I’ve been resisting and resisting. $165 for the three of us to meet princesses and eat moderately ok food makes me die a little inside. But we live in Seattle so the opportunity to come to WDW in the near future is slim, so I also don’t want to regret not going. Give me the good and bad. Am I going to be glad I did it or will I regret it?
Is it significantly better than say, Akershus? Or 1900 Park Fare dinner?
I also have like, a bazillion dining reservations because I can’t decide what I want to do and some of it will come down to when I can snag FEA FP+ (Epcot is making me crazy!)
OK so do you have a princess loving child in your party? If so, I can see why you’d want to experience CRT. That being said…sicne you asked how it compared to Akershus and 1900PF, we have not done 1900PF but have “switched” from doing CRT to Akershus for the past 2 (and upcoming 3rd) year. IMO, the food is better and more interesting at Akershus, you still get a photo op w/ a princess upon entry (Belle) and 4-5 other princesses (usually Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and Aurora) visit your table. Also, I don’t know if you are on the DDP but if you are, Akershus is 1 TS credit/person vs 2/person for CRT! While I wouldn’t steer you away from CRT if your (or your child’s) heart is set on it necessarily…if you want something just as good (or in my opinion better), I’d go for Akershus. Now I’m not totally sure how the prices compares OOP, as we’ve always used our DDP but I don’t think you’d regret Akershus at all.
We found the food a bit underwhelming at CRT for all the hype (and what the OOP price would be) but that’s not to say you wouldn’t find the experience worth it, just our opinions.
Yes, my daughter LOVES the Princesses. Which is why I am a little torn between CRT and Akershus…I don’t think we’re going to do a dining plan though.
Hmmmm…well, I currently have reservations to both. I am taking it as a good sign I am able to find reservations to BOG, CRT and Akershus 3 weeks after my ADR opened up. Maybe the parks won’t be crazy busy?
We went to CRT last year and it was outstanding! The food was good, we had no complaints. There were lots of princesses doing the rounds at the tables, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel. Cinderella was great and invited us back downstairs for a private waltzing lesson while we waited for our dinner, photo op with printed and signed copy to take home, and lots of attention for DS5 who was a steadfast Elsa fan. He decided that Cinderella had the power of “sparkle” and has enjoyed watching her since. We will do 1900 Park Fare this year and the stars of the show sound like the stepsisters and Lady Tremaine. Sounds like so much fun. But I read Akershus is a great experience as well. I don’t think you’ll regret any of them. CRT is so iconic and the stained glass in the dining room is beautiful. I hope you won’t be disappointed.
Oh good you have them all booked, you can think about it and decide later if you choose to! You do also get a souvenir photo with Belle from Akershus, and they have the princess parade where the kids can walk through the restaurant with the princesses, it’s super cute.
That’s kind of what I’ve done with all my dining reservations. Akershus would probably fit in the best on the day I have the reservation, but I also have reservations at CRT, BOG, 1900 Park Fare, Garden Grill and Tusker House . We won’t do all of them, but I have the options at least for now.
I don’t know how old your lil one is … We went 4 years ago when DD was 3 - the only thing she now remembers about that trip is eating in the castle with princesses and it was during fireworks so we could see fireworks through windows. So it is a must do for us - Askershus is fine seemed busier and louder and therefore not as magical. 1900 is just a different vibe we enjoyed but wasn’t as “magical” as CRT.
I can’t connect in the food but I will say I consistently see rave reviews about the character interactions at pf 1900. I also see a lot say it’s their favorite buffet on site.
We went to CRT two years ago. Just me, DH and DS5. None of us particularly interested in princesses, and the food was just ok. But we were IN THE CASTLE! You can’t beat that location. For a once-in-a-lifetime trip I think you’ll regret not doing it, when you see the castle and your child wants to enter to see what’s inside. This upcoming trip we’re not doing it, it was a onetime experience, but it was so worth it.
My grown up daughter and I have booked our holiday for next March, we definitely want to go to CRT, amongst so many others!! It’s in THE CASTLE…how could we not go???
