Crystal Palace

[SuzieN]

We eat dinner at CP on every trip to WDW! It is fabulous!

 

[JoePa4Ever]

We always eat at CP for breakfast. IMO the food is very good; the puffed french toast there is something I always look forward to. The service has always been good & the character interaction has been pretty good, too.

 

[momof3littlelilos]

I think any ADR that allows you to be in the park before park opening is a fairly popular one to book, so you might find it busy. We opted for an 8:25 ADR during a value season weekday (no free dining)and buffet lines were short.

You would think that would be true, but on our early ADR visits we just walked in...no llllllooonnngggg line outside CP like we generally see when the park is open.
I agree to make an ADR early just in case, but I always found it less crowded before opening Maybe the masses just don't know they can get in? Maybe they just like to sleep in?
I hope it's still the way I remember it! I'm so excited thinking about our trip!

 

[Supermom3]

We loved CP! I love the beauty of the outside and the inside, it's so lively and the characters are a serious bounus!
We did the 8:05 a.m. ADR and thought it was so cool to come down Main St. without everyone and there mother. I thought the food was outstanding for a buffet, can't go wrong without trying the wafflles, french toast and the breakfast lasagna. You won't regret going here, besides your already in the park when it opens so you can book your body over to the ride you like before everyone else gets there, well that is if your done eating before the park opens. Oh! I forgot to suggest taking pictures in front of the Castle with your family while the park is still fairly empty, you'll want to do this before your ADR's, that way you'll for sure get the picture without the crowds.

Love the suggestion of pictures in front of the Castle. Are photopass photographers available at this time before official opening time?

 

[onehotdisneymama]

We have always done lunch or dinner at the CP, and we absolutely love it. My DD is 22 and she always always requests CP for a place to eat when we are in WDW. (She loves the characters.)

 

[rotlex]

We were probably there on a bad day, but we did a breakfast there last August, and frankly, it was the worst character meal we ever attended. The food was good, but the place was JAMMED. Our poor daughter was very upset by the time we left, as she literally had no character visits during the entire time we were there. It seemed that every time they were a table away from us, a mini parade or something would start up, and they would pass her by.

Again, this may have been an isolated experience, but between the crowd, the noise, and the non character events, I don't think we will be heading back anytime soon. The wait staff was also less than attentive, even with simple things like removing dirty dishes from the table.

 

[Tanzanite]

we did breakfast spring break 06 3 kids they loved it we got in early i got some pictures in front of castle first in the park i am taking just my daughter in August t but dinner when we arrive she asked for it after i booked tons of other ADRS first night i had planned to relax after getting in late afternoon

 

[UGAFan0829]

CP happens to be my very favorite restaurant, but I think that mostly has to do with the fact that Pooh is my fave!!!
But, on both of our trips to WDW, we had breakfast at CP, and really liked it. The food was good, and I thought there was really a lot to chose from. The characters were great, and on both trips, I believe that we got to see all of the characters at least once! I would definitely recommend CP to everyone!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

We did Crystal Palace in '06 - during Free Dining (first week of September) - the restaurant was quite full, even though we booked about as early as possible for a dinner seating.

However, EACH character did come to our table and our kids and my wife (I mean, really, I just had to stay at the table to guard our stuff ) got pulled into one of the "parades".

Character wise, this was great.

In '06, we did two character buffet dinners - this one and Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary - while we were pleased with the character interaction at both, the food at Crystal Palace was FAR BETTER than at Chef Mickey's. I realize some will disagree, but we're planning on going back in '08 - we have no desire to go back to Chef Mickey's - but we will almost definitely go back to Crystal Palace.

I'm inclined to agree with you that the dinner food at CP is much better than the dinner food at Chef Mickey's. I think CM breakfast is much better than CM.
It always saddens me a little to hear when people have bad experiences with the character meals because I think we all have such high expectations for them. (and rightly so )
Our trip to CP for dinner was during free dining and the night of the P&P party last August so the place was packed to the gills. Never had to wait at the buffet though. Perhaps I had good timing. I took exactly 1 hour for us to see all the characters which I thought was great. I remember because right after we were seated there was a parade and there was another one right before we left. Anyway, we have another dinner ADR there for this August.

 

[CajunQT102]

This is one of our must-do's every year we go to Disney. Love the puffed french toast at breakfast and seeing my fav characters.

I totally agree! The puffed french toast is the best. We book at CP every year just for that reason.

 

[Disneyaunt4]

One of our must do's also.

 

[dimimi]

We have to say this was our least favorite meal. My husband and I barely found anything we liked. The characters were GREAT! They were attentive and the servers made sure everyone understood the character rotation. We had eaten at Beach Club's Clam Bake the night before and loved it. We have eatena t Crystal Palace every Disney trip. This time it let us down.