We arrived right on time, barely for our 4:50 ADR after taking in a few Magic Kingdom attractions. It was swimming in people and it took me a few minutes to find the window to sign in. The window is tucked into a corner near the door at the left as you look at the Crystal Palace. If I understand correctly, it is closed now for renovations, hopefully that will still be the check in after the renovation.
It took several minutes for us to be seated, one of our longest waits, but not more than about 15 minutes, I don't think. Still, we were hungry again and happy to be meeting some of our favorite characters.
I did quite a bit of looking around at what might be done as a renovation. My suspicion is that the biggest thing is cleaning the windows. There are zillions of windows and cleaning them has got to be a royal pain in the rear when you are serving from 8am until 9pm (or more!). It is work that probably really isn't best done in the dark.
Of course, flooring and kitchen work is almost a certainty. Upgrading kitchens to more modern equipment reduces labor costs and increases food quality.
Speaking of which, I had seen very mixed reviews about the food and was quite cautiously optimistic. Put me down as a Crystal Palace dinner lover!
The food was the correct temperature (hot and cold), frequently replenished and absolutely delicious.
My personal favorites were:
Ancho Chile Rubbed Atlantic Salmon -- my mouth is watering as a type this, that stuff was to die for. I had two servings.
Thai Curry Mussels -- also scrumptious. So good I passed on the peel and eat shrimp. Normally, I love shrimp, but peel and eat is designed to slow you down on the buffet and the mussels were easier to eat.
Fire Roasted Prime Rib -- perfectly cooked and sliced nice and thin. Medium to Medium Rare, but certainly there was some for folks who like it more well done.
Wild mushroom and chicken pasta with basil asiago cream sauce. Just like it sounds. Chicken was tender and the cream sauce was lovely.
For sides and salads I enjoyed:
Sweet plantain, cucumber and corn salad -- nicely spiced and perfectly fresh
medley of vegetables with balsamic glaze -- lovely, not over cooked and lightly flavored. Balsamic can be overwhelming, this wasn't.
Cinnamon and Lemon Infused Balsamic Rice -- I had this with an item that isn't on the list from All Ears, it was a chicken in sauce, probably Indian inspired and very tasty.
Mediterranean pasta salad -- also yummy
Garlic Redskin smashed potatoes -- absolutely just right with the prime rib and a bit of gravy.
I ate two full (but not heaping ) servings from the buffet, including at least one roll from their selection. This would be my sole complaint, no real butter. I hate margarine.
Finally, I had a bit of something sweet, but it isn't popping out from the list. It was good. I remember Eeyore commenting that the deserts were perfectly portioned to have several.
The kids all ate a selection that made them happy
, mostly chicken fingers, mac & cheese and ice cream. Pirate Boy had some stuff, notably mashed potatoes from the adult buffet line. Eeyore enjoyed the buffet too, but since I don't have pictures (he doesn't like his food photographed.
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Bottom line is that there was something for everyone and we all rolled out fat and happy. My check says it was 5:31 when we paid and we left our wonderful server Michael a 20% tip. I'm sure tips are pooled here and there is a lot of work being done with characters and so on. Ordinarily, I don't tip more than 10% for a buffet.
Our out of pocket cost for this meal would have been $139.47 plus the $26.19 tip. We paid the tip by room charge and spent 3 adult and 2 child TS entitlements. Down to 18 and 12. Completely worth the cost, considering the character interaction. For just the meal, I would have felt that it was expensive, considering what Pirate Boy ate, but I am probably being pretty hard on the place -- he was happy! And I was really insistent that we would NOT be wasting valuable park time waiting on characters.
, aka DH, 45, lover of meat and vegetables, does not like seafood
, aka me, 43, lover of food of all kinds and experienced fine diner 
, 10, Disney dining adult, with a good deal of finickiness but definitely an adult sized appetite 
, 7, happiest girl on Earth, at WDW and everywhere. She ate well and never complained.
, 4, a very happy boy who did not eat all his food, but really, really, really enjoyed his itzakadoodles 
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lol. 
