1900 Park Fare or Crystal Palace?

[melmel89]

I'm just toying with ideas for our next visit, I wanted a buffet that was close to (or in) MK its between 1900 and CP for me at the moment. I was just wondering which one everyone prefers and why? TIA

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

1900 Park Fare - We like the food better and that's our character preference too.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

CP (but only just).

We have visited both and have enjoyed both. If it was one or the other on one of our trips then I'd choose CP.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

What meal are you planning? That would change my answer.

If it was breakfast, 1900. The food is a bit more unique and tasty and the characters are fairly unique. It's also quite relaxed and beautiful. (The only thing giving CP an edge in my opinion is that it is right there in the park and you can therefore enter MK early.)

It it is dinner, I would do CP.

 

[melmel89]

What meal are you planning? That would change my answer.

If it was breakfast, 1900. The food is a bit more unique and tasty and the characters are fairly unique. It's also quite relaxed and beautiful. (The only thing giving CP an edge in my opinion is that it is right there in the park and you can therefore enter MK early.)

It it is dinner, I would do CP.

I'm not sure I'm having a bit of a dilemma with which meal to go for! I like the idea of breakfast at MK so I get the early entry, but I already have quite a few places I want to do for breakfasts. decisions decisions!

 

[LAKid53]

Done both and prefer the food at Park Fare - the strawberry soup is delicious. Wasn't impressed with the dinner buffet at CP - standard Disney dinner buffet. Pooh and Tigger, along with Mad Hatter, Alice and Mary Poppins are the characters for breakfast at Park Fare. Dinner is Stepmother and Stepsisters and I understand they put on quite a show.

 

[MissingDisney]

CP breakfast-Pooh's stuffed french toast is wonderful, even if it is on the kids buffet! Having Main Street to yourself before park opening is simply magical and makes for great photos. You can have a great meal and not lose much park time, if that's important to you.

1900 PF for dinner. The step mother and snarling step sisters are our absolute favorite character interactions. They are hilarious. And the food is quite good as well! It's nice to slow down for a bit, relax and enjoy the ambience of GF.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

Yes...these people make a good point.

I change my vote to 1900 for both breakfast and dinner.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

1900 park fare!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Breakfast...Crystal Palace. While 1900 PF is good- very good, the food at CP is still better and the service at CP is consistently excellent. Plus, with an 8:05a at CP, you can be in MK and ready to take on the park just as the park is opening. The earliest seating at 1900 PF is 8am and they always seem to run late...i.e. you'll be getting a later start in MK.

Dinner...1900 PF. While none of the dinner buffets are really great food wise, from our experience 1900s dinner food is noticeably better than CPs dinner.

 

[LAKid53]

Breakfast...Crystal Palace. While 1900 PF is good- very good, the food at CP is still better and the service at CP is consistently excellent. Plus, with an 8:05a at CP, you can be in MK and ready to take on the park just as the park is opening. The earliest seating at 1900 PF is 8am and they always seem to run late...i.e. you'll be getting a later start in MK.

Dinner...1900 PF. While none of the dinner buffets are really great food wise, from our experience 1900s dinner food is noticeably better than CPs dinner.

Will agree with the long wait for Park Fare. Our wait was nearly 40 minutes - past our ADR time. I had time to run back to my room to grab the autograph book I forgot (we were staying at GF), which I remembered about 10 minutes after we checked in and had our picture taken. Thanks to the wait for our table, we didn't get to meet Mary Poppins since we, once seated, had already waited 1 hour and were going to miss our FP window for a very in demand ride at MK. As it was, we got to the ride about 8 minutes after our window ended, but were still able to ride. And yes, I had allotted plenty of time between the end of breakfast and our first fast pass.

Never ate breakfast at CP. Didn't enjoy the dinner buffet, so wasn't interested in trying breakfast. But loved meeting the characters.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Will agree with the long wait for Park Fare. Our wait was nearly 40 minutes - past our ADR time. I had time to run back to my room to grab the autograph book I forgot (we were staying at GF), which I remembered about 10 minutes after we checked in and had our picture taken. Thanks to the wait for our table, we didn't get to meet Mary Poppins since we, once seated, had already waited 1 hour and were going to miss our FP window for a very in demand ride at MK. As it was, we got to the ride about 8 minutes after our window ended, but were still able to ride. And yes, I had allotted plenty of time between the end of breakfast and our first fast pass.

Never ate breakfast at CP. Didn't enjoy the dinner buffet, so wasn't interested in trying breakfast. But loved meeting the characters.

Yeah...CP dinner just wasn't very good to me. Now, it was better than Chef Mickey's dinner...but it doesn't take much to top that I would recommend trying CP breakfast at some point. Food-wise, it's night and day from dinner and lunch.

I'm not sure why 1900 PF is so slow. We had the 8am one time and it was still around 9:30 when we got out of there. We skipped Mary Poppins this last visit because it was taking forever. Dinner there was pretty slow as well, and we were in the first seating! Oh well.

 

[LAKid53]

Yeah...CP dinner just wasn't very good to me. Now, it was better than Chef Mickey's dinner...but it doesn't take much to top that I would recommend trying CP breakfast at some point. Food-wise, it's night and day from dinner and lunch.

I'm not sure why 1900 PF is so slow. We had the 8am one time and it was still around 9:30 when we got out of there. We skipped Mary Poppins this last visit because it was taking forever. Dinner there was pretty slow as well, and we were in the first seating! Oh well.

We ate dinner at Chef Mickey's this past trip. Glad we finally did it, but wouldn't do it again. The buffet was little better than CP, restaurant was a madhouse and for what you received, it was overpriced. However, given the crowd, I was surprised we only waited about 10 minutes to be seated. I just don't understand the attraction. The restaurant physically isn't that special, compared to CP or Park Fare, and the monorail running through where I was eating just didn't impress me.

 

[Matt_Black]

1900. It's just a lovely, wonderful spot with good food and amusing characters.

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

We ate dinner at Chef Mickey's this past trip. Glad we finally did it, but wouldn't do it again. The buffet was little better than CP, restaurant was a madhouse and for what you received, it was overpriced. However, given the crowd, I was surprised we only waited about 10 minutes to be seated. I just don't understand the attraction. The restaurant physically isn't that special, compared to CP or Park Fare, and the monorail running through where I was eating just didn't impress me.

I have to say that I actually like the space of Chef Mickey's very much. I think it fits in very well with the Contemporary feel. I like it for a character meal because you can see what's happening the whole time. You know exactly when the characters are coming to you and that makes it more relaxing for me. It somehow feels celebratory and intimate to me. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense since it's not overly themed, you are right.

The food is pretty average. I like other character meals better. And I consider Chef Mickey's to be a breakfast place so I can't speak much about dinner.

 

[melmel89]

thanks for all the advice everyone I think i'm edging towards breakfast at CP at the moment, but I know ill change my mind a couple of times at least! the only thing that is making me think about 1900 right now is that they have the better characters.