CRT for breakfast or dinner?

[DixieMitch]

I'm sure this question has been posted before, so my apologies in advance, but has anyone done CRT both for breakfast and dinner (not on the same day)? I'm wondering if you had a preference? Was the atmosphere better at one or the other?

I originally had planned on an early CRT dinner with my DD5, but I'm wondering if it would be more fun to do an early breakfast before the park opened? The idea of an empty(-ish) Main St is pretty appealing. It's my daughter's first trip and I haven't been since junior high, so I know we'll have fun either way. Just wondering if anyone had done both, and how your experiences were.

Thanks!

 

[Wendy31]

CRT is always a must-do for us. We've experienced breakfast (once), lunch (twice), & dinner (once).

We tried CRT for breakfast way back in 2005. Originally, our ADR was for 8:25 am which was a pre-opening time. Then, they changed the EMH schedule, & a morning EMH in MK was scheduled for the same morning as our CRT ADR, so our pre-opening ADR was no more!

As an aside, in 2005, the only character meal option at CRT was breakfast. You couldn't make any reservations prior to 90 days out. The dining plan had just been introduced, & CRT was only 1 TS credit. Additionally, you couldn't do 90+10. Getting a breakfast CRT ADR was considered a miracle! DH & I got up every morning to try & get a reservation. We used both cell phones & our land lines. We were arriving in WDW on a Tuesday & leaving the following Monday. We finally scored our reservation for the Saturday of our trip!

Breakfast was absolutely fine. The character interaction was great. Snow White was wonderful! Our server was great as well. Again, though, this was 2005, & I don't have any more recent experience at breakfast.

The following trips we did lunch at CRT which we also enjoyed.

This past trip, for the first time, we tried dinner, & we loved it! It was probably our favorite meal of the trip, & we've scheduled dinner again for our upcoming trip.

Here's a link to my review w/ some pics... (post #11)

http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2808206

Hope this helps some!!

A bit off-topic, on our past trip, I tried to schedule another pre-opening breakfast in the MK for us - this time at Crystal Palace. I was so excited about getting those empty Main Street pics! Except that morning it was drizzly/foggy. And the night before the crane had gone up to start putting the Christmas lights on the castle. I've given up on pre-opening breakfasts in MK!!

 

[DixieMitch]

Wendy31, this is very helpful...thank you! I think I had some sort of CRT blinders on and forgot that there are other places to do b'fast in MK. I think we'll keep CRT for dinner and do CP on a different morning.

BTW, thanks for linking to your trip report...it's fabulous! We're going in early Sept and staying at the WL, so you also just answered about 10 other questions I had.

 

[katt789]

In my opinion, I would definitely say save CRT for dinner! I'm not sure on the cost for the breakfast, but if it's the same $60.00 in advance dealio, then dinner (in the case of an adult) is going to be more worth it, I just feel like you get more, and the food is great. It's nice to have a dinner to sit down to after a full day in the parks too

 

[TravelAgentJen]

If I'm going to use 2 credits for a single meal it's not going to be for pancakes and eggs!

 

[ktlm]

Neither. We actually prefer lunch. It is a good mid-day break.

 

[Splash Mountain Kid]

I prefer CRT's breakfast. When we went for dinner the food wasn't great. You may not want to waste your meal plan credits on breakfast but that's your decision. I highly recommend the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. I hope this helps!

 

[DixieMitch]

Thanks, everyone! This is all really helpful....although I think I'm back to being undecided.

 

[Magic3forme]

We have done both.
The fun advantage to breakfast.. go early enough before the park is open.. walking down an empty main street is awesome! Great time for pictures in front of the castle too.
I am not a huge breakfast person, but when we went years ago it was okay. ( I dont eat eggs.. so that is a huge portion.)

We went for dinner last Feb. (2011). We went for our daughters 13th bday. our food was one of the best meals of the trip. I think we all had the beef. It was tender and very flavorful. We all had different desserts and appetizers and they were all good too.

I would go back for dinner again, not breakfast.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We like both breakfast and dinner, but prefer dinner more because we really like the food selection whereas the breakfast selection has pretty standard fare. However, I am all for getting a pre-park opening ADR so you can walk down a near empty Main Street and get great pictures of the Castle along the way , when we book at CP or at Akershus in Epcot, we love having the pre-park opening ADRs due to this very reason. Enjoy, you really can't go wrong with either time frame .

 

[Wendy31]

Wendy31, this is very helpful...thank you! I think I had some sort of CRT blinders on and forgot that there are other places to do b'fast in MK. I think we'll keep CRT for dinner and do CP on a different morning.

BTW, thanks for linking to your trip report...it's fabulous! We're going in early Sept and staying at the WL, so you also just answered about 10 other questions I had.

You're welcome!

You will LOVE the WL!!!! It's absolutely gorgeous & is our favorite resort! We're going to miss it so much! (Our younger DS will be 3, so we don't "fit" in the WL any more - unless we stay in one of the deluxe rooms - so we're staying for the 1st time at the Contemporary.) The boat ride to the MK is lovely, & having a boat to the Contemporary is also very convenient. See if you can be the Flag Family one morning - such a cool experience!

And Roaring Forks is wonderful for breakfast! They have 3 Mickey Waffle breakfasts that are delicious - Mickey waffles w/ strawberries & citrus-flavored whipped cream, Mickey Waffles w/ pecans & a banana foster sauce, & Mickey Waffles w/ chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, & whipped cream!

And the Roaring Forks castmembers are so nice & pleasant! One morning I was trying to take back 4 breakfasts platters & drinks to our room. A castmember saw me struggling & gave me lids for the platters & then packed it all in a bag so I could cart it back to our room more easily. In September, it's never very crowded, but there's normally a castmember that stands in the middle of Roaring Forks in the morning to help direct traffic, & he's always so cheerful & friendly.

You will love the Lodge!!