Crystal Palace Disappointment!

[Lottie Carey]

I visited the Crystal Palace on 06/19/2012 my server was very nice but I have allergies and it took the chef right at 30 minutes to come to the table, I was very hungry and had to wait. I found out they are seasoning the shrimp boil different from when I was there last a few years back, that was one of the main things I came for and couldn't eat because I was allergic to what was in it. I was there with my 20 year old son and his girlfriend, this was her first time so I wanted this to be a good experience! It wasn't! Not only was the shrimp a issue but the food was very poor quality! The Carved Sirloin use to be Prime Rib that was excellent but the sirloin was over cooked and had a very bad taste! I asked for the chef and he brought out what he called medium rare, the part that was medium rare was a very small part in the center! It had a bad taste it was of poor quality so the server told the chef he came out later and he had slice 3 slices of the meat of a raw slab and cook it rare, he did try but still it had a bad taste. When he came back out he asked my son's girlfriend how was it, her reply was not good very poor quality of meat. He walked away. I had asked if the shrimp could be boiled without seasoning and was told a flat no, I asked this of both the chef and the manager. The beef and shrimp were the two main items I came for because I had been there many times before and always had a good experience! Also the meat the chef brought out last was cold. I ate some bread and mashed potatoes and one tiny tart. I left very hungry as did we all. My son and his girlfriend ate off the children's buffet because that food was hot and eatable, I was also disappointed in the Salmon it had been one of my favorites before but this time it was overly fishy! They did bring some shrimp without seasoning from another restaurant but they got it there when we were ready to finish our deserts, the bread pudding again one that had been a favorite was way to dry and just was not good. We were all hungry and had been in there for over an hour with bad food, cold food and very unhelpful management. I had told 2 managers about our problems they said that they would pass it on to the correct manager, he did not come to the table until we were paying for our check. I asked for a discount since the food was so disappointing and was told they had done all they could and would, that this was a character dining expirence! MY I THOUGHT I WAS THERE FOR DINNER TOO! The dinner was a 1 out of 10! The worst dinning expirience I have had and I have been a regular since 1983 and we had always ate at Crystal Palace at least once during every trip! I will never step foot in there again! The managers last words was to go to guest services in front of the park, I did only to be told by the nice young man working there that the only person that could help us was the manager that sent me to guest services! REALLY! Then I was given this web site to report the problem to corporate, but I found only this forum site! Well I hope it helps someone else so at least they wont visit The Crystal Palace and be as disappointed as we were! I spent $130.97 besides the tip The chef and head manager useless. The managers name was Rashid! Don't ask him for help, sure if you have reservation problems with the new tele prompted phone reservations he'll help you there but not with the important issue which is the food! My son is 20 we came to eat not see the characters because we remembered having great food there, but no more! I was told that I would get a reply from this site within 2 weeks! I hope I hear from them but I have my doubts! Who ever checks this site please contact me. As I said we left hungry, my son had PB&J's when we got home. I myself couldn't eat to sick at my stomach to eat. Was sick from food for a couple of days! THIS WAS A REALLY TERRIBLE MEAL AND SO EMBARRASSING TO TAKE SOME ONE THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME! LET ALONE SPEND $130.97 AND LEAVE HUNGRY!!!!!!

 

[alissafalco]

