After reading the great review of Crystal Palaces character breakfast ($16.99) on the AllEars newsletter one week, I had to check it out for myself. Mike was easygoing as usual, replying Sure, whatever when I asked if he wanted to go. I sometimes wonder if he really enjoys this, until we start to eat, and then I can tell how much he enjoys Disney dining. We had made priority seatings for the next month, but I had the itch so bad that one morning I woke up and dragged Mike down to the Magic Kingdom, after making a last minute priority seating for 9:55 am. We were about a third of the way there when I realized I had forgotten my camera, so we had to go back, and race all the way to Disney just to make it in time. We arrived at the restaurant at 10:05, and there was a line stretching across the porch. Two women were making their way down the line, asking what time the partys priority seating was, and checking them in at the window. I was afraid wed miss breakfast, but we were called in five minutes.
Mike and I were seated at a cozy table for two, with a view of the castle. You can see the castle from the restaurant, but you wouldnt be able to watch Wishes. We were seated just as Pooh was making his rounds past our table, but we dont go for the characters, but rather, the food. The restaurant was fairly crowded, as evidenced by the line to check in, and pretty noisy as well. Its not a place for a quiet breakfast unless its during an off time. The restaurant is beautiful inside, with many windows and skylights. A lot of the windows are stained glass, as well. Near the front doors is a garden of sorts, with topiaries of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore made of dried roses.
Our server, Laurie, came by to take our drink order and let us know what the rotation of the characters were. We had our breakfast vouchers that day, and asked about smoothies. She let us know that when people have vouchers, she recommends that they have the included beverages while they eat and to take the smoothies to go, which is what we decided to do. They have two flavors: ambrosia, which is a pina colada type, and blue raspberry lemonade, which tasted just like the Blue Spoodle at Spoodles. Both of them were very very very sweet, too much so for me. While we were eating, I asked for coffee and water, and Mike ordered an orange juice, which wasnt fresh squeezed. Laurie left the pot of coffee on the table for me, which I always appreciate warmed up coffee whenever I want.
After ordering our drinks, we got up to check out the buffet. There are two sides, each with identical offerings, so go to the side that has fewer people. The two sides meet at the middle with an omelet/egg/pancake station. In the center of the room is a station with breakfast breads and cold cereals. Starting at one side is the childrens station, with Pooh waffles and breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza was great, with plenty of eggs and cheese, and a good crust. Next is one of the other bread stations, with bagels, croissants, doughnut holes, muffins, cream cheese, butter, and syrup for the previous waffles. There is a toaster at the central bread station that I used for a bagel, and the cream cheese had chopped chives on top, a nice touch. Mike had a croissant with butter and said it was flaky and delicious. We split a chocolate muffin and it was really moist and chocolately.
Next was a large selection of fresh fruits and different types of proteins. The fruits included whole strawberries (with Cool Whip), berry yogurt, honey yogurt (honey, yum!), granola, peanut butter (yes, a bowl of peanut butter), peeled hardboiled eggs, five different jams and jellies, whole oranges, a huge platter of grapes, four different types of cubed cheese, honeydew, pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermelon. The honey yogurt was great, sweet and tangy, and the pepper jack cheese was actually pretty spicy The peanut butter was a nice touch, and I tried some on the waffles. All of the fruit looked very fresh and ripe, though I didnt have a chance to try any. Id say its definitely pretty easy to eat a healthy breakfast here, with all of the fruit, cereal, and yogurt choices.
Next up were some of the meats, with bacon, sausage links, and ham. The bacon wasnt crispy enough for my taste, while the sausage links and ham were great. I love ham on a breakfast buffet, especially when you dont have to wait for someone to carve it for you. After the meats was the famed breakfast lasagna, layers of cake, waffles, pastry cream, and many different types of berries. I would have liked a little less cake and a little more cream and berries, but overall it was excellent, and very different for breakfast definitely not an every day thing! There were also grits (which looked a little too thin), cheesy potatoes, red potatoes with bacon and onion, and biscuits and gravy. The cheesy potatoes were hash browns with lots of cheese and bacon, and though I wish there had been more cheese, though they were great anyway. The biscuits were small, but were great with the sawmill gravy on top (which I also put on top of half of my plate!).
Following that were the scrambled eggs, puffed French toast, vegetable frittata, plain pancakes, and oatmeal. The scrambled eggs were a bit too runny for me, but the puffed French toast was great. Just as it said on the AllEars newsletter, they were like a yeast doughnut, covered in cinnamon and sugar. The vegetable frittata, which is a baked egg dish, was cooked through and filled with cheese and fresh vegetables, and great with a bit of that sawmill gravy on top. I didnt try the oatmeal, as it also looked a bit too runny, but there were bowls of raisins and brown sugar around it.
