Cinderella Royal Table - Worth the $?

[MissionMouse]

Well . . .

4) But, if you want princesses in a castle for the daughters, you pay.
5) And, Disney knows you will pay dearly.

The two key points that Rusty made that drives the prices of CRT. As long as people are willing to pay the price for their little princeses, Disney is able to raise the price. You may not feel it is worth it, but look at any Disney price...which ones really equate to the normal sense of worth. Its more of are you willing and able to pay.

 

[sadossey]

The food was comparable to a hospital cafeteria. My meal tasted like it had just come out of a microwave.

 

[juliebug1997]

The food was comparable to a hospital cafeteria. My meal tasted like it had just come out of a microwave.

You must be eating better hospital food than I've gotten. CRT is like eating at the Four Seasons compared to the hospital food I've had to eat.

 

[disneywalkers]

We have gone every September since 2008 and have only ate at CRT once.

Last year we did lunch.

We had a great time.

But I am a firm believer in "you take a great time WITH you"

So I'd have a great time at the dump

We have 6 kids (4 girls, 2 boys).

There is indeed something about being INSIDE the castle, so I'd have eventually done it even if we didn't have kids, so don't let that stop you.

We are doing Breakfast this year, but I have gone back and forth on whether or not it's worth the over $400 We have 10 total with my parents going with us. So your $140 doesn't phase me

But....still......it's a once a year thing and these kids will be outta here before you know it

 

[jenn3456]

I'll throw my 2 cents in. We are taking our 5 kids to Disney for the 1st time this June. I had this reserved but we cancelled it. Mostly because of the food. We did not find the menu to be at all appealing. My oldest ds has Asperger's and it would have been a nightmare of a meal for him with the menu. We asked our girls and read them the menu there and for Norway in Epcot. My girls both quickly said they didn't want to eat at the Castle! SO I guess my answer is know your group!

 

[disneywalkers]

I'll throw my 2 cents in. We are taking our 5 kids to Disney for the 1st time this June. I had this reserved but we cancelled it. Mostly because of the food. We did not find the menu to be at all appealing. My oldest ds has Asperger's and it would have been a nightmare of a meal for him with the menu. We asked our girls and read them the menu there and for Norway in Epcot. My girls both quickly said they didn't want to eat at the Castle! SO I guess my answer is know your group!

I was worried about the menu when I read it too. My oldest also has aspergers. We have 6 kids and almost all of them are picky eaters too. So I was very hesitant. But the menu doesn't sound as good as everything turned out to be and I didn't think my kids would like anything on it. I was wrong. My oldest ordered off the adult menu and LOVED it. My picky kids ordered off the kids menu, loved it and ate off of every adult plate there. There were 6 who ordered off the adult menu out of the 10 of us, so they tried quite a few different items.
I can't remember which meal it was, this was lunch, that they ate more of than what they ordered.

I am a firm believer in, you don't go to the Disney restaurants for the food. You go there for the experience so expecting them to be amazing is expecting too much. If I was expecting that I know I could find a lot of places off Disney property to go. But I'm going for the experience. And all of them have been great.

Ok minus one. And that was my own fault, kind of. We ate at Boma last year and when I went to pay I couldn't find my CC. So that kind of ruined the whole thing, but that wasn't Disney's fault.

 

[lhguillory]

I'm not sure I would shell out the dough for adults unless you really want to experience the castle. The food was good but not $140 good. However, if you have a child who really loves princesses, then this is the place to see them. We went a few years ago when my daughter was 4. Each princess came to our table for photos and signatures. Unbelievably, one of the princesses remembered my daughter from the day before when we stood in line to see the princesses. It was a special time for my daughter and she wants to do it again when we go this year, although she will be 9.5. I'm not paying for my son and other daughter to go, as they aren't interested enough for the money.

 

[housetomouse]

How is the atmosphere inside Cinderella's castle as compared with Beast's new castle? I don't care about meeting princesses and was wondering if the new castle compares. I have never been inside Cinderella's castle, but without anyone in our group wanting to meet the princesses, I have never wanted to shell out the $ for the meal. I was hoping Beast's castle would suffice.

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

How is the atmosphere inside Cinderella's castle as compared with Beast's new castle? I don't care about meeting princesses and was wondering if the new castle compares. I have never been inside Cinderella's castle, but without anyone in our group wanting to meet the princesses, I have never wanted to shell out the $ for the meal. I was hoping Beast's castle would suffice.

We really LOVED Cinderellas Royal Table when we went on our honeymoon... It's pretty inside but not like Be Our Guest pretty. We have eaten at Be Our Guest 4 times now and I still am in amazement when we are in there. It is soooo pretty in the ballroom.

 

[Masonmj84]

We only do CRT for pre-park opening breakfasts. Under those circumstances, it's "worth it" to us but not because of the food or service (food is mediocre and we've found much of the wait staff to be somewhat surly and impatient).

