by Daisy Diva

As far as I’m concerned, a Disney trip is not complete without a character interaction, preferably a character meal.  Our family’s very first character meal was at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom, and it will go down as one of our most memorable family moments.  Get ready, because I am about to share all the details.

Our family had 8:15 am reservations for breakfast, which was 45 minutes prior to rope drop that day.  Upon our arrival at the park, we entered the designated line for guests with dining reservations and waited for them to let us in which happened right before 8:00.  We headed straight to the Crystal Palace which is located down Main Street and to the left right at the central hub in front of Cinderella Castle.  We were about the third party to check in and get our buzzer.  During the few minutes that we waited, we snapped a few family pictures in front of the castle.

Our buzzer went off and we were ushered to our table.  DIVA TIP: We made sure to sit the kids on the outside of the table so the characters could interact with them without us having to remove my daughter from her high chair…she was only two-years-old at the time.  Our server came and took our drink order and invited us to go ahead to the buffet.  The timing was great because the characters had not entered the dining area yet.  We grabbed some food and took our seats.  A cast member came by the table and told us that our first character would be making his rounds shortly and not to leave the table.  About that time the first character entered the room, and my kids went nuts with excitement.  My husband and I still smile when we remember our toddlers squealing “Pooh!  It’s Pooh!” with delight.  Eeyore was the first character to come by our table, and he was just adorable!

Pooh was next and was an absolute doll.  He knelt down next to the kids and interacted so sweetly with them.

Tigger was up next and was exactly as you would expect Tigger to be.  He mugged for the camera and even agreed to bounce with my son (who had been dreaming of bouncing with Tigger ever since I told him we would be meeting him at breakfast)!  Such an iconic Disney moment for our family.

Our final character encounter was with Piglet who was so sweet and gentle just in the movies. 

Another Diva Tip: When framing up your pictures with characters, try to move some of the distracting items away from view, i.e. glasses / plates of food / etc. so that the fun is focused on the people in the photo! 

Each character signed our autograph books and left the kids so excited about meeting more characters.  As many of the character dining experiences do, Pooh and friends lead a celebratory parade around the restaurant with all the kids to celebrate friendship.  We were ready to hit the rides, so we didn’t stay for the parade, but they are always lots of fun.

Pooh and his gang are available for meet and greets at the Crystal Palace during breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.  The breakfast buffet is the standard Disney breakfast buffet fare complete with the requisite Mickey waffles.  Lunch and dinner is the pretty standard stuff as well. We enjoyed our meal here, but I don’t remember any specific food item really standing out.  For those on the dining plan, a meal at the Crystal Palace requires one Table service credit per person.  The Crystal Palace is a pretty popular restaurant, so scoring that dining reservation 180 days in advance is highly recommended.

If you are looking for a one of a kind dining experience, be sure to give the Crystal Palace a try.

And when you are ready to make your dining reservation, be sure to contact our FREE Disney Diva Travel Agent, Patricia at All for Dreams Travel.

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