Crystal Palace was horrible

[wrrock]

We live in FL -- it must just be a bad night. It is the one place we almost always visit when we go. This is because the food is good and the characters. Never had the experience you had. Sorry to hear that.

 

[jackirkh]

Ive ate at Crystal Palace several times and I'm not a big fan. We have ate there more than once because everyone else in my party enjoys it. I like the environment (basically the building that its in, lol) and the characters have never seemed "rushed" and have always had good service. But my only complaint is the food. And I think that only comes from the fact that I don't like mass produced food in buffet lines, if you know what I mean. If you have an ADR that after a certain point, it seems like they stop cooking certain dishes and they just run out (not that this doesnt happen at any other place). Nevertheless, its a must-do for my group and the majority of regular Disney visitors.

 

[maui13]

Sorry to hear that! We just booked for March. My daughter LOVES Pooh. Hoping things go better for us.

 

[jackirkh]

Sorry to hear that! We just booked for March. My daughter LOVES Pooh. Hoping things go better for us.

Despite a few negative opinions I have of CP, I would always suggest going if you have little ones! It will produce very magical moments for them. Hope your daughter has a great time. Don't forget to take pictures!

 

[aprilp]

I wonder if some ppl don't like it because the food is "different"? I mean, my mom insists on eating there every time we go, simply because she loves their interesting dishes, which always incorporate different types of couscous, edamame, tabboleh, items with curry, and other items that you don't normally find on a buffet. She likes foods that are not as processed, but consist of "healthier" items, so she thinks their food is great. I'm just wondering if some ppl don't like it because its not "normal" food you would find at a buffet. At any rate, if you haven't been and your kids love Pooh and the gang, you definitely have to go and try it. At the very least, you don't have to wait in line for the characters and, you never know, you may find yourself in with the minority of us who LOVE the food....

 

[BLTLDZ]

Despite a few negative opinions I have of CP, I would always suggest going if you have little ones! It will produce very magical moments for them. Hope your daughter has a great time. Don't forget to take pictures!

I agree with you.
DH & I went, and did not like it at all

The only way we would ever go back would be with little ones.

 

[tallen429]

Ive ate at Crystal Palace several times and I'm not a big fan. We have ate there more than once because everyone else in my party enjoys it. I like the environment (basically the building that its in, lol) and the characters have never seemed "rushed" and have always had good service. But my only complaint is the food. And I think that only comes from the fact that I don't like mass produced food in buffet lines, if you know what I mean. If you have an ADR that after a certain point, it seems like they stop cooking certain dishes and they just run out (not that this doesnt happen at any other place). Nevertheless, its a must-do for my group and the majority of regular Disney visitors.

^^^THIS.
Our last (and LAST) meal at CP was exactly that. AFTER we waited the usual half an hour past our ADR time to be seated, the buffet was totally picked over and most of what was left was cold, dried out, and not appealing. Some things were refilled, but not much. My DH actually wanted a second plate and there just was nothing left! This was shortly before the end of the breakfast service. Needless to say we were NOT pleased. We paid the same amount, we deserve to eat the same fresh hot items everyone else got before us.
That meal knocked CP off our list.

 

[tofubeast]

I've eaten there for dinner twice and never had a bad meal. The buffet was re-stocked and full of different and unique dining choices. I guess like any place it can have its good and bad days.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

My Dsis insisted we eat supper there during our upcoming trip. I hope it's alright since her kids will only be there for 2 nights so we have 5 character meals booked. We went for breakfast twice last year and we loved it

 

[Joshua_me]

I did talk with the manager after and she was very appreciative of my feedback. She did say it was a bad night with over crowding, I then asked why if it is so overcrowded why are they still accepting walk ins when reservations are 50 minutes behind. she said it was disneys policy to offer reservations outside adr's.

She was also suspiscious of my server saying there was no hot water available for tea and asked me for servers name. I didn't feel comfortbable getting server in trouble, but maybe I should have.

she also mentioned that disney is re thinking free dining promotion in future as there have been many complaints of declining quality of the restaurants.

^ Wow.

First, let me say I'm sorry you and yours had such a bad experience.

But secondly, I have NEVER heard a Disney restaurant manger be SO forthcoming with the above information.

Admitting it was a "bad night" is amazing enough, but a CM telling a guest that "Disney is rethinking the dining promotion" is unheard of...

I am sure if the "powers that be" had heard this coming from a manager, she would have gotten "an earful", if not worse.

Very surprising.

We've noticed a slow decline in most of the restaurants in the MK, in terms of food quality, and also one gets the feeling that they are working their staff to the breaking point. Gone are the days of multiple servers for each table.

And as an aside, if I had a severe food allergy, I'd be scared to death to eat at *any* buffet. All it takes is a guest putting a serving spoon into multiple containers, or dropping something off of their plate into a different tray.

 

[Just-me]

Wow - a little distressing to see all the terrible reviews of Crystal palace! My kiddos and I had breakfast there in July 2011, and it was WONDERFUL. We're going back to WDW for spring break, and that was one of the places on our "must go" list (my son the Tigger nut was sick that morning and missed it, and Grandma the Pooh fanatic is coming with us this time.) We're doing breakfast again, because I really enjoyed being able to bypass the morning line, have a nice breakfast, then step out into the park right around rope-drop time. Sounds like most of the problems are with dinner, so hopefully last time wasn't just a lucky break and breakfast will be good for grandma and my boy.

 

[RhysGwynt]

Just ate at CP last week. I do agree that the characters seemed rushed, but most ofthe food was good, if not great. I loved some of the salads, though the shrimp and salmon were a bit overcooked. All in all, notmy best dining experience at Disney, but not too bad either.

 

[g3pak]

CP is one of our "must-do's," but I agree with most of the complaints listed on this thread. Just this morning I was talking with a friend that just returned from WDW and I told him how the wait to be seated at CP is always much longer than the other TS places. Combine that with the crazy crowds inside and the LONG wait for your server, and it is not a super great experience.

The characters- I didn't think it was any more rushed than any other place, such as Chef Mickey's. They come by, sign your book, your kids get a picture with them, then off they go.

The food- for buffet food it is actually decent. I like the variety of flavors. I don't have high expectations when it comes to buffet food- the fish won't be at top condition, the shrimp will be less than the best, the prime rib will be extra tough, etc- but it is pretty good.

When you take the opportunity to get Pooh and friends' autographs without waiting in a long line and combine that with the decent food, we have it on our list of ADRs.

Now, if you have food allergies and need to speak to the chef before going to the buffet....you better bring a book to read. At other WDW places the chef is out to the table within a few minutes. For some reason at CP the chef seems to take 3 days to get there, although once they get to the table they are a lot of fun to meet.

 

[TheRealDrDisney]

We ate there on our last trip in 2009 and will never go back, which is sad because it was one of our favorites. There were dirty tables everywhere, the food was bad, but the worst was the characters. Pooh skipped our table and when we went to ask the CM if he could come to our table, Pooh walked over, picked up our camera handed it to the CM, she took a picture, he tossed it back on the table made a rude gesture and walked away. Never again. We were just in shock. Oh well, we have other good memories of eating there.

I doubt this actually happened...