Crystal Palace Character Dining at MK

[CadandMouse]

Well, after reading some mixed reviews about the character dining at the 'Akershus' restaurant in Norway / Epcot (mainly because they have switched menu's and the new character lunch which kicks off on April 10th has been changed to traditional Norweigan food - not American. We doubt that all 10 members of our party will be thrilled with anything less than American food)... we have cancelled our PS there and squeezed in for lunch at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom....HOWEVER, I did not have to give my credit card details (which I found odd as I had to for Akershus) and although I was given a time and confirmation number...was told it was not a reservation..??? So what is it?? I was told we would be seated at 2 tables of 5 and 2 highchairs have been requested for us....surely they wouldn't do this unless it was a reservation? I think I will end up having to phone them back to check...any ideas anyone?

Oh...and what is the lunch buffet like??

 

[jpmom97]

I would think it is just a priority seating. We ate there for lunch and loved it!

 

[CrazedDisFan]

It is a Priority Seating. The difference is they will get you into the restaurant as quickly as possible at a time nearest to your reserved time. You will be seated before walkups. We had to wait 15 minutes last year after our scheduled PS time.

You do not need a credit card for Crystal Palace.

We ate dinner here last year and thought it was really good. We have made a PS for our upcoming trip also.

Click this link for the menu...
Crystal Palace Lunch Menu

Hope you enjoy! We are also skipping Akershus because Norwegian food isn't that appealing to our palates.

 

[aubriee]

We ate dinner there in January. Don't be put off if there are alot of people sitting on the porch and waiting at the door. We almost walked away, but it appears just alot of people were trying to get in as walk-ins. We waited only about 7-10 minutes before our names were called. If we hadn't had PS we would never had waited in that long line. Just go to the front and tell the CM your PS time and your name.

The food was pretty good, but the character interaction is what really sets it apart. They were wonderful. Every character took their time and really interacted alot. We saw Eyeore, Piglet, and Tigger twice. There was a young couple sitting next to us that didn't have any kids and they got just as much attention as everyone else. While Pooh was with us, some kids came up trying to get his attention. He handled it really well, putting his hands on his hips, then shaking his finger at them, and shooing them back to their table. Eyeore was adorable acting shy and putting his finger in his mouth. He was with us when the music for the parade started and he grabbed my GD's hand, pulling her up from her chair, and marched around the restaraunt holding her hand. Tigger was so cute. My adult son wanted his picture taken with him. After my son stood up Tigger kept pushing down on the top of my son's head to make him shorter. We had done CRT earlier that morning and Chef Mickey's on our first night. Both my son and my GD enjoyed CP much more.

 

[Caitlin'sMommy]

Just got back from a very good week at WDW. We ate at Crystal Palace for dinner the first nite. It was wonderful and the characters interacted a lot with the kids. It was amazing how even though they didn't speak they really engaged the kids in a somewhat of a charade manner. If that would be how you would explain it. The food was pretty good and I do not believe we needed to leave our CC # to book it either. We also ate at Akershus the next morning for breakfast with the Princess Storybook. That was also just as wonderful. For breakfast times they serve american food. I believe we had scrambled eggs, scalloped potato kind of things (this was excellent), we also had cinnamon buns with a chocolate icing (much better than I expected it would be), bacon and sausage links. You could ask for more of anything you wanted and the food was incredibly good. I'm a very picky eater and would much rather have a PB&J, but I really liked their breakfast. So don't rule it out for breakfast time, they still serve american food then. Also, the princesses all came by and took a lot of time with my DD and posed for pictures with her. I think we had Belle, Esmerelda, Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine. We will definitely be making a PS when we go back in June.

 

[luvtinkerbell]

Well, after reading some mixed reviews about the character dining at the 'Akershus' restaurant in Norway / Epcot (mainly because they have switched menu's and the new character lunch which kicks off on April 10th has been changed to traditional Norweigan food - not American. We doubt that all 10 members of our party will be thrilled with anything less than American food)... we have cancelled our PS there and squeezed in for lunch at Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom....HOWEVER, I did not have to give my credit card details (which I found odd as I had to for Akershus) and although I was given a time and confirmation number...was told it was not a reservation..??? So what is it?? I was told we would be seated at 2 tables of 5 and 2 highchairs have been requested for us....surely they wouldn't do this unless it was a reservation? I think I will end up having to phone them back to check...any ideas anyone?

Oh...and what is the lunch buffet like??

we love character meals at crystal palace so much that we are having breakfast and lunch this trip well worth it and you dont give credit card details as you pay on the day

 

[bradyloganmom]

We had an early lunch PS at Crystal Palace last Nov. We think the food is pretty yummy!!

 

[Rosered]

What is the breakfast like at Crystal Palace? We are thinking of having breakfast there but both my 7 year old DD and my 16 year old niece are very picky eaters.

 

[alecam]

They have everything! eggs,bacon,sausage,waffles,toast,bagels and cc,fruit,pastries,cereal. I have been there three times and it is the only PS I will be making for my upcoming trip in June.
We love it!!