Finally, at the griddle station, you could have made-to-order omelets, eggs, and flavored pancakes. The omelet toppings included Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, ham, and sausage. One of these days, I need to try out the omelet station at a restaurant before I get too full, as the omelets here looked delicious. You could also order eggs freshly made in any style. The pancakes were made in the shape of a Mickey, and could have either peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, or blueberries in them. I saved room for one peanut butter pancake, and it was wonderful, especially because it was freshly made. I wonder now how a blueberry and chocolate pancake would be
In the center of the room were more breakfast breads, including coffee cakes, more muffins, and banana bread. The cold cereals, milk, and bananas were at this station, along with white and wheat bread for toasting, and a toaster. I love toasters at breakfast buffets, because I enjoy my bagels toasted instead of cold.
Character interaction was great, even though we were two young adults. We didnt mind that the characters didnt spend more time with us, but they were willing to if we wanted it. We noticed that they did spend quite a bit of time with the children, especially near the end when it was drawing nearer to lunch and the restaurant was nearly empty. They did come by to chat with us when there were hardly and children left, though, and it was appreciated. I dont like to take character time away from kids who want it. Also, while I was up waiting for my pancake, there was a character parade around the restaurant. I glanced over and saw a few kids following the characters, but Mike said that the kids didnt look like they were really into it.
I was glad to have a late priority seating, as I was hoping to at least see some of the items they have out at lunch, and perhaps even sample a bit. After Laurie brought by our smoothies about 45 minutes after we sat down, we never saw her. We ran out of drinks and were hoping for refills, but she never came by again. Its one bad thing about having the vouchers or paying the bill early they dont really have to come by again. Service had been excellent up until that point, and it was unfortunate that it went downhill. I did notice that they left one side of the buffet open with breakfast foods, and kept it very well stocked up until the last minute (just before 11:30 am, when they open for lunch). We werent chased out or asked to leave, beyond Laurie never returning to check on us.
Since our server wasnt around, I asked one of the men cleaning the tables if it was all right to try some of the lunch items. He said that it was, and I had a small plate, including cheese bread, pasta salad, and green curry chicken. The curry chicken was wonderful! It really enticed me to go back for lunch, and dinner as well, which we definitely will one of these days. There were so many wonderful things to eat, the location is great, the character interaction was very good, and the restaurant is beautiful
Photo gallery (mods, please let me know if this link is ok)
Mike and I were seated at a cozy table for two, with a view of the castle. You can see the castle from the restaurant, but you wouldnt be able to watch Wishes. We were seated just as Pooh was making his rounds past our table, but we dont go for the characters, but rather, the food. The restaurant was fairly crowded, as evidenced by the line to check in, and pretty noisy as well. Its not a place for a quiet breakfast unless its during an off time. The restaurant is beautiful inside, with many windows and skylights. A lot of the windows are stained glass, as well. Near the front doors is a garden of sorts, with topiaries of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore made of dried roses.
Our server, Laurie, came by to take our drink order and let us know what the rotation of the characters were. We had our breakfast vouchers that day, and asked about smoothies. She let us know that when people have vouchers, she recommends that they have the included beverages while they eat and to take the smoothies to go, which is what we decided to do. They have two flavors: ambrosia, which is a pina colada type, and blue raspberry lemonade, which tasted just like the Blue Spoodle at Spoodles. Both of them were very very very sweet, too much so for me. While we were eating, I asked for coffee and water, and Mike ordered an orange juice, which wasnt fresh squeezed. Laurie left the pot of coffee on the table for me, which I always appreciate warmed up coffee whenever I want.
After ordering our drinks, we got up to check out the buffet. There are two sides, each with identical offerings, so go to the side that has fewer people. The two sides meet at the middle with an omelet/egg/pancake station. In the center of the room is a station with breakfast breads and cold cereals. Starting at one side is the childrens station, with Pooh waffles and breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza was great, with plenty of eggs and cheese, and a good crust. Next is one of the other bread stations, with bagels, croissants, doughnut holes, muffins, cream cheese, butter, and syrup for the previous waffles. There is a toaster at the central bread station that I used for a bagel, and the cream cheese had chopped chives on top, a nice touch. Mike had a croissant with butter and said it was flaky and delicious. We split a chocolate muffin and it was really moist and chocolately.
