You’ve probably seen the headlines. After 11 hours and 5 minutes, American John Isner bested France’s Nicholas Mahut in a history-making Round 1 match at Wimbledon; it was the longest match in Grand Slam history. This got me thinking. Were there any epic character dining match-ups? And then it came to me. Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace are very evenly matched and the advantage could easily be shared between the two.
Set 1: Characters
Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary features the Fab Five. Your little ones will meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and everyone’s best friend Pluto during breakfast and dinner character dining. Dressed in their chef’s garb, the characters will make the rounds.
Photo Credit: Princess Ashley via Flickr
The Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace hosts Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Piglet at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Tigger at Crystal Palace
Photo Credit: d.k. peterson via Flickr
This is a tough one. Chef Mickey’s has a small advantage because you’ll meet five characters instead of four. However, the characters at both restaurants are costumed, which means they won’t be speaking to your children (yet), and all are classic characters. But c’mon, this is Disney World. As much as my kids love both Mickey and Winnie-the-Pooh, at Disney World the Mouse himself has a clear advantage.
This set goes to Chef Mickey.
Set 2: Location
Chef Mickey is located in the Contemporary Resort, which is a very short monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom. On a nice day, my family enjoys the short walk from the Magic Kingdom over to the Contemporary for dinner.
Crystal Palace is conveniently located in the Magic Kingdom, off the hub. There’s no need to leave the theme park – just take a break from your touring to recharge and refuel.
For most guests, eating at Chef Mickey’s is more difficult from a logistics standpoint. Unless you’re staying at a monorail resort or have access to a car, you won’t have a direct route from most Walt Disney World resorts to the Contemporary. You must travel to a central location such as a theme park or Downtown Disney and then catch a monorail, bus, or boat to the Contemporary. Of course, it can be nice to take a break from the Magic Kingdom, head on over to Chef Mickey’s for dinner, and then return to the Magic Kingdom for Wishes. Even with that, The Crystal Palace wins this one simply because it’s located directly in the park itself. Yes, you need theme park admission to eat here but if you’re thinking about character dining, chances are you have kids and the Magic Kingdom is a must-do park.
The Crystal Palace wins this set.
Set 3: Food
Both restaurants offer a buffet instead of family-style meals and both restaurants have their die-hard fans.
Breakfast is largely the same at Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace with the ubiquitous breakfast fare – eggs, waffles, breakfast pastries, fresh fruit, cereal, breakfast meats, and potatoes with a few signature items thrown in. What kid will be able to resist pizza for breakfast (aka Minnie’s Breakfast Pizza) at Chef Mickey’s or the much talked about Pooh’s Breakfast Lasagna at Crystal Palace?
Food is plentiful and varied at both dinner buffets. The salad bars will tempt you with their traditional and not-so-traditional offerings of greens, pasta salads, and bean salads. A buffet wouldn’t be a proper buffet without some soups and carved meats – you’ll see them at both restaurants. And then there are the predictable offerings that include something for meat-lovers, at least one seafood dish, some pasta, and lots of tasty sides. Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace know their core audience and cater to it. Both have stations with traditional kid favorites like mac ‘n cheese and chicken tenders. Let’s move to dessert. Say these two decadent words with me. Sundae Bar. And yes, both restaurants have one.
For me, the food choices and quality at both character dining experiences are similar. So, the score is “deuce” and the winner will be a matter of your family’s preference. In fact, it may even change up on any given day.
Set 4: Value
Many families opt for the Disney Dining Plan so let’s start there. Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace will run you one table-service credit so there’s no clear winner based on “cost” alone. For those paying out-of-pocket, breakfast at Chef Mickey’s (adult, $26.62; child, $14.90) is a few dollars more than Crystal Palace this summer. Interesting. I would have thought that breakfast at Crystal Palace would have a premium but more on that later. When we talk dinner, the price for children at both buffets is equivalent – $17.03. However, mom and dad will pay about a dollar more for dinner at Crystal Palace ($35.14) than they will at Chef Mickey’s. Looking at cost as the only factor, one game (breakfast) goes to Crystal Palace while one (dinner) goes to Chef Mickey’s.
Other components of value would be the character experience itself, the food variety, and the food quality. As mentioned in Set 1: Characters, you get a little more bang for your character buck at Chef Mickey’s. Otherwise, the two character experiences are very similar. The same can be said for food variety and quality. It’s close, but this chair umpire makes the call that gives the game to Chef Mickey’s based on an extra character autograph.
However, the set’s not over. What do other Walt Disney World guests think? After looking at the average score given to each buffet at AllEars.Net and TheDis, the slightest of edges and therefore the game goes to Crystal Palace which scores just a little bit higher than Chef Mickey’s.
Where does this leave us? Looks like this set is a tie-break situation.
Set 5: The Intangibles.
Okay, so let’s recap. Chef Mickey wins the character set while Crystal Palace takes the location set. It’s a toss-up between the two for food and value. For all intents and purposes (at least for our hypothetical tennis match), we’re all tied up and the winner of this set takes the match. You’ll have lots of back and forth as you consider some of the less tangible aspects of the dining experience.
• Ease of ADRs. Chef Mickey’s is one of the more difficult ADRs to secure – right up there with Le Cellier and Fairytale Dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Throw in the fact that Crystal Palace offers an extra meal, lunch, and Crystal Palace is my winner here.
• Venue. With its Victorian inspired atmosphere, complete with gorgeous architecture, it may look like Crystal Palace takes the win over the more cartoonish and graphic décor at Chef Mickey’s. However, don’t count Chef Mickey’s out just yet. It’s located in the Contemporary which means the kids will watch the monorail travel not just by the hotel, but through the building. This one’s a tie.
Photo Credit: Samantha Decker via Flickr
Photo Credit: hz536n via Flickr
• Empty Theme Park. In Set 4: Value, I said I was surprised that breakfast at Chef Mickey’s was more expensive than the same meal at Crystal Palace. That’s because I would pay a premium for those 8:05 ADRs before the Magic Kingdom opens. It’s an amazing opportunity to have Main Street, U.S.A., practically to yourselves.
Photo Credit: PrincessAshley via Flickr
This set goes to Crystal Palace.
Match Point
So there you have it. In my match-up between the top-seeds Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey’s, Crystal Palace scores the match point – barely. If you were the chair umpire, which would win those close calls? Now, I think it’s time for me to turn off Wimbledon to return to my regularly scheduled programming.
Lisa M. Battista is the author of Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers When she’s not chasing after her little ones, you can most likely find her at the beach or in the kitchen trying her hand at a new recipe. You call follow her on Twitter @DisneyExplorer.
This article is featured on this months edition of Disney Blog Carnival.
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