Akershus or CRT?

[tkseyf]

Hello. I'm sure you've gotten this question many times. We are going to Disney World in September. We have A 2 year old daughter and a four-year-old son. We are debating which princess breakfast to do for our daughter. We need your advice to help us make a decision.

FYI, we will be on the Disney Dining Plan.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

What are your priorities? Aker is less expensive and has Belle. CRT is more expensive (2 credits DDP), has Cindy and is in the castle. We took our kids to both in 2016. They have asked to go back to CRT both years since. They’re ok with skipping Aker. If cost or the castle aren’t discriminaters for you, I’d take a look at the menus. Some people say that Aker has better interactions. Other than the fact that they get to parade around with the princesses, we didn’t necessarily find one to be better than the other for interactions. My son at 2, 3, and 4 loved the sword he got at CRT. It was what made going there exciting for him. I would not recommend making the decision based on a $2 plastic sword but I throw it out there.

Basically, my short answer is that I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, just what works better for you.

 

[rg35]

Your daughter is only 2, so from her perspective it really doesn't matter where you go. We have triplets - 2 girls and a boy - and our son has always enjoyed the princess meals (we don't force "hyper masculinity" like some parents do), so you might want to ask your son if eating in a castle would be exciting for him, since he's the one that will be likely to get more out of the experience overall. I would suggest making the choice that works best for your entire family - whether that's based on budget considerations or other touring plans, etc.

To our kids the castle experience is unmatched, but it may not make an ounce of difference to yours. Every family is different.

 

[JZCubed]

Hello. I'm sure you've gotten this question many times. We are going to Disney World in September. We have A 2 year old daughter and a four-year-old son. We are debating which princess breakfast to do for our daughter. We need your advice to help us make a decision.

FYI, we will be on the Disney Dining Plan.

With two small children, there is not much to do at Epcot.

The room at Cinderella's Castle is lovely.

The conga-line with Princesses at Akershus was a better experience for our little one.

But you wouldn't be 'wrong' trying to save a dining credit.

Coin-flip.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We prefer Akershus. We found the food, service and character interaction to be much better there. And you'll save a dining credit!

 

[Bete]

You will have the option to eat more at Akers. The salad bar has a lot of variety. This restaurant is like half buffet and half not. Hubby might like having more to eat.

Cinderella Castle has by far better ambiance. We got a little bit of a kick looking out of the castle into the park. Also, you get a picture package included. That's part of it being more expensive.

It's really hard to get either reservation; so, you may just have to be satisfied with whichever one you can get.

 

[Misha72683]

We really enjoyed Akershus though we did dinner not breakfast. Our boys were 2.5 and 4 at the time and got a lot out of the meal and loved meeting the princesses. The plan is to do CRT next time, but that's because it's something my mom (the major Cinderella fan) really wants to do. The salad bar at Akershus is amazing.

 

[CrazyHare]

Also, you get a picture package included. That's part of it being more expensive.

They don’t do the picture package anymore. You still have your photo taken before dinner, but it gets loaded to your photos. Then you get it if you have the Memory Maker package, have an annual pass, or you can purchase it from there.

 

[jillt2ph]

I just did breakfast at both places in December. I am a 50 something female, so keep that in mind I liked the food at both. The princess interaction was a little better at Akershus. My friend and I got a kick out of the princess parade; there were a few little girls who were just so thrilled to be holding hands with a princess!

I was surprised at how poor the audio system was in the castle. Very difficult to hear the introduction of each princess as they came out. A funny thing happened at the table next to us - the little girl hid under the table when a princess came around, but her brother was more than happy to get his pic taken with each one.

 

[KenHutch]

Having done both meals 3 times with the age of your little ones I would say Akershus. Its one credit and they get to see the princesses. Save the CRT for an age when they will both remember it better. I tell everyone who asks you need to do CRT once but this way you save a credit and I actually like the food better at Akershus.

 

[Capang]

With those ages probably Akershus, but to be honest we hated the dinner there. Would it be worth 2 credits per person for the castle? Probably not, but then again if you don’t plan on going back I’d do the castle.

 

[GirlDreamer]

You will have the option to eat more at Akers. The salad bar has a lot of variety. This restaurant is like half buffet and half not. Hubby might like having more to eat.

Cinderella Castle has by far better ambiance. We got a little bit of a kick looking out of the castle into the park. Also, you get a picture package included. That's part of it being more expensive.

It's really hard to get either reservation; so, you may just have to be satisfied with whichever one you can get.

