Crystal Palace Breakfast Review
Crystal Palace is a character buffet in the Magic Kingdom featuring Pooh & Friends and serving breakfast and dinner. It’s a one credit restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan. This review features food photos, tips for getting into Magic Kingdom before it opens by booking breakfast, and our thoughts on the meal.
Get into Magic Kingdom before it opens, you say? Sarah and I often try to blunt the disappointment of leaving Walt Disney World on our last day by having pre-opening breakfast at Crystal Palace (a more cost-effective alternative is doing breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant, even if the food is not as good, it’s a good option!).
Reservations for these Magic Kingdom restaurants can be booked starting at 8:05 am on days when the park opens at 9 am. That 8:05 am slot can be difficult to book, but it’s well worth it as it offers you a chance to see and photograph the park while empty, and also gives you a jumpstart on the crowds at park opening. We are always really excited about this, as the prospect of getting some empty park shots during the daylight hours is great, as is doing Seven Dwarfs Mine Train after our meal with minimal wait…
Invariably, though, we get to the park about 5 minutes after our ADR time, and never have any time to take photos. This is in part because we don’t plan enough time, and in part because we’ve relied on the Disney transportation system (and it is operational prior to park opening, so it can get you there. For us, though, an Uber/Lyft is going to be the way to go to get to Magic Kingdom early in the future.
By the time we get there, we’re typically able to only stop for a couple of quick pictures on Main Street, before heading to the Crystal Palace. One tip here is to make sure to take your photos before checking in at the Crystal Palace; once you check-in, you won’t be able to leave the vicinity of the Crystal Palace.
Aside from empty park photos, is Crystal Palace worth booking for breakfast? Let’s take a look…
Once inside the restaurant you’re hit by the Victorian charm of the location that dates back to the park’s opening. The atrium includes colorful Pooh character topiaries and other greenery, as well as a large glass dome ceiling.
Behind the greenery, you will see the wonderful buffet that will certainly start your day off right!
It’s worth noting that the Crystal Palace is character dining, although you certainly don’t have to interact with the characters if that’s not your cup of tea.
Sarah and I like to embrace our “inner six-year old” and have fun with the characters. It gives us a chance to interact with them in the air-conditioning while eating–what’s not to love?!
Piglet, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger are the characters featured here. If you’ll be meeting these characters at some point on your trip, an early morning ADR can definitely save you time and frustration.
This way, you don’t have to deal with lines by doing a character meal. The characters typically make their rounds fairly quickly here, so you can usually meet all of the characters within 45 minutes.
The food at Crystal Palace is delicious. I’m not sure what’s different from Cape May Café, but for some reason, Crystal Palace seems a bit better.
I also think it’s better than Chef Mickey’s (even though we hate dinner at Chef Mickey’s, breakfast is pretty solid there), which is probably the second or third-most difficult ADR to secure. Do keep in mind that they are buffets, though, so “delicious” is somewhat relative.
In any case, they’re all delicious for breakfast. We probably are biased towards Crystal Palace a bit because of its location in Magic Kingdom and the added “perk” of being able to get into the park before it opens.
When you consider the characters at each of the three restaurants, I think both Cape May Cafe and Chef Mickey’s are better because the characters at those locations are superior…no offense, Pooh.
My biggest complaint is that Crystal Palace doesn’t offer any real ‘signature’ item on the buffet or anything really ambitious to set it apart from the other breakfast buffets.
For what you’re paying to dine here, some differentiation or little touches would be nice. Even something like breakfast sandwiches would be really welcome here, but maybe that’s an unrealistic expectation given the complexity of a breakfast sandwich? It also might be a good thing: I’m a sucker for breakfast sandwiches, so I’d probably never leave if Crystal Palace had them.
As noted, Crystal Palace is not cheap. For better or worse, no character dining experience at Walt Disney World is inexpensive or offers objectively good value when taking into account just the food.
You’re definitely paying a premium for meeting the Winnie the Pooh characters in an air-conditioned environment with no wait.
