10 Delicious Days of Deluxe Dining..Day5-Yachtmans Steakhouse-was it worth 2 credits?

[lisalonglash]

Fantastic reviews!! Nice to see another canuck's take on WDW Another poster earlier said that your review is like four reviews in one - so true! Can't wait for the next update!

 

[klacey1]

We're going to Tony's on the 23rd! So excited!

 

[PiratesCove]

Enjoying all the great reviews! I too am new to the board, and am so excited for our trip - I'm addicted. Naturally DH only cares about the food so that's always our #1 priority when planning a VA K

 

[angelicrena]

hurry up morgy with more of my reviews!! (ahem...i mean OUR reviews but of course i am the most important)

 

[morgy827]

Fantastic reviews!! Nice to see another canuck's take on WDW Another poster earlier said that your review is like four reviews in one - so true! Can't wait for the next update!

Thanks

We're going to Tony's on the 23rd! So excited!

Have fun!!

Enjoying all the great reviews! I too am new to the board, and am so excited for our trip - I'm addicted. Naturally DH only cares about the food so that's always our #1 priority when planning a VA K

Sounds like my DH

hurry up morgy with more of my reviews!! (ahem...i mean OUR reviews but of course i am the most important)

Hey Mulan. We'll have to get Tink to sign up for the boards as well...she's always lurking on here anyway!!

 

[TXMomof3boys]

Just caught up on your reviews! Awesome details - thanks for putting so much work into your reviews.

My DS4 is going on his first trip to WDW and was excited to see your pics of Crystal Palace. Our ressies are at 8:10 - so we are looking forward to seeing the park almost empty.

Looking forward to more of your reviews.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Lovin your reviews. Can't wait to read more.

 

[torsie24]

Great report so far!!! Can't wait for more!!

 

[morgy827]

Just caught up on your reviews! Awesome details - thanks for putting so much work into your reviews.

My DS4 is going on his first trip to WDW and was excited to see your pics of Crystal Palace. Our ressies are at 8:10 - so we are looking forward to seeing the park almost empty.

Looking forward to more of your reviews.

Have fun at CP... it was great seeing the park empty like that.

Lovin your reviews. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks!

Great report so far!!! Can't wait for more!!

More coming right now...

 

[morgy827]

We were really excited to eat at CRT. We were lucky to have gotten reservations for breakfast at about 110 days out for 920am and we arrived ready with our autograph books bright and early.
We had noticed the day before that you could not walk through the castle likely due to the show that they have every afternoon. so we took the walkway through liberty square and bumped into the fairy godmother on the way.

It took a bit of time to walk around the castle so I'm glad we decided to come a little bit early. But finally we arrived at the castle

When you walk in they greet you at the podium on the main floor and give you this little card and you wait to enter.

When they call your name you are led into a room where Cinderella is waiting for you to take your picture with.

Now this is the first time we had come across the 'free photo' scenario and we were pretty disappointed to see that you only got 2 photos for a group of 6. Since there were 3 couples we were hoping to get three different poses but they said only 2. I thought it was kind of stupid because if I would have broken the reservation up in to groups of 2 we would have had 3 photos for the exact same price. It didn't make sense to me...one of those Disney quirks. Here's the 2 photos that we got. Each pose came with a pink folder holding one 6x8 and four 4x6's and a 6x8 photo of the castle.

Don't you feel under dressed standing next to Cinderella??

Just as an FYI: we had pre-bought the photopass CD and when we got home I was able to add these pictures to our photopass and add Cinderella's signature to the photo. We don't have the CD yet so I can't show you all the pictures but they are quite cute.
So after you get your pictures done with Cinderella you are led up a winding staircase to the dining room.

Tink, Mulan and I all got wishing stars and the children in the room get either a sword for the boys or a wand for the girls. Stitch of course had to go get Mulan and I wands and a sword for himself.

We were seated at a nice table in the corner overlooking Fantasyland. The only problem was that I was in the sun and it was very hot. It also cast some very strange shadows in all of our pictures.

The waiter came very quickly and stayed in character throughout the whole meal. The service was quick and they refilled your plates very quickly. However, we asked for ketchup and refills of our drinks a few times and we finally got the drink refills and never got the ketchup. The princesses were announced quickly and came around with plenty of time for us to finish our meals afterward. They stopped very briefly at our table but I find that the characters often do that when there are only adults dining. Near the end of the meal we also had a CM come around and ask if we had seen all of the princesses and I thought that was a great idea. That way you won't miss out in seeing anyone.

As for the atmosphere, you are eating in the castle...need we say more? It was very regal and quite authentic looking. I thought the dining room was much smaller than I expected it to be and I now understand why it is so difficult to get an ADR here. Them view of Fantasyland is beautiful in the morning and I can imagine that it would be amazing at night with Wishes. The other drawback is that the exit is the same stairwell as the entrance and it can be quite difficult to get down the steps when a crowd of people are coming in.
Continued in next post

 

[morgy827]

The princesses we saw that day were:
Snow White:

Jasmine

Aurora

Belle

Breakfast started with orange juice and coffee and 2 plates of breakfast pastries were waiting for us on the table when we sat down.

