Crystal Palace Review
Crystal Palace is a buffet restaurant in Tokyo Disneyland that is nearly identical to the Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace in terms of design. This review takes a look at the Crystal Palace’s lunch buffet, with photos of a number of different buffet items. The menu is an international mix, with plenty of conventional choices and also a lot of seafood. Since it’s a buffet, it’s also one of the few restaurants at Tokyo Disneyland that (sort of) caters to vegetarians.
The Crystal Palace buffet costs approximately $30 (USD) for a 90 minute, all you can eat session. We were initially taken aback by the time limit, but it turns out that 90 minutes was more than enough time to gorge ourselves. After we waddled out of the restaurant, we joked that Tokyo Disneyland may need to create a new “American” price tier.
In terms of ambiance, the exterior and interior of Crystal Palace are the same as the Magic Kingdom version. If you’ve been to the Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace, this version will be very familiar. Although technically located in Adventureland, it’s at the edge of World Bazaar, with a Victorian style matching World Bazaar. Thanks to the glass dome ceiling atrium and other greenery, as well as plenty of windows throughout the restaurant, it feels very bright and airy. In terms of design, Crystal Palace is well done and charming, but it doesn’t have the type of ‘transportive’ theming that will make you feel like you’re stepping into another time and place.
This is not to say there’s anything wrong with the theme of Crystal Palace. It’s just more nuanced, with little finishings and intricacies that are easier to overlook since they’re not necessarily all that out of the norm from what we may see in real world environments. However, as you can see from the buffet, there’s a lot of trim and lattice detail, among other things, that give the restaurant its Victorian charm.
Unlike the Magic Kingdom’s Crystal Palace, this is not a character meal, and has nothing to do with Winnie the Pooh. Besides this small display for Tokyo Disneyland’s 30th Anniversary, when we visited there were no other characters in the restaurant. This may disappoint character fans, but we preferred the non-character setting. It was more relaxed and quieter.
That’s not the only thing that’s superior about this version of the Crystal Palace. The variety and quality of foods was astounding. From seafood pasta (a favorite of both Sarah and me) to shrimp and salmon, the seafood options were probably the highlights of the meal. They were all really fresh and well-prepared. Definitely not what you’d expect from seafood on a buffet.
There was also prime rib, sliders, sausage, and a few other meats. These were all okay, but none of them jumped out to me as being particularly noteworthy. Japan, and Tokyo Disney Resort in particular, definitely does seafood better than red meat.
For Americans and guests with larger appetites, Crystal Palace is going to be one of the best values in Tokyo Disneyland since it’s all you can eat, and other restaurants typically have smaller portions.
The buffet also had a lot of fruits and vegetables. Nothing too exciting there…
Of course there were kids options like Mickey chicken nuggets, waffle fries, mac & cheese, and a few other things. All of these were about what you’d expect.
One of the nice things about the buffet was that a few of the desserts were popular snacks sold at other locations in the park. So if you’re a churro fan, you could get unlimited Mickey Mouse churros and dipping sauces!
I’m not really a churro fan, but the Chandu Tail (covered in our Awesome Tokyo DisneySea Snacks post) is right up my alley, and I had…let’s just say “a few” of these. They’re one of the best snacks at Tokyo Disney Resort, so figure you’re “saving” about $4 for each one you eat. With that in mind, you can’t afford not to eat at Crystal Palace, right?!
The buffet was packed with awesome desserts. Literally every single one we tried was excellent.
I don’t know what each one was called or what the individual desserts tasted like, it was more like a collective plate of awesomeness that cumulatively wowed us. The photos pretty much speak for themselves.
There was also a cookie decorating station. Other guests were making some really awesome designs. Meanwhile, it took me two tries to poorly write my name on a cookie. Clearly I do not have a future as a cake decorator.
Overall, Crystal Palace in Tokyo Disneyland is an excellent “standard” buffet. While many of the items on the buffet are of the same quality as you might find at the Crystal Palace in Walt Disney World, there are additional options you won’t find there, as well as some really good desserts. With that said, the food choices here are still pretty ordinary, and aren’t all that adventurous. For a lot of guests, this will be a good thing. For those looking for a more exotic buffet like Boma or Tusker House, it will be a bit of a disappointment. Still, for the price and its all you can eat (and all you can drink soft drinks–a rarity in Tokyo Disney Resort!) nature, we consider it a very strong option. It’s not at the top of our list for those going to Tokyo Disneyland to try its unique offerings, but if you’re trying to do the parks on a budget, this buffet is probably one of the best meal values on property.
If you’re planning a visit to Japan, make sure to check out our Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planning Guide. It offers comprehensive advice for visiting Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, plus general tips for visiting Japan!
Overall Score: 9/10
To read other Disney restaurant reviews from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line, organized by location, check out our Disney Dining Reviews Index.
Your Thoughts…
Have you dined at Crystal Palace in Tokyo Disneyland? What did you think of the food? Any favorite buffet options? If you have any questions or thoughts to share, please post them in the comments. We love hearing from readers!
‘Hope the price hasn’t gone up too much since you wrote this, because it sounds like a promising option for next month’s trip to TDR. Next! Month!
Hi Tom,
How does one go about making advance reservations for these restaurants? How many days in advance can you make them?
Hi Tom,
Thanks for you lovely tips!
Do kids under 6 get to eat for free? Is there a discounted price for child?
Hi Tom!
I’ve been reading your blog since my first visit to disneyland like four years ago. But never made a comment (until now). Your reviews are super helpful! Until now I have been to WDW, Disneyland and HKDL. I just visited last month-the Christmas season at disneyland, and your blog motivated me to do so despite the crazy crowds and expensive hotel rooms. So thumbs up to you. And all the Japan Disney posts have me planning my next vacation to Japan Disney already! Thank you for all the great posts.
You’re welcome! Have a great time at Tokyo Disneyland! 🙂
Totally random comment having nothing to do with this particular post- I have to say I love every entry that is put up on this blog. I grew up (and still live) ten minutes away from Disneyland in CA, and only just recently visited my first (and second) Disney park besides that one. I’m 20 now, so after 20 years of just seeing my park it was almost terrifying to visit another one. I visited Hong Kong Disney in March, and there just isn’t any info or guides/tips out there, so it has been really exciting to read all your entries and take some reccomendations. I had the best time, and a week later I went to WDW and that was just surreal. I was in Tokyo for the 25th anniversary of Tokyo Disney but was unable to go, so every article of yours about that park really makes me excited for when I get to go. I guess I just really want to thank you both for putting so much effort into this blog because every single tip or review is helpful (whether it gets used or not). I love reading about other peoples’ Disney Parks experience, but it’s also nice now that I can finally relate and agree/disagree with even your WDW posts. I went into both trips with and open mind, but all of your entries and photos just helped me get even more excited and relaxed with the idea of visiting two new parks…so thank you for everything!
Thanks for the kind words! Glad to hear you had a good time at HKDL and presumably a good time (albeit surreal!) at Walt Disney World!