Cinderella's Royal Table...What to Expect??

[callicourt]

My DH and I are taking his two very young cousins to WDW in November. I've made dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table, but we aren't parents and generally leave the Magic Kingdom to dine somewhere a little more upscale. What can we expect at Cinderella's?

The girls, Audrey & Emily are 6 and 8...any help, tips, advice, or information would be greatly appreciated. We've never traveled with young children to WDW and we're both a little nervous!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

We had breakfast at CRT on our last trip, and we're having dinner there on our upcoming trip. When you check in and they call you back, you will be ushered in to stand in line for your portrait with Cinderella. After that, you head up the stairs to be seated. We had a wonderful time at our meal, despite our daughter (who was 3 1/2 at the time) wanting nothing to do with the princesses! The children will be sat on the outside, so the princesses can get to them easily for pictures. It's a fun time. The princesses are all very sweet and engaging. We are looking forward to going back again!

 

[memakwed]

We had dinner there last trip. Upon check in you will go in the castle and wait to have your pic with Cinderella. Then you will wait until they call you and then you walk upstairs to be seated. The inside is pretty not awesome but nice enough. The characters will come around for autographs and pics. You pics will be brought to you...remember they are included and not an add on. The food for kids is standard food fare the adults have maybe 4 or 5 choices. App/entree/dessert. I always told our family we were going for the experience and not the food. Everyone was pleasantly surprised with our meals and would eat there again although the price tag makes it not a necessity. Remember tip is also included in the price you have pd. Expect small portions and fair food and you'll be fine.

 

[mommycal]

I thought tip isn't icluded w/cinderella's round table? We got the deluxe plan if that makes a difference whether the tip is/isn't included.

 

[TravelAgentJen]

Tip,taxes+pic is all included. And for the original poster, eating with kids is not going to be your usual quiet, adult, upscale dinning experience and definetly not at CRT. The meal is good, medicore but you go for the experience. There's fanfare, and meet+greets w/pics and there's toys. The girls are going to be preoccupied with all that stuff.http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/princess.gif

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

We had 7:10p Dinner at CRT on Monday 5/27/12....

CRT is a family tradition and we have eaten there a lot although the experience changes over time...

You will be fine. They are very accomodating with children...

As PP's mentioned... you are called into a waiting room and stand in line for a picture with Cinderella.

We put all our "Stuff" (purses etc) on a nearby table. Remember this will be a "nice" pic.... I wish I had worn a different shirt....but maybe take care that the girls have nicer short sets on that day...

Then you wait and they call you upstairs for your table. There is a restroom about 1/2 way up the spiral staircase. Might be good to ask the girls if they need to "go" while they are waiting. Better than leaving while the Princesses are making their way around to your table.

Agree with PP... Seat the girls so they can easily get up and get pictures with the princesses. They announce the Princesses are coming out...a bit of fanfare and then we had in this order : Ariel, Snow White, Aurora, Belle.

Don't worry - the Princesses have the order of the tables and WILL Stop at your table when it is your turn. Just tell the girls to be patient...they will stop by.

While waiting ...we discussed interesting questions and each of our "kids" (Ages 20, 19, 19, 18) chose a princess to ask a question to.

The best one was Ariel. DSD19 asked her what "This" was (her fork) and she didn't skip a beat... it was a "Dinglehopper" and how uncomfortable she was because everyone was putting them in their MOUTHS !

The Princesses will have age appropriate answers to their questions. If you are looking for movies to watch on the way down, you may want to make sure they have seen all the Princess movies...that way they will "know" the princesses.

Have autograph books and pens handy. The princesses know to grab for those first. If the girls have a "Favorite" princess..she may want to bring something to discuss with the princess. Ariel noted that my son had a "turtle" on his neckchain and chatted with him about that...She asked about the waterways in our kingdom (Louisiana)

I have some pictures of our experience and the food if you are interested but won't bore you with that unless you would like to see them....

Prior to the meal our Princesses received wands and our Pirates received swords.... (One of our girls is a Pirate) LOL.....

Have a magical visit !

