Crystal Palace or 1900 Park Fare

[dizplanner]

I'm doing a mother-daughter trip with my 16 year old in early May. I currently have an ADR for Crystal Palace for 7:30pm, but I then read about the step sisters at the Cinderalla dinner at 1900 Park Fare and wondered if it would be more fun.

So which has better food - Crystal Palace or 1900 Park Fare?
Which characters might be more fun for a teenage girl who is not into characters?
Which would you recommend?

Background -
Staying at Beach Club Villas in a studio. Will get APs. At this point thinking of adding DPP.
Arriving Sat - plane lands ~1:30pm and using DME. 5pm ADR at Teppan Eno
Sun - AK and MK for evening EMH - currently 7:30 Crystal Palace
Mon - Epcot and MGM for evening EMH - Cape May 6:55 pm
Tue - MK and Epcot in evening - Le Cellier 6:40 pm
Wed - flight home ~4:40pm

 

[BrianD]

I think food-wise they are probably equivalent, but I think it comes down to characters versus location. If your daughter is not big into characters, then I'm thinking maybe 1900 Park Fare might be a better fit, since those characters will talk, and may try harder to get her into it. But already being right there in the MK with CP is a plus too. Would you be having to leave MK, go to the GF for dinner, and then go back in? Or would this be on the way in to the MK?

 

[dizplanner]

Not sure if we will be in MK before dinner or not. We will be going to AK first - it closes at 5 pm. However we are staying at Beach Club Villas so we might want to go back and use the pool for a bit before heading to MK. Since the EMH hours go to 2 am, a bit of a break would probably be a good idea, at least for me. I had asked for a 7pm ADR at Crystal Palace and had a choice of 6:30 or 7:30 - I went for the later one to give us more flexibility. If I switch it to 1990 Park Fare I will probably try for 7pm.

I've eaten at both but it has been a while - Jan 2001 for Crystal Palace and Jan 2002 for 1900 Park Fare (but it was the Villian Dinner at that time).

 

[BrianD]

Hmm...I think if you could get your desired time, then I'd say go for 1900 Park Fare and just go on your way to the MK. Plus it just gives you even one more place to get to visit (the GF) on your vacation!

 

[lisaj]

Went to both in November. The food is ABSOLUTELY MUCH MUCH BETTER at Crystal Palace, I can't stress how basic the food at 1900 PF is and we visited twice. However, while the characters at CP were good the stepsisters and the stepmother at 1900 PF were the best characters of our 3 week holiday. Truly amazing, only negative is that the stepsisters are so much prettier than Cinderella (oops did I really say that?)

 

[3littlelprincesses]

We ate at both places last week. If you are looking for good food I would definately recommend Crystal Palace. 1900 Park Fare was the worst meal of our trip--and before renovations it was one of our favorites. As others have said, the characters at 1900 Park Fare were great. The stepsisters were hilarious. Crystal Palace has the characters from Winnie the Pooh.

 

[forgop]

I ate at Crystal Palace last week and it was my favorite meal with regards to the quality of the food itself. The prime rib was pretty good, at least when it actually had some redness to it. They had a penne pasta dish that had bacon, mushrooms, cheese and a light sauce that was delicious. Cream of broccoli soup was great as well, not to mention the tiramosou for dessert. I was so stuffed that I forgot to even try the apple cobbler or whatever it was.

 

[Juanaiguana]

I've eaten at both Crystal Palace and 1900 park fair. I'd say Crystal Palace was a slight better food, but I loved the ambiance at 1900 Park faire. Good luck!

 

[PatsMom]

We ate at 1900 Park Fare in November and Crystal Palace in August. The food is much, much better at Crystal Palace. PF was probably the worst meal of our trip - definitely the worst buffet. The beef and pork were so overdone they were prett much inedible. Some of the other dishes were OK - they had a paella that was tasty and the desserts were good. Crystal Palace had better carved meats and overall just much better food.

We enjoyed the characters at 1900 PF very much. Choosing between the two would be difficult for us. We'd eat the mediocre food at PF to enjoy the characters. If I was going to be at the MK, I would probably not bother taking the time to make a special trip and would pick the Crystal Palace.

 

[nklooz]

With a 16 yo daughter, I'd recommend 1900 Park Fare for the atmosphere and ambience of the GF.