Crystal Palace - Which Time is better 8:25 AM or 10:25 AM??

[jasta]

I have a reservation for 2 different days at 2 different times and not sure which time is better to go. I hate to have to wake up the kids so early for 8:25 but the park will be empty (plus!). Would there be any good food left at 10:25 AM (just scraps left!)? What time do you think would be better to go???

 

[brendaziz]

Well for me- i'd take the 8:25 (actually that's a little late for my taste!)
I'd rather be in the park before it opens and then get on some rides after eating.
But getting to the park for rope drop (b4 9) and then riding a few rides, grabbing some fast passes for later- and then eating- isn't a bad idea either.
I don't think the food selection will be horrible at all.

You know your family- if you think your kids wont wanna get up that early, then go w/ the later one so you can relax.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

For me, if it's an early morning hours day, I'd take the later seating. I would grab something light -- granola bar and juice and head for the MK. This way you could get in at rope drop, ride many rides with little or no wait, then when the crowds arrive, head for breakfast.

 

[arubio0801]

If it was up to me I'd go with the early one! I always hated waking up in the morning when my mom woke us up cause we ALWAYS went to the parks for the rope drop everyday! But I always ended up loving it! I mean if you sleep in then I think it's like what's the point of the vacation and getting your moneys worth really, I would go for the early one but its just me really. I mean back then I wanted to sleep in but now when me and my DF go to Disney I make him wake up early and go have BF and be ready for the rope drop So I guess it all depends really. Do you want to get the most of your vacation? or do you want your kids to sleep alittle longer? You know them best to make the decison

 

[Cinderella94]

If you do the 8:25 one, you definitely won't be out of there before rope drop if you wait to see all the characters, especially at Crystal Palace. Not sure if rope drop is a goal of yours or not. I know you don't think the kids want to get up early though, so maybe not. If you want to make rope drop (which I would! Why waste empty park hours at a sit down meal?) then do the later one.

I hope all that rambling made sense .

 

[Cinderella94]

sorry! double post

 

[ktlm]

Are you dealing with a time change and do you know how your kids will react to it? I was surprised to find that my DD (who is not a morning person) did not adjust to the 1 hour time change. I had what I thought was the perfect 8:30 a.m. Tusker House character breakfast mid-way into our trip, only to discover the 1st couple of days that there was no way to get her up and there in time in any pleasant mood. Luckily we were able to switch to 9:30 and it worked great for her. I think the earlier one is the best (saves you 30 minutes of valuable park time), but if your kids are anything like DD, you might want to keep the later one instead. You can still shoot for rope drop and doing a few rides before heading over for a late brunch.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I would take the 10:25 BUT I would also be at MK when it opens!! You can get all of Fantasyland done (plus grab a FP for a headliner) before breakfast. It will take you about 3 hours (or longer) to do that later in the day.

If we don't do an 8am (before the park opens) we love the 10:30 brekafast (there is still plenty of food, the restaurant isn't as crowded, and the characters are still around, visiting like they are supposed to)

 

[maleficent_man]

I'm going for a later option but only as it's an EMH Morning - get a couple of hours touring in and then go and have a nice late breakfast.

 

[Hibernians]

I would do the later option and arrive at the park when it opens; do a few rides and then head over to CP for your late breakfast.

We have done the exact same thing and find that the late breakfast fills us up for lunch too. We've never had an issue with the food since they are always replenishing it.

Also, try a grab some fast passes before you sit down for the breakfast so you'll have at least one good attraction to look forward too after your meal.

 

[sharadoc]

Yep - we're thinking of doing the last reservation time for breakfast. Late breakfast means early lunch, too, so we should be good to go until dinnertime.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

For me no ? 8:25 would be the better time.

 

[Lynn5700]

I would do the 8:25 AM!!

 

[jcemom]

I would take the 10:25 BUT I would also be at MK when it opens!! You can get all of Fantasyland done (plus grab a FP for a headliner) before breakfast. It will take you about 3 hours (or longer) to do that later in the day.

This is what we prefer.

We've done both the earliest and latest CP breakfasts, but did the earliest only once whereas we do the latest almost every trip. We find the character interaction to be better after the restaurant has cleared out somewhat, and we find that we aren't feeling rushed to eat and get out of there before rope drop.

We can easily do much of Fantasyland or Tomorrowland, plus Goofy's Barnstormer in Toontown, pick up a couple of FP sets for later on (one at 9:00, another right before breakfast), and then have a leisurely breakfast. The food has always been hot. They do close down one side of the buffet to convert it over to lunch, but as the restaurant is never crowded at that time it's not an issue at all.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Either one is good. The early one is good as you will eat while the park is still closed. The later one is good as it will be more like a brunch and you could have hit a few rides before. There is always fresh food at the later times.

We had a very late breakfast at Hollywood & Vine so late that they set up for lunch. We were then welcomed to eat lunch. I will full from breakfast but my Uncle in his 70's really enjoyed having lunch too. I think that was the highlight of his trip breakfast/lunch in same meal. We were only charged for breakfast.

 

[jana616]

...The food has always been hot. They do close down one side of the buffet to convert it over to lunch, but as the restaurant is never crowded at that time it's not an issue at all.

I was wondering about this, because I was hoping to make a couple of ADRs for the very latest breakfast possible, in hopes that at, say CP, we would get to try both breakfast and lunch foods (plus I don't know for sure that we could be there at 8 am). Does anyone know what the latest seating is, and if both sides are open then?

 

[jcemom]

I was wondering about this, because I was hoping to make a couple of ADRs for the very latest breakfast possible, in hopes that at, say CP, we would get to try both breakfast and lunch foods (plus I don't know for sure that we could be there at 8 am). Does anyone know what the latest seating is, and if both sides are open then?

The last breakfast seating at CP is 10:30, lunch begins at 11:30. With an hour between the two we have always been our our way out and no longer hungry when they opened the lunch side, but if you eat slower than we do (and save room in your stomach, lol) you might very well be.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We ALWAYS try for a 10:30-ish ADR for Crystal Palace. We love to get to MK at rope drop, ride several rides, and then have a nice brunch. We have never had a problem with lack of food. They keep the buffets well stocked, and they continue making made-to-order pancakes and omelets. One time they did switch one buffet to lunch items while we were there, but it didn't affect us at all.

We did an 8:05am ADR at CP once. Honestly, we think the character interaction is much better during the later times. Once, as we were finishing, there was NO ONE around us. My kids (Just my kids) got to place ring around the rosey with Pooh, and we got a family picture with Eeyore with no one else in the picture. That just happened once, but it was great!