amandamousebeat
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
This restaurant in Norway has always been our favorite restaurant. The last time we went was back in the winter of 2003. Back then the atmosphere was strictly adult with a few scattered families. In the craziness of the parks it felt like a retreat. We were shocked to find out last week that you now need reservations and they are booked solid for two months! Luckily the manager was up front at the time and since there were only two of us he was able to get us a table. That was fantastically nice, and there are some interesting things now at Akershus but it also has its downfalls.
The perks:
If you like character dining, especially the princesses this is the restaurant you want to go to. I am not sure when they started the princess dining but now you get a free photo packet with your meal. My husband and I took a picture with Bell and just minutes later we received a clever little portfolio (designed like a story book) with a 5x7 and 4 4x8.
In addition to the pictures taken by a Disney employee you also have the opportunity to meet all the princesses (the only one we did not meet was Ariel). The all go around to each table and talk to your party. They will sign autographs and take photos with you.
The downfalls:
It is insanely busy. You must have reservations and apparently you have to have those months in advance. Here is a little tip we found out though… let them know at check in that you want to wait for the next time they check in all the reservations (they have blocks of time) and if people do not show up you will have a table. Not the best way to approach it, since there are no guarantees but an option for us spur of the moment folks. I noticed that when it is raining people do not show up.
In addition to the busy loud atmosphere there is also the price. The food was good (a lot of the traditional dishes that they used to serve are now replaced with kid friendly menus) but overpriced. On their website it states that dinner ranges from 14-35.99. Not true. For both our entrees we paid (each) $39.99. I had the stuffed mushroom pasta. It was good but if I had known the price ahead of time I would have skipped the meal. Total price for the two of us including the recommended tip was around $100.
Do I recommend it?
I do. Although it has its downfalls it is a neat thing to experience, but as a regular rotation in our Disney diets, probably not.
The perks:
If you like character dining, especially the princesses this is the restaurant you want to go to. I am not sure when they started the princess dining but now you get a free photo packet with your meal. My husband and I took a picture with Bell and just minutes later we received a clever little portfolio (designed like a story book) with a 5x7 and 4 4x8.
In addition to the pictures taken by a Disney employee you also have the opportunity to meet all the princesses (the only one we did not meet was Ariel). The all go around to each table and talk to your party. They will sign autographs and take photos with you.
The downfalls:
It is insanely busy. You must have reservations and apparently you have to have those months in advance. Here is a little tip we found out though… let them know at check in that you want to wait for the next time they check in all the reservations (they have blocks of time) and if people do not show up you will have a table. Not the best way to approach it, since there are no guarantees but an option for us spur of the moment folks. I noticed that when it is raining people do not show up.
In addition to the busy loud atmosphere there is also the price. The food was good (a lot of the traditional dishes that they used to serve are now replaced with kid friendly menus) but overpriced. On their website it states that dinner ranges from 14-35.99. Not true. For both our entrees we paid (each) $39.99. I had the stuffed mushroom pasta. It was good but if I had known the price ahead of time I would have skipped the meal. Total price for the two of us including the recommended tip was around $100.
Do I recommend it?
I do. Although it has its downfalls it is a neat thing to experience, but as a regular rotation in our Disney diets, probably not.
