Cyrstal Palace/FA vent

[Stellapedia]

Just returned from another weekend at WDW. Went standard dining this time which we've never done (normally do deluxe or nothing at all). Lunch Saturday was Crystal Palace.

We were seated at 1:45 and were told the chef would be out shortly. Ten minutes no chef. 15 minutes he comes out and wife and son were at the buffet line getting some fruit. I was at the table with the dog and our younger son, so I couldn't go. I described wife and son to him, he said he'd find them. They returned to the table about 2 minutes later and hadn't seen him. A few minutes later I asked the server for the chef again. After about ten minutes he came out and there wasn't much that son 1 could eat, chef got snippy with me. Son 1 really wanted mac and cheese and he (chef) said he thinks he can do it, he'll let us know. After ten minutes, still nothing. Son 1 is hungry and upset at this point and we don't know what to tell him- suck it up and deal with fruit or is he making something for him? The characters had come and gone and he hadn't been interested at all, he was HUNGRY. We weren't eating because we were waiting to eat as a family. I called the server again, then was told the chef was making something.

Finally, at 2:40, FIFTY FIVE MINUTES after we were seated, he brought my son a plate of penne pasta with cheese sauce and some grapes. By this time he was so tired and grumpy that he ate a few bites and was done. Wife and the boys actually left before I did, I was waiting to pay. We never saw Tigger because he was making the rounds as they were leaving.

Wife complained to the concierge when we returned, they credited back two of the three meals to our DP (why only two I don't know). Son was really upset as it was our only character meal this weekend and it was pretty much blown for him.

I realze that we have to wait for his food, I understand. But it was on the reservation and I had to ask for the chef four separate times, and it was nearly a full hour later before my son was fed something. AND we were left hanging for ~20 minutes wondering if he was making something or not, he never told us.

I'd only had CP breakfast before and they were average on the FA issues (I've had much MUCH better luck with other buffets... Tusker and Chef Mickey were the best), but this just takes the cake. I was SO steamed afterward and really upset that his only character meal for the weekend was pretty much bummed up.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We ate lunch at CP in 2007 and it's now on our never again list as well. In our case, I think we just happened to get a chef who was clueless. It took a while for him to come out to our table and when he did, he walked me through the line. He pointed out foods that were supposed to be safe but when I asked questions it came out that they weren't (my daughter's allergic to citrus fruit and he pointed out a lemon crusted fish as safe; sure blew my confidence). I was shocked. Some of the mistakes were obvious ones but others weren't like rice dishes with no obvious allergens so I wasn't sure what to believe. If I just blindly trusted what he said my daughter and I would have gotten very sick. There was very little that the chef was willing to do for us and it was like pulling teeth to get him to put together a plate of items fresh from the back rather than grabbing from the buffet (anybody with FAs knows that's a cross contamination nightmare especially since safe items were right next to unsafe items and we all know that people share serving spoons between dishes). I'm sure it was just that particular chef but it's definitely soured us on CP. My kids are no longer big on Pooh and friends anyway so for us it's a no brainer to just not go back there.

 

[pudge the fish]

I am with you on the CP chef.
A few months ago we went and I had a most AWESOME lady chef who came out and walked me thru the buffet.
I normally ask if certain things are still ok as we eat there quite a bit.
(1-2 times a month) and I have been known to ask for a manager when a chef can't be bothered to tell me if the spoon bread is still ok.

but the lady chef was either filling in or was moved somewhere else because the chef they have now is not very good with FA.

I have had issues with CP chef's too but since the whole family (inlaws and outlaws) love it we eat there.

I may be a bit more...umm... LOUD than others about not getting good service - I don't yell but I am firm.
I would have pitched a fit- polite but firm.. I would have asked for a manager after the first 15 minutes... unless they were jammed packed it shouldn't take that long to get to you.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I hope the rest of your trip was fun!

 

[Schmeck]

Sounds like a lot of people with food allergies try CrystaL Palace - maybe the chef was accommodating other families when you showed up?

 

[ireland_nicole]

completely OT but re: chefs at buffets, we found the chefs at Boma and Chef Mickey's to be awesome! Sorry about your CP experience, though... although ours wasn't as bad as yours, it definitely was probably the worst of our trip last time.

 

[snorris49]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I recently ate at CP and the experience was OK on the scale of FA. The chef came and showed me all the foods I could and couldn't eat on the buffet and brought me out a really good dessert and tapioca rolls (I'm gluten and dairy). They didn't have a huge selection, but I made it work. It was very busy in there, beyond busy actually. I will say as far as marking on your ressie and filling out a form with Brenda Bennett, I sure didn't see what the point of it was. No one EVER remembered I had dietary restrictions and I had to remind them MULTIPLE times at most places. Tusker house was the ONLY place that noted it before I did.

It's frustrating when you have food allergies/intolerances and the staff is unhelpful. It makes you want to put them through your diet for a day and then perhaps they might understand.

Overall, I think disney is pretty awesome with FA but even there sometimes things happen. It's too bad, just takes one bad experience to sour you!

 

[dclfun]

While my family doesn't have food allergies, I will say that our experience at CP was far less than stellar...and for $32 pp for adults it should be. We went for a dinner to celebrate my grandson's 2nd birthday. We had the regular DDP. We were seated quickly but underneath the table it was so filthy that I hesitated in letting my service dog lay there. We found mussel shells, mac and cheese, and other food grunged into the carpet. I should've said something but by the time I noticed my grandson was already in a highchair and was very hungry. We had trouble with service- getting drinks refilled and even worse, getting dirty plates removed. We sat through two rounds of the characters just waiting for both as no one wanted to eat dessert while being surrounded by a stack of plates ( there were four adults and my dgs)or having nothing to drink. I don't think we'll be back- just not worth the money for the service received and lack of cleanliness.---Kathy

 

[figment41]

We also just had a horrible experience at CP in Sept. We have been going to Disney since forever and have never been there so I was very excited. I even gave up my Chef Mickeys because my DD was celebrating her 2nd birthday.

By the time the chef came out and walked me through the line and I waited for my DD to be served they had stopped making the fresh pancakes and omelettes. They would not even acknowledge me or the other lady standing there. Another cast member came up to a girl and said what are you doing and she said 11:15 it is cloised to get ready for lunch. We never got a single refill. My daughter got 1 eggo type (Vans waffle and a small plate fo grapes and it was like pulling teeth. The chef siad it was all fine from the buffet but if I needed from the back he would see what he could do.

The characters were also in such a hurry I had to call them back to sign her autograph book. It was crazy.

We always stand up for ourselves but this time we just let it go. I do not know why but we did. They will definatley be getting a very nasty letter from me but it was my fault for not demanding to see a manager while we were there. Unfortunately we will not be going back there any time soon.

 

[seashoreCM]

Talk about ADR's (reservations) backing up. Here's one family who lingered (with all rights and privileges to do so) at a table for an awfully long time.

>>> we never got a single refill

(Any restaurant anywhere) Depending how long you were kept waiting for something else, here's another example of when to summon the manager and to wheel and deal instead of paying the printed price.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Since dd14's food allergy diagnosis in 2006, we've had breakfast at CP three times. This past June we had a fabulous woman chef who happened to have the same allergy as dd (soy)! THAT was a relaxed meal for me

We've had good chefs, indifferent chefs and only one really bad chef in the past three years (Raglan Road in 2006). Nothing like a bad experience to ruin your view of a restaurant.