The Crystal Palace restaurant in the Magic Kingdom is one of our favorite buffet restaurants at Walt Disney World. This Victorian inspired restaurant is themed to a Friendship Day Celebration with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore leading the festivities. These colorful topiaries greet you as you enter the restaurant!
We have been to Crystal Palace for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and enjoy all meals there, but lately breakfast has been the meal of our choice.
I’ll let you in on two little secrets as to why we prefer breakfast. First, if you are lucky enough to score an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) before 8:15 a.m. or so, you can enter the Magic Kingdom early to walk to the restaurant. That means (drum roll, please….) that you may have an awesome photo opportunity of an empty or nearly empty Main Street U.S.A.! If you’re a camera nut like I am at Walt Disney World, getting this shot is totally worth rolling out of bed early!
The second little secret is that if part of the family finishes eating early, then they can head out at about 8:45 to go to the attraction of their choice and be with the rope drop crowd (or slightly ahead of it!) without waiting in the crowd itself. That’s a true bonus if the weather is hot and humid or raining. What’s not to love for my teens with the promise of all-you-can-eat bacon and then getting to Space Mountain ahead of the pack?! Even they jump out of bed with gusto with the lure of a table at Crystal Palace waiting for us.
Crystal Palace offers food and fun with characters, but since we’re here primarily to eat let’s talk about the food first. The menus for Crystal Palace for all meals offers a good variety of foods. Our “selective eater” is happy here as well as those of us looking for some unique items!
For breakfast, I prefer to chow down on two items that are exclusive to Crystal Palace. One is breakfast lasagna, which is layers of pancakes, waffles, pound cake and fruit. The other item is Pooh’s Puffed French Toast. Both of these will give you a boost of sweetness to start your day! Another must have item for me is a Mickey Waffle. I forgo syrup and go for the strawberry sauce for the waffles and Pooh’s stuffed French Toast.
There is a nice variety of food offerings here with options that will appeal to everyone in your family.
Now let’s talk about the fun with characters. As you eat, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore make the rounds to the tables to pose for photos and sign autograph books. Your server will let you know the character rotation pattern of your seating area. When you see a character approach, you can be ready to greet him!
These characters are great for all ages. My kids liked them when they were young, and as teens they still get a kick out of saying “hi!” to the characters as they make their rounds! You are never too old to enjoy a hug from Pooh and friends. I do, and let’s just say that I’m older than the teen years.
For younger children, there is a Friendship Day Celebration Parade that circulates around the restaurant about one time every hour. This is a festive activity, and a memory to make that your little one will cherish.
Crystal Palace is one of our most repeated restaurants at Walt Disney World for the food and for the fun!
What are your thoughts on Crystal Palace? Do you enjoy dining here and what’s your tip for experiencing this fun character meal?
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