Chef Mickeys vs. Crystal Palace

[Jaimet]

We are planning on MNSSHP in August. I am debating late lunch at Chef Mickeys before the party starts or early dinner at Crystal Palace once we can enter the park. Which location do you prefer? We have done Chef Mickeys preciously and my kids loved it.

 

[Neener16]

We went to both of those places about 2 years ago. Crystal Palace was horrible, and we are not that fussy. Food was subpar even for a buffet, and it didn't help our corner smelled like vomit. We had a very large party so didn't want to wait even longer than we had already so didn't ask for a switch. Chef Mickeys was actually really good, better food and atmosphere. That would be my pick.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

We had a really nice late breakfast/early lunch at CP this month, but you obviously wouldn't be getting breakfast food during your suggested meal time.

Are you going to have a park ticket as well or just use the MNSSHP ticket that day? If only the party ticket, I'd plan Chef Mickey as a late lunch so that you can start touring MK as soon as you can get in on your party ticket. You can hit a few of the lower priority rides before the official party start and save more time for party-specific activities for later in the day. I wouldn't want to blow the first 60-120 minutes of my party ticket doing a meal.

 

[Jaimet]

We went to both of those places about 2 years ago. Crystal Palace was horrible, and we are not that fussy. Food was subpar even for a buffet, and it didn't help our corner smelled like vomit. We had a very large party so didn't want to wait even longer than we had already so didn't ask for a switch. Chef Mickeys was actually really good, better food and atmosphere. That would be my pick.

Ohhh that sounds terrible. Thanks for the info.

 

[3gr8boys]

I love the environs of CP. The windows, the greenery! The characters are adorable....last year DS15 and DS11 participated in the friendship parade now that is Disney magic! We all like the breakfast buffet but have never done dinner so I can't comment on the food....though a friend was there Christmas week and gave me a positive review.
(We have only done CM once- 5 years ago. It was fun to see the Fab 5 in one meal but it wasn't anyone's favorite.)

That said, I would consider PP question about tickets .... especially since you know your family likes CM. If the party ticket is your only ticket for the day, giving up touring time is a tough trade-off. Reports last fall seemed to report higher crowds at MNSSHP.

 

[Jaimet]

We had a really nice late breakfast/early lunch at CP this month, but you obviously wouldn't be getting breakfast food during your suggested meal time.

Are you going to have a park ticket as well or just use the MNSSHP ticket that day? If only the party ticket, I'd plan Chef Mickey as a late lunch so that you can start touring MK as soon as you can get in on your party ticket. You can hit a few of the lower priority rides before the official party start and save more time for party-specific activities for later in the day. I wouldn't want to blow the first 60-120 minutes of my party ticket doing a meal.

That was kind of my thought as well. Just wasn’t sure if we would have a better experience at CP. We are planning on not using a park ticket that day, but will have a full MK day the day before the party (unless we change things up). We were also considering doing another restaurant on the monorail loop for lunch, but figured Chef Mickeys would be the most convenient.

 

[Micharlotte]

We did Chef Mickeys brunch last year before the Halloween party and it was really good, mich better than our last meal at CP. We only had a party ticket for that day and didn’t want to waste party time eating.

 

[danielocha30]

I would go to Chef Mickey and not use Park/Party time eating.

 

[mkla2015]

As others have said- I would go with Chef Mickey before the party. Crystal Palace is not worth losing park/party time in my opinion. Then you can walk or ride the monorail to MK from the Contemporary!

 

[kiramay]

We’ve done CM dinner 4 times. The first 3 I was very happy. The food was fresh (we booked 5 pm when they open) and we were seated in a “6 top” booth. The 3 kids sat on the chairs so it was so easy to take pictures with characters. The last trip I was very unhappy. We were seated at a 4 top table with a 5th chair stuck on the end. There wasn’t room for 5 plates, much less 4 adults and a child. We asked to move and got a lot of attitude. They eventually moved us, but to another 4 top! At that point I gave up. The kids had to climb out of the booth every time the characters came around and pictures were difficult. The food had less options than previous trips too. I think we’re going to do Hollywood and Vine next trip to see Mickey.

