Crystal Palace- is dinner any good?

[Mom2micayla]

I know that a lot of people seem to like CP for breakfast, but how is it for dinner? The menu looks a bit exotic for my kids, but it might fit the bill. I personally don't care for buffets at all, but we're trying to book at least a few so that my 9 year old who is a very adventurous eater doesn't get stuck with a solid week of meaty macaroni, chicken strips or cheeseburgers. Anyway, I already have 1900 Park Fare booked for dinner and Tusker booked for breakfast. I have CP booked for breakfast, but would rather go for our bigger meal later in the day if the dinner food is any good.

 

[Nadjalu]

We love CP for dinner. Can't say that the dishes we have encountered have been exotic. More along the lines of comfort food really.
Yes there are a couple pasta dishes like the creamy mushroom one (can't remember the name) but it isn't "exotic" in my opinion.

There is plenty to eat, the characters are fun and the restaurant itself is so quaint. Reminds me of Mary Poppins.

 

[lilandvisma]

We love CP for Dinner! I didn't find BF there to be all that great. While good, it didn't do anything special for us. We much prefer Dinner there and the coconut flan cannot be missed!! One of the best desserts in WDW IMO

We LOVED 1900 PF for BF! The food there was EXCELLENT...made to order omlets and the pecan sticky buns!! YUM! Tusker House is also one of our favs as well.

 

[jasmine91]

We have been to Crystal Palace for dinner twice and liked it ok. The food was not outstanding, but it was good for a buffet. We are probably going to try it for breakfast this time around to see which is better.

 

[moniqueelaine]

We absolutely loved CP for dinner, in fact it was probably one of our favorite meals of the whole trip..But we had a extra good time that night as it was our last night and we knew we had to live it up..The food is delish esp for a buffet and the character interaction is outta this world good, not too much and not to little just right lol

 

[RMulieri]

Didn't care for it.Waited a long time to get seated PAST our adr time and the food was bland, some of the hot entrees were barely lukewarm and they didn't replace some of the dishes.This was an EARLY dinner slot of 430pm so it was not late in the evening .Breakfast has been good here though

 

[jdisnut]

Dinner at Crystal Palace is exactly what you'd expect, honestly. It's a standard and ordinary (read: boring) buffet. If you stick with simple dishes, you'll likely have an acceptable meal, but it's definitely not a place to visit for the food. Go for the character interaction, if at all.

As an aside, I can't imagine what you saw on the menu that you categorize as "exotic." There isn't a child alive who couldn't find something to eat.

 

[GovieMom]

We looove CP for dinner! We are a family of four adults now, and wave the characters on by when they come to our table. We're there for the food alone, and it is wonderful!

 

[B-Ride]

It is a decent buffet in a beautiful restaurant. The location is convenient and the characters are fun. We are not big fans of buffets but they definitely make sense to give an older child on the DP some decent choices.

 

[mousefan1972]

Had dinner there 3 nights ago.

Ick.

We won't be returning. We had eaten there for dinner twice before, but this time the food was cold, bland, and there wasn't a good variety. It was very disappointing. Especially since it cost $130 for 2 adults and 2 kids (both under age 9), thanks to seasonal pricing.

 

[rachel09985]

I really like it! Probabaly one of my favorite dinner buffets. There definitely isn't a lot of exotic things on the menu. It is very expensive...36.99 per adult on non peak,40.99 peak.

The dessert selection is awesome!

 

[DisneyHardin]

We enjoyed Crystal Palace last summer. DH loved the salmon and I think he ate his weight in it while we were there.

 

[Catie.Hiltz]

I have done both breakfast and dinner at CP and prefer breakfast....its cheaper, and the food is better IMO, and it is *usually* less crowded at breakfast time

However, I did like the dinner there too...its been a while but I remember enjoying the food and there was nothing too strange or exotic, and it all tasted good, not the most exciting menu, but adequate.

If it was me? keep the CP breakfast...I find the food better, fresher, and the experience better overall (dinner tends to be full of tired, cranky children and adults lol)

 

[RMulieri]

Had dinner there 3 nights ago.

Ick.

We won't be returning. We had eaten there for dinner twice before, but this time the food was cold, bland, and there wasn't a good variety. It was very disappointing. Especially since it cost $130 for 2 adults and 2 kids (both under age 9), thanks to seasonal pricing.

Our assessment as well.

 

[Forever Fairy]

It is a standard buffet and has "normal" food on the kids station. In fact when I went there, I got Mac N Cheese since there wasn't any on the Adult station.

We went for dinner and decided the food was just ok. But if you're going there, I think it's really for the character interaction. The only other thing that really bothered us - it was very very loud. I had a very difficult time hearing the people sitting at my table.

I probably won't be going back.

 

[princess aleya]

We're really looking forward to trying CP dinner, I think everyone in our party will find something.

 

[OhThePain]

CP is one of the restaurants that went from being on our Must-Do list to being on our Mist-Skip list. The quality of service is not all that great, last time our waitress spent more time just standing there then cleaning off plates and refilling drinks (we were not the only ones who had a problem with her with this), the characters were skipping over entire sections of tables and repeatedly were told to go back (didn't happen to us, but happened to the table on the other side of a divide from us), and the food as gone way down hill (as others have said, the food is beyond bland and boring, hot dishes being served gold durring peak meal times). We wouldn't even mind the length of the wait past our ADR time if they could give you a par experience, but they don't.

We actually like the CP breakfast, but the quality of the meal just doesn't carry over to the other meals.

 

[Mom2micayla]

Thanks for the opinions, all. I am still on the fence. I really don't care for buffets and am not a fan of Pooh & friends (don't hate me ) so I'm having a hard time forcing myself to want to go. It really just comes down to trying to find a restaurant that offers some variety for my 2 older kids (8 & 9) that will fill them up but not be yet another burger, mac n cheese, etc. I'm pretty disheartened about the menu selections for kids at most of the restaurants. I expect to have that kind of food at CS, but seeing it also at all TS meals stinks.

 

[nickandlarisa]

To second what most have already said, the food is not that great. However, this is still a MUST for us every trip. Honestly, I don't think many of the Magic Kingdom restaurants are that great for dinner, especially compared to some of the amazing food in Epcot and at resorts. That being said, you have to eat somewhere while at MK and the decor is very pretty and the characters are fun. We always do the dining plan, so if we were paying OOP it may be different story. The menu does actually sound exotic with cous cous and edamame, and curry dishes, but those were mostly cold salads that I skip over. There were some more generic dishes, too. As an adult I usually eat the kids mac and cheese which is actually really good And even if Pooh is not your favorite, any character dinner is always fun and very Disney

 

[wdwislife]

The characters are great, the food is good (nothing special, but good nonetheless!) and plentiful, and nothing beats being able to stumble outside and watch MSEP and Wishes!