Originally Posted By mikkiscott Hi, we're going in January and I have reservations for breakfast as Cinerella's Royal Table. I'm just wondering if its worth the money, for my family, that is. It is me, my husband, my 11 yr. old daughter and 9 yr. old son. Husband doesn't care, but doesn't know the cost, so he might care if he knew that! Tween daughter is at the age where she's more into Hannah Montana than Cinderella, and son will probably not care for the fact that there are no male characters. I guess I booked this more for me, as I thought it would be really cool to have a meal in the castle. This is our family's first, probably only, trip to WDW, so I'm unsure whether to keep the reservation. Any opinions are appreciated! Thank you!
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy If this was my first and only trip, I'd skip the lengthy meal and use that time to see the attractions instead.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Come on, she's gotta eat, it might as well be at the Castle. I believe the serving is at a fairly quick pace, so it wouldn't be that long. And you get to eat in the castle! If you decide not to go, call me, I'll gladly take your reservations.
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl If it is your one and only trip..then I say eat at the castle. It is an experience. Our little ones are at an age when this is the ONLY meal they really care about. We have been quite a few times and it makes the trip for the little ones.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <a href="http://tinyurl.com/394hbd" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/394hbd</a> No, it's not worth the money I don't care if it's your only visit in a lifetime. I have 6 kids, the oldest is only 12 years old, and #7 on the way. I have visited WDW over 20 times since 2000. I have eaten at MOST places, done all current character breakfasts, and some that are no longer offered. For my dollar, if your sweet princess wants to see other princesses, hit this one... <a href="http://tinyurl.com/9m898" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/9m898</a> You will have plenty of time to actually eat, see more than just Cindy, and won't be pushed out the door to make room for the people after you. If you want to know why I feel so strongly about this, see my post in this thread. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/394hbd" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/394hbd</a>
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I guess, if the Magic Kingdom is the only park you are going to visit on your vacation, then yeah, you probably should bite the bullet and eat at Cindy's. I hate to admit it, but there it is.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad And the interior of the restaurant is captivating, and you do get an individual sitting with Cinderella and a professional photographer to take a photo... so yeah I suppose only you know if it's worth the money to you.
Originally Posted By Brian Noble Of the two, my kids prefer CRT to Akershus. However, probably not by enough to justify the price difference. That said, if CRT is in your plans, I find lunch to be a much better value. The food is better, it's only a few extra dollars, and it allows you more of the prime morning hours for visiting attractions.
Originally Posted By jkayjs You may want to consider Chef Mickey's @ the CR. It has the characters your son will enjoy and your daughter will most likely think it's cool to eat with the monorail gliding overhead. Why don't you take a pole with the kids. Use any of the websites that have actual pics of the different character meals and let them have some input. My fave for pics is <a href="http://www.allearsnet.com/" target="_blank">http://www.allearsnet.com/</a>. Not only will this get them excited but it also makes them an active part of & somewhat responsible for their own experience. If this truely will be your only trip I would involve them as much as you can. It will make the memories that much better. The only advise I have is don't make decisions based only on the fact that this may be your only trip. If you spend more than you can comfortably afford you may not enjoy the experience or you may sacrifice two really fun activities for the price of one that may or may not meet your families expectations. So do a little research with your family and if @ the end of the day CRT is what you all want than it is of course "worth it" to you and who else really counts.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad That is great advice. I often defend my position of joining the Disney Vacation Club with the age old, "It's worth it TO ME." So it might be worth it to you.
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys I'll preface my response by letting you you know that I own DVC and visit WDW at least 3 times a year, bought a brick on the walkway right in front of the MK,have an AP, as well as the DDE card and my son and fiance are both seasonal CM's. Put simply, my family is fanatical about Disney. That being said,I personally think eating at the Castle is over rated.It's overpriced at $40.99 per person before tax and tip, the food is not that good and you have to prepay.It's a part of Disney that you should experience at least once, but you'll probably walk out disappointed. I'm sure that this helps you in no way at all. Do what you think is best for you and decide for yourself. At least you can go home and tell your friends that you ate inside the Castle.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip We did Cindy's for breakfast about 10 years ago. At that time it was not significantly more expensive than any of the other character breakfasts. It was my least favorite of the character breakfasts we did. Of course I'm a guy, and what did I care about eating in the castle? That said... Cindy's breakfast costs about $15 per person more than the other character breakfasts. That means for $60 you can do something that for you is really cool. I think that is worth it. One option I would suggest is going there for dinner instead of breakfast. It only costs $5 more than the breakfast which makes it a much better value. You also don't have those annoying characters coming around to your table. It seemed that you wanted to dine in the Castle more than you wanted to chat-up a princess. Have fun what ever you do!!
Originally Posted By mikkiscott Thanks for your responses. I think I'll hang on the the reservation for now and decide once we get there (I believe the cancellation policy 24 hours prior?) I should have also said in my original post that we are from So Cal, so have been to Disneyland quite a few times, so we don't necessarily need to see everything in the MK, as much is the same. My plan is to first see all the attractions that are different from DL then go from there. But one of the comments about using that precious morning time to do attractions was good advice.... I should have booked lunch or dinner. Nevertheless, I'm just going to take a "wait and see" approach. Thanks again!
Originally Posted By StitchMom84 This is one of those questions that is going to get you answers all over the board..depending on what each person's personal experience/opinion is. We were just there in October and had an early morning seating. The food was ok..basic breakfast fare. It was hot and prepared well. We did have wonderful wait person and it was cool sitting in the castle and being able to see out over Fantasy Land. The Fairy Godmother was not there..as I thought she was supposed to be..but Cinderella was very charming to my 4 yr old grandaughter and even though there was a line, she didn't rush her. We had dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian ( or as my DGD calls it "The Gran Flor-lillian") with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Stepmother and the two stepsisters..and that was a better experience as they were in the dining room the entire time. They came to each table multiple times...even though the room was full. They did not rush and the stepsisters are so funny... My DGD had been to the BBB that day and had her Cinderella costume and the SM and SS kept telling her that she looked much better in that dress than Cinderella did!! When Cindy was passing by once, after having danced with Prince Charming, my DGD told her that she was a dancer too, and Cindy pulled her out and danced with her. I have a wonderful photo of them dancing together in their blue dresses
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well is the Royal Table worth the money? Evidently it is to a lot of people, as it stays booked months in advance. *shrug*
