First Visit,Lots of dining reviews, pics, 2/24-3/3. Updated 3/29 Rose&Crown/Illumin

[catsaneda]

Add me,too! Your kids are adorable and so sweet. I was touched by the story about "the little bald girl". Can't wait to read more.

 

[martinolichfamily]

Great reviews! waiting to read more!
Glad to hear about CRT...we have a ressie for there but it is for an early dinner....I hope my DH is not too picky that day! BUT we are going really just to be in the Castle!

 

[mamasha]

Great review and beautiful children!!!Thanks for sharing.

 

[kayrosek]

Glad you had such a great time at CRT. We went there for dinner on Thanksgiving day and that was our experience also. It really is a magical place. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Stepharia]

Your kiddos are adorable. Glad you had such a great experience at CRT. I absolutely love the french toast there. Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews!!

 

[sydneysmom]

totally jumping on board here! your reviews and pics are fantastic !!

 

[damren]

Love this, thanks so much! I can't wait to do our first report as well!

 

[Ricklg3]

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading

Great reviews can't wait to keep reading. We are going in May and have some of the same reservations!!

Wish we were going back in May it would be much warmer

Add me,too! Your kids are adorable and so sweet. I was touched by the story about "the little bald girl". Can't wait to read more.

Thanks I think our kids are adorable too but I am super basis

Great reviews! waiting to read more!
Glad to hear about CRT...we have a ressie for there but it is for an early dinner....I hope my DH is not too picky that day! BUT we are going really just to be in the Castle!

My bet is she will love it

Great review and beautiful children!!!Thanks for sharing.

Thanks I think the same about them too

Glad you had such a great time at CRT. We went there for dinner on Thanksgiving day and that was our experience also. It really is a magical place. Can't wait to read more.

Thanksgiving there that sounds awesome!!

Your kiddos are adorable. Glad you had such a great experience at CRT. I absolutely love the french toast there. Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews!!

Maya & Mason our kids are great. I am a french toast convert.

totally jumping on board here! your reviews and pics are fantastic !!

Glad to have you

Love this, thanks so much! I can't wait to do our first report as well!

It's a lot of fun

 

[pooh'smate]

I am joining in.

 

[podsnel]

I'm subbing, too. Your kids are so adorable, and it is much fun to hear about a family's first Disney trip- it looks like it was absolutely magical!!

Oh, and FWIW, I am not big on breakfast, either. But I don't think I will EVER visit WDW again without breakfast at Kona- I am head-over-heals for the macadamia nut pancakes. YUM!

Thanks for sharing-

 

[Ricklg3]

This is our first full day in MK and it has been fun, BBB, Pirate League, and CRT. Now it was time for dinner at The Crystal Palace.

First I love that its in the park it works great for a break for the kids and us. Seriously, this place is beautiful! Super excited about going in.

We show up about 10 mins early and walk over to the check-in booth. They don't have a ressie for us. Now the CM was the least nice CM I would meet our entire trip she was short(in tone) and not wearing a name tag which I never saw except on her. I had our confirmation number and gave it to her, and she still couldn't find it. Another CM came up with a handheld machine because the line was getting long and she pointed at the other CM's screen and said it right there.

So they found our ressie, we waited about 15 mins to be seated we just watched a show going on at the castle. We were seated and the place is just great looking.


As you all know its a buffett which is great for us because they have the traditional kid stuff like chicken nuggets and pizza, but the kids can have anything they serve and vis-versa, I enjoy a nugget now and then.

I enjoyed the buffet. I like salads and they had lots of different types I enjoyed most of them. I found their chilled shrimp cocktail the best of all the buffets I had in Disney.
The cherry tomato/mozz salad was all cherry tomato the few bits of mozz were just bits but other than that the food was great we all found food we liked. My DW enjoyed the salmon a lot and the prime rib was great the chef trimmed the fat on my request both times I got it!!

The chicken black bean salad with some prime rib I am so hungry right now. This post Disney diet while doing the dining reviews is killing me. I make sure I eat right before I do these and I'm still hungry.

DW ate the salmon before I got the pic it was that good according to her

Then my DD she can be an odd eater this is kinda of her ideal plate mashed potatoes, grapes, and bread. I don't ask she eates it and lots of it had seconds.

The buffets really worked for us the kids have the same choices as us. I heard that as a complaint of the dining plans that you got stuck with nuggets/burgers/hotdogs. Now we did our share of that but never felt like that was the only option. Perhaps its a difference in the dining plans or that we chose lots of Character meals which seem to have lots of buffets


Speaking of characters lets talk about the interaction. Organized and efficent it was a big place and they moved quickly but the kids loved, and if i must admit it I meant my childhood favorite.

Cmon its Tigger how can you not love Tigger seriously!!