Unless it's changed since I worked in Akershus, it's all buffet style actually. A lot of people don't realise this as you order your main meal from the menu. But if one plate isn't enough, you can order another, it's all included in the price. Or if you're not sure if you'll like something, you can order it and then get something else if you don't like it. I would often also mix things up, like order one main meal and then order sides of other things I wanted, like having the kjøttkake with a side of pasta.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We have been to CRT (multiple times) and Akershus breakfast (once). For a princess meal, we are Akershus breakfast people now! Booked again for our next trip.

It is less expensive and we had outstanding interactions there. Cinderella grabbed my DD’s hand and she led the parade around the restaurant. It was really special and we enjoyed Akershus way more than we expected we would.

We will go back to CRT when DD is a little older (she’s 3) because we do like eating in the castle. But Akershus has really charmed us!

I do think everyone needs to eat in the castle once. Will you be bringing your daughter back? If so I would do Akershus while she is this age and CRT in the future.

 

[Betty_Baylor99]

I’ve been to both. We liked them both, but I don’t think you can go wrong with either. If we are to go back now and had to choose, we would choose Akershus with our 6, 8 and 10 year old daughters. They like the princesses, but I can’t stomach the cost of paying the adult price for my 10 year old now so the frugal part of me would just pay for the less expensive option. CRT is more of a “one and done” deal for me. It’s amazing to say you dined in the castle and we are glad we did it, but we don’t feel compelled to have to go back if that makes sense.

CRT pros:
- better ambiance as you are dining in the castle
- photo op with Cinderella before your meal; remaining princesses come to your table individually
- children get gifts (read: plastic dollar store trinkets) a “wishing star”, girls get wands, boys get swords
- if you want a more formal meal, CRT is a fully plated meal where the server brings you what you specifically order by course

Akershus pros:
- less expensive if you are dining OOP, also only takes 1 TS credit vs 2 at CRT
- photo op with Belle before your meal; remaining princesses come to your table individually
- for lunch and dinner, you have more variety to choose your appetizers that are presented like a buffet (your actual entree and dessert will be brought to you by your server)
- IMHO better interaction- I felt like the interaction with the princesses were less rushed here. At Akershus, a princess leads the girls on a parade during the meal (nothing very formal, just a simple “follow the leader/princess” during a song)

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Akershus pros:
- less expensive if you are dining OOP, also only takes 1 TS credit vs 2 at CRT
- photo op with Belle before your meal; remaining princesses come to your table individually
- for lunch and dinner, you have more variety to choose your appetizers that are presented like a buffet (your actual entree and dessert will be brought to you by your server)
- IMHO better interaction- I felt like the interaction with the princesses were less rushed here. At Akershus, a princess leads the girls on a parade during the meal (nothing very formal, just a simple “follow the leader/princess” during a song)

We will have a Disney adult next year so that may play into our CRT vs Akershus math. We've done CRT the last three years and love it - the kids prefer it to Akershus. But things are going to start getting even more expensive for us to keep going.

I think the bolded point is a good one for people who's family is very into M&Gs. Cindy can be visited with an FP. The only other place to really meet Belle is an often lengthy line outside at France (my kids really don't see ETWB as a M&G since they don't really get to talk to her or get autographs, just a photo op). It requires scheduling up an afternoon in Ep that could otherwise be a nice relaxed stroll through WS for us.

Or maybe this is all me rationalizing why next year it'll be ok to skip CRT ...

 

[LMA712014]

I’ve never been to CRT but we ate dinner at Akershus night one last week!

My husband, who isn’t a super adventurous eater, wasn’t in love with his entree but he did enjoy the buffet. I had the meatballs and really liked my whole meal. Our little people had pizza and meatballs and loved the pizza (also not adventurous )

Our server was awesome, character interactions were great AND he brought us out extra of our favorite dessert to take with us).

With that being said, I’d totally eat there again!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Breakfast is better st Akershus, dinner is better at CRT. If money is not a major concern, go to CRT.

 

[Summer2018]

Hello. I'm sure you've gotten this question many times. We are going to Disney World in September. We have A 2 year old daughter and a four-year-old son. We are debating which princess breakfast to do for our daughter. We need your advice to help us make a decision.

FYI, we will be on the Disney Dining Plan.

Cinderella’s Royal Table every day all day long.
We have been to CRT for breakfast every trip since DD was 7. She is 20 now, and we are returning in July.
The one time we went to Akershus was a disappointment in comparison to CRT. The magic was totally lacking. One and done.
We can’t wait to be back in Cinderella’s Castle again.