which buffet? crystal palace or 1900 park fare

[undertheseaforme]

Which buffet do you prefer? Crystal palace or 1900 park fare for dinner on a MK park day? Thanks!

 

[NoMoneyThanks2Disney]

For location I'd pick Crystal Palace if you plan to be in MK after dinner, that way you don't lose any additional park time because of transportation. I really liked the food at 1900 though. Which characters are more important for you? Winnie the Pooh at CP or Cinderella, the Prince, Lady Tremaine, and the step sisters at 1900?

 

[mousefan73]

We found the Crystal Palace just one big mess of little, screaming kids, running about and making messes everywhere. Nothing against kids ( have 2 myself). but I think that by default this place draws families with smaller kids, so almost every table has very young kids, hot and tired by dinner time. . and when you get that many together it's a mess. reason being:
1. IN magic kingdom ( parents find it too exhausting to schlept strollers and kids outside of MK and then back in)
2. Winnie Poo and friends just draws little boy and girls..


This year we are including 1900 in a MK day, but will also do a 7 seas boat tour to other resorts and tie that in... I also checked the menue online and it sound more exciting than the standard blah at crystal palace.

 

[crabbygal902]

I've never been to 1900, but I'm not crazy about CP. our last experience was loud, crowded, and messy.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Which buffet do you prefer? Crystal palace or 1900 park fare for dinner on a MK park day? Thanks!

Here are my evaluations, if it helps:

OUR WDW CHARACTER MEAL & BUFFET RANKINGS (*rev: March 2016*):
Results are listed from best to worst
Best Food (quality first, then variety):
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, breakfast-Lunch (moved from #1 Spot due to menu changes)
. . . Garden Grove Swan-dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Cinderella Royal Table (since new menu)
. . . Chef Mickey's
Best Character Interaction (time with guest first, then friendliness):
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House, Dinner
. . . Ohana
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Chef Mickey's
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Crystal Palace (barely enough time for a photo)
Best Atmosphere (surroundings and ambiance):
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Garden Grove (Swan, dinner)
. . . Chef Mickey's
.
NOTE: Results are listed from best to worst. Overall, Tusker House wins due to best food and the length of time the characters stay at each table. A close second is 1900 Park Fare. By far, Chef Mickey's is the loser, due to mediocre character interaction and almost terrible food quality. The very distant second worst is Cinderella Royal Table, for brief time at tables by characters and the new menu. For non-character breakfast buffets, we prefer The Wave (CR) or Trail's End (FW).

 

[mkla2015]

For dinner we prefer 1900 PF. We've found the food choices to be better and the character interactions are great. The Tremaines are hilarious.

 

[chicagodisfan]

Okay, I will be the lone cheerleader for Crystal Palace! We have gone there on 6 different trips for dinner and always have a wonderful time! I think the food there is great. They had two types of grilled fish on our last trip along with a carving station and wonderfully creative cold salads that I really enjoy. The restaurant is gorgeous and is light and airy. And the character interaction is excellent! We love the characters and we always get the best pictures there because everyone (them and us) is so happy! And the friendship parade that they do around the restaurant is adorable. Now that being said, my kids (ages 9 (turned 10 on our trip), 6, and 2) love Pooh and friends. Even the 10 year old loves it. There are a lot of kids but I think that is just part of being a character meal. We did a bunch of character meals on our trip and didn't find it be nearly as crazy as Minnie's Dine at Hollywood and Vine and even Tusker House (we love Tusker House too).

We haven't had dinner at 1900 Park Fare but we had breakfast and loved that too, so I'm sure you'd be fine either way. But if the Pooh characters are appealing, I would definately give Crystal Palace a try.

 

[Disneylover99]

I love CP, but did not care for Park Fare.
We found the food, service and character interaction much better at CP.

 

[jkstewart1800]

I've been to both. 1900 IMHO is BY FAR superior in terms of food quality and choices than CP.

 

[Thing 1]

We like both but they are quite different. 1900 food is much better. We find it less crowded and quieter. The character interaction here is much more "adult" or older kid focused. The step sisters fight and the step mother is in full character. We love it. CP is fun, loud and full of happy excited children. The characters are good and interaction is good though much shorter than at 1900. Food is fine. It is easier and takes less time if you are in the MK BUT sometimes we like to escape to a monorail restaurant and it really is easy to get to the GF. We have done all three meals at CP, several time and 1900 only a couple times but things seem pretty consistent.