Akershus or Castle for 4 year old?

[cheryterese]

Which would be more appropriate for a 4 year old girl - Akershus or the Cinderella meal at the Castle? She will be 4.5 at the time of the trip. We do hope to return every 2 years. Would it be better to wait until she's 6 or 8 instead of going on the upcoming trip?

 

[graceesmom]

I'd go to at least 1 now. By the time they are 6 or 8, lots of little girls will have outgrown princesses.

My daughter is 4 and loves both CRT and Akershus.

I prefer Akershsus b/c it is a bit more relaxed and the princesses seem to take more time with each child. However, my daughter just LOVES eating inside Cinderella's castle. For her it is more about that than anything. Going inside that castle is a big deal for little girls. Remember that when you are paying the bill. Repeat to self, "I paid for an experience, not for a meal."

 

[cheryterese]

I'd go to at least 1 now. By the time they are 6 or 8, lots of little girls will have outgrown princesses.

My daughter is 4 and loves both CRT and Akershus.

I prefer Akershsus b/c it is a bit more relaxed and the princesses seem to take more time with each child. However, my daughter just LOVES eating inside Cinderella's castle. For her it is more about that than anything. Going inside that castle is a big deal for little girls. Remember that when you are paying the bill. Repeat to self, "I paid for an experience, not for a meal."

Yeah, I have to admit that I'm having a hard time getting past the price for Cinderella's Castle!

 

[prisjoyce]

I agree that the cost is high AND that the Princesses hang out a little longer at Akershus, but there's nothing like eating in the castle. I'd pick CRT every time.

 

[sydneysmom]

we took our DD4 to both.....she LOVED the castle. she thought eating in the castle was the most wonderful thing ever. If you're concerned about price, try to get your ADR's for breakfast because it's cheaper. They do a really sweet little ceremony where your child gets a wishing star and a wand and then the princesses direct them to make a wish (while there are stars flying all around the castle). It's truly magical. (he eyes were the size of dinner plates!!)

But then there's the "what they don't know" theory....if they don't know they had the option to eat in the castle, they're not going to get upset if they don't. Akershus was terrific. You get really beautiful picture packages with both meals, so you're not losing anything. If price is really a big factor, go w/ Akershus. You will have basically the same experience, sans that Castle.

But I truly think, if you can swing it, everyone should eat in the castle at least once. it's magic. and if you make your ADR's early (before the park opens) you can have the Photopass person take some AWESOME pics of you and your family in front of the castle w/ basically no one else around.

 

[MickeyNicki]

My almost 4 year old niece loved the Norway Princess Breakfast.

 

[whitney37354]

We took DD (5) to both. I don't know that she prefered one over the other. She did have better character interaction at CRT and from our pictures & video, we know that she loved the bacon for breakfast! Remember, it's not going to get any cheaper, so you might want to go ahead & book the castle for the first trip! On the other hand, your DD might love it & want to go back every time.

I'm no help!

 

[cheryterese]

On the other hand, your DD might love it & want to go back every time.

That's what I'm afraid of!

 

[tink2]

4 is the perfect age for either meal. For my DD~ it is no question~ THE castle every time. She is almost 12. We took her to the castle at probably 2 and then 4~ probably the first time she actually remembers the meal. She LOVED it! She sincerely thought Cinderella lived there and was having her princess friends over to help her greet breakfast guests. She wanted to go further upstairs to see her bedroom. Yep~ she's insisted on going every trip since. She has always loved the princessses though. Even now that she's older and she 'knows' the secret behind the characters, the first question when we told her about our upcoming trip was~ can we eat in the castle again? yep~ it's expensive. but, we've never had a bad experience and each trip to CRT has been magical. We ate at Akesaurus when she was maybe 6 years old~ and yes, she loved it (had to see Jasmine so we went there as well as CRT)~ but she has never asked to go back. She asks about CRT every single time. It is just so magical eating in the castle with Cinderella and her friends. And we've found that if you talk to the princesses~ esp about their 'character'~ we've always had great interaction. DD asked Belle about her favorite book, stuff like that. Go while she's young and the magic is still there! Every princess needs to eat in the castle once! LOL

 

[discookiemonsta]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but we love Akershus in Norway. The food is good, there are quite a number of princesses (Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty from what I can remember!), you get one free picture included with one of the princesses(ours was with Belle), and the price is so much better than the castle. Besides, I thought the inside of Akershus was very similar to that of the inside of a castle. Just my humble opinion though...

 

[mmay60046]

Your 4 year old daughter won't even realize there is a restaurant in Cindrella Castle unless you tell her. We did CRT once and that was enough. My kids enjoy Akershus just as much. Personally I think the interaction with the princesses is better at Akershus, and the food is way better too, and it is only 1 TS credit on the DP as opposed to 2 at CRT. The only thing you get at CRT that you don't get at Akershus is "it's in the castle" and I think sometimes it's the parents who care more about that than the kids do. They want to make sure they don't miss the experience of their kids eating at the castle.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We have been to both and really love both. DD was 4 the first time and at 7.5 she still likes princess dining. Akershus is like a small castle so you get a similar feel. You really can't go "wrong" either way. But, if at all possible, I would suggest going to Cinderella's Royal Table at least once. And, it sounds like your DD is the perfect age......

 

[2binak]

Our DD will be almost 4 on our upcoming trip. We choose Akershus for this trip. We're holding off on having a meal in the castle because 1) She LOVES Belle and while I know it's not a guarantee that Belle will be greeting guests at Akershus, there is a good chance she will be and 2) I think that when DD is a bit older, she'll appreciate & remember eating in the real castle a little more than she would now.

 

[disneybell]

If we could do the castle breakfast every trip we would!! My oldest DD and I both loved it. We went when she was 8 with just the two of us and we had so much fun.

We go to Akershus every trip and love it too, but it is not like eating in the castle! We do Akershus mostly because it is 1 TS on the DDP. We can’t wait to bring our newest princess to breakfast there in Sept!!!! We are going to wait until DD1 is a little older to take her to the castle.

I think 4 is a great age to take her to the castle!! You really can’t go wrong though, if she is into princesses, she will LOVE whatever you choose.