Cinderella's Royal Table Worth it??

[lawgirl]

My kids have both become fairly obsessed with dining in the castle (they'll be 3 and 5), and I understand. I remember vividly eating there when I was about their age. It was so real.

It's so expensive though. We aren't doing the dining plan, and generally just pick a few of our favorite places (Sanaa, Cape May) and then do quick service for the rest. But I feel like we should do CRT this time. How much $$ is it? I'm sure its like $50 for adults...how much for kids? And they charge in full when you book?

Is it worth it? Anyone have any more recent memories of it (mine are from 1980's). Is the food comparable to Chef Mickey's? I've read alot of negative comments, but does anyone have anything positive?

Thanks!

[mydisneygirls]

These are general prices:

Breakfast:
Adult price range: $55.29-$60.13
Child price range: $34.64-$36.98

Lunch:
Adult price range: $67.96-$75.83
Child price range: $41.84-$45.24

Dinner:
Adult price range: $67.96-$75.83
Child price range: $41.84-$45.24

I know it's all about the experience, but just to eat here is almost the price of an admission ticket for one day! To me, it's definitely NOT worth it. We don't even dine at character breakfasts because I can't justify spending over $100 for 3 people for breakfast.

[kakn7294]

To us, the expense was worth it for the atmosphere of eating in the castle just once. However, the food was not worth that much money.

[faberj]

My DS LOVES LOVES LOVES dining in the castle. He just turned 5. We have dined at the castle with him several times once OOP and twice on the dining plan. Is the food worth the cost no, but the atmosphere, the attention the staff and princesses give our little prince, and the smiles it puts on his little face are worth it to us. When I asked him where he would like to eat most on our next trip the castle was his first choice!
We have breakfast scheduled there for our next trip in September.

[1DisneyNut]

It is not worth it as far as food goes. It was by far the worst meal we have ever had in Orlando......not just WDW, all of Orlando.

The upside was, we scheduled or reservation to coincide with the fireworks. We watched the fireworks from our table in the castle through the huge window in the dining area. That was pretty cool but it sure did cost a lot for that perspective of the fireworks.

[manutd1]

Its just food......so NO, its not worth it. Save your money...Cosmic Rays or Pecos Bills will do just fine. We have found over the years that expensive food..no matter where is just kinda silly.
The money you save would buy another night at the resort and a million more magical memories...the food no matter how $$$$ all comes out the same!

[KylesMom]

My kids have both become fairly obsessed with dining in the castle (they'll be 3 and 5), and I understand. I remember vividly eating there when I was about their age. It was so real.

I'll throw my two cents in . . .

We have eaten there a few times, with the latest being my birthday.

When DS was a small child, even though it was expensive it was worth it to see his awe of dining in the castle. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.

We will probably never dine there again (the food was very forgettable last time), but if they are obsessed and SO looking forward to dining there, I say why not! It's the experience, not the food that will put smiles on their faces and memories in their hearts.

[Sylvia]

My DS LOVES LOVES LOVES dining in the castle. He just turned 5. We have dined at the castle with him several times once OOP and twice on the dining plan. Is the food worth the cost no, but the atmosphere, the attention the staff and princesses give our little prince, and the smiles it puts on his little face are worth it to us. When I asked him where he would like to eat most on our next trip the castle was his first choice!
We have breakfast scheduled there for our next trip in September.

This post gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I can't stop smiling and thinking about how happy your little prince is. Pure magic. Keep making memories that will last a lifetime.

[#1donaldfan]

For us it was an experience thing, yet the food (breakfast) was just ok. My sister did dinner and said it was great, so I guess it depends on your taste and how much you're willing to spend. For me it's not worth it, economically speaking, but for the experience, maybe....

[Katzateer]

It is worth it for the experience. Part of the price is the thrill of the castle and the interaction . Would I go now with no kids? No- so many other places I like better. But the memory and pictures of being there with our dressed up princess daughters was totally worth it!

[lawgirl]

Wow! That is so expensive! I don't know that this time that's going to happen for us. I LOVE food and don't mind spending $$ on a good meal, and I do get the "experience" is worth it, but I think we may wait or possibly look into the DDP. Eeks. I can't get over the prices. Thank you everyone for your helpful advice! We may stick to Cosmic Rays (our usual) and plan to save lots of $$ for next time!

[PlutoPlanet]

For us with DD10 it was worth doing once. The food was okay, but the photo and experience made it worthwhile. Once.

[i'm grumpy]

Whoa that would buy several days worth of meals. LOL.

[Laughin' place]

I have to cast a (somewhat) dissenting (but also biased ?) vote ...
Our first time at CRT was when I proposed over dinner in Nov 2013 (glass slipper and all). It WAS the most magical meal ever, I must say, but even before the "special dessert" was brought out on a silver tray, we thought it was one of the best theme part meals we had ever had. Expensive, yes, but for a character meal in an amazing atmosphere with that view -- we thought it was delicious and worthwhile.
We had breakfast there on Father's Day in 2014. The biggest advantage was we booked before the park was even open, so we walked down Main St when it was essentially empty ! This was a really cool experience. In this instance, the food was nothing special. The characters and food together might not have been quite enough to justify the expense; but being in the park that early made the experience very special and worthwhile.
I would rate dinner worth the expense; and give a qualified maybe to breakfast.

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

It is what I would call a once in a lifetime experience. I've eaten there twice. Once during MY first visit in the 80s and once during my kids' first visit.

Neither of those was a 'character' experience, BUT - I was eating in the castle and in the 80s it WAS the best food in that park.

When we went with my entire family(There were 14 in our party), the kids were all enthralled with the idea of eating in the Castle. The food wasn't as good, but our waitstaff was excellent. My daughter was 6 at the time(2001)and in awe of the entire experience.
If I had children at the ages of yours and knew I could pinch some pennies and squeeze that experience in, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Your kids are young once and to give them that once in a lifetime experience -

[Simba 1]

We ate in the castle once when my oldest daughter, (now 11) turned 6. Seeing her light up as each princess came to the table and spoke with her, was priceless. We had dinner and it was pretty good. Not $75/plate good, but enjoyable. It was a rediculous amount of money, but I'm glad we did it.

A few years later, my family returned when my twin daughters were 5 and oldest daughter was 9. This time we had breakfast. Again, I thought the food was very good. I had the stuffed french toast. However, the experience didn't live up to my memories. It felt rushed - sign the book, take a picture, move onto the next table. I'm not sure if that's the way things are now, to accommodate more guests, or maybe we just got the "b" team of face characters. There just wasn't much interaction.

We won't go back again, as I think there are far better experiences for the money in WDW, but if this is something your little prince or princess dreams about, it may be worth it to your family.

[TinkerbellT421]

While it may be a "worth trying once for the experience"...if that's what you want to try, go for it. If you would rather save money and have a better experience with better food, I would do Akershus in Norway if it's a princess character meal your looking for.

[Kplaster]

Paying OOP I wouldn't do it. We have ate here several times for the experience but honestly the food has not been that great in the past few years. There are plenty of other character meet and greet opportunities that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for.