Vote! Chef Mickey or Crystal Palace?

[Carol97]

I've never eaten at either Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace. This will be our first trip with dd3. We can't get a ressie for Chef Mickeys but we did get a ressie for Crystal Palace. I was a little disappointed because I think my dd likes Mickey and the gang more than Pooh and his gang.

Which do you prefer and why?

Thanks so much!

 

[sydneysmom]

I've eaten at both and personally, I think the food at the Crystal Palace is better. Also, the restaurant is bright and airy and it generally just seems more upbeat and happy. Plus, if you're going for breakfast, you can usually get some great pics in front of Cinderella's Castle before anyone else is in the park. The characters aren't rushed and really spend time w/ the kids at the tables. And did I mention that the food was terrific !! For some reason, I just feel like I'm rushed at Chef Mickey's and that it's just really loud. ( and not always the cleanest which kind of freaks me out at a buffet .... ) I don't think you'll be disappointed with your choice at all.

If your DD has her heart set on Mickey, you could always try for the Garden Grill or Donald's Safari Breakfast... someone correct me if this is wrong, but I think Mickey is at both of these.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

Crystal Palace is much better IMO. Chef Mickey's is always very crowded and VERY loud, all the noise is even worse because it seems to have an echo in there. The charactors also seemed rushed there.

You could try the Charactor meal in Animal Kingdom for Mickey and friends OR we did the Cape May Breakfast at the Beach Club Hotel and met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and donald.
That was a blast!!

 

[Jess6001]

Although I do like the characters and atmosphere at CMs better, the food is better at CP. So I'd go w/ CP.

 

[Chloesmom]

I prefer CP for many reasons. The food is much better and the buffet is kept cleaner. Last time we were at CM it was filthy. CM is crowded and loud also which I expect but Crystal Palace is alot calmer. This trip we have both breakfast and dinner at Crystal Palace ( they have Boston Cream Pie which I adore ) and breakfast at Mickeys because DD wanted to try breakfast there. I am still trying to talk her out of that one.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

No contest for me, the food is always wonderful at Crystal Palace and I have never been dissapointed there. I did enjoy dinner at Chef Mickey's, but would probably never bother having breakfast there again.

 

[3boys4me]

Crystal Palace. The food is better and like everyone else said, it is cleaner and quieter, just an all around better experience. We will not do CM again.

 

[MommaMouse411]

food is gooood at CP...and Chef Mickeys is cool and definately a place you want to try at least once...ive eaten at CP like 3 times...also at CP the kids get to parade around the restaurant with one of the characters. its fun.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Both are great but CM is a lot of fun & celebration.

 

[HunnyJar]

We have done both several times. I do prefer Crystal Palace for breakfast but Chef Mickey's is better (for me and my family) for dinner. I just don't generally care for the dinner offerings at Crystal Palace. Chef Mickey's on the other hand great for my family. Both my husband and I love the Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. YUM! I also prefer the characters at Chef Mickey's. Don't get me wrong Pooh and friends are great, but there is just something about seeing the Fab 5 that makes our trip feel special!

 

[scootch]

We must be in the minority,we LOVE Chef Mickey's, go every year. Have gone to CP twice, food yucky, froze one night and asked repeatedly for them to turn up heat or give us another table... no luck, the manager did nothing and I was paying out of pocket for it too!! Love the carved beef at CM and the character interaction has always been top notch.

 

[KatMark]

We've done both -- Chef Mickey's we've done for breakfast and dinner; we much prefer breakfast and won't do dinner anymore; Crystal Palace for breakfast is a must for us each trip (we've never done lunch or dinner as we've given up on buffets for lunch and/or dinner with the exception of Biergarten and Cape May Cafe after the last bad experience at Chef Mickey's and Hollywood & Vine). So my vote goes to Crystal Palace.

 

[JoePa4Ever]

We love both Crystal Palace & Chef Mickey's for breakfast - we found the dinner buffets to be rather sub-par/average-at-best. Crystal Palace gets the slight nod over Chef Mickey's due to the puffed french toast!

 

[podsnel]

I voted for Crystal Palace- because you can meet Mickey & friends at other places in the parks, but not the Pooh characters. But more importantly- the food is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much better at CP. We were at CM's in November, and everyone from DS10 to DH said "This is disgusting." No kidding. It's not even just bad. It's . We all said, never, never again.

 

[bitohoney]

CP because when I'm at MK, I don't want to leave MK.

 

[MommyGina]

The food is much better at Crystal Palace. Nothing is great about the food at Chef Mickey's either for breakfast or dinner. I have been to both and hands down would take Crystal Palace.

However, if you have your heart set on seeing Mickey and friends, I would even try Ohana for breakfast. It is family style and Mickey, Minnie, Lilo, Stitch are there. I think the food is better there too.

 

[gabriellyn]

I guess I am in the minority since we LOVE CM's! But we LOVE CP too! As a matter of fact, we have ADR's at both places in August. It's a tradition for us to eat at CM's on our last morning - we all LOVE the food and the characters too. We have never felt rushed in any way. We loved the food at CP (visited for dinner) and we felt like it was superior to other buffets and had Pooh & Co to boot! The character interaction was really awesome at CP. I think you will be happy with either one, honestly. If you really want CM's then keep trying - something might open up for you.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We've done both for dinner and thought that they were both fine. The food was good at both but I preferred Crystal Palace a little more only because I am a HUGE Pooh and Tigger fan. I am going to try to get ADRs for our upcoming September trip to both restaurants but this time we want to try breakfast.....keeping my fingers crossed for Saturday.

 

[badblackpug]

I think it's a tie. The food at CP is better. The character interaction at both is good. CM is a more party like atmosphere.

I would suggest trying Tusker House for a "fab 5" breakfast. The food is great.

 

[disneygrammy1]

Chef Mickey's all the way. It is so fun and colorful!