I have a bone to pick with some members of this community. After several visits to the Crystal Palace, I can't wrap my head around the haters or folks who dis it, comparing it to Golden Corral. Have you ever actually eaten at a Golden Corral??? There is no comparison. Of course, that unfortunately holds true for the price, as well.
We had dinner there on Friday, and every single thing off that buffet line was delicious. Beer battered white fish, delectable kielbasa, every cold salad we tried was great, the steamed veggies were flavored with a wonderful garlic dressing, and the carved meats were great. I can't ever remember all the offerings to do them justice. I do know we all loved the south-west style corn pudding. Oh, and the whole carrots were wonderful. The only compliant I can muster is that some of the desserts were bland and it would be nice if they varied the characters a bit. Wouldn't it be cool to see Rabbit and/or Kanga in the CP on occasion? Seems like they've had the same 4 characters there for 20+ years!
We also did a visit to WDW back in Feb, for the week after President's Day. Several days last week seemed less crowded. I guess this has been a trend noted by many, where the summer crowds just aren't as big as they used to be, but the off-season ain't 'off' no more. As far as weather, the June heat was really intense, but oddly, we would get hours of mid-70s temperature post-thunderstorm. The weather this past Sat afternoon in the MK was an absolute delight, once the rain dwindled to a light sprinkle before vanishing completely.
Mobile ordering for counter service worked well. I couldn't get the app to ever work back in Feb; this trip, no problems at all.
Lines were manageable with a bit of advance planning. It never ceases to amaze me the number of folks who stand in line at WDW to buy park tickets, who don't know what FastPass is, or the hordes of folks streaming into the parks by noon. This Sat, the MK felt nearly empty for the first 90 minutes. When a park opens at 8 am, definitely take advantage. Speaking of which, what's the name of the coffee place at the TTC? I'm fairly blasé about cinnamon rolls. I don't generally eat them. They're just … OK. Since we didn't have time for a proper breakfast one morning, we decided to split a roll at the TTC. Holy moley! Their cinnamon rolls are incredible!! All these years visiting WDW and I never ate a pastry there before now??? What a waste!
Want to skip the mid-day craziness at MK? We left the park around noon for lunch at The Wave, did a bit of shopping, stowed some souvenirs in our car at the TTC, then stopped for ice cream at the Polynesian. It was a fantastic break and left us recharged by the time we got back to the MK several hours later. This is a routine many here are already familiar with, I'm sure. It's an oldie, but a goodie.
This was a fun visit. I'm convinced more than ever, that if WDW decided to get rid of their rides, shows and characters, they'd still have massive crowds because of their food.
We had dinner there on Friday, and every single thing off that buffet line was delicious. Beer battered white fish, delectable kielbasa, every cold salad we tried was great, the steamed veggies were flavored with a wonderful garlic dressing, and the carved meats were great. I can't ever remember all the offerings to do them justice. I do know we all loved the south-west style corn pudding. Oh, and the whole carrots were wonderful. The only compliant I can muster is that some of the desserts were bland and it would be nice if they varied the characters a bit. Wouldn't it be cool to see Rabbit and/or Kanga in the CP on occasion? Seems like they've had the same 4 characters there for 20+ years!
We also did a visit to WDW back in Feb, for the week after President's Day. Several days last week seemed less crowded. I guess this has been a trend noted by many, where the summer crowds just aren't as big as they used to be, but the off-season ain't 'off' no more. As far as weather, the June heat was really intense, but oddly, we would get hours of mid-70s temperature post-thunderstorm. The weather this past Sat afternoon in the MK was an absolute delight, once the rain dwindled to a light sprinkle before vanishing completely.
Mobile ordering for counter service worked well. I couldn't get the app to ever work back in Feb; this trip, no problems at all.
Lines were manageable with a bit of advance planning. It never ceases to amaze me the number of folks who stand in line at WDW to buy park tickets, who don't know what FastPass is, or the hordes of folks streaming into the parks by noon. This Sat, the MK felt nearly empty for the first 90 minutes. When a park opens at 8 am, definitely take advantage. Speaking of which, what's the name of the coffee place at the TTC? I'm fairly blasé about cinnamon rolls. I don't generally eat them. They're just … OK. Since we didn't have time for a proper breakfast one morning, we decided to split a roll at the TTC. Holy moley! Their cinnamon rolls are incredible!! All these years visiting WDW and I never ate a pastry there before now??? What a waste!
Want to skip the mid-day craziness at MK? We left the park around noon for lunch at The Wave, did a bit of shopping, stowed some souvenirs in our car at the TTC, then stopped for ice cream at the Polynesian. It was a fantastic break and left us recharged by the time we got back to the MK several hours later. This is a routine many here are already familiar with, I'm sure. It's an oldie, but a goodie.
This was a fun visit. I'm convinced more than ever, that if WDW decided to get rid of their rides, shows and characters, they'd still have massive crowds because of their food.