Two Changes to The Crystal Palace Character Meals

We stopped by The Crystal Palace for lunch last week and noticed a few changes to this character meal.

The Crystal Palace is located in the Magic Kingdom and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This buffet is the home of Winnie the Pooh and pals and is rated 91%, Above Average, by Touring Plans Subscribers. It ranks #31 out of 92 table service dining locations in Walt Disney World.

The buffet still works the same – you’ll be seated and wait for your server to come by for your drink orders before you get your first plate.

Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet go table to table greeting guests and posing for pictures. This process is exactly as it has been for the last few years. The big change is that Pooh no longer goes to individual tables.

Pooh is now stationed in the center of the restaurant in front of his topiary. Guests are welcome to line up to meet him at any point during or after their meal. The new process seemed to be orderly and we never saw a line longer than three groups waiting to meet Pooh during our very busy lunch visit.

The second change we observed is the Friendship Day parade no longer takes place. We acknowledge that the parade was adorable, it also caused a bit of a ruckus and made the already crowded location even more difficult to manage.

The food has improved a good bit in the last few years and we would definitely recommend a visit if you have Pooh fans in your group.

What do you think about these changes? Have you been to The Crystal Palace recently? We’d love to hear your thoughts.