Crystal Palace WITHOUT dining plan...Is it worth it?

[melbiel]

Sorry - I messed up the title of my original post and can't edit it!

Hi all,

UGH!!! I thought I made up my mind to eat at CP and the second night Whispering Canyon, but now I am second guessing the CP. Unfortunately, we can't do the dining plan b/c we're staying off site. I really think it is very expensive to eat at CP (we'll have 2 adults and 3 children, plus my parents and brother).

I also didn't realize that they apparently charge an automatic 18% gratuity, even though it is a buffet (which seems ridiculous!).

I was wondering if those of you who have eaten there would say it is worth the money. My other choices were Kona or the Wave. Would I be better off with one of those? I was kind of thinking that by the time we order an app, drink and dinner, we might be paying the same anyway as we would at CP.

I was leaning towards CP b/c my dad LOVES buffets, but in all honestly, my girls really don't care about Pooh and friends. (Now if it were princesses, it would be a whole different story!).

Any thoughts. I LOVE these boards - I cannot believe how much help I get, so thank you in advance.

Melissa

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Sorry - I messed up the title of my original post and can't edit it!

Hi all,

UGH!!! I thought I made up my mind to eat at CP and the second night Whispering Canyon, but now I am second guessing the CP. Unfortunately, we can't do the dining plan b/c we're staying off site. I really think it is very expensive to eat at CP (we'll have 2 adults and 3 children, plus my parents and brother).

I also didn't realize that they apparently charge an automatic 18% gratuity, even though it is a buffet (which seems ridiculous!).

I was wondering if those of you who have eaten there would say it is worth the money. My other choices were Kona or the Wave. Would I be better off with one of those? I was kind of thinking that by the time we order an app, drink and dinner, we might be paying the same anyway as we would at CP.

I was leaning towards CP b/c my dad LOVES buffets, but in all honestly, my girls really don't care about Pooh and friends. (Now if it were princesses, it would be a whole different story!).

Any thoughts. I LOVE these boards - I cannot believe how much help I get, so thank you in advance.

Melissa

If your kids are not fans of Pooh, I think I'd suggest one of your other choices--unless you are planning to head to a resort to eat and then back to the park as that's a lot of travel.

The buffet is OK, but the real draw here is the characters I think. It is also loud and chaotic. Kona was really quite good and I haven't been to the Wave, but have heard good things.

I don't think the gratuity was added to my bill, but we were only a group of 4, so maybe it's added due to your group size.

 

[DaniB]

Yes, it's the group size. Any groups over 6 get automatically charged the gratuity.

I have not been to CP at night. I would like to one day as it must look so amazingly beautiful all lite up at night!

How about breakfast instead of dinner? It would be much cheaper, the food is very good, plentiful & varied. The characters are still there and inter-action is great!

Plus, if make your ADRs before the park opens - you get to walk down Main Street with few people around. Makes great photos!! They have the PPP every few feet it seemed all the way to the castle.

 

[jwfla422]

Sorry - I messed up the title of my original post and can't edit it!

Hi all,

UGH!!! I thought I made up my mind to eat at CP and the second night Whispering Canyon, but now I am second guessing the CP. Unfortunately, we can't do the dining plan b/c we're staying off site. I really think it is very expensive to eat at CP (we'll have 2 adults and 3 children, plus my parents and brother).

I also didn't realize that they apparently charge an automatic 18% gratuity, even though it is a buffet (which seems ridiculous!).

I was wondering if those of you who have eaten there would say it is worth the money. My other choices were Kona or the Wave. Would I be better off with one of those? I was kind of thinking that by the time we order an app, drink and dinner, we might be paying the same anyway as we would at CP.

I was leaning towards CP b/c my dad LOVES buffets, but in all honestly, my girls really don't care about Pooh and friends. (Now if it were princesses, it would be a whole different story!).

Any thoughts. I LOVE these boards - I cannot believe how much help I get, so thank you in advance.

Melissa

OK, we have eaten at CP for lunch many times in the past and loved it. We are TIW card holders so that extra 20% makes a difference even at lunch.

Last week we decided to try dinner to see how different it would be. IMHO there wasn't much at all different as far as the food was concerned, but I thought it was WAY over-priced. I saw prices from unofficial Dis apps/online sites that said it was anywhere from $27-32.99 for dinner WRONG!!! It was a whopping $37.99 a person (one of those people was 12 but still adult price) which I definitely thought was NOT worth it at all even with our 20% discount. And, we weren't even there at a peak or holiday time, can't imagine how much it is then! We'd have to be MAJOR Pooh character lovers to be happy here (but then I would do lunch, not dinner).

I was regretting that we didn't go to FF or even Jiko because for that same amount we could have had filet or gourmet food. We were also at a late seating at CP so they broke down one side of the buffet. Many of the desserts were low and they didn't have my fav pecan thingys. Hence we will not be returning for dinner there anymore.

I highly recommend The Wave. We love the Wave for all meals and that would have come out to have been the same with an app and a drink and/or dessert in addition to dinner. That same day we did eat at WCC for lunch although their lunch menu is different than dinner I very much enjoyed the salad I had there. It's also a fun place (even for the adults).

I am not sure however if all the restaurants charge the 18% grat if you are a large party, but at a TS restaurant that would be fair since you should be getting attentive service (which at the Wave we always do).

