Crystal Palace or Chef Mickey's???

[jandm]

For our last night at Disney, should we eat at Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace? We will be at MK that day. Our kids are 9, 6 & 3. Our kids will get to see Mickey & Pluto at the character breakfast we are having at 'Ohana. I think they'd like to see both sets of characters--so it comes down to fun and food. which is better? I should mention this is for dinner.

 

[disneydreamkate]

We had CM planned for our upcoming trip, but I canceled it. We will be doing CP for dinner. For me, I decided I don't want to worry about leaving the park our last night there, so we were sure to plan a meal in MK. From what I have read here, the masses seems to sway in favor of CP food hands down. I'm sure there are exceptions to that, but I have seen many good reviews of CP, for both character interaction and the quality of the food. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Belleandtinker]

I agree - stay at MK and eat at CP. CP is great. We've eaten there several times. After dinner we stroll and find a place to sit for the parade. It will break up the evening for your younger child.
Enjoy!

 

[marmalade]

We have done both, CP for lunch and CM for dinner. I liked CM better. I liked the characters, and the atmosphere better. But then again when we ate at CP it started to rain before lunch and by the time we got in there we were soaked and the AC was freezing. So I might have a biased opinion.

 

[thej]

Another vote for CP here. Not having to leave the park is a big plus, and to be honest I think the food is pretty good at CP. They also do the parade around the hundred acre wood for the kids at regular times throughout the evening.

I've not personally eaten at CM, but the couple folks I know who have recently, mentioned the food is some of the worst they've had at WDW.

 

[latmck]

I cancelled my ADR for CM for CP b/c DH said that the food didn't look appealling to him when he was looking at the food porn with me. I told him that alot of people said that CP is better than CM (food & character).

 

[OhThePain]

I say CP, but only because you want to see both sets of characters and your already going to be in MK (even though the walk to CM is pretty quick). I don't like the food at either and actually found the food and character interaction more disappointing at CP. The "hot food" seemed to be colder than the salad type dishes and the characters kept walking past whole sections of the restaurant and kept being told to go back to the sections they missed. We have had that experience more than once at CP.

 

[jandm]

I say CP, but only because you want to see both sets of characters and your already going to be in MK (even though the walk to CM is pretty quick). I don't like the food at either and actually found the food and character interaction more disappointing at CP. The "hot food" seemed to be colder than the salad type dishes and the characters kept walking past whole sections of the restaurant and kept being told to go back to the sections they missed. We have had that experience more than once at CP.

What about Tony's Town Square..is that any good? I know this isn't a character place, but it really doesn't matter. Just want a good place to eat at for our last night. I keep seeing mixed reviews on Tony's.

 

[OhThePain]

What about Tony's Town Square..is that any good? I know this isn't a character place, but it really doesn't matter. Just want a good place to eat at for our last night. I keep seeing mixed reviews on Tony's.

I haven't been to Tony's in a long time so I can't comment on that. Any chance at trying to get an ADR for CP (or CM) for breakfast? We tend to like the breakfast spreads at the character meals much better than the lunch/dinner spreads. It still puts you in the MK on your last day and also gives you a chance to have dinner whenever you want that night and not feel obligated to stop everything at a specific time.

 

[jandm]

I haven't been to Tony's in a long time so I can't comment on that. Any chance at trying to get an ADR for CP (or CM) for breakfast? We tend to like the breakfast spreads at the character meals much better than the lunch/dinner spreads. It still puts you in the MK on your last day and also gives you a chance to have dinner whenever you want that night and not feel obligated to stop everything at a specific time.

That's a good idea. We have only one character breakfast ADR at 'Ohana at the beginning of our trip.
If we make an ADR for 9:00 at CP, will the rides be packed when we get done? (this is our first trip, not sure what to expect.) We will be there the 2nd week of May. Thanks for your suggestion, I think we may do that.

 

[smangan10`]

Definitely Crystal Palace

 

[Tanbellisima]

Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace are both great. Sometimes they both can get a little busy. Crystal Palace tends to have more "exotic" spices. Have you seen the menu this month? Dinner has some differently spiced rice and meat dishes. At Crystal Palace their is Pooh and his gang and they play the flag parade game. Chef Mickey's is the spin the napkin game. Chef Mickey's has oreo bon bon. Yum!

You sometimes have to wait even with ADR's to be seated. It just depends. I found that they are both awesome and both have yummy food.


Form WDW info

Crystal Palace Dinner:

Dinner (Updated: 09/10)
Entree/Main Course

Adult Dinner Buffet - A Buffet with Character - Gourmet cuisine offered in Victorian elegance that offers a variety of selections to tempt every taste including: multigrain nut bread and white rolls, PB & J, Mixed field greens with choice of dressing (ranch, zinfandel, & madarin orange sesame vinaigrette), Tropical slaw, Mediterranean pasta salad, Moroccan couscous salad, Romaine blue cheese salad, Peel & eat shrimp, Prime Rib, Shrimp, black bean & mango salad, Edamame, Papaya frisee salad, Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, Broccoli, Medley of veggies, Braised kale with bacon & onion, Slow roasted pork, Cheese pizza, Vegetable pasta, Wild mushroom & chicken pasta, Cinnamon & lemon basmati rice, Thai curry mussels, Fruit & vegetable tofu curry, Atlantic salmon, Rotisserie chicken, Herb roasted turkey, and New England clam chowder. Dessert selection includes: Red Velvet cheesecake, Double chocolate brownie, Peanut butter cake, Tres leches, Apple cobbler, Banana bread pudding, Carrot cake, Assorted cookies, and Coconut flan. Guests ages 10 and up. Winnie the Pooh and friends invite you to indulge yourself in our bountiful buffet. The room comes alive with the sights and smells of the day's offerings being prepared in our live on stage kitchen.

