Is the Magic Kingdom's Crystal Palace Breakfast Worth it?

While it’s probably not fine dining, a Crystal Palace breakfast still has lots going for it. But is it the right Disney dining choice for your family?

Introduction

The Crystal Palace restaurant is a buffet and character dining experience at Magic Kingdom. They are open for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The buffet is $48 per adult and $30 for each child between the ages of 3 and 9. Kids under the age of 3 eat free! Some families see this restaurant as a nostalgic staple and make reservations for every Disney trip they take. Others have tried it once and have never gone back. We will cover the menu, theming, food quality, service, and pros and cons of dining at this Disney establishment so that you can decide if the price is worth the experience for your family.

Theme & Location

The theming for the Crystal Palace is simply beautiful. Its decor is timeless (it’s always been there) and trendy (it’s back in style! Did it ever go out of style?). It’s a staple in Magic Kingdom and is full of opportunities for your family to make new memories. If you visit Disney World often, you’ve probably walked by this restaurant countless times. It is a white and glass building with striped green awning. The restaurant looks beautiful when all lit up at night! You’ll find it at the tail end of Main Street. The Crystal Palace is right next door to the First Aid and Baby Care Center. The restaurant’s porch has distant views of Cinderella’s castle and it’s a great place to observe all the happenings while waiting for your table.

Crystal Palace restaurant and nearby bridge

The Crystal Palace emulates a Victorian greenhouse with flowers, greenery, and glass windows. The theme’s color seen throughout is the prettiest shade of light green. The restaurant is inspired by Prince Albert’s Crystal Palace which was built in London in 1851. The real deal was a large glass building to house the 1851 Great Exhibition. With all the sparkling glass, it gave the illusion of a palace. While you can’t visit the original building in London since it did not survive, Winnie the Pooh is waiting for you at the Magic Kingdom restaurant! And what better way to spend your morning than brunching with your favorite people and Winnie the Pooh? But still, is it worth the high cost? Let’s see!

Winnie the Pooh at the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet

Is the food good? Crystal Palace Breakfast Menu

The quality of food might be your ultimate deciding factor on whether or not your family thinks it is worth it to dine at the Crystal Palace. Everyone’s taste is different, but I will simply write about my personal experience. Disney does update their menus every once in a while, and the food has gotten better at the parks in the last 5-10 years.

Other Options if Excellent Food is Your Top Priority

Most people don’t dine at the Crystal Palace because of the outstanding food, but there are other promising reasons to visit. Disney has other restaurant options if high-quality food is your end goal. Tiffins in Animal Kingdom is an absolute favorite. If you feel like a cheaper and less formal option, we also love The Polite Pig at Disney Springs. We even had incredible food at Tony’s Town Square restaurant at Magic Kingdom (we couldn’t believe how delicious and filling the Italian food was for the price inside the parks!). If you’d like character dining, The Garden Grill at EPCOT is family-style and known for higher-quality tasting food. Tusker House at Animal Kingdom is another good choice. Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is a good buffet for foodies looking to find more than just a traditional American-style breakfast.

Piglet at the the Crystal Palace breakfast

Awesome Options for Kids

If I wanted to criticize, I might say the Crystal Palace breakfast was really like overpriced cafeteria food, but Disney did succeed in certain areas. Their main clientele is young kids and families with young kids, and I believe they succeed here. But this is not the best food in the parks and many quick service options even surpass it. Yet a breakfast meal at the Crystal Palace still makes many guests happy and satisfied every day.

I appreciated the wide assortment of kid-friendly food options at the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet. Both boys were able to get their bellies full, which sometimes does not happen for us at restaurants. My toddler and preschooler loved the bacon, regular Mickey waffles, and churro Mickey waffles. They devoured fresh strawberries, and my youngest even liked the chocolate chip French toast. My son tried Fruit Loops for the first time; he was so happy and excited about them. There was also soft-serve vanilla and chocolate ice cream. So as far as food for kids goes, the Crystal Palace breakfast menu definitely succeeded in my book. My kids were happy and well-fed by the time we left, and our youngest even ate for free since he was just 2 years old.

An unlimited non-alcoholic drink of your choice is included in the price of the buffet. Some options include orange juice, chocolate milk, or coffee. I tried them all, and they were all delicious.

