A newbie question regarding Cinderella's Royal Table Meal

[Munchkin'sMommy]

Hello,

I am a newbie here and have been lurking for a while. My husband and I are planning to take our son to WDW next spring before he turns three next May. He just turned two last wk. From what I have read so far I understand it is near impossible to get a reservation for Cinderell'a breakfast so I thought I would try to get a reservation for lunch or dinner. My question is this: would Cinderella's Meal be appropriate for a almost three year old little boy? Or would he be the only boy in a sea of little girls with princess dresses? I don't want him to feel out of place. I guess this is more my dream since I was a HUGE Cinderella fan as a child, but the trip is for him and I want to include him.

Also, I was thinking about Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Is this a good idea for a young child? My son has developmental delay and is VERY easily excited and was just wondering how rowdy Chef Mickey's can get. Can someone recommend a character meal that is in a smaller enviornment that includes Mickey?

One last question...when you make an ADR, do you actually have a res or just a time to show up and they accomodate you as space opens up? Do you really need to make reservations six month ahead of time? So if we went in May, I would have to make all ressies by Dec at the latest?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions. I learned alot by just lurking around!

 

[Jubilee]

Hello,

One last question...when you make an ADR, do you actually have a res or just a time to show up and they accomodate you as space opens up? Do you really need to make reservations six month ahead of time? So if we went in May, I would have to make all ressies by Dec at the latest?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions. I learned alot by just lurking around!

You have a Priority Seating...so when you show up, you go to the front of the line for your party size essentially. Sometimes if you walk up to a restaurant, they won't even let you wait, because they are booked solid. I would definitely make a reservation for both Chef Mickey's and CRT, but depending on the season and time of day, you may not need reservations for all places.

Even though I have 2 daughters, I would take a boy to CRT for sure. As far as Chef Mickey's goes, I've never been but I've seen it and it looks rowdy...Disney can be rowdy though

 

[Belle4mygrl]

Chef Mickey's would be very stimulating. LOL

Garden And Grill is a quiet and relaxing character meal. You would see Mickey, pluto, chip, and dale.

I have never been to CRT. I would love to go but I would rather have 2 restaurants to choose from than use 2 TS for one.

 

[Munchkin'sMommy]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Hello,

I am a newbie here and have been lurking for a while. My husband and I are planning to take our son to WDW next spring before he turns three next May. He just turned two last wk. From what I have read so far I understand it is near impossible to get a reservation for Cinderell'a breakfast so I thought I would try to get a reservation for lunch or dinner. My question is this: would Cinderella's Meal be appropriate for a almost three year old little boy? Or would he be the only boy in a sea of little girls with princess dresses? I don't want him to feel out of place. I guess this is more my dream since I was a HUGE Cinderella fan as a child, but the trip is for him and I want to include him.

Also, I was thinking about Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Is this a good idea for a young child? My son has developmental delay and is VERY easily excited and was just wondering how rowdy Chef Mickey's can get. Can someone recommend a character meal that is in a smaller enviornment that includes Mickey?

One last question...when you make an ADR, do you actually have a res or just a time to show up and they accomodate you as space opens up? Do you really need to make reservations six month ahead of time? So if we went in May, I would have to make all ressies by Dec at the latest?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions. I learned alot by just lurking around!

I don't see anything wrong with taking a little boy to CRT. Lots of people have posted on these boards about their DS's loving it. We're going in August (dd5's request) and DS9 said he doesn't care about the princesses, but eating inside a castle is cool.

Also, while I love Chef Mickey's, it is a very boisterous place. Bright colors and music and napkin waving every 20-30 min. or so. If you think he will be upset by that I agree with a previous poster to try Garden Grill. If you are just afraid that he might be excited and a little loud, I wouldn't worry.

180 days out is the earliest you can make all your reservations and I recommend it if at all possible. Remember if your plans change, you can always change your reservations. But, by making them in advance you will know that you will be eating where you want.

 

[kim_o]

We're going in less than a week and will be eating at Cinderella's royal table for lunch (I preferred the lunch menu over breakfast). Anyway, DS1 is 2.75 yo. I actually booked CRT because he really likes Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, etc, he's free, and I figure I need to go before he realizes boys aren't supposed to like princesses. (DS2 is under 1...so I don't think he'll have too much of an opinion ;-)).

 

[KathylovesPooh]

From what I understand, now that CRT is a fixed price meal (and pricey) it is much easier to get reservations. That said, I would still mark the 180 date on your calendar to make reservations. And definitely - it would be great for a 3 year old boy (now 13 year old boy might give you a hard time).

 

[skier_pete]

I think a 3 yo boy would not be out of place at CRT, but as you said you would go there more for you than for him. To me eating there is less about the princesses and more about eating in the castle itself. It is a bit of a rip-off, and personally I would not do it with a 3 yo. (We did not when our DD was 3.5, but did last year when she was 4.5. She requested it again this year, and since it is free dining, I said "Sure".)

Truthfully, you won't be able to tell if your child likes characters until they get there, but I do think that the best way to introduce them to characters is via the character buffets. To me, this is a less intimidating way to meet characters, as your child gets to see them interacting with other kids, as opposed to at a Meet 'n greet where you thrust your child into the arms of a 6 foot tall mouse. The character Buffets that I would think would interest a 3 year old, if at all, would be the HS Hollywood & Vine Play n Dine (with Little Einsteins and JoJo Circus characters), one of the Mickey ones (probably Chef Mickey's), or Crystal Palace for Winnie the Pooh.

IF you want to do CRT, you should be able to get in if you call on the 180 days before your date. We booked this year and last year no problem for lunch at a normal lunch time (12:30 PM). I think what is harder to get is a large party (> 6). If you are paying OOP, you may want to do the breakfast as it is the least expensive. IF you are planning on the dining Plan, it would make more sense to do lunch, as you get more value for your dollar. Dinner does not interest me, as they don't have princesses there at dinner. (Just cinderella in the lobby.)

Enjoy,

SkierPete

 

[NJGirl]

Garden Grill is the quiestest character meal I've been too. Mainly bc of the way the place is set up like a big donut - It's the round rotating restaurant. High banquet booths mean you can't see what's going on everywhere else in the restaurant so the lil ones aren't hollering to Mickey and gang or running over to them, etc. No character parades or waving of the napkins like you find in some other places. You cant really see the characters visiting all the tables until they get to your area. It was some of the best interaction we've had bc they were focused solely on your table.