During our visit to Walt Disney World (WDW) in Orlando last week, we had to visit the gang at the 100 Acre Wood.
Christopher Robin and Rabbit are nowhere to be found, but the rest of the Pooh gang hang out at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom (MK).
Crystal Palace is just off Main Street USA in MK. And it’s a character buffet that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner most days.
We went for lunch on a Tuesday, well before the parade at 3pm (so we didn’t have to worry about the characters scooting out to participate in the daily show). The restaurant was busy, and the full tables were hopping with attentive wait staff; as always, but it didn’t seem nearly as frantic as it has been on other visits. Perhaps kiddies are just at the excitement stage at that time of the day, before they hit any meltdown stage. 🙂 I know my two were hungry, but in good humour. They were just thrilled to come back and see their friends. You’re never too old for Tigger and Pooh!
The meal at Crystal Palace is an all-you-can eat buffet. There is a kids’ portion to the buffet, which served Disney’s ubiquitous mac-and-cheese paste, along with green beans and meatballs. (Chicken nuggets were in the adult buffet.)
The adult buffet featured a large salad bar, a hot station (that served everything from garlic potatos to dilled salmon to Mediterranean chicken), and a carvery (roast beef and ham).
There is also a dessert station. 
There is a great selection of various dishes. Like most Disney character meal buffets, the food does have a little of that institutional feel. Disney has to satisfy taste buds from around the world, and for buffets, they cook so as to offend no one. They are really terrific handling food allergies of every kind. (If you know anyone with gluten-allergies, or any other, Disney is the place for you!) But, as a result of preparing for the masses, there certainly seems to be a desire to not serve exotic flavours or spices in any dish. Buffets are never fine dining, and there is nothing served at Crystal Palace that is particularly memorable – but that has its upside too. Nothing is memorably bad.
If you’re looking for a buffet that serves an assortment of dishes, all of which are plentiful, hot, and offering good value, then the Crystal Palace is the spot for you. Our lunch buffet (with soft drinks, and before gratuity) came to $87.29 USD for 3 adults and 1 child.
A huge bonus of eating at Crystal Palace, though, is that you get out of the heat of MK, and you and your family have a chance to rest and regroup. That escaping the heat, and a chance to rest thing should not be underestimated! A break in a day of park touring is vitally important to everyone’s sanity! It keeps everyone happy and focussed on fun.
But, while escaping the heat, and being fed and nourished is important, the MAIN reason a person goes to Crystal Palace is to catch up with with Tigger and Pooh.
There are four main characters who visit the table.
We certainly saw Winnie-the-Pooh.
And Tigger too. 
And Piglet….
And, of course, Eeyore!
Gotta love Crystal Palace! It brings out the kid in us all.