Crystal Palace -- Two thumbs down!!

[SuzieN]

Wow - I guess it just depends on the day and your individual server because we had a fantastic experience on the 8th! Our server was super quick to clear plates and refill glasses and we saw the characters twice during our meal! Sorry about your bad luck.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

We had an awesome time at CP for lunch last April. We are repeating it again this year as well. I thought the characters interaction was great and the kids got pictures with everyone so no complaints here. We also enjoyed the food very much.

 

[pixiechick]

We had mixed results for lunch a few weeks ago. The food was okay. I much preferred the salads and side dishes to the meats and fish. Service was okay. Nothing special but more than adequate. Fortunately, character interaction was not a big deal to us. The characters seemed very rushed, and moved quickly from one table to the next with little more than a quick photo. It took a little over an hour for all four to make it to our table (we expected that.) It was a shame for the table next to us though. They had been seated prior to us. The last character, Eeyore maybe?, got to our table and then was told it was time for his break. There were only 2 or 3 tables remaining in the section. I felt bad for the people left waiting for him to return.

 

[peyjax]

Try not to give up on CP. For my husband it is the only demand he has while we are at Disney. We usually go for breakfast, but last trip went for dinner as well. I did notice a difference in service and character interaction for dinner. It still did not sway us because we know how great thier breakfast is. I think that everyone can have a horrible experience at a restaurant. For us it has been Ohana's (both for dinner and breakfast) I strongly suggest going to CP for breakfast around 10:30am and you will get character interaction like no other. They are getting ready to switch over to lunch so they don't have as many tables to go to. We have done it three times and it works like a charm. My boys love thier Eeyore and Tigger!

 

[CdnTink]

Thanks for all the great replies, it seems as though everyone who had a great experience went for breakfast or lunch, so I'll definately keep that in mind. I noticed that in creativeamanda's picture the restaurant didn't look very busy, maybe that is also a contributing factor. It was really packed the day we were there. I definately spoke with the manager that day and will probably leave it at that, but all being said, it is the ONLY bad experience I've ever had in the 18 trips that I've made to the World. So odds are it was bound to happen, but all of the other dining is so amazing, I will definately be back and on the DP real soon.

 

[simonkodousek]

Did I mention that I was there for dinner as well?

 

[csss31399]

We went for dinner in Sept. We were disappointed. Pooh never even came to our table. Maybe breakfast would be better.

 

[duffy]

We were at the Crystal Palace on Super Bowl Sunday, we had 3:30 reservations. We had lots of interaction with Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore. For some reason Tigger missed our section, but we didn't mind.

The "best" part was when Eeyore was behind my 12-year old, and accidentally hit her on the head with his "hoof"! It was obvious that he just misjudged distances, but he smacked her on the side of her head, and knocked her glasses awry. If only I had gotten a picture.

 

[TiggerandBelleFanMom]

We went there for breakfast before park opening in March 2006 and dinner before MNSSHP in October 2007. I absolutely LOVED it both times!!! In fact, I think it was my favorite restaurant on both trips. (My dh's fav tends to be 1900 Park Fare, which is funny, because usually he doesn't like buffets. We've just had really good experiences at both.)

This last time, in October, we started seeing characters almost right away, and our server was very attentive and concerned when it seemed like one character had skipped our table. I *loved* the salads at dinner so much that instead of going back for more main course-type stuff, I got more salads. YUM! And against my better judgment, I had two chocolate chip cookies...they were just so good!

My dd was a little shy about participating in the parade all by herself, but said she would if I would, so I wound up being the only grown-up marching along. The great thing about Disney is that under any other circumstances, this would make me a world class dork, but at Disney, you can get away with it.

 

[keishashadow]

too bad the OP didn't have the experience she was hoping for sometimes it's hard to live up to your expectations. Glad you brought it to the mgrs attention though.

CP is a must do for us each visit; we think the food is better than CMs; although it's great too

Typically, we've had the same amount of time w/charactars (anywhere @ the buffets) no more than a quick pic or 2 with each member of our party, don't think you can expect much more unless you're there when it's not fully booked. We lucked out a couple of times; only due to empty tables.

will say it appears to be a problem there more frequently of "roving kids"; despite the parents being told the charactars will be around...some just can't wait their turn despite having the parade to distract them.

ps the UG lists the charactar to guest ratio in their dining section, you'd be surprised @ the variances in the restaurants.

 

[KatMark]

Sorry you did not have a good experience. We have had breakfast here every year for at least the last eight to ten visits and have always had great food and great character interaction (both when the kids were younger, and when just DH and I have gone) and outstanding service. This year they even decorated my table for my birthday with confetti, ribbons and brought a cupcake and a birthday card signed by all the characters. Tigger and Eeyore came over when the waiter brought the cupcake.

 

[SnowWhite1937]

I think this summarises a lot of the problems with WDW restaurants- beautiful places, great food, but a good or bad server can make all the difference in the world. I'm sorry you didn't have a great experience.

 

[dsquarednz]

We also had a good experience (dinner) at Crystal Palace on our last trip in 2006.

Just a question to help me understand a bit more...how much interaction with the characters were you expecting outside of the one picture?

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We did a breakfast there in December. When we arrived the CM told us how the characters worked ie: which way they went around the tables so we were able to anticipate when they would arrive. It worked great. When they were about 2 or 3 tables away, we made sure our group was all seated so that we could get our pics.

 

[MAGGIED]

I just had dinner there the other night and much to my surprise it was wonderful. I had always done the breakfast and had great experiences. A few years back we tried the dinner and it was just okay but we decided to give it another shot.... glad we did... we had so much fun... it was 6 adults and a 1 year old.... our server was wonderful.... plates cleared, drinks refilled, coffee offered with dessert.... food was good as well.

 

[Selket]

We eat here every trip (usually dinner - sometimes lunch) and never had a problem with food, service or characters. The food is my favorite of any WDW restaurant. I also have a young son with food allergies and type 1 diabetes and the chefs are great with him. One chef even brought out 2 huge platters of different foods he prepared and let him choose what he wanted of many different items. Usually we end up seeing the characters so often we are shooing them away (letting them know we did our pics, etc. - just waving as they go by).

 

[Cinders Mum]

Our server for dinner left a lot to be desired, she was conspicuous by her absence, but breakfast is a whole other matter completely.

So now we miss CP dinner, and we do 2 breakfasts instead.

Val
xx

 

[kimsuenew]

We absolutely LOVED it so much that we ate there twice (dinner) during our stay in 2007!

We loved the decor, characters, food, and while our waitress was not spectacular at clearing the dishes or filling our drinks, she did do so when ask (kind of tracked her down, LOL)!

Will we go again? Yes! Yes! Yes!

We have two trips planned to CP during our 2008 trip! It is awesome!

 

[Native NYer]

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience at Crystal Palace.

We were there last month for breakfast and loved it.

 

[jadedbeauty14304]

We went for dinner on March 1st 2007 and it was terrible. Tigger (the entire reason we came) skipped past our table and when we complained, we were told that he would be back in 1-2 hours, and there was nothing else that could be done. We had already sat there for an hour!!! The plates never got cleared and no refills. The food was ok, but not good enough to ever go back. The character interaction was terrible.