May has to be one of the most under-rated, over looked places to have breakfast in the entire WDW Resort. They have a very nice spread ... granted, not as big as Crystal Palace but still very good and I would say the noise level is EASILY HALF of what it is in either Crystal or Chef.

If you have other questions ... about anything ... PLEASE feel free to ask!!!

Take Care & Be Safe!!!

Frank
Disney DieHard

 

[weheartdisney]

I'm going to offer another breakfast dining option. Ohana's. The food is delish!!

Between Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace, I'd choose CP every time as an adult. I think the food is better and they offer more of a variety.

Enjoy your visit!!

 

[Singledad]

big difference between the two is: I managed to get ADR's for CP, but CM is gone. (and I am going the first week in june.)

another big difference is, you need to enter a park to get to CP. unless I was planning to be in the park that day, I'd head to CM if possible.

as for cape may cafe, last i looked up about it, the characters are only minnie, goofy and donald. so if you are looking for Mickey, you'd be out of luck. (which I am. )

Since you are going for breakfast, well, my view is, you can't really mess up basic breakfast foods... so I usually dont worry about it.

the following is copy and pasted from WDWinfo.com

Goofy's Beach Club Adult Character Breakfast Buffet 7:30am-11:00am - Fresh cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, and fresh berries, mixed fruit and yogurt selections. Scrambled eggs, omelets and eggs to order, biscuits and gravy, French toast, and Mickey waffles, bacon and sausage, seasoned potatoes, assorted hot & cold cereals, bread pudding with vanilla sauce, muffins, danish, and donuts. Bagels and breads toasted to order, coffee, tea and juice selections. - $20.99 *

[chef mickey's] Breakfast Buffet: Guests 10 & over (7:00 am - 11:30 am) - Premium Fruit Bar: Seasonal melon and fresh fruit display, assorted flavored yogurts and more. Cereal Selections: Almond granola, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies, hot oatmeal and grits. Breakfast Specialties: scrambled eggs, Pluto's cheese blintz, 3 cheese omelet, Chef's daily omelet, Corned Beef hash with cornbread, Goofy's veggie lasagna, Mickey waffles, cheese potatoes with bacon, Breakfast potatoes, bacon & sausage links, Minnie's breakfast pizza, Challah French toast, pancakes with a variety of toppings, and buttermilk biscuits with country gravy. Pastry Chef's Creations: bagels, chocolate croissants, muffins, cinnamon rolls, Rice Krispie treats, peach cobbler, warm bread pudding, assorted danishes and more. Traditional breakfast beverages included. - $26.62 *

 

[cbg1027]

CP serves breakfast 8:05-10:30am
CM from 7:00-11:30am

Reservations are not technically required, however, they are required if you don't want to wait for 2+ hours.

Key differences
Location:
CP is inside the MK
CM at the CR

Characters:
CP usually has Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger
CM usually has Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto

Food:
Each place has some signature items and things other places don't have, but for the most part, you will see all the regular breakfast foods - eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pastries, fruit, etc.

I have not eaten at CM's, only CP. I do not really hear great things about the food at CM's. The food at CP though, I happen to think is quite superb. Don't miss the Cinnamon Puffed French Toast!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

CP breakfast is absolutely wonderful ! Definitely a must-do at least once. Chef Mickey's IMO is also great for breakfast. Tonssss of great food there as well. A little crazier, but well worth the trip. We also love the character breakfast at Ohana! The food is Yummmmm and the characters are great!

 

[2010_Bride]

I say just go for the characters you want to see the most!
We did CM a year ago because we really wanted pictures with the main 5 Disney characters. This past week we did CP so we had pictures of different characters (Pooh and friends).
As everyone has already said, the food and noise are about the same (with a slight advantage to CP) but I think it comes down to which characters you would like to see