Chef Mickey's

Dinner Buffet: Adult (5:00pm - 9:30 pm) - Includes Premium Salad Bar and Soup du jour. On The Carving Board: Spice Rubbed Prime Rib and Oven-roasted Bone-in Ham. Chef's Buffet Specials: Roasted turkey pot pie, Chili dusted Tandori chicken, Baked salmon fillet with wasabi mango coulis, and Chicken Florentine with tortellini and Italian sausage. Wonderful Accompaniments: parmesan mashed potatoes, Mickey cheese ravioli in marinara, garlic steamed broccoli floret with feta and black olives, Mandarin orange-glazed baby carrots, and green beans with onion-pesto and tomato. Includes the fabulous sundae and dessert bar. A gratuity of 18% will be added to parties of 6 or more.

 

[Tanbellisima]

Hi Jandm

Crystal Palace is in the Park which you may find more convenient. If you don't mind leaving Magic Kingdom for dinner it is cool to explore the Contempory resort by taking the monorail over to Chef Mickey's. To be honest with you, my family always makes these two restaurants a must have favorite when we visit. We also love the 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Merry Christmas♥
May you have lots of fun!

 

[Tanbellisima]

What about Tony's Town Square..is that any good? I know this isn't a character place, but it really doesn't matter. Just want a good place to eat at for our last night. I keep seeing mixed reviews on Tony's.

Jandm,

I'm going to Tony's for the first time on 01/06/11. Let me know how your experience is and what was best to order. ☺Your going next week right?

 

[jandm]

Hi Jandm

Crystal Palace is in the Park which you may find more convenient. If you don't mind leaving Magic Kingdom for dinner it is cool to explore the Contempory resort by taking the monorail over to Chef Mickey's. To be honest with you, my family always makes these two restaurants a must have favorite when we visit. We also love the 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Merry Christmas♥
May you have lots of fun!

Thanks so much for all the info. Who knew I'd give so much thought into where we are going to eat!! We may do CP for breakfast instead of dinner. Will we have trouble with waits for rides if we do breakfast? Just want to make it fun and memorable. For our Epcot day (I was still stuck on where to eat there) I ended up making an ADR for Teppan Edo. It came down to that or Chefs de France.
Thanks again for your help and Merry Christmas to you as well!

 

[jandm]

Jandm,

I'm going to Tony's for the first time on 01/06/11. Let me know how your experience is and what was best to order. ☺Your going next week right?

I wish we were going next week! We aren't going until this Spring. So you'll have to let me know how Tony's was!

 

[Tanbellisima]

Thanks so much for all the info. Who knew I'd give so much thought into where we are going to eat!! We may do CP for breakfast instead of dinner. Will we have trouble with waits for rides if we do breakfast? Just want to make it fun and memorable. For our Epcot day (I was still stuck on where to eat there) I ended up making an ADR for Teppan Edo. It came down to that or Chefs de France.
Thanks again for your help and Merry Christmas to you as well!

Let me know how Teppan Edo goes for you. What you eat what you like. I have never eaten there. I am going twice next year Jan 11 and Oct 11. If you like Teppan Edo I will make ressies for Oct. Have fun!

 

[martikus]

I haven't eaten at CM, but last week was our first CP trip and all 6 of us loved it. We did lunch and found it a great break in the day. We fit in a couple hours of rides in the morning, then had a 11:45 lunch to sit and regroup & did more rides after. We all agreed it was the highlight of our week.

 

[Tanbellisima]

I haven't eaten at CM, but last week was our first CP trip and all 6 of us loved it. We did lunch and found it a great break in the day. We fit in a couple hours of rides in the morning, then had a 11:45 lunch to sit and regroup & did more rides after. We all agreed it was the highlight of our week.

CP has some new dishes. Did you try the lemon/cinnamon basmati Rice? If so was it tasty? How about the braised kale with onion & bacon? Any favorites for you or your group?

 

[Mamu]

Not a fan of Chef Mickey, loud, messy food area, food has either no taste of taste odd, service poor at times.

Crystal Palace is always a must do for our family. We love the Pooh Characters and food and service is OK.

We also love the Mickey Characters and find it very difficul to get a good character lunch or dinner with there characters. We will be trying Epcots Garden Grill on our upcoming trip.

We do not do breakfast at the parks, we usually stay CL and eat our breakfast at our resort. When your keeping late night hours it's difficult to get up early and travel to another resort or park for breakfast. Even the kids like to sleep in.