I visited the Crystal Palace on 06/19/2012 my server was very nice but I have allergies and it took the chef right at 30 minutes to come to the table, I was very hungry and had to wait. I found out they are seasoning the shrimp boil different from when I was there last a few years back, that was one of the main things I came for and couldn't eat because I was allergic to what was in it. I was there with my 20 year old son and his girlfriend, this was her first time so I wanted this to be a good experience! It wasn't! Not only was the shrimp a issue but the food was very poor quality! The Carved Sirloin use to be Prime Rib that was excellent but the sirloin was over cooked and had a very bad taste! I asked for the chef and he brought out what he called medium rare, the part that was medium rare was a very small part in the center! It had a bad taste it was of poor quality so the server told the chef he came out later and he had slice 3 slices of the meat of a raw slab and cook it rare, he did try but still it had a bad taste. When he came back out he asked my son's girlfriend how was it, her reply was not good very poor quality of meat. He walked away. I had asked if the shrimp could be boiled without seasoning and was told a flat no, I asked this of both the chef and the manager. The beef and shrimp were the two main items I came for because I had been there many times before and always had a good experience! Also the meat the chef brought out last was cold. I ate some bread and mashed potatoes and one tiny tart. I left very hungry as did we all. My son and his girlfriend ate off the children's buffet because that food was hot and eatable, I was also disappointed in the Salmon it had been one of my favorites before but this time it was overly fishy! They did bring some shrimp without seasoning from another restaurant but they got it there when we were ready to finish our deserts, the bread pudding again one that had been a favorite was way to dry and just was not good. We were all hungry and had been in there for over an hour with bad food, cold food and very unhelpful management. I had told 2 managers about our problems they said that they would pass it on to the correct manager, he did not come to the table until we were paying for our check. I asked for a discount since the food was so disappointing and was told they had done all they could and would, that this was a character dining expirence! MY I THOUGHT I WAS THERE FOR DINNER TOO! The dinner was a 1 out of 10! The worst dinning expirience I have had and I have been a regular since 1983 and we had always ate at Crystal Palace at least once during every trip! I will never step foot in there again! The managers last words was to go to guest services in front of the park, I did only to be told by the nice young man working there that the only person that could help us was the manager that sent me to guest services! REALLY! Then I was given this web site to report the problem to corporate, but I found only this forum site! Well I hope it helps someone else so at least they wont visit The Crystal Palace and be as disappointed as we were! I spent $130.97 besides the tip The chef and head manager useless. The managers name was Rashid! Don't ask him for help, sure if you have reservation problems with the new tele prompted phone reservations he'll help you there but not with the important issue which is the food! My son is 20 we came to eat not see the characters because we remembered having great food there, but no more! I was told that I would get a reply from this site within 2 weeks! I hope I hear from them but I have my doubts! Who ever checks this site please contact me. As I said we left hungry, my son had PB&J's when we got home. I myself couldn't eat to sick at my stomach to eat. Was sick from food for a couple of days! THIS WAS A REALLY TERRIBLE MEAL AND SO EMBARRASSING TO TAKE SOME ONE THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME! LET ALONE SPEND $130.97 AND LEAVE HUNGRY!!!!!!

Maybe you should have read this on WDW website before you went there.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/
"Guests should notate these food allergies and intolerances at the time of booking their dining reservation"
Specific Dietary Requests"The Walt Disney World Food and Beverage Team is committed to offering a wide range of choices to accommodate Guests who have special dietary requests for lifestyle dining options and who have food allergies or intolerances. Advance notice is required"

 

[Prince-1]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. My family eats at CP every trip and we have yet to have a bad meal there.

 

[DsnySodec]

I have visited the CP before, and had a great experience. Also you were eating at an Buffet Restaurant, hoping to not have allergens passed along. If I had food allergies I would probably avoid buffets for dinning. I wouldn't expect the restaurant to make a whole new dish for me. It also seem they tried to make it right, you stated the management brought shrimp in from another restaurant to prepare for you. Sorry you had a bead experience, but items change in how they are prepared to meet the demand of the masses.

 

[Pooh Lover]

Wow, talk about an off day at CP! I don't have extreme food allergies but if I did, I would probably do what the above said and try to call ahead. We also eat at CP every trip and have never walked away disappointed in the food itself. Hope the OP is able to find another restaurant to meet her needs.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That sounds like a horrible experience. We have some food allergies in our party as well. We've only done breakfast at Crystal Palace and have always had exceptional service there, but I will say it's the longest we've ever waited for a chef to go over any allergy issues. We were starving! I also saw a pp info on contacting special diets. I'm not sure of your big picture allergy situation, but I know we don't qualify for their assistance. DD5 is peanut and tree nut and I am shellfish (bivalve specific) and mild dairy. We were told in our case that they couldn't help and to just note it on all of our adrs. As far as complaints go...We had issues last year with dinner at CRT. I believe I sent an email to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/contact/. They pretty much just paid me lip service, but at least the complaint was noted.

 

[bubbles1812]

While people who are employed by Disney do read this site sometimes, I don't think you will get a reply from anyone in regards to your experience/ It won't be reported to corporate. To my knowledge, that doesn't happen. Sounds like they might have give you this website just to be rid of you, truth be told. You may just want to call up Guest Services again. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[rufio]

Maybe you should have read this on WDW website before you went there.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/
"Guests should notate these food allergies and intolerances at the time of booking their dining reservation"
Specific Dietary Requests"The Walt Disney World Food and Beverage Team is committed to offering a wide range of choices to accommodate Guests who have special dietary requests for lifestyle dining options and who have food allergies or intolerances. Advance notice is required"

Agreed! I have a yeast allergy and it has been noted on ALL of my dining reservations.

Also, not trying to be rude, but that was a grueling read! Paragraphs are wonderful.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Wow, talk about an off day at CP! I don't have extreme food allergies but if I did, I would probably do what the above said and try to call ahead. We also eat at CP every trip and have never walked away disappointed in the food itself. Hope the OP is able to find another restaurant to meet her needs.

I wouldn't say it was an off day at CP because one party of people experienced a less than desirable dining experience. In reading the OP comments, appears that the management of CP really tried to resolve the problem, but was not able to the guests' satisfaction.

 

[Pooh Lover]

I wouldn't say it was an off day at CP because one party of people experienced a less than desirable dining experience. In reading the OP comments, appears that the management of CP really tried to resolve the problem, but was not able to the guests' satisfaction.