I have a dinner review of the Wave on my website if you'd like to check it out.

www.disneydiningreviews.com

 

[lilybeth11602]

to us the breakfast at CP is much better than dinner and cheaper too. but if you want a buffet with princesses there is 1900 Park Fare or Akershus. I havent done 1900 yet ( but will be there in less than 2 wks) but have done Akershus. The food is different from your average buffet but it was good and DD got to meet a lot of princesses. i cant remember how much that one was but i know 1900 is kind of pricey for dinner (40 for adult/20 for kids) but i hear they kind of interact with you so you get more than just a buffet.

 

[lblume91]

We loved CP the first time we went but were terribly disappointed on our last trip. I think the price has gone through the roof while the food quality has dropped. If your kids don't care about the characters, I wouldn't go to CP. There are other buffets on property that aren't as expensive & aren't nearly as crazy busy as CP.

 

[shan136]

We went to CP for "Dunch" / "Linner" . It was okay, we didn't love it. The best part about it was that it provided a nice break from the parks. The food was just okay, the character interaction short. We were on DDP so the cost of the meal wasn't as much of a concern for us, however, if I was paying OOP I'd skip it or choose it as a breakfast option.

 

[2Tiggies]

We have eaten at CP at least 5 or 6 times OOP. (The last 2 years we had QSDP so TS was OOP) For us it is worth it. If you are going for the food and characters are secondary then IMO it is worth it.

 

[melbiel]

Thanks for the input. We are staying in a condo and plan to have a quick breakfast before we leave and then do counter service for lunch each day. (We can barely afford the trip, to be honest, so we're trying to be economical where was can.) Maybe I will skip CP this time around because as I said, my kids don't care about Pooh and such. So it is either The Wave or Kona. Any thoughts between those two?

 

[frannn]

We've done Kona once OOP with friends, and everyone enjoyed their food. We've never been to the Wave, so I can't comment there, but have eaten at CP many times (with free DP), for B, L, and dinner. The food is definetly good as far as buffets go, but the food is secondary to the location and the characters. Time is $ at WDW, and both the Wave and Kona will require additional travel time. Have you considered Tony's (not great food, but in MK), or the Plaza (never tried, but heard it was $ friendly)? Another choice I would recommend, to satisfy the all-you-can-eaters, the kids, and some of the foodies is Ohana. Still on the monorail route, and yummy.

 

[melbiel]

Well, the Plaza has no reservations, unfortunately. We ate at Tony's the first time we visited and the food was disgusting, to put it mildly, so we wouldn't go back there. Still not sure what to do. I agree that time is money, and since our other meal will be at Whispering Canyon on our second day at MK, I am wondering if we should just do CP. But when I think of spending so much money on a meal when my kids don't care about the character aspect, I feel like I am throwing money away. Make sense? I heard that The Wave was a quick 10 minute walk away. Anyone know if this is true or not?

 

[f.chadw]

We went to CP in December for my DD's 14th Birthday. She wanted to eat there #1 because of the Pooh characters. #2 because at home I make the Puffed French Toast that they serve at CP.(with the help of the Disney cookbook)

She loves this French Toast, and wanted to try it Disney style.

Personally, I think there is a good selection of food and with the characters justifies what they charge.

I also think that the food could be of better quality for what you pay for it.

BTW, my daughter likes my Puffed French Toast better!.

 

[melbiel]

So I guess that the general consensus is that it's worth it if your kids like the characters. I just asked my 6 year old if she wanted to eat where Pooh and his friends were, and she wrinkled her nose and said, "No." I guess in our case it might not be worth it! Ugh, I wish I could decide what to do here. Thanks for the tips!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I wouldn't eat at CP again even if it was free.

Kona is very, very good. The Polynesian is a great place to visit as well.

 

[melbiel]

It's weird b/c some people LOVE CP. My friend just told me that it was one of the best meals that they had on their trip. And then others say that it stinks. I wonder how there can be such a huge difference in opinion....most people either say it's great or the hated it. I hope we don't end up being the ones who hate it if we end up eating there! If you wouldn't eat there again, why?

 

[Belleandtinker]

We enjoy CP, but also our DS likes Pooh and Friends. If he didn't, we would go somewhere else. There are so many great buffets out there - Chef Mickey (yes, we still like place) and Boma's (our absolute favorite).

Regarding DDP, we've never got it and never will. We eat where we want to while still on somewhat of a budget.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

We've eaten at the wave and Kona. The wave has a nicer meal. In my opinion it's the closest thing to a signature that isn't a signature. We've had awesome service and food there everytime we go. Kona is more laid back and open air area of Polynesian. The food is also very good. Personally we like Kona more as it feels more relaxed to us.
IMO both of those meals are a much better choice than CP even if you weren't oop if you are looking for a nice meal. CP is a character experience... not a meal.

 

[melbiel]

Well, I don't think we'll do CP after all because I just asked my older daughter, and she told me that Winnie the Pooh is for babies. And my little one told me she doesn't like Pooh either. My middle daughter just appeared generally disinterested at the mention of Pooh and friends. (Weird girls!) I am thinking maybe to just eat at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. Not sure if it's good or not, but the buffet sounds nice and it is right in MK....

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

We have never had the DP and always pay OOP for CP. It's one of our favorite places though, and we love Pooh and friends!

 

[DaniB]

I have Kona Cafe on our ressie list for both breakfast & dinner this time around! I just could not fit it in before. Looking forward to our meals!