Please talk me into CRT

[BriarRose0708]

Hi! I am calling to make ADRs for my June trip at the beginning of December. I think I'm going to need some help from you all about breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, and it may take an entire month to convince me.

I'll be travelling with my friend Kim, and she ate dinner there on her last trip and would like us to do breakfast. I have limited experience with Disney Dining, but I know that CRT gets mixed reviews. I do know that the price is rediculous (to me) and the food is so-so. I'm also not thrilled about getting up early and calling CRO at 7am on a cold December morning We will be there the first week of June and have to pay the holiday rate (since when is June 5 a holiday?) so breakfast will be about $40 each out of pocket (we're not on the DDP, and for that price I'd like some gold leaf on my eggs).

What have your experiences been like? We're going to be eating here as long as we can get an ADR, so whether I like it or not it's going to happen. Please help me feel good about it!

[tennantsrwe]

Hi!
Ahhh the CRT discussion! Well I will start by saying you have some very valid points. The price is a little on the high side....ok a lot on the high side. We've eaten there at dinner as well and the food was good. It was a little fancy for our tastes, but hello...it's a castle, lol! I think breakfast might be a little more safe as far as selection? It's definitley a neat experience to have. Not every can say they've been able to dine among royalty! I think, price aside, it will be nice. Good luck with the ADR and make sure you call early....it fills up really fast!

[Figgyluv03]

I have never had breakfast there, so I can't help you with that. My exfiance and I had dinner there on our anniversary (when we were together) and the food was amazing. I'd love to go back, but I don't know my boyfriend would feel about it. I can say, that when you are celebrating something like an anniversary, they take really good care of you. We got a pair of beautiful crystal flute with the CRT logo on them. They were probably worth the price of dinner, so it was well worth it for us.

[A Big Kid]

While we have dont before in the past and enjoyed it evertime, the current price has made me cross it off the list. It is just too expensive for me to enjoy myself in there.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

This is a really tough one. There is no way that CRT is worth the price on food alone, but the experience can be worth every penny.

We've eaten at CRt twice, once for dinner on our honeymoon, and one for breakfast with DD on our anniversary.

Both times, it was worth it...on our honeymoon they had the table all covered in confetti, we got the champagne flutes, and service was awesome. When we went for breakfast, DD loved it, and thought that getting to eat in the castle and meet the Princesses was the best thing that ever could have happened to her.

We're planning to try and get a CRT breakfast during our next trip...it is worth the cost for our family.

If you've never been there...it is an experience. And, look at it this way, since you have to pay for it when you book, you will have long forgotten the $40, so you can just enjoy the meal and the atmosphere.

[stitchcousin]

I've been to Disney twice now (going tomorrow by the way) and I have always eaten at CRT. Our whole clan loves it! Yes, it is pricey, but you are eating at the castle!! We are doing CRT on Monday morning, and we are having dinner there tomorrow night (first time for us for dinner there). It's one of the highlights of our trip. My children (both boys) think its cool (they've even commented that it would be awesome to get invited to the suite there). As I said, we don't go to Disney very much, so when we do, we go all out. It's my parents (in their 60's) favorite breakfast place to eat (and we've done many). I love seeing the smiles on everyone's faces as we are heading up there to eat. And I personally like being addressed as "Your royal highness". My mom loves being called "The Queen Mother" etc. It's the best!!!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Hi! I am calling to make ADRs for my June trip at the beginning of December. I think I'm going to need some help from you all about breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, and it may take an entire month to convince me.

I'll be travelling with my friend Kim, and she ate dinner there on her last trip and would like us to do breakfast. I have limited experience with Disney Dining, but I know that CRT gets mixed reviews. I do know that the price is rediculous (to me) and the food is so-so. I'm also not thrilled about getting up early and calling CRO at 7am on a cold December morning We will be there the first week of June and have to pay the holiday rate (since when is June 5 a holiday?) so breakfast will be about $40 each out of pocket (we're not on the DDP, and for that price I'd like some gold leaf on my eggs).

What have your experiences been like? We're going to be eating here as long as we can get an ADR, so whether I like it or not it's going to happen. Please help me feel good about it!

First things first. I don't think any breakfast is worth that amount of money. Even the best breakfast is not worth it. Having said that, have you considered lunch or dinner instead? We ate at Cinderella's Castle on our last visit and it was hands down the best dining experience I've ever had at Disneyworld. That was back when it only cost one table service credit and you had a menu selection to choose from (I think now it is a set menu). The waitress was the most knowledgeable, efficient and most "in character" we'd had. We were addressed as "My Lady" "Princess" or for my son, "Your Highness" The whole experience was great and you are in Cinderella's Castle. My friends ate their later on and had late reservations (800ish) and got to watch Wishes from their table.

[Hayden's Dad]

Honestly we love eating at the castle. To us it is magical. We upgraded to the Premium Plan this year so we don't worry about how many TS we have left and this is two and this is one they are all the same so we are eating there at some point during our vacation in Nov for breakfast, lunch, and dinner . We are looking forward to actually eating in Cinderella's Castle, plus we will enjoy the character interaction and the free photos that come with the meals. We really are not going for the food but for the experience.

Honestly it sounds like you have no desire to eat there and have already made up your mind that it is not worth it. I would tell you to skip it and go somewhere you would feel more comfortable and know you would enjoy.

[BriarRose0708]

Thanks for your responses! I understand that when you eat at CRT you're paying for the experience and not necessarily the food. I love character meals and really am looking forward to the opportunity to eat in the castle. I'm still just over the price! But our dining arrangement is we're each picking one restaurant that we absolutely MUST go to, and she picked CRT. My pick is California Grill, which will probably cost us well over the price of CRT, but seems more worth it to me because of the food quality. If you have any more advice, please let me know! Thanks again!

