Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.
We just returned home from our annual trip to Florida to visit my husband’s family. Luckily for my munchkins, they live somewhat close to Walt Disney World, so a trip to the most magical place on earth was definitely on our agenda.
Now a blog post about a Florida destination may not sound like something I would typically write about, but I thought we might have some readers who are planning a Disney trip in the near or distant future and maybe I could help with their planning.
We had a lot of fun adventures on our trip and while I would love to share them all with you, I do know that there are many, many, many blogs out there (written by people much more knowledgeable than myself) with fabulous information about planning a trip to Walt Disney World.
But, I did think it might be fun for me to share one of our outings (especially since I had a hard time finding enough information about it before we went). So here is a virtual tour of our character breakfast at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom.
One of the tips I picked up during my planning was that it can be fun to schedule a character breakfast at a Disney restaurant. There are many, many restaurants to choose from, but I decided on a breakfast at The Crystal Palace because it was a place I was familiar with and in a park I knew we would be visiting (the Magic Kingdom).
I also found a few blogs and articles suggesting that breakfast reservations should be made as early as possible. Depending on the day, it could mean that you get inside the Magic Kingdom before the park opens to the general public.
So I headed to the reservation page and was able to book a reservation online for 8:05 am on the last day of our trip. This was perfect because the park wouldn’t be opening until 9:00 am that day.
I was told that in order to get into the park for our early morning reservation, we would need two things: 1) Tickets to the Magic Kingdom (since the restaurant is inside the park) and 2) Our reservation number (so that we could get into the park before the opening time).
Since we were staying at a Disney property and were planning on taking the bus over to the Magic Kingdom, we did have to check on the transportation details. We found out that there is a character breakfast bus that runs from the Art of Animation Resort to the Magic Kingdom beginning a little before 7:00 am each day. We got out to the bus area around 7:00 am and were on board and heading to the Magic Kingdom by 7:15 am.
The bus ride from our hotel was about 15 minutes and the great thing is that it drops you off right near the entrance. If you have ever driven to the Magic Kingdom, you know that you have to take a tram from the parking lot to the ticket area and then either a boat or a train to the main entrance. Let me tell you, that process takes a loooong time. I was happy to know that we were avoiding it by taking the hotel bus.
We checked into the park and hung out with all the other people waiting for their early morning breakfast reservations before being allowed to head inside. While many people were going to The Crystal Palace, another popular destination was breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. This wasn’t an option for us, though, because reservations have to be made six months in advance!
The fun thing about getting into the park early is that you can get some clear pictures in front of Cinderella’s castle.
I love this one of the kids with their grandparents!
We headed straight down Main Street and found The Crystal Palace on the left, right before the castle.
We parked our stroller out front and then headed to the waiting area outside. We checked-in for our reservation right outside and were handed a beeper to let us know when our table was ready.
Breakfast at The Crystal Palace is an all-you-can-eat buffet. For the day we were visiting, menu prices were: $24.99 for guests ages 10 & up and $13.99 for ages 3-9. (Note that prices due change by day and season)
Two seconds later our names were called to head inside to our table.
The waitress got a high chair for Sweetheart and offered booster seats for the twins. I should have accepted that offer, but I didn’t.
She took our drink orders and let us know we could head up to the buffet anytime to start getting our breakfast.
The buffet was full of every breakfast treat one could imagine. Fruit, pastries, eggs, biscuits, casseroles, omelet stations and these adorable waffles shaped like Mikey Mouse.
And while the food was a delicious start to our day, the best part about eating here is letting the kids get to spend some one-on-one time with their favorite Disney characters. For this restaurant, those characters were Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends.
The characters would make their rounds to each table in the restaurant and spend plenty of time with each person. You could take pictures, have them sign autograph books, whatever!
While we were there we saw Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger!
Sparkles was a bit shy meeting the characters, but Winnie the Pooh helped her get in the spirit.
When I had booked the reservation, they did ask me if there was anything special we were celebrating that day. Well, it was just a few days after the twin’s birthday, so I let them know.
To our surprise, they ended our breakfast with birthday cupcakes and a sweet card signed by all the characters. The kids loved it!
Breakfast at The Crystal Palace was a wonderful way to kick off our last day at Disney! I think a character breakfast will definitely be on our agenda for the next trip.
Are you planning a trip to Disney? Let us know!
The Crystal Palace Restaurant
Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World
Orlando, Florida
Reservations can be made online or by calling (407) 939-5277.
Hours: The hours vary by day and time of year, but for the day we visited they were:
- Breakfast: 8:00 am – 10:45 am
- Lunch: 11:30 am – 2:45 pm
- Dinner: 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Pricing: This also varies by meal and by season. For our breakfast, pricing was as follows:
- Guests ages 3-9, $13.99
- Guests ages 10 and up, $24.99
Tips and Things to Bring:
- Make a reservation before your visit. We were visiting off-peak and I was able to make a reservation three weeks ahead of time. I would recommend booking as soon as you know your trip details.
