Deciding between breakfast buffets

[sylw]

We would like to try a character breakfast buffet on our next trip. The menus look about the same. Is there any significant difference between Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey, Tusker House, or Cape May? (other than location, of cousre) Food-wise is one better than the other?

 

[DisneyDaze928]

We've done Cape May as well as Ohana and the food was very similar...Ohana doesn't have the traditional buffet where you get up to get your food all morning...they bring you LOTS of food and you eat it family style and they'll bring it until you say stop. I think I liked it better than Cape May because there was more interaction with the characters (doing the little parade around the restaurant and singing and dancing) and each character still came to your table. Food was very similar though..Mickey Waffles everywhere.

 

[lions1995]

One Bonus to Tusker House or Crystal Palace is getting ADRs prior to park opening. It makes for some nice pictures as you walk to breakfast in a park with practically no one around. You can also get a great start on rope drop. We recently did a 8 AM at Tusker House. We walked out the side door at 8:45 to the rope drop for KS. They dropped the rope and walked us to the Safari. I looked back to see all the people from the entrance. We got the first vehicle for the day. If you take this approach, make sure you do not do it on an early Moring extra hours.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Cape May - good food, great character interaction

 

[cbg1027]

I've been to Crystal Palace and Cape May. They were both very good, but I give the slight edge on food to Crystal Palace because they have Cinnamon Puffed French Toast! It's sooo good and only available at Crystal Palace breakfast.

 

[nkereina]

We thought Tusker House had the most selection, plus the atmosphere is great. If you can get an ADR before park opening, it's ideal.

I know you didn't mention Ohana as a selection, but wanted to mention we did not like Ohana's character breakfast. Very basic bacon & eggs selection and over priced for what you get. Sure the food is unlimited but there's only so much of the same food I want to eat. We won't return there for breakfast.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We've been to all 4 and here are my thoughts.

Crystal Palace - good food, great waitress when we were there it was Isa, but not great character interaction. We may have been there on an 'off' day but the characters seemed rushed and more in the "take the picture and move on" mode. We've been there for dinner too and the characters were less rushed which is why I say we may have been there on an off day for breakfast.

Chef Mickeys - been there for breakfast and dinner. To me the food is "ok" not really wow but you're paying more for the experience than the food. However that said to me over the years the characters there have become more rushed and less interactive.

Cape May ate there once for breakfast - thought the food and the characters were great. It really seemed much more relaxed than Chef Mickeys and there again seemed to be a lot more variety in the food. It felt like a restaurant that was striving harder for it's patrons.

Tusker House - we really like this character meal. When we went Donald went table to table although I hear now he only meets you at the photo which IMO is rather a rip (sorry). We've done it several times - food is great with a large variety!

 

[nvsnot]

My vote is for Tusker House - great food selection and great character interaction! Donald is there to great you and take a picture with you/your group before you go in, but the other characters come around to your table. There's also a march around the restaurant that the kids are encouraged to participate in that the children in my family really enjoyed.

 

[Pakey]

I've been to all four and would rank them:

1. Tusker House. Although it's noisy and you no longer meet Donald at the table, the food here is the best. Great selection with many items that are not traditional breakfast fare.

2. Cape May. It's quiet compared to any other character meal. The cast members are some of the nicest here. Character interaction is the best.

3. Crystal Palace. I think the food is okay, it's inside MK so bonus points for that. Character interaction is rushed but there are 4 characters where Tusker House and Cape May are only 3 during the meal.

4. Chef Mickeys. Noisy, rushed, worst food.

 

[shannonstar]

My family has been to all four and ranks them like this:

1. Crystal Palace -
Pooh Ears (Puffed French Toast) is a major sell for us. Also getting into the Magic Kingdom before it opens and getting some awesome photos. The character interaction is great, the decor is nice, and the food is good. Getting to be the first people on Splash or Thunder Mountain, an added bonus.

2. Tusker House-
So yummy. Lots of variety in the food, not just the standard fare. Good character interaction, though it ranks below CP b/c Donald no longer comes to the table. It is also a bonus getting to be the first people on the Safari and then running over to Expedition before it gets crowded.

3. Cape May Cafe-
Very good buffet. Character interaction is great also. This only ranks low b/c if you are not staying nearby it can be hard to get to.

4. Chef Mickey's-
This does not make the list for us anymore. We have done it, but it is loud in there and the food is meh. I know it's a great place to see the Fab Five, but I can find them elsewhere.

 

[stitchaholic]

I have done all the buffets also , my fave's in order....

Cape May - best character interaction , best , absolutely best food , most original breakfast food and always hot and fresh , great service

Park Fare- great food , great character interaction , downside is wait staff and crowds in the restaurant

Crystal Palace - great food( only breakfast) , fun characters , but very rushed feel to it

Ohana best friend- I love the character interaction here , stitch is so funny , Lilo is a flirt , mickey usually gets into it with stitch , great entertainement!
I love the fruit and sweetbreads ,not a fan of the rest of the family style served food

Tusker House - always a long wait to get in , rushed character interaction , but the food is good

 

[nkereina]

Tusker House - we really like this character meal. When we went Donald went table to table although I hear now he only meets you at the photo which IMO is rather a rip (sorry). We've done it several times - food is great with a large variety!

That was our experience with Donald in September. We decided to bypass the long photo line for Donald to be seated, and the hostess made sure we knew we wouldn't be seeing Donald again.

 

[Masonmj84]

If you surveyed everyone who has ever posted on Disboards and asked them to rank the character breakfasts by quality of food & overall experience, I'd guess the overall results woud be something like:

1. Tusker House
2. Cape May
3. Crystal Palace
4. ‘Ohana
5. 1900 Park Fare
6. Akershus
7. CRT
8. Chef Mickey’s
9. Hollywood & Vine

What's interesting is that there's somewhat of an inverse correlation between price and quality. Tusker House, which is one of the least expensive character breakfasts, gets generally high marks, whereas some of the more expensive ones, most notably CRT and Chef Mickey's, routinely disappoint, even with dining plan patrons.

 

[Snurk71]

I think out the meals OP listed only CP has made to order omelets.

FYI...

 

[tndisneyfan]

We would like to try a character breakfast buffet on our next trip. The menus look about the same. Is there any significant difference between Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey, Tusker House, or Cape May? (other than location, of cousre) Food-wise is one better than the other?

Food wise I liked Crystal Palace better than Chef Mickeys. We've never done the other two. CP has an omelet station where they will make you omelets, made to order eggs, and fresh pancakes with chocolate chips. CM didn't have anything like that. Also I thought CP had more variety, but maybe they just had more of what I liked. Also CP has Poohs Puffed French Toast which is the greatest stuff ever.

 

[Brita]

Our favourite breakfast buffet is at the Akershus (in Epcot) with all the princesses! It was a TON of fun and the food was good.