Whether that character surcharge is worth it to you is a personal question, but given how popular of an ADR Crystal Palace is (along with virtually every other character meal), most Walt Disney World guests seem to think that the value proposition here makes sense. For us, it’s a ‘once in a while’ type of thing. I’d hazard a guess that if we had kids, Crystal Palace would be a must-do each trip.
Overall, Crystal Palace is a great dining “experience.” While the food is very good for a breakfast buffet (and is probably the best breakfast in all of the Magic Kingdom, although that isn’t saying a whole lot), it’s not worth the exorbitant prices, on its own. However, when you add in the fact that a pre-opening ADR at Crystal Palace enables you to capture some rare “empty-Main Street” photos of your family, the wonderful ambiance of the Crystal Palace, and the Pooh and friends meet & greet, the cost is more than justified. I’m not sure I would say the same for a 10 am reservation when the restaurant is more likely to be packed to the gills and you don’t have the benefit of enjoying an empty Main Street, but if you plan correctly, Crystal Palace can be one of your best dining experiences in all of Walt Disney World!
Want more dining tips? Check out our 101 Delicious Walt Disney World Dining Tips. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. Planning other aspects of a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts…
Are you a fan of Crystal Palace? If so, which is your favorite meal here? Do you eat here primarily for the food, or for the ambiance (or ability to get into the park early)? Any questions we can help you answer about Crystal Palace or other breakfast options at Magic Kingdom? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
This blog post is the reason why I made the very early reservation at the Christal Palace at 7:00 (it was available, but I didn’t know it could be done that early) on 12/27. I also have another reservation at 9:50 just in case. However, from other WDW info web sites, I learned WDW will not be doing Extra Magic Hour at MK everyday during the busy holidays this year. So, right now I only see the park opening at 9:00 on that day and MK doesn’t have extra magic hour. Will we still be able to get into the park as the reservation? Or will we know if they cancel? Will they at least tell us if they cancel our reservation?
We’re visiting Disney for the first time in late Sept. We booked kind of late as I didn’t know about all the planning that goes into this. Anyway, I have two reservations and I don’t know which to keep. Can you help!?!?? I have CP at 8:35 and I have Be Our Guest at 8:50 (the app let me book 2 for the same period 🙂 ) This will be Sept 23 and we’re on the dining plan (1 cs, and 1 ts). We have 2 kids ages 9 & 6. We’re not super pooh fans but the 6 year old (girl) and I will enjoy it. The boys, well, they just want tasty food. Which would be the better choice. The later one–Be Our Guest–will certainly mess up the touring plan I worked very hard to create. But it is our 2nd and lighter day. We were going to head over to Splash Mtn and Big Thunder RR right away. Anyway, thoughts??? Thanks for any help. I’ve really been enjoying your blog!
Awesome review! I had no idea you could go to early! Hopefull my new little family and I will be able to take advantage of that sometime soon! Btw, would you Disney experts happen to know of Disney sells the genuine mickey shapes Belgian Waffle Makers? I’ve looked online and have only found a tiny version of a “waffle maker” but nothing like what they have in Disney. Having the real thing would definitely be a dream come true!
Like every other table service at Disney, this was excellent. Service was above and beyond especially in re: to one of our son’s peanut allergy. The food was phenomenal as well!
Looking forward to this place for Breakfast. Not really for the characters, but for the perk of being in Magic Kingdom before it opens, and for getting the most value out of our Dining Plan. Does anyone suggest other resort or park buffets? Looking for some dinner options.
Best place for breakfast. Favorite thing I had last time was the breakfast pizza.
I was able to snag a 9:35 Bfast in Dec. First time going and I cannot wait to go.
I loved this review and inspired me to make a reservation! Though I am going during Christmas time, it was almost impossible to find an empty slot on a morning during this time. I wonder if the 8:30 slot is good enough? Should I give it a try or is it not worth it anymore? The Park opens at 9 too. But, as I said I am not sure if we are going to be able to get into the park at 8 as if we had that 8:05 slot. Could you please help me? 🙂
Thanks!