2 bowls of fresh fruit soon followed

The waiter offers you a choice of the usual breakfast or a healthier continental breakfast. All of us chose the unhealthy version of course. Breakfast is all you can eat but is served to each person on individual plates so you just ask for more of what you liked and they bring a new plate out for you. Included on the plates are scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast and potato casserole.

I'll list the comments below along with everyone's ratings

Mulan
Mulan favorite part of the meal was the princesses. It sure beats waiting in line for autographs and photos. She found that the breakfast had to few options for a buffet. It would have been nice too have more choices. For example, if you could have different types of eggs, etc. She did not like the potatoes. She found that sickening and too sweet for breakfast. (I know, the girl who loves dessert for breakfast found something too sweet!?!).

Rating
****/5

Donald
Donald enjoyed the sausages. He also liked the wands and swords...free stuff is always a good thing. Also, having the buffet served to you is a good idea. He did not like the french toast. The same french toast is served at crystal palace and he did not like it there either.

Rating
****/5

Tink
Tink really enjoyed the french toast and the bowl of fresh fruit that was brought to the table but found that the breakfast is overpriced for what you actually get. Also, it would be nice if they gave you a choice in the type of juice instead of automatically giving you orange.

Rating
***/5

Mickey
Mickey enjoyed the girls aka princesses and also thought that the waiter was entertaining and service was decent.

Rating
****/5

Stitch
Stitch really enjoyed this breakfast. He especially liked the potatoes and french toast. He also thought that he server was entertaining.

*****/5

Morgy827
I quite enjoyed this breakfast. I also really liked the fact that the breakfast is an all you can eat style but is served to you on individual plates. Something different from the normal walk up buffet or family style buffet. It made it seem a little but fancier. The french toast was amazing. it was light and crispy with a cinnamon coated outside and what tasted like grape jelly inside. It was almost like a donut. The potatoes were also among my favorites for the trip. They were a but sweet but really tasty. I think that the same potatoes are served at Crystal Palace as well. I really hate that WDW has no ketchup on the tables for breakfast...do Americans not have ketchup for breakfast?? Maybe it's just a Canadian thing but I eat it with my eggs and sausages and I was disappointed that when I asked I never was brought any 'peasant juice' as they call it.

Rating
****1/2 out of 5

Overall Rating

4.25/5

Would we be back

Probably not. It was worth the experience to be able to eat inside the castle but we definitely had better breakfasts elsewhere. If I were to return I would like to try a dinner or a lunch instead. I also think that a dinner or lunch is a better deal on the dining plan. We found that the food itself was not really worth the 2 credits each. I also don't think that it was worth the OOP price of $31.99/each. That being said everyone needs to eat in the castle at least once in their life. It is also a great way to see the princesses.

Cost

12 Dining plan credits

Actual cost

$238.97 (gratuity was included and the pictures were also includedFresh Fruit
as part of the package)

Here are a few pictures from the walkway through the castle from the night before:

 

[TheNatureBoy]

yummy!

 

[mmmears]

Great update! I agree about there not being enough options for breakfast. We tried lunch for the first time in April, and now I'll only go during lunch. It's not all-you-can-eat, but at least I was able to choose what I wanted. The ambiance in the castle is nice, isn't it?

I'm looking forward to more of your great reviews!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

We have yet to dine at CRT. One day!

Too bad you didn't get a third photo.

I never knew they gave out wands & swords, very neat!

Great review!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I just adore your reviews! You're doing such a great job! Silly Disney rule about the pictures. When the rules defy common sense it's time to change them! LOVE that you got wands and swords-- I'd want a wand too! And what a view from your table! Your review has me wanting to give CRT a try!

 

[kschafer]

Just joining in but I'm really enjoying your reviews. I like the different viewpoints and your pics are great!! Thanks so much for doing all this work just to share with us other maniac disers!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Thanks for that review!! I thought about doing a CRT 8:05 ADR for our next trip but I think I'll stick with lunch. We did it this past March trip and loved lunch. Breakfast looks good but we like more variety at breakfast!

 

[ljcrochet]

Great review! Can't wait to read the rest. I think we are doing Deluxe when we go in August.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Another fabulous review, I really enjoy reading your report!!

The last time we did CRT was in 2004 for DD 12th birthday and my 40th!!! It was great to see the princesses but now that DD is older it's not a must do anymore for us

I can't wait to hear where your fav breakfast place was, we have our last day to book and I would LOVE a breakfast as all our ADR's are for dinner

 

[c&m]

I'm just really enjoying reading your reviews and am anxiously waiting your next review (make it soon!!! ).

I agree with your reviews on the CRT breakfast. The castle is beautiful, the ambiance is magical, the character interaction is great, the food is good for a Disney meal though limited in choices, but totally worth it to do it at least once. We really liked the fruit, french toast, and sausages. The only downer about it all was it was expensive and we paid OOP. Lucky you were on the DxDP.

Please write another review SOON...oh, I said that already