Here's how I'd personally break down the value of the overall experience:

20% - being able to walk down a near empty Main Street beforehand and getting a jump on Fanstasyland afterward

30% - being able to eat in the castle.

30% - having princesses come to your table.

10% - picture with Cinderella (this is included in the price)

10% - the food (and service)

Honestly, the food and service here is probably only worth $7-10 per adult meal and $3-4 per kid's meal (IMO, not much better than a Denny's or IHOP). So it all depends on whether all of the other factors, collectively, take it to the leve of being worth it. This will obviously vary, depending on how much your group values those other factors.

 

[housetomouse]

We really LOVED Cinderellas Royal Table when we went on our honeymoon... It's pretty inside but not like Be Our Guest pretty. We have eaten at Be Our Guest 4 times now and I still am in amazement when we are in there. It is soooo pretty in the ballroom.

Thanks

 

[disney1990]

We used to do CRT on a fairly regular basis. But, I think the cost is way out of line these days. So we don't do it at all now. $32.44 for breakfast and $37.42 for lunch for a CHILD age 3 to 9!! No Way.

 

[kam1011]

Every Penny!

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

I took my daughter there for the first time last year- I consider myself a pretty frugal and money conscious gal, and I can say for the steep pricing, it is most definitely worth it!!! BUT it depends on you and what you like- if your child and/or you is into the princess theme then yes it will be a spectacular memory. My daughter's favorite princess is Cinderella- she wore her Cindy costume and really loved matching w/ Cinderella. When we sat down to eat, I could cry. Sitting in the castle eating a meal w/ my daughter was beautiful. The food was good, but we didn't expect to pay $$$ for the food, we were coming for the experience & atmosphere. The memories we made are priceless... and this year I booked CRT again--- we are both so very excited!

 

[nkosiek]

I was able to get a late seating there last July for my wife and myself. Being inside while the fireworks went off and seeing them out the window, awesome! I'd do it all over again.

 

[Kimberly1969]

Ok I am going to ask this, sorry if it is somewhere else or a dumb question. First of all, I just learned planning this trip that there even was a Cinderella Table, how I missed that I will never know. And I do not have kids, but I want to do this as much as any inner princess..haha
I do have the dinning plan and would reserve a table but this one requires pre-payment, anyone know why?..
My luck by the time I can pre-pay for it, any and all reservations will be gone.
Oh well, just wondered. Can I atleast go in a see it even if I do not get to eat there?
THANKS ALL
I love how much everyone is Disney crazy like me...

 

[phdhycster]

cRT is an amazing experience I think everyone (with or without children) should do at least once when in Disney. We found the food to be decent but the experience priceless and I was 40 and without children when we went!

 

[WisconsinDad]

Ok I am going to ask this, sorry if it is somewhere else or a dumb question. First of all, I just learned planning this trip that there even was a Cinderella Table, how I missed that I will never know. And I do not have kids, but I want to do this as much as any inner princess..haha
I do have the dinning plan and would reserve a table but this one requires pre-payment, anyone know why?..
My luck by the time I can pre-pay for it, any and all reservations will be gone.
Oh well, just wondered. Can I atleast go in a see it even if I do not get to eat there?
THANKS ALL
I love how much everyone is Disney crazy like me...

When we went to CRT a couple of years ago, we were told that you had to pre-pay and that if you wanted to use the 2 dining plan credits to pay for it, you notified them when you had the dinner and you would be reimbursed the amount on your CC. We ended up not bothering with it and saved our credits for other meals. Not sure if that process has changed but that's how it used to work.

 

[figment_jii]

I do have the dinning plan and would reserve a table but this one requires pre-payment, anyone know why?..
My luck by the time I can pre-pay for it, any and all reservations will be gone.
Oh well, just wondered. Can I atleast go in a see it even if I do not get to eat there?

Full pre-payment is required, mostly likely as a means of keeping people from making the ADR and then not showing up and not cancelling. If you cancel in time, your pre-payment will be refunded.

Sadly, no, you cannot enter into the caste if you aren't eating there. The check-in CM is outside the lobby (where you get you picture taken with Cinderella).

Whether you'll be able to get a reservation (or a walk-up) is hard to say. People's plans change, so ADRs do come available. If you're flexible with your date and time, you'll probably find something if you search for ADRs pretty diligently.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

Full pre-payment is required, mostly likely as a means of keeping people from making the ADR and then not showing up and not cancelling. If you cancel in time, your pre-payment will be refunded.

Sadly, no, you cannot enter into the caste if you aren't eating there. The check-in CM is outside the lobby (where you get you picture taken with Cinderella).

Whether you'll be able to get a reservation (or a walk-up) is hard to say. People's plans change, so ADRs do come available. If you're flexible with your date and time, you'll probably find something if you search for ADRs pretty diligently.

Be flexible is the key...if can eat lunch at 2:30 or Breakfast at 10:30 you have a better chance!