[offwego]

Why did she pick CRT? What I mean is the point the castle or the princesses? Would norway work as a different choice? Or is it all about the location. (and once again thank goodness my darling son is a boy as my DH would take a little girl to CRT each day in a different outfit and I'd only be able to afford to go every three years since I'd own every princess dress know to mankind...so if it's about that there isn't anything you can do as DH still looks at everyone trooping in with their adorable little girls & tiara's and sighs.)

[ChipnDaleGal]

Wow, Nikki, this is a tough one. I have had breakfast in the castle several times. I am thankful that when my daughter was little enough for this to be a big deal, it was still relatively easy to get into and did not cost an arm and a leg. I have some wonderful memories of our meals there and how happy it made her. And of course eating in the castle is just plain cool. BUT, with what this meal has morphed into, the expense and hype, in my opinion, are way too much for the experience. I am glad that I do not have to make this decision for myself at this point, because I would be put off spending so much for what you get.

If your friend has her heart set on it, then I guess you could just try to concentrate on the cool castle factor, and on seeing her happy face, and just let the expense disolve into the trip as a whole. If she can't be swayed, maybe you can get one of the earliest times and then have the fun of getting into the park early and have Main Street to yourself. We did that once with an early morning breakfast with the Pooh characters at Crystal Palace and it was something I will never forget. If that is an option, that is worth the cost of the breakfast. Good luck. I hope it turns out in a way that you will both feel good about. At least this is a good problem to have.

[illini]

Personally, if I wasn't taking one of my girls, I'd just call at about 7:10am and *darn!* they're all sold out. Am I awful for thinking that?

We found the food to be fine. But it's in NO WAY worth $40. I love eating in the castle, it's cool. But it's much more cool with my kids, and without them it just wouldn't be worth it. I shell out for the look of wonder on their faces as opposed to the food or even the ambience.

If not, how about making some other suggestions and see if she'll go for those?

[LoriMistress]

I've never eaten there, but I had to wake up at 4am to make the ADR for CRT for breakfast. I've heard mixed reviews, and I decided to give CRT a shot.

[BeccaO]

The following is just my opinion, and you will have opinions from every angle, as you have read above. I started going to Disney World when I was around 8 years old. My family made a trek to Disney about every 2 years. I come from a family of 5 kids, every trip we made we ate in the castle. The very strange part is, we had the same waitress every time, and SHE remembered us!!!!!! What are the chances of that happening???? The food back then was excellent, the atmosphere was awesome and the experience was all around spectacular. Now fast forward about 20-25 years, we visited CRT in January of 2006, and I was very dissapointed. I wanted to go so that my daughter who was 5 at the time, could experience the magic of eating in Cinderella's Castle. First of all, I feel they push you through like cattle and then when you finally get upstairs to your table, its madness!!!!! The top of our table was dirty and sticky, the food was less than appetizing and when the characters made their way to your table, it felt like they were being poked by some CM to hurry it up. As I recall it used to be called King Stephans and way back when, it was one of the nicest places to dine in the entire Kingdom. I don't ever remember the place being packed to the gills with people when we visited back then. It was one of the best places to get prime rib as I recall?? This is all just my opinion, but unless you are going because you have never been and you want to experience it, it's not worth it!!!!

[tinksmom02]

We will be there the first week of June and have to pay the holiday rate (since when is June 5 a holiday?)

Just wanted to let you know that June 5 is a holiday in this household--my birthday!

First of all, I feel they push you through like cattle and then when you finally get upstairs to your table, its madness!!!!!

I felt the same way about our experience. I'm glad we did it once, to be able to say that we ate in the castle; I don't know that we'd ever go back.

[BeccaO]

It's kind of a shame that it has gotten the way that it is over the years. I understand the crowds that are visiting are much larger than when I was younger, but it just doesn't seem like the way it used to be. I guess it has become that popular that EVERYBODY wants to experience it!!! I'm sure there will be a day down the road that my daughter will request to go there again, she is 7 now and when we went there in 2006 she was 5. Maybe we will try breakfast when that request rolls around. I am still partial to Cyrstal Palace. I was thinking about trying the Princess breakfast in Norway maybe our next trip.

[TheRustyScupper]

Please talk me into CRT.

1) No, I will not.
2) How can I convince someone to spend $40 for eggs?
3) Even with the castle and princesses?
4) Even if you were on DDP, it is a BAD financial deal.
5) So, no "pro" convincing statement from here.

[Jared]

Nikki, I don't know how to justify eating breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, so I won't try, but it's an experience every Disney fan should try once.

Yes, the meal is completely overpriced, bordering on absurdity, but eating in Cinderella Castle is just plain cool. Try not to think of what you're paying and enjoy the view. You'll never have to do it again until you have children and want to share the experience with them.

[BriarRose0708]

Nikki, I don't know how to justify eating breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, so I won't try, but it's an experience every Disney fan should try once.

Yes, the meal is completely overpriced, bordering on absurdity, but eating in Cinderella Castle is just plain cool. Try not to think of what you're paying and enjoy the view. You'll never have to do it again until you have children and want to share the experience with them.

Thanks for a constructive reply, Jared, I appreciate it. I have gotten over my issues with CRT over the last week and am really looking forward to the experience. Just seven months to go!

[mousetrapper]

My vote is to go and enjoy the experience of eating inside Cinderella's Castle. It really is an experience everyone should have at least once, IMHO.

There's nothing like that feeling of being escorted up the stairs into the Castle and sitting in the beautiful dining room with the lovely windows...it just screams "DISNEY" to me! The food is good albeit expensive.

Do it once and then you'll always have that experience to remember.