I'm sorry. In reading the OP comments, I meant that the OP had the off day, not the restaurant.

 

[nepalostparks]

To the original poster:

If you haven't already, be sure to take a moment to either email or write Disney directly to relate your experience.

Walt Disney World Guest Relations
P.O. Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


It does sound as though several attempts were made to meet your needs, although none met your satisfaction. Did you note that you had a food allergy on your reservation?

I've eaten at Crystal Palace twice, and found the food of good quality for a buffet, and the character interaction good as well. Service has also been attentive.

 

[lighteningqueen]

I have to ditto it. All the breakfast buffets have lost any flavor and fewer choices. $30.00 to eat eggs is a little step. It used to cost around 18.00 and that was high enough now nits ridiculous to pay that plus the characters stay long enough ton sign and run. There were not 25 tables filled in Jan around 8:30 that morning so its not like they had to get to everyone. Done with those high priced places.. Even if it were free. Better use of time doing the park and eating at the bakery. Much more filling..

 

[materbuddy]

I also found it hard to read. And my question is: how was the rest of the offerings on the buffet? Just from what you wrote, it seems you dined on nothing else but shrimp and beef. How about character interaction?

My family has eaten at CP for dinner but we have found breakfast and lunch to be the better meals. It also helps to get an early ADR for the meal of choice. IMHO - Mater's wife

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

OK, I admit I couldn't get through reading the entire OP paragraph however I have had a few bad CP experiences to the point that unless someone I'm with absolutely insists on eating there I will never go again...actually even if they insist I may just wish them good luck and go elsewhere.

The CM's generally try to resolve the issues as they could but really all they could do was say sorry and go into the kitchen to speak to the chefs - nothing actually changed. My last few trips not only was the food completely horrible but the characters seem to choose random tables to go to and skip others completely.

Here's a rundown of the food on my last 3 times there - cold eggs, giant sticky clumps of pasta that you can't even scoop by spoon, burnt cookies, no toppings for the ice cream bar, a layer of scum on top of cold soups, pizza with either burnt cheese or almost raw dough and the worst is seeing stations that say - Rib, pork, chicken, sausage etc but they sit completely empty during the entire meal. (My sister once stood there for about 15 minutes because they said the chicken and the pasta would be right out but it never came - we ate an entire meal of salads that day)

Also, the character interaction was awful (along with the food) on my last visit. That used to be the only redeeming feature but when you have to talk to 3 CM's and wait an hour after you finish eating because the only character that came to your table was Piglet it kind of takes the magic away. I went with 2 girlfriends on my last visit. One is a big Eeyore fan and the other likes Pooh and I of course like Tigger. Our server who really wanted to seat someone else at our table (I told her we weren't leaving until I got our photos with the characters since that's what we were there for) ended up taking us to the front of the restaurant - getting a couple characters to come over and we got two photos - not all of us were in the photos and one had my friends eyes closed but they just handed her camera back and told Pooh that other people were waiting for him.

We ended up having to get a quick service meal immediately afterward since most of the food was missing or inedible - it makes me sad when the even desserts are so burnt you can't eat them. Sadly this was the very first meal of my two friends very first visit to WDW so it set our trip off on a wrong note. Obviously we recovered and had a great time but it was enough that I won't go there again - not when there are lots of other great dining options to choose from.

 

[lighteningqueen]

I agree like I said it was sad this past Jan to think all we could think about was taking our 2 year old granddaughter her FIRST time there an it was horrible. Food was below average and not much on the buffet, plus characters were slow to get there but quick to sign the book and run off and like I said we and about 20 something tables were all that was there. We were spread out all over the restaurant so we couldn't even hear others talking. Even Tusker our very favorite breakfast was not so good.. SO we shall not spend anymore money on those high dollar Character breakfast. Oh and Akershaus terrible eggs ok rest was very little to offer and who in the heck wants raw fish in the morning .Turned our stomachs on that tiny fruit bar.. Just very disappointed in all our meals except Teppon always, always good..

 

[Lottie Carey]