We did CRT on a (free)DDP. We enjoyed it and my daughter was delighted. Most importantly it saved my son from queues to meet Princesses. If I’d had to pay for it however I think I’d have felt robbed. Whilst the food is quite good - it’s not that kind of money good.
We did Akershus and CRT this past May with my 4 kids. Maybe because it was our first day in the parks and they were tired at our 5:15 dinner reservation at Akersus, but my kids did not enjoy it as much as CRT. Positives: seeing Belle, wait staff, variety of food options. Negative: very loud, seemed rushed, missed princess while waiting at buffet.
CRT even with the extra cost was a much better experience and I’d go back again, probably not at Akershus. At CRT my 4 year old daughter had just done BBB and fell asleep while waiting for our reservation time of 5:30. We took pictures with her asleep with Cinderella shushing her to sleep. Also they allowed us to take another picture at the end of the meal when she was awake. Loved the view and stain glass windows, and princesses were very interactive. Excellent wait staff, food was very good. They also provided my 2 year old a kids meal at no charge a pleasant surprise. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere at CRT with less hustle and bustle.
We’re on the DDP so it was a no brainer to do Akershus instead, however if we weren’t I’d probably still have chosen Akershus. Reasons, better value, alcohol, and next time we come we’ll probably only do 1 character meal and it will be CRT.
We did Akershus for breakfast last August, and CRT for breakfast this August. Also, 1900 Park Fare for dinner this August. Our favorite by far was CRT. (I tried to block out thoughts of the money, lol.) DD7 loved the castle and the wishing star and wand she got. I think she thought CRT was just magical. 1900 Park Fare felt more like a regular character meal to me, with the having to watch for when the characters are coming before getting in the buffet line. Plus, the character interactions at 1900 Park Fare were not as awesome as I’d heard about, unless you count the sour look on DS5’s face when he got a kiss from a stepsister! I did love being served at the table at Akershus, and the character interactions were probably the best out of the three for us. But some of the things served for breakfast were too authentic for my kids.
All in all, when in doubt, I ask DD7’s opinion. Of the three, the only one she insists we must repeat next trip is CRT. I’m starting to save my pennies now!
Thank you everyone for your input! I think we are leaning towards CRT. She’s the perfect age and audience for it. I may also leave hubby at the hotel room and just have it be the two of us. That will save us some money and the possibility of my husband “critiquing” it, ha! He’s a tough sell.
I would say go for it! We have been to CRT 2 times, as well to Akershus and 1900 Park…all were a great time! Food wise we would vote it CRT, Akershus, then 1900 Park…but none of the food was bad by any means. All of the character interactions were wonderful. There is always something special about eating INSIDE the castle…my kids talk about CRT all the time, at this point if we didnt go each trip they would be disapointed…so we have ADR for our upcoming December trip too.
Whatever you choose you will have a great time! ENJOY!
Thanks everyone! I decided to keep our ADR’s to Tusker House, CRT and BOG 8am PPO. And then doing quick service and splitting meals to save $$ because the prices of meals at WDW are shocking to me. And I live in Seattle! I’m used to expensive food! I wasn’t even shocked at the prices of food at Disneyland, but WDW is something else.
Just got back from CRT on dining plan and here’s our opinion: It was okay to experience once, but we’ll never go back as we’ve had much better experiences at all other 2 credit restaurants (we would never pay cash on this place).
We didn’t have high expectations from the start since we’d read all the reviews and whatnot; we just wanted to satisfy our curiosity. Both my husband and I work in restaurants, so we’re pretty easygoing, and we’ve experienced many restaurants on-property, so I think my criticisms are fair.
The princess cast members were the most convincing I’ve seen and they did give ample attention to each table, but the food was just quite plain and sides were more hot than the meats. Desserts were great.
I could sense that the server felt rushed; she had a few mix-ups. It was definitely not fine-dining service level. For ambiance, the dining room is pretty, the bathrooms were disappointing (definitely much nicer cleaner bathrooms in the parks).