- The restaurant is located inside the Magic Kingdom, so you will need an entrance pass for the day to eat there.
- Book the first reservation of the day. Typically, this allows you to get into the park almost an hour before it opens. You can’t start riding rides, but you can get some fun pictures. Check the park opening times for the day you are planning to go to verify the details.
- Make sure you arrive early. We arrived at the park at 7:30 am for an 8:05 am reservation. If you are late for your reservation, you will be charged a penalty.
- If you are visiting before the park opens, bring your reservation number with you. This will allow for early access to the park.
- Restrooms are available at the restaurant (of course) and the women’s restroom did have a baby changing station.
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**please delete the FIRST comment**
“If you are visiting before the park opens, bring your reservation number with you. This will allow for early access to the park.”
– Do I need a printout? Do they have a system where they check the reservation # on a computer? Just wondering how they can verify the date/time of your reservation.
Thanks!
John – Actually, they never checked anything for us but we were told we needed to bring our reservation number. I don’t know if it was just a quiet day and they weren’t checking that day or what. To be safe, I just printed out our reservation confirmation with the number and the date/time. If you can, I would do that to ensure there are no issues.
Hello. Can you tell me how you determined that there would be a special bus leaving Art of Animation at 7AM for people with breakfast reservations? I’ve been having some difficulty researching the Disney transportation system and your blog is the first one I’ve seen that offered this specific piece of information. Everything else I read just says that the buses start running 60-90 minutes before the parks open… which obviously would be no good for someone who had an 8AM reservation at Crystal Palace. How did you figure that one out before you went? Maybe you can get me on a better research track lol.
Rob – We just spoke with the concierge at our hotel and they helped us with the information on transportation to the park in time for our reservations. Good luck!
If we book an 8:05am reservation at Crystal Palace and the park opens at 9:00am…can we head straight to Anna and Elsa at like 8:55am or do they control when you leave Crystal Palace? Thanks!
Nick – They don’t control when you leave Crystal Palace, but it does take some time to get breakfast and meet with the characters. While the park typically opens at 9:00 am, there are some additional things to consider. Visitors staying at Disney Hotels have “Magic Hours” that give them access to some parks early on certain days. You would have to check the schedule but Magic Hours give hotel guests access to the park at 8:00 am. Also, visitors begin arriving at the park around 8:30 am each morning. There is a performance that happens at the park entrance at 8:40 am each day and then they open the gates and let everyone in. The last time we were there, we watched the 8:40 am performance, then headed straight in the park and made our way to the back (looking for some of the kiddie rides). As we passed Fairytale Hall (where Anna and Elsa were) the wait was already 90 minutes! Those ladies are popular. If they are on your bucket list for your trip, my suggestion would be to get a fast pass to see them. You can now book fast passes several months in advance. Hope that helps! ~Mandy
How early can you get in the park? Like if you have an 8:05 reservation will they let you in at 7:30? Or 7:45? I want those crowd-free castle pictures! But also it will be my 3 year old son’s first time there so I want to be able to walk casually down Main Street and let him take it all in 😉 I’ve been trying to find this answer all over the internet! I want to get there early but don’t want to sit outside the gate forever with a baby and a 3 year old! thanks!
Hi Taylor! I don’t know the exact answer to your question. I know we got into the park before 8, but I don’t remember the exact time. Call Disney and I’m sure they can provide you with that information. One thing to keep in mind, though, the park typically opens at 9am, so it would normally just be people with early morning restaurant reservations getting in that early. But, on certain days, guests of the Disney Hotels can get in at 8:00 am as part of the Magic Hours program. I don’t know which days, but if you want to have the least number of people in the park when you go at 8, I would see if you can go on a non-Magic Hour day. Go here for the park/magic hour schedule: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/2015-02-26/ Have fun!
Hi! Your website is genious.
I have a question, if you can help me! I’ve book a early breackfast at crystal palace at 9:20am can ii enter the park at 8:00am on that day and wait until 9:20 or is too early and the cast member wont let you in.
Thank you!
Hi Jessica. Sorry. I don’t know the answer to that question. I would call dining reservations ((407) 939-1947) and they would be able to give you a definite answer. Are you staying at a Disney property? If so, they have early magic hours for guests of Disney properties on certain days and you would be able to get in at 8:00 am those days. You can check your specific day here.
What time did your breakfast wrap up? 8:45? Were the public crowds already allowed in the park?
Hi Dave! Yes – I would say breakfast was about 45 minutes to an hour. People were definitely already in the park when we were heading out of the restaurant. Even when the park opens at 9, they always let people in a little before that. Also, if you are having breakfast on a day when there are morning magic hours, Disney hotel guests can get into the park at 8:00 am. I hope you have a great time! Even though the park was starting to fill up when we were done eating, it was still fun to get into the park before the crowds 🙂