Review: Crystal Palace Breakfast Hits the Spot

If you’d like a sit-down breakfast in the Magic Kingdom, Crystal Palace is your only option. But on our last few visits the food was less than impressive. It’s been a bit more than a year, so our parks team dropped in to see if things had improved. Spoiler alert, the answer is yes!

You’ll find the Crystal Palace at the end of Main Street, just at the hub. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are on offer; your meal will feature Pooh & Friends characters. Not familiar with the character meal? See All About Character Dining at Walt Disney World. All meals are buffet service; lunch and dinner have the same food, but breakfast is a separate menu.

Breakfast is currently priced at $48 per adult and $30 per child. Should you be using the Disney Dining Plan, the meal requires 1 Table Service Credit. And discounts may be available if you are an Annual Passholder or Disney Vacation Club Member. If using the Dining Plan, tip is not included. Reservations for breakfast are more difficult than lunch or dinner.

The Experience

Expect to spend 60 to 90 minutes for Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger to make their way around to you. Don’t worry about missing anyone as you get food; our experience is that the CMs navigating the characters were excellent at what they do. You won’t leave without hugs from the Fab Hundred Acre Wood Four.

The greenhouse is loud! We don’t routinely eat in greenhouses so maybe this is only to be expected, but it’s definitely noticeable. The good news is that if your kids haven’t mastered the inside voice yet, you won’t catch a single side eye. This is a fun, fluffy party and now the buffet is bountiful enough to have something for everyone. Even those who are “dinner for breakfast” diehards.

The Food

There are two identical sides to the buffet. On each side you’ll find …

Pastries

So much lamination! Sticky Pecan Rolls, Butter Croissants, Chocolate Croissants, Blueberry Muffins, Fruit and Cheese Danish, Coffee Cake. You can also help yourself to plain bagels and bread – there is even a toaster in the center island for your use.

Kids’ Buffet

This just means you’ll hunker over a little more than usual to reach the Chocolate Chip French Toast. All are welcome. You’ll also find plain Mickey-shaped Waffles, Pancakes, and Scrambled Eggs.

Cold Bar

You’ll find cold condiments here – like ketchup and salsa – but you’ll also be able to try the Autumn Harvest Grain Salad with Apple Vinaigrette that we loved! It’s the start of strawberry season here in Florida and there was a giant platter of perfect berries that was a delicious flex. Of course, you could also grab the usual melon/grape combo. A variety of yogurt and granola are propped up around the fruit displays. The end of the cold section has smoked salmon and all the fixings including a huge pile of capers.

Classic Hot Breakfast Favorites & Savory Items

The Roast Beef Hash was our team’s favorite hot item. It was tender and not as salty as the term “hash” probably conjures, and they had a few servings just to be sure. Other basics included the largest pile of bacon, two kinds of frittata, scrambled eggs, cheesy hashbrowns, biscuits, sausage gravy, oatmeal with all of the usual toppings, and sausage links.

The Keralan Tofu Curry had a nice coconut sauce and was a good bite for the folks in our party who don’t favor traditional breakfast fare. The fried chicken tenders were delightful – a special treat since the last time we tried fried chicken here was not a great experience.

The Wrap Up

The Mickey churro waffle is almost worth the trip alone. Just amazing. Did we say worth the trip? You will be making multiple trips back to the buffet line to partake of this marvel.

We’re delighted to see this spot improve their food – both in quantity of menu items and quality. We’ll head back for lunch or dinner soon in hopes that we see good changes there. too!

Have you eaten at the Crystal Palace lately? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!