Next was a large selection of fresh fruits and different types of proteins. The fruits included whole strawberries (with Cool Whip), berry yogurt, honey yogurt (honey, yum!), granola, peanut butter (yes, a bowl of peanut butter), peeled hardboiled eggs, five different jams and jellies, whole oranges, a huge platter of grapes, four different types of cubed cheese, honeydew, pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermelon. The honey yogurt was great, sweet and tangy, and the pepper jack cheese was actually pretty spicy The peanut butter was a nice touch, and I tried some on the waffles. All of the fruit looked very fresh and ripe, though I didnt have a chance to try any. Id say its definitely pretty easy to eat a healthy breakfast here, with all of the fruit, cereal, and yogurt choices.
Next up were some of the meats, with bacon, sausage links, and ham. The bacon wasnt crispy enough for my taste, while the sausage links and ham were great. I love ham on a breakfast buffet, especially when you dont have to wait for someone to carve it for you. After the meats was the famed breakfast lasagna, layers of cake, waffles, pastry cream, and many different types of berries. I would have liked a little less cake and a little more cream and berries, but overall it was excellent, and very different for breakfast definitely not an every day thing! There were also grits (which looked a little too thin), cheesy potatoes, red potatoes with bacon and onion, and biscuits and gravy. The cheesy potatoes were hash browns with lots of cheese and bacon, and though I wish there had been more cheese, though they were great anyway. The biscuits were small, but were great with the sawmill gravy on top (which I also put on top of half of my plate!).
Following that were the scrambled eggs, puffed French toast, vegetable frittata, plain pancakes, and oatmeal. The scrambled eggs were a bit too runny for me, but the puffed French toast was great. Just as it said on the AllEars newsletter, they were like a yeast doughnut, covered in cinnamon and sugar. The vegetable frittata, which is a baked egg dish, was cooked through and filled with cheese and fresh vegetables, and great with a bit of that sawmill gravy on top. I didnt try the oatmeal, as it also looked a bit too runny, but there were bowls of raisins and brown sugar around it.
Finally, at the griddle station, you could have made-to-order omelets, eggs, and flavored pancakes. The omelet toppings included Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, ham, and sausage. One of these days, I need to try out the omelet station at a restaurant before I get too full, as the omelets here looked delicious. You could also order eggs freshly made in any style. The pancakes were made in the shape of a Mickey, and could have either peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, or blueberries in them. I saved room for one peanut butter pancake, and it was wonderful, especially because it was freshly made. I wonder now how a blueberry and chocolate pancake would be
In the center of the room were more breakfast breads, including coffee cakes, more muffins, and banana bread. The cold cereals, milk, and bananas were at this station, along with white and wheat bread for toasting, and a toaster. I love toasters at breakfast buffets, because I enjoy my bagels toasted instead of cold.
Character interaction was great, even though we were two young adults. We didnt mind that the characters didnt spend more time with us, but they were willing to if we wanted it. We noticed that they did spend quite a bit of time with the children, especially near the end when it was drawing nearer to lunch and the restaurant was nearly empty. They did come by to chat with us when there were hardly and children left, though, and it was appreciated. I dont like to take character time away from kids who want it. Also, while I was up waiting for my pancake, there was a character parade around the restaurant. I glanced over and saw a few kids following the characters, but Mike said that the kids didnt look like they were really into it.
I was glad to have a late priority seating, as I was hoping to at least see some of the items they have out at lunch, and perhaps even sample a bit. After Laurie brought by our smoothies about 45 minutes after we sat down, we never saw her. We ran out of drinks and were hoping for refills, but she never came by again. Its one bad thing about having the vouchers or paying the bill early they dont really have to come by again. Service had been excellent up until that point, and it was unfortunate that it went downhill. I did notice that they left one side of the buffet open with breakfast foods, and kept it very well stocked up until the last minute (just before 11:30 am, when they open for lunch). We werent chased out or asked to leave, beyond Laurie never returning to check on us.
Since our server wasnt around, I asked one of the men cleaning the tables if it was all right to try some of the lunch items. He said that it was, and I had a small plate, including cheese bread, pasta salad, and green curry chicken. The curry chicken was wonderful! It really enticed me to go back for lunch, and dinner as well, which we definitely will one of these days. There were so many wonderful things to eat, the location is great, the character interaction was very good, and the restaurant is beautiful
Photo gallery (mods, please let me know if this link is ok)
I can hardly wait to eat there again. Tigger is DD's favourite character so I've made a surprise PS for CP for our last night at WDW.