We’ve done CP breakfast once and lunch/dinner twice. I’ve been happy every visit, with seating, characters, and food. We plan to go back next trip.

 

[Jaimet]

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like CM is the way to go!

 

[pens4821]

We've done CM dinner multiple times brunch once, and CP dinner once. CP was bad, we will never go back. CM gets bad reviews, but we've always been pleased. Although we did like the brunch better than dinner.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I like CP better, but would not do a TS again on a party night. We wasted almost 2 hours at BOG once during MNSSHP. I would either eat before and get a snack during, or get QS or go to the Plaza if you want to eat in the park. Character Dining can take a while if you want to see all the characters.

 

[goofy4prez]

In my opinion I would never do Chef Mickey for any meal whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. CM was the worst experience I have ever had in or outside of
wdw. I had terrible service, food was not replenished for extremely long stretches, young unattended kids hacking ,coughing, picking noses (no exaggeration) and handling utensils, and absolutely filthy buffet conditions. I'm not germophobic, but this place sure made me squirm.

Crystal Palace is one I don't mind for breakfast but while it is an improvement over CM, it is also somewhere I would not dine at for either lunch or dinner. Both of these places are Golden Corrals with Mickey Mouses, Minnie Mouses and Winnie the Pooh walking around.I'll admit, I am not a fan of mass produced quantities of food brought out to stations to be piled high on plates and repeat. Boma, Biergarten, and Tusker House are the exception for me.

 

[MarkinNM]

Well our experience was defiantly would do CP as it is in the park, we found the food edible, CM, was the WORST food we had on our trip, Mickey and friends were the ONLY saving grace as the character interaction was awesome, as was CP. When asking my wife on this trip she asked to not go back to CM, she stated the food was that bad. For what it is worth we had both breakfast and dinner at CP, guess it depends on whether you want to be in the park already or watching the clock at CM to get to the party....Also my kids took a pillow case and they were literally full at the end of the night either or you will have a great time!

Boma, Biergarten, and Tusker House are the exception for me.

Could not agree more!!

 

[DisneyMommyKD]

We have been to Chef Mickey’s several times and each time we have been disappointed. I have a peanut allergy and found that the chef was pleasant enough but the food brought out to me was cold and tasteless. My son is autistic and has been overwhelmed by the noise at Chef Mickey. The Crystal Palace has been a much better experience dining experience each time we have gone. Somehow at CP it does not seem as loud so my son does not get as un-nerved. We would like to try a new character dining experience but we are unsure which character meal to try. Snow White?

 

[Belleandtinker]

I enjoy both. Chef Mickey is my favorite.

 

[3gr8boys]

We have been to Chef Mickey’s several times and each time we have been disappointed. I have a peanut allergy and found that the chef was pleasant enough but the food brought out to me was cold and tasteless. My son is autistic and has been overwhelmed by the noise at Chef Mickey. The Crystal Palace has been a much better experience dining experience each time we have gone. Somehow at CP it does not seem as loud so my son does not get as un-nerved. We would like to try a new character dining experience but we are unsure which character meal to try. Snow White?

Hijacking the thread momentarily to comment that @DisneyMommyKD may want to consider Garden Grill ... the character interaction is great and, because of the restaurant layout, it just didn't seem as overwhelming (sound and visual) as the other character meals we have done.

 

[DisneyMommyKD]

Hijacking the thread momentarily to comment that @DisneyMommyKD may want to consider Garden Grill ... the character interaction is great and, because of the restaurant layout, it just didn't seem as overwhelming (sound and visual) as the other character meals we have done.

Thank you so much for the suggestion! We will look into availability during our stay.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We are planning on MNSSHP in August. I am debating late lunch at Chef Mickeys before the party starts or early dinner at Crystal Palace once we can enter the park. Which location do you prefer? We have done Chef Mickeys preciously and my kids loved it.

In this case, I'd do the late lunch. I do not suggest using time once you've entered for the party for a sit down meal. Once you go in for the party, you can get a few rides in before you have to be where you want to be to start the party. If you must eat during that time, eat at the counter.

That said, I do CM on Friday evening. We usually like the seafood options that night that aren't there otherwise.