I visited the Crystal Palace on 06/19/2012 my server was very nice but I have allergies and it took the chef right at 30 minutes to come to the table, I was very hungry and had to wait. I found out they are seasoning the shrimp boil different from when I was there last a few years back, that was one of the main things I came for and couldn't eat because I was allergic to what was in it. I was there with my 20 year old son and his girlfriend, this was her first time so I wanted this to be a good experience! It wasn't! Not only was the shrimp a issue but the food was very poor quality! The Carved Sirloin use to be Prime Rib that was excellent but the sirloin was over cooked and had a very bad taste! I asked for the chef and he brought out what he called medium rare, the part that was medium rare was a very small part in the center! It had a bad taste it was of poor quality so the server told the chef he came out later and he had slice 3 slices of the meat of a raw slab and cook it rare, he did try but still it had a bad taste. When he came back out he asked my son's girlfriend how was it, her reply was not good very poor quality of meat. He walked away. I had asked if the shrimp could be boiled without seasoning and was told a flat no, I asked this of both the chef and the manager. The beef and shrimp were the two main items I came for because I had been there many times before and always had a good experience! Also the meat the chef brought out last was cold. I ate some bread and mashed potatoes and one tiny tart. I left very hungry as did we all. My son and his girlfriend ate off the children's buffet because that food was hot and eatable, I was also disappointed in the Salmon it had been one of my favorites before but this time it was overly fishy! They did bring some shrimp without seasoning from another restaurant but they got it there when we were ready to finish our deserts, the bread pudding again one that had been a favorite was way to dry and just was not good. We were all hungry and had been in there for over an hour with bad food, cold food and very unhelpful management. I had told 2 managers about our problems they said that they would pass it on to the correct manager, he did not come to the table until we were paying for our check. I asked for a discount since the food was so disappointing and was told they had done all they could and would, that this was a character dining expirence! MY I THOUGHT I WAS THERE FOR DINNER TOO! The dinner was a 1 out of 10! The worst dinning expirience I have had and I have been a regular since 1983 and we had always ate at Crystal Palace at least once during every trip! I will never step foot in there again! The managers last words was to go to guest services in front of the park, I did only to be told by the nice young man working there that the only person that could help us was the manager that sent me to guest services! REALLY! Then I was given this web site to report the problem to corporate, but I found only this forum site! Well I hope it helps someone else so at least they wont visit The Crystal Palace and be as disappointed as we were! I spent $130.97 besides the tip The chef and head manager useless. The managers name was Rashid! Don't ask him for help, sure if you have reservation problems with the new tele prompted phone reservations he'll help you there but not with the important issue which is the food! My son is 20 we came to eat not see the characters because we remembered having great food there, but no more! I was told that I would get a reply from this site within 2 weeks! I hope I hear from them but I have my doubts! Who ever checks this site please contact me. As I said we left hungry, my son had PB&J's when we got home. I myself couldn't eat to sick at my stomach to eat. Was sick from food for a couple of days! THIS WAS A REALLY TERRIBLE MEAL AND SO EMBARRASSING TO TAKE SOME ONE THERE FOR THE FIRST TIME! LET ALONE SPEND $130.97 AND LEAVE HUNGRY!!!!!!

 

[Lottie Carey]

I thank everyone for their thoughts, but I did let them know about my allergies and yes I tried other things. The Salmon as I said use to be a favorite but the salmon was under cooked cold and very fishy bad tasting Salmon. I tried the pasta but it to was cold and over seasoned, @ ukadug who referred to my son eating Peanut butter and jelly sorry he's a diabetic and his sugar dropped! He tried the food and it was so bad he ate what he could because he had already taken his insulin but it wasn't enough for his shot! He had no clue he was going to have to eat when he got home! So thanks for your sarcasm! I was given this website to complain to The guest service office didn't know it was a chat site! I have eaten at CP for years and it had been good but I am saying this trip it was nasty! I am in the Food and Beverage industry I know how you treat a guest and that wasn't it! There was no reason to wait for a chef that long! I get most of you are die hard fans of Disney and CP, I to have always been, but as far as CP NEVER WILL I SET FOOT IN THERE AGAIN! OVER PRICED AND OVER SEASONED FOOD AND MOST AS COLD AND LUMPY!!!! @ Materbuddy I TRIED OTHER FOODS THAN THE BEEF AND SHRIMP SO THANKS FOR COMMENTS! The characters were slow to come around. Thanks I_Heart_Tigger and Lighteningqueen ! I hope none of you have an experience like mine, but I know others have because I was told by a cast member he took his family there and it was so bad they ate from the kids buffet! I have heard this kind of statement from several others also!!!

 

[unkadug]

You still should invest in a writing style book or at the very least Google "paragraph".

If somebody from Disney did see your block of text, I doubt they would take the time to try to decipher it.

 

[wm49rs]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. My family eats at CP every trip and we have yet to have a bad meal there.

We've had two or three meals there over our trips, and feel the same. A bit crowded at times, but that's just the nature of the game....

You still should invest in a writing style book or at the very least Google "paragraph".

If somebody from Disney did see your block of text, I doubt they would take the time to try to decipher it.

Yeah, a tad bit difficult to decipher.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Hey I'm not gonna say one way or the other if you had a bad experience or even my thoughts on it. I personally have had good experiences there but I have not drank the magic cool-aid and believe that TDO has off days in certain areas just like any place else.

The only thing I will say (and know you have been taking a beating) is that making your first post on an enthusiast site be such a vehement rant on how unhappy you were might not have been the best call. Just my two cents for what it is worth.