Crystal Palace Character Buffet Dinner at Walt Disney World: A Review

Crystal Palace is a buffet style restaurant located in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. Crystal Palace has the added feature of being a character meal, meaning Disney characters roam around the restaurant as restaurant guests eat.

Crystal Palace is a beautiful sunny restaurant with lots of glass windows located right off of Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. The décor is beautiful with Winnie the Pooh topiaries greeting you as you enter the main lobby. The tables are spaced just right, giving guests plenty of room to move between tables and characters as they head to the buffet area.

People tend to think character buffets are intended for families with kids but as most Disney fanatics know, kids come in all ages and sizes. As an adult with no children, I can safely say character buffets can be enjoyed by every one of all ages. My dinner companion and I enjoyed a nice dinner in September. I choose this restaurant with the characters in mind because my friend is a fan of Winnie the Pooh. The characters at Crystal Palace are Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. The characters visited our table several times throughout dinner, stopping long enough for some photos and some good natured teasing of my friend.

Crystal Palace also has a pretty decent dinner buffet too. We enjoyed peel & eat shrimp, romaine salad, mashed potatoes, assorted vegetables, and my personal favorite prime rib. The buffet has a huge selection, enough to choose from for even the pickiest eaters. The dessert selection was pretty good too with key lime pie, brownies, cookies, tiramisu, ice cream, and fruit.

The price is a bit high for a buffet at $28.99 for an adult and $13.99 for a child. It seems the guests are paying more for the character experience then for food. We enjoyed plenty of food but I have heard the biggest complaint is that most kids eating barely anything because they are too excited with seeing the characters. Yeah, I like the characters too but I also like to eat so I did leave feeling stuffed.

Our waitress was very good. She kept our drinks filled and our table clean. My only complaint really is that the restaurant is really loud. I guess that is to be expected at a restaurant filled with children excited to meet Winnie the Pooh and friends.

The food was good, the characters were great, and the restaurant was beautiful. I give the restaurant 4 out of 5 stars. I know the restaurant really can't control the noise level but that is really the only thing that detracts from the dining experience.