What Happened To The Crystal Palace?

March 25, 2022 admin

Author: Chelsea Murphy Posted: March 25, 2022

Will The Crystal Palace ever get back to normal? Or is inadequate service and bad quality food just the new norm now?

The Crystal Palace was always my favorite restaurant. It always made me feel like I was actually stepping into a palace.

When you walk into the restaurant, you can expect to see a lot of topiaries, and tropical palms, highlighted by the natural light that simply floods the room. This building was modeled after Victorian greenhouses from the 1800s. So, there is somewhat of an old world vibe here.

The Crystal Palace first opened on October 1st, 1971. Disney wanted the experience to be cafeteria-style. Then, around 1996, this table service restaurant became the all-you-can-eat character dining that we all came to know and love.

The food was always so good and you got to spend time with Winnie the Pooh. You got your bang for your buck.

But this is no longer the character dining experience that it used to be.

You can definitely still catch a few of the characters hanging around the building, but you can’t get an actual meet and greet with them anymore. So, expect to get your pictures with them from afar.

When The Crystal Palace opened back up in December of 2020, the character dining experience had disappeared, along with their amazing buffet. This table service restaurant had become a made-to-order, a la carte, meal. As it turns out, their made-to-order food had a much better quality than their buffet food.

Although people seemed to be pleased with the family-style dining, as of September 2021, they became the American buffet style that they were known for again. The food quality is worse than it’s ever been and some even say the service is just as bad.

Though there are many mixed reviews, I say it’s the best seat in the house of mouse. You get a beautiful backdrop of Cinderella’s Castle and a view of Main Street.

For those of you that would like a chance to visit this popular restaurant, it serves both Lunch and Dinner, currently starting at 11:30 AM and ending the night at 8:30 PM (always check Disney’s website for hours of operation during your trip).

You do need a confirmed dining reservation, as well as a park reservation and a valid same-day admission.

Pricing for The Crystal Palace, at the time of this post, is $39 per adult and $23 per child.

Don’t miss out on some of Walt’s favorites: Walt’s Famous Chili, Walt’s Mashed Potatoes, Walt’s favorite Butterscotch Pudding, and many more.