It was at the Crystal Place that I realized something big. My kids were silent when they met fur characters. It was odd I mean they are silent both here and Chef Mickey's but completely different at CRT. It must be that the fur characters don't talk so my kids don't talk to them either. I mean they get and hug them and hand them their autograph books but not a word. Completely, different with face characters. I don't know what to make of it, I found it interesting. Even with the silence and the quick visit the characters were fun and interacted with the kids well and we all had a great time.

my dd in the parade she loves a parade

They also have a awesome dessert bar!!!! Just ask my DD

Total cost with tax before tip $103.04 or 4 dining credits for us

Next up I can't recall you will have to stay tuned, thanks for reading and letting me relive the dream

 

[BreTyPres87]

I have a reservation for Crystal Palace breakfast in June.. but like you i'm not a big lover of breakfast (HATE eggs, sausage and bacon not a fan) so looking at your lunch review I think i'm going to change it!! Thanks

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in and loving your reviews. That is awesome with the kids opeing for CM. We had a terrible meal there (the only buffet we left and still hunger b/c the food was so bad) but we did have a great character interaction. We love eating at CP, we usaully go for lunch and my husband loves that salmon they serve. CP is a must for ever trip.

 

[iloveeeyore]

What a magical vacation so far!! A PERFECT start. I am loving your reviews. Your kids are gorgeous, and I especially love the pic of them with Eeyore! Hmmmm, now I'm dreaming of Crystal Palace...how to fit it in?

 

[EclecticWAHM]

Great reviews and pics! You have a beautiful family and it looks like you had a great time! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[BreTyPres87]

I'm also glad to see a review with two small children,first timers who did the DxDDP I keep hearing we'll miss too many attractions from eating but I think if timed correctly everything will be fine!! Love the reviews

 

[hoosiercruiser]

I can't wait to read more. You are a great storyteller, you can feel through your writing what a great time you had. We leave for WDW next month for the first time for each of us, too.

 

[vinotinto]

So CRT is a homerun, its 2 credits on the DxDP but it is so worth it.
Setting as good as you can get, whoever came up with this thank you so much.
Food was awesome!! Service was flawless!!!
Character interaction was great!

OK, I put CRT back into my ADR list. Your kids look like they had a BLAST! Keep those reviews coming!

 

[laura74]

Now you're making me hungry! Great reviews and pics! We leave in 5 days and can't wait!

I totally agree about Chef Mickey's. We were there for dinner a couple of years ago and I found the food uninspiring and the service we had was pretty poor. Add to that the tables crowded together and it wasn't the most pleasant dining experience. The kids really enjoyed the characters though so I guess it was worth it.

We had lunch at CRT a couple years ago and it was nice but I'm not sure it was worth the price. Maybe if we were on DXDDP and could afford to use two credits it would be.

I'm looking forward to your thought on whether the deluxe plan was worth the extra cost.

 

[Ricklg3]

I have a reservation for Crystal Palace breakfast in June.. but like you i'm not a big lover of breakfast (HATE eggs, sausage and bacon not a fan) so looking at your lunch review I think i'm going to change it!! Thanks

It was so nice to be in the park and just walk over its a beautiful place, I was there for dinner but I think the lunch menu is very similar

Joining in and loving your reviews. That is awesome with the kids opeing for CM. We had a terrible meal there (the only buffet we left and still hunger b/c the food was so bad) but we did have a great character interaction. We love eating at CP, we usaully go for lunch and my husband loves that salmon they serve. CP is a must for ever trip.

Looks like we see it that same way including my spouse loving the salmon.

What a magical vacation so far!! A PERFECT start. I am loving your reviews. Your kids are gorgeous, and I especially love the pic of them with Eeyore! Hmmmm, now I'm dreaming of Crystal Palace...how to fit it in?

Thanks we are going to keep I wish i was at the CP for lunch today

Great reviews and pics! You have a beautiful family and it looks like you had a great time! Can't wait to read more!!

Thanks for reading I do have a great family and we had an awesome time

I'm also glad to see a review with two small children,first timers who did the DxDDP I keep hearing we'll miss too many attractions from eating but I think if timed correctly everything will be fine!! Love the reviews

I couldn't not agree more the DxDP is great for families with small kids, most guides say families with small kids should take a mid day break, sitting down and eating three times a day serves as that break without having to return to the hotel it saves time and gives everybody a break, more on this later

I can't wait to read more. You are a great storyteller, you can feel through your writing what a great time you had. We leave for WDW next month for the first time for each of us, too.

Thanks for reading! Im excited for you. Your going to have a great time

OK, I put CRT back into my ADR list. Your kids look like they had a BLAST! Keep those reviews coming!

They did thanks for reading

Now you're making me hungry! Great reviews and pics! We leave in 5 days and can't wait!
Have a magical time

I totally agree about Chef Mickey's. We were there for dinner a couple of years ago and I found the food uninspiring and the service we had was pretty poor. Add to that the tables crowded together and it wasn't the most pleasant dining experience. The kids really enjoyed the characters though so I guess it was worth it.
They have the character interaction down and opening it was awesome


We had lunch at CRT a couple years ago and it was nice but I'm not sure it was worth the price. Maybe if we were on DXDDP and could afford to use two credits it would be.
I felt it was worth it especially as my DD is 5 and we we on DXDP

I'm looking forward to your thought on whether the deluxe plan was worth the extra cost.

Stay tuned I am going to cover that in the wrap up