Compare the Disney Princess dining for dinner, which is the best value and experience?

by vince
(Akron, ohio usa)

I have a 5 and 7 year old girls who love the princess. We went to Disney 2 years ago in the May of ’09 when like 10 inches rain came (rained everyday). We did Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom and am not sure if we should do that again.

Every Disney Princesses Dream

Ever Disney Princesses Dream. A horse drawn carriage and Prince Charming.
Photo by Express Monorail

Dad’s it depends Answer

Vince,

Let me say right off the bat that I’m not a Princess kind of guy. Yes, we have a little Princess, and I played with the dolls and had the tea parties, but that was a long, long time ago and I’ve grown out of the Princess mode. Also when our Princess was younger, Disney didn’t have all of these Princess meals, so I haven’t actually done any of them (except for Cinderella’s Royal Table).

But we can always figure this out. We’re guys, right?

Let’s look at the three options. The first, which you said you’ve already done Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom. This is the most requested meal at Disney World. Disney fills up this restaurant every meal, every day. (Even though it sometimes pays to just ask if their is an opening.)

Dad’s Cinderella’s Royal Table page

Next, there is the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus in Epcot. This is another hot ticket. This one also fills up for all three meals just about every day.

Dad’s Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus page

The other Princess experience is not really a dining experience but an afternoon spot of tea. At the Garden View Lounge in the Grand Floridian your Princess can experience Tea Time. There is only one Princess at this event. (Some of the others would be a bit out of place.)

Now about which is the best value and experience. That depends. You’ll probably see the most Princess at Akershus. Your Princess will actually get gifts at the tea. Dining in Cinderella Castle is an experience all to itself.

Destinations to Travel

 

Dad’s Bottom Line

Just looking at what each offers, for our Princess (when she was younger) the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus would be the one we would pick. There are more Princesses at the Storybook than at the other 2 (and sometimes a Prince even shows up.)

Comments for

Sep 13, 2011 We’ve done both meals
by: Anonymous

I haven’t done the tea, but as for the two restaurants, there is no wrong answer.

We have done both Cinderella’s castle (3x) and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (1X and have reservations for our second time in Nov.). We enjoyed both.

Cinderella’s castle is, as mentioned, an experience itself. Every little details is wonderful: /its-all-in-the-details.html

We have also paired it with a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which is just across the hall in the castle. First a trip to the beauty parlor, then walk across the hall to breakfast. (or whatever meal)

If you have already done the castle, it might be worth trying Akershus. But then again it sounds like your girls were pretty young so the castle may be a new experience to them. Really, you can’t go wrong. If you are planning to go to more than one character meal, it may be worth it for you to do both princess meals.

If you are going on a strict budget, than Akershus may be the better bet simply because it is less expensive. On the meal plan, the castle cost two meals, while Akershus costs only one.

Jul 09, 2011 Cinderella’s Royal Table!
by: Mandy S

We dined at Cinderella’s Royal Table a few years back. We had reservations around 9 pm. I was a little perturbed about not being able to get reservations until that late. However, I was in for a surprise.

If you time your reservation at Disney World to arrive before the scheduled Magic Kingdom fireworks, you actually view them from INSIDE the castle.

It was a truly magical experience that I will never forget! We were all completely blown away.

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