We’re taking our 7 year old son in January ’15. This will be the first time for me and my son and husband hasn’t been since he was 6. I’m a huge Disney fan!!! I’ve scheduled an 8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace our first day and an 8:00 breakfast at Ohana our second day since my son is a huge Stitch fan. I was wondering how it works once you finish breakfast at Crystal Palace. Our first two days are planned for MK and I don’t want to miss the rope drop festivities. Do we have to exit the park? Or if we finish up a little before 9 can we hang out near the gate on the inside?? Thanks so much!
Yes, I am wondering the same thing! The opening is not to be missed. Saw it for the first time in Sept 2014 with my mother & oldest daughter. My 60+ yr old mother was amazed at the opening & at the kiss goodnight, she never even knew they exhisted. Planning to go again now…. And we will definately be vising the Crystal Palace.
Thank you for this review! We are taking our first trip this October and are doing exactly what you suggested–scored an 8:05am ADR for our last morning in the parks! We are staying at BLT so we’ll be able to walk over…glad we don’t have to stress about the transportation. Thank you again for sharing the idea for what I’m sure will be a great experience 🙂
We are not staying on Disney property but have an 8:20 am reservation. I know there was more to it than just walking into the park from our last trip. I assume the ferry and monorail that take you from the lot to the park are up and running for the early birds? And what is in the breakfast lasagna? It sounds like something I will fall in love with.
We’re going to WDW the last week of January 2015 and getting an 8:00 – 9:00 timeslot for CP is on my must do list. We’re staying at BLT so we can just walk on over and don’t need to worry about the transportation problem. Can’t wait.
I ate here for the first time in February. I can’t believe nobody has mentioned the breakfast lasagna. I could have just sat there and ate that all day! I am tempted to go back in September, but we were actually able to get reservations for breakfast in the castle and we’ve never eaten there before. So, I’ll stick with the castle, but I bet I’ll wish I had gone to CP instead.
Also, Thx for all you do. This will be my family’s 4th trip in the last 5 yrs. Your pics/reviews/blogs have helped me plan and enjoy our trips immensely. You, Pete Werner, Steve Tikiman, and all the people at Unofficial Guide, are a Godsend. Truly amazing! (not meant to be kissing butt here, just a shout out)
Thanks for the kind words! 🙂
Was able to snag 8:00 am ADR for Sept 3rd. Staying at Yacht Club. Do the buses run that early, or should I just get a cab? Also, what do I need to do to enter park before opening? Do I have to show anything?
Your name will be on the reservation list at the turnstile. Buses will be running–make sure to allow about an hour for transportation. Have fun!
Hello there!
Do I need to print out my reservation details? How do they check for date/time of your reservation at the gate before rope drop? Or do you just tell them (honesty system)? My reservation is 9:15 AM but I’m hoping to come in around 8:30 AM. You think it’s possible?
They have a print out of reservations at the front gate. You’ll tell them your name, and they let you in if you’re on the list. 8:30 am should not be a problem for a 9:15 am ADR, but I’m not entirely sure of that. I would try it. Have fun!
On our first trip to Disney many years ago, my husband was convinced that our 21/2 and 1 year olds would love to have brunch with Pooh and friends. My daughter completely freaked out as the enormous characters appeared. My son, who was 1, had his back to them as they entered, and as they came around the corner and he caught sight of them, he COMPLETELY lost it. He looked like he was having a seizure. Good parents that we are we caught it all on tape. Beware:these characters are BIG!!
Love your blog! I have one other tip for Crystal Palace Breakfast. If booking the 8:05 ADR to get empty Main Street photos, be sure there are not morning EMHs that day. Oops. So much for photos with no one else in them! Hope my scheduling fail prevents one for you!
Hi, Firstly I love your blog; it is proving to be amazingly helpful for planning our upcoming honeymoon in November. I love the pictures of you with the castle background without the crowds and would love to be able to emulate this but there are only two of us going on our trip (my husband and myself). Will I have to rely on there being a passer by to take the photo or are Photopass photographers around before the park opens? Thanks, Mrs George
Great review!!!! We were just there last month and had an 8:30 am ADR. We loved it and will definitely be going back the next time we are at Disney. We especially loved the breakfast lasagna!