CP...last breakfast or first lunch?

[Kanga1]

Which do you think would be a better experience? A later to last seating at Crystal Palace for breakfast or an early lunch? We want to maximize or MK touring that morning as well. First breakfast seating is not an option because it's morning EMH.

 

[goodeats]

Only done the late breakfast, but I can give you my experiences on that:

We had a 10:25 ADR for breakfast at CP, which we were told was one of the last seatings for breakfast. The place was very crowded and hectic at that time, but not overly so. I thought our service was just average (i.e. took a long time to get our drinks, refills, and check - ended up just paying cash so we could go). BUT the food was excellent! Everything was very fresh and I just love breakfast food. I usually hate WDW coffee, but for some reason I enjoyed it here. The characters were in abundance and came around several times. Tigger even snuggled up at our table and surprised us. I enjoyed the late breakfast time because it really filled us up until dinner, which saves money. We shared some breakfast type bars in our hotel, and then got to MK at opening. So at 10:30 we enjoyed the break.

Not sure about lunch, but I know towards the end of our meal, they took down one side of the buffet and started setting up for lunch. But there were still plenty of breakfast items. The place was definitely cleared out when we left. I prefer breakfast foods so that's my vote, but if you want a quieter experience, an early lunch might be better.

 

[BostonRob]

Which do you think would be a better experience? A later to last seating at Crystal Palace for breakfast or an early lunch? We want to maximize or MK touring that morning as well. First breakfast seating is not an option because it's morning EMH.

If it was me, I'd go for the early lunch, just because I've had breakfast there, but I've never had lunch there.

As far as maximizing touring goes, I'm thinking by 10:30 in an EMH day, the park will be getting pretty crowded, but it will almost certainly be more crowded an hour later (or whenever they begin seating lunch). So you'll be sitting down at a good time regardless, but lunch may be a bit more optimal.

The other thing I'd consider is do you want two breakfasts?. You'll have to east something in the morning. Will you be hungry enough to eat again at 10:30? Once again, I'd go for the lunch.

 

[newholidayx2]

DS & I had lunch at Crystal Palace this past Aug. (again cos we wanted to hit the big rides first thing in the morning). I would strongly suggest doing lunch. We had the first seating. The place was empty - just starting to fill up. Character interaction was great!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

WE love CP for breakfast and do it every trip! We go early so it is usually not packed.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We went in Oct. & had the last breakfast seating. It was very crowded when we first got there, but the crowds thinned as we ate. The food was fresh & delicious. Toward the end of our meal, they were breaking down one side of the buffet from breakfast & beginning to put out lunch dishes. I've heard some say that you are welcomed to eat off of both if that happens while you're there. I didn't ask, as we were completely satisfied with breakfast offerings. Our server was fabulous! He was jovial, attentive, and full of Disney trivia!

Character interaction was excellent!! Eeyore & Tigger came to our table twice! As we were getting ready to leave, our server took a family pic of us with Eeyore with NO ONE in the background! Pooh also played Ring-Around-the-Rosie with my kids by themselves. Again, no one else around!

We have a fabulous experience & that's the one meal my kids still talk about. In fact, now that I'm planning our trip back in Oct, that's the one place they both request to go back to.

Have fun!
Christy

 

[mrsR123]

We always go for the earliest lunch seating. I think the variety is better at lunch. There's a full complement of salad offerings for the all-important and elusive fruits and veggies. THe main dishes are lovely and varied. The service and character interaction are very good, too, because the sections of the restaurant have just turned over following the breakfast service.

I just took a friend to CP for lunch on the 8th; she's still raving about the food and has pretty persnickety tastes.