Everything You Need to Know About The Crystal Palace Restaurant Character Meet at Walt Disney World
If you’ve been to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, you’ve seen the beautiful Victorian greenhouse on Main Street U.S.A. It’s actually a restaurant called The Crystal Palace, where guests can meet the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood and enjoy a delicious meal at the same time.
The light-filled space is truly beautiful, with tropical palms and topiaries throughout. The main draw of this restaurant is the opportunity to meet Winnie-The-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore, but anyone can appreciate the aesthetic of the restaurant.
When it comes to the characters, preschoolers and toddlers are absolutely delighted to meet this crew! Pooh and friends really engage with the kids, even hosting a “Pooh-rade” to celebrate “Friendship Day” (which is every day at The Crystal Palace) in the middle of the meal. It’s not only a great destination to meet these characters, but a rare opportunity to actually play with them! It’s no wonder this dining experience has become a beloved classic.
Everything You Need to Know About Dining at The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace only offers buffet-style meals. Breakfast is served from 8:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m.; lunch is from 11:30 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.; and dinner is from 3:15 p.m. until closing. Some say you’re paying for the experience and not the food when it comes to character meals at Disney, but I disagree. It’s true that Disney provides kid-friendly fare at these buffets, like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets, but they also provide some really fantastic culinary options you won’t get at a quick-service restaurant. For example, dinner consists of a wide variety of foods like roasted carved meats, peel-and-eat shrimp, Thai curry chicken, grilled vegetables with balsamic glaze, and even charbroiled octopus! The offerings change all the time, but fresh salads and delectable desserts are always available. (Breakfast is basically what you would expect: omelets, waffles, and pancakes with fresh fruit.)
I thought Pooh’s Corner Children’s Buffet, which is a small buffet unto itself, was an especially cute touch. It’s on the kids’ level, so they can serve their own food. And for adults, The Crystal Palace is one of the only places in the entire Magic Kingdom where you can buy alcohol!
If you go, plan to take your time during the meal. It’s a big restaurant, so it takes the characters a little while to get around to each table. Your server will make sure you get a chance to interact with them all, though.
And if you’re thinking this would be a great spot to catch the fireworks, thanks to all of those gorgeous windows, think again: people will be standing on the porch, completely blocking the view. My advice? Enjoy dinner and watch the fireworks outside afterward.
Reservations & Dining Plans
This is one spot you’ll want to get a reservation for, which you can do up to 180 days prior to your visit. You can do this by calling 407-WDW-DINE or by making it yourself in the My Disney Experience app. The cost is $35 to $59 per adult and $23 per child. (Prices do go up around the holidays.) The Disney Dining Plan and the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan are both accepted here, and a meal will cost you one table-service credit. If you have a dining plan, it makes sense to use your table-service credits for the most expensive meals of the day (which tend to be dinners instead of breakfasts).
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Have you dined at The Crystal Palace? What did you think of it?