The Buffet Staff & Food for Adults

Attentive cast members constantly looked after the food and immediately restocked anything that ran out. I tried an egg souffle type of food. The Denver included ham, cheese, and bell pepper, while the Mediterranean included spinach and feta cheese. I thought the Denver egg tasted okay but I wouldn’t get it again. There were quite a lot of options but it sort of reminded me of MCL cafeteria food. Other choices included scrambled eggs, pancakes, chocolate chip French Toast, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, and other traditional breakfast food. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I was hoping for better quality food for the price we were paying–especially because I know Disney provides better food at so many other restaurants.

The desserts were great at the breakfast buffet. There were even a few Winnie the Pooh-themed choices. The honey flan is a must-try. It’s in the shape of a square with honey in the middle and a cute honeybee candy on it. There were cupcakes, cookies, carrot cake, and bread pudding. It was nice that there were so many options to choose from for dessert, and each dessert that we tried was excellent.

The Crystal Palace breakfast buffet can also accommodate allergies. Speak to a cast member at the restaurant for more details.

Menu Conclusion

In my opinion, the Crystal Palace breakfast is not a good value when solely looking at the quality and taste of food. Disney has way better options both in this price range and at lower price ranges. The real reason for visiting this restaurant is to meet the characters and the food is almost an afterthought. It doesn’t have to be this way, and I would love for Disney to provide both outstanding quality food and an incredible character experience–without raising the price.

Hospitality & Service

Disney World is known for having some of the best customer service in the world. Their excellent customer service is one of the many reasons why people like me become loyal fans who return again and again. However, my experience at the Crystal Palace wasn’t perfect.

Our Wait Time & Server Experience

We checked in at the front desk instead of the app. This caused quite the confusion and delay. If you can, check in through your phone to make things easier. We ended up waiting a considerable amount of time (40+ minutes). We were told the wait time should be just 15 minutes for a table with an existing reservation. Yet others online complain of long wait times due to the character meet and greet getting backed up.

In addition, we were going to be charged as four adults instead of two adults, one child, and one free child which was how I made the reservation online. Our server was not very attentive and did not clear our plates away for a while (we had multiple plates sitting at our table for quite some time). He also did not seem too concerned to hear about our extended wait time, which makes me wonder if it is a regular thing for the Crystal Palace. If you’d like to ensure your wait time isn’t too long, I’d suggest booking first thing in the morning when they just open. We had a 9:35 reservation time.

However, our kids’ experience with the characters made the breakfast lovely for us and saved the day. Our children were super happy with the food and did not notice the negatives the adults observed. I did have high expectations for this experience since it’s Disney and the price of the buffet is so high.

That said, the other servers attending to the tables near us were outstanding, and I secretly wished we had them. Our experience and our hangry moods improved as soon as we were able to eat, and we were so happy and thankful for the priceless memories and pictures of our kids with the Pooh characters.

A card with the characters' signatures at the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet

Tips, Tricks, & Ideas

Can’t decide between breakfast or lunch at the Crystal Palace? Try booking a reservation for 10:15-10:30. That way you’ll be there when they transition from breakfast to lunch and can hopefully get a bit of both offerings. I believe they usually change the food from breakfast to lunch around 10:45 or 11. Please note this should work most of the time, but sometimes the Crystal Palace gets delayed due to the character meet and greet part of the experience. So you might miss out on breakfast if it’s busy and have to wait a while for your table. This is probably more likely to happen on a busy day, holiday, or weekend.
You can enter Magic Kingdom before everyone else by booking the earliest reservation time before the park opens to regular guests. For example, book the Crystal Palace for 8 AM on a day the Magic Kingdom park will open at 9, and you can get in a whole hour before everyone else. You might even be able to take a picture in front of the castle without anyone in the background, although not guaranteed. If it is an early theme park entry day for Disney resort guests, it might be full of others although still not as crowded as it will be once the park opens to everyone. You can check the schedule on Disney’s park hours calendar.
If you’re going to dine with kids, be sure to take them on the Winnie the Pooh ride after your meal to make it even more magical! In addition, you can purchase a Winnie the Pooh character plushie at the ride’s gift shop. This will seal in the magic and create a lasting memory for the children in your party.

FAQ

Yes! In the summer of 2024, the Crystal Palace has been open for breakfast from 8 AM until 10:45 AM. Times may change based on holidays or time of year. You can check a specific date’s breakfast window and even check availability for a reservation on Disney’s Crystal Palace website.

Yes! You can meet Winnie the Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace. Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore can’t wait to greet you!

