Yes, tons of little girls, including DD5, wore their princess dresses. As always, it was adorably sweet!
We did both CRT and Akershus on our last trip, and honestly I found the experience at Akershus to be preferable to CRT. Granted, there is a ton of magic associated with dining in the castle, but we found the princesses to be just as sweet at Akershus (and 4 of the 5 were the same, with Belle replacing Jasmine at Akershus), the service to be comparable, and the food to be far superior. The photo package from Akershus also came out much better, and I feel that's because the photographer was less rushed and needing to push the next family through.
I'd actually consider going to Akershus for the food (not that it's an issue, because I already know we'll be going back for the princesses), whereas we'd only do CRT again for the "castle experience".
Have fun!