Mary

 

[Alabama Minnie]

Know you aren't the parents but just wanted to add that alot of people dress-up their girls like one of the princesses when they go there. Not everyone does it but thought you might want to consider if it was something you want to put the effort into.

 

[callicourt]

Thank you all so very much! We've been to WDW many, many times on our own {and with other adults}, but children are completely foreign to us! I feel a lot more confident now. Prayers will be appreciated come November

 

[Tara D]

Like the other said, a lot of little girls wear princess dresses to CRT. My daughter wore a custom made Cinderella dress and got a lot of attention from the different CM's and especially Cinderella... there were girls wearing everything from jean shorts to the nicer Disney Store princess dresses and crowns. Each girl is given a Wishing Star and a wand and they do a little ceremony with them. The boys are given swords. I will say that we spent a lot of the meal stopping to watch the presentation of each princess. They really are so "in character" with everything they say. Like Ariel called my one year old DS a cute little guppy You will enjoy the meal. The food isn't anything amazing but it's more than edible and it's nice and cool in the castle.

 

[shellybaxter]

As an Auntie that spoils her niece I always take my sweet Jonna to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (expensive but worth it) and get the full package (includes dress and everything) before going to a princess meal. It makes the meal such an "event" and is so much fun

 

[callicourt]

As an Auntie that spoils her niece I always take my sweet Jonna to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (expensive but worth it) and get the full package (includes dress and everything) before going to a princess meal. It makes the meal such an "event" and is so much fun

How sweet you are! Audrey and Emily are a bit tomboy-ish, so I could only convince them to do the hair, nails, and makeup at BBB. They were {sadly}, NOT interested in wearing a princess dress. Their appointments are two days before our ADR for Cinderella's Royal Table, so I'm packing plenty of hairspray and dry shampoo and praying the hairdos will last!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I would also recommend having the girls dress up. My girls dressed up on both of their visits and I think it kind of enhances the experience for the child.

We also, as adults, like talking to the princesses (and pretty much all characters) to kind of start off the conversation so that the kiddos have a more exciting experience...i.e. I start talking to Ariel about the girls using a dinglehopper to comb their hair or Scuttle/Flounder, I ask Aurora if she preferred the blue or pink dress, I ask Belle about books, etc. At that point the character usually takes that as a platform to launch a real conversation with my girls.

We've also had to do a little bit of hand holding at first when they meet Cindy downstairs. i.e. they can be a little timid at first. For whatever reason, Belle at Akershus and Cindy at CRT really like to twirl their skirts with the girls - so you can suggest that when they approach her for their photo.

 

[callicourt]

I would also recommend having the girls dress up. My girls dressed up on both of their visits and I think it kind of enhances the experience for the child.

We also, as adults, like talking to the princesses (and pretty much all characters) to kind of start off the conversation so that the kiddos have a more exciting experience...i.e. I start talking to Ariel about the girls using a dinglehopper to comb their hair or Scuttle/Flounder, I ask Aurora if she preferred the blue or pink dress, I ask Belle about books, etc. At that point the character usually takes that as a platform to launch a real conversation with my girls.

We've also had to do a little bit of hand holding at first when they meet Cindy downstairs. i.e. they can be a little timid at first. For whatever reason, Belle at Akershus and Cindy at CRT really like to twirl their skirts with the girls - so you can suggest that when they approach her for their photo.

Thank you so much for the helpful hints! Like I've said, my DH and I are a bit terrified of traveling with children!

Here's another question for all you ladies...do ALL the princesses come out at dinner? I've read that it's only the mice and the Fairy Godmother...that would be a bit disappointing, especially considering that we're spending two credits on this meal.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

The Mice and Fairy Godmother were with the "OLD" CRT Package ...

We saw them in 2008.

The Princesses are the "NEW" Experience that you will get now... and that we had in May 2012...

If they are Tomboys they can "get" the sword and not the Magic Wand...

With 2 girls you may find they want something different than their sister...So don't "assume" they both have to get the wand if they want something different.

Have A Magical visit !

Mary