The buffet is $48 per adult and $30 for each child between the ages of 3 and 9. Kids under the age of 3 eat free! This price does not include alcoholic beverages. It does not include tax or server tip (for anyone international, it’s customary to tip 20% for excellent service).

Yes, Annual Passholders usually receive 10% off at the Crystal Palace. Disney sometimes runs extra promotions. For example, Annual Passholders receive 20% off at the Crystal Palace from May 28th through June 26th, 2024. This promotion usually happens annually, so I anticipate Disney doing a similar promotion in the summer of 2025. However, nothing is official for 2025 yet.

Yes, DVC members receive a 10% discount at the Crystal Palace.

Yes! The buffet is back after a temporary pause during COVID.

You can make reservations through the My Disney Experience App or on the Crystal Palace website (click on the blue button that says Check Available Days).

It took our family about 45 minutes to 1 hour to see all the characters. Plus expect about a 15-minute wait with a reservation. Please note wait times for a table sometimes get longer when the character meet and greet gets a little delayed. We waited about 40 minutes for a table. When we were done with our meal we were able to wait for all of the characters to visit our table before leaving. Disney says you should plan to budget 90 minutes for the entire experience.

You’ll find an assortment of traditional breakfast items such as bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, regular Mickey waffles, egg souffle, and the famous churro Mickey waffles. There is also fresh fruit, biscuits and gravy, yogurt, scrambled eggs, cereal, pastries, and an assortment of unique Disney desserts. Be sure to try the churro Mickey waffles. The Crystal Palace breakfast buffet is the only location that serves them, and they’re a well-known favorite. Drinks included in the price are white and chocolate milk, orange juice, coffee, hot or iced tea, apple juice, lemonade, and Coke products. Check Disney’s Crystal Palace breakfast menu for the latest options. Please note that the menu does not list everything you’ll find at the buffet but is a generalized summary.

Not only do they have regular Mickey waffles, but they are currently the only location to serve churro Mickey waffles! These are delicious and a must-try while dining at the restaurant.

Beer, wine, and specialty cocktails are available at the Crystal Palace. A list of alcoholic drinks is included on the Crystal Palace menu. You can only find alcohol at sit-down restaurants in the Magic Kingdom, unlike EPCOT.

Your server’s tip is not included in the cost of the buffet. It is customary to tip 20% of the pre-tax total of the bill if you’ve received excellent service.

You can purchase the same mix Disney uses in the parks to make the waffles at home! Disney uses Carbon’s Golden Malted Pancake & Waffle Flour Mix.

Yes, there are many places you can meet him! Winnie the Pooh is sometimes found near the Winnie the Pooh ride at Magic Kingdom. He is sometimes found at EPCOT near the Living with the Land and Figment ride area. He is also found tucked away in the UK Pavilion. However, a Crystal Palace reservation guarantees that your party will meet the bear.

Even though the breakfast buffet is cheaper than the lunch/dinner price, it is missing the high-priced items you’d find at a lunch or dinner buffet, like prime rib or shrimp. And if this is your only day at Disney for the next 5 or 10 years, you might not want to be stuffed first thing in the morning before a Space Mountain or Tron ride. It all depends on your preference in regards to food, pricing, how often you visit the parks, and what you like to do at the parks. At the end of the day, the choice is yours!

Yes, you must purchase a valid theme park admission. If you are an Annual Passholder, you still need to make a reservation for park admission.

Conclusion

While the food isn’t bad, it isn’t that great either, but it is very kid-friendly. Most people book the Crystal Palace for the nostalgia, the comfort food, the location in Magic Kingdom, and the views of the castle (if you’re seated in the right spot, of course). You might have to wait a bit for your table, or you can book the first available time before the park opens. For most people, it seems the main reason to book the Crystal Palace is to meet Winnie the Pooh and friends, enjoy AC in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, relax, and eat as much comfort food as you’d like. You’re not paying for quality food but rather to meet Tigger and dine in a prime location at Disney World.

I love that we made memories with my kids and the characters, and I can’t wait to return! If you would like to take your family to the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet, find available bookings on Disney’s website.

“‘Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.'” -A.A. Milne

Have you decided if your family will eat at the Crystal Palace breakfast? If you’ve eaten here before, what do you think? If it’s a favorite for your family, what keeps you coming back? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Is the Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace Breakfast Worth it?

Introduction

Theme & Location

Is the food good? Crystal Palace Breakfast Menu