Any reason NOT to get the last seating at Akerhus for dinner?

[desparatelydisney]

Has anybody done this? Do you get any less time with characters? Do they rush you? Any other reasons not to do this?

 

[drew64]

I tend to avoid eating at any buffet at the tail end, even at disney. Things sit awhile and are nto replenished.

 

[HappyCamper87]

I have a 7:50 PM ADR because that's all I could get. So, I'd like to know if someone has bee at the late seating too.

8 DAYS till we go!

 

[RachaelA]

we were thinking of doing the last breakfast seating at akerhus, but maybe we won't.... i guess i never really thought about stuff sitting and not being refilled.

 

[rillsung]

Here's our experience...

To start our story, we got food poisoning from a restaurant at Downtown Disney, and had to cancel the plans for a special first birthday for our daughter at Akershus the next day. Considering the situation, they did wave the cancellation fee. We were excited that we were able to reschedule for a few days later when everyone felt better.


Our reservation time was for 2:40pm and the last seating for lunch is 2:50, then they have a break and switch to dinner. We had our photos taken with Belle and went into the restaurant. They showed us to the table in the doorway of an otherwise empty restaurant. It was also in the corner - a VERY dirty corner. My husband felt like he was sitting in a trash pile with pieces of bread and other appetizers and dirty napkins on the floor. We asked for another table, but they balked at the request so we took that table. We had to squeeze my daughter's high chair into either the trash pile corner or into the aisle - we chose the corner where she wouldn’t get bumped.


The waitress, who didn’t seem to speak English real well, came to take our drink and food orders. We were barely settled so we just did drinks first. When she came back for our food orders she told us that we “have to order now or the food will go bad.” She may have said something different, but that’s what most of the group heard! Two days after food poisoning, that’s NOT what you want to hear!


They then rushed the princesses around (the 4 of them came once only). I took my daughter to be changed and when I got back the food was there. I didn't even have time to have any of the appetizers from the appetizer bar. The appetizer bar consisted of cold Norwegian cheeses and meats, pasta salad and bread.


For our entrée, most of us had the bar-b-q pulled pork. When it arrived, it was barely warm! Needless to say, a few days after the food poisoning, I couldn't stomach barely warm meat...


You can buy birthday cakes (round ones to be shared by everyone) if you're celebrating a birthday. We were told by our concierge to just ask when we got there. We decided on the smallest one that was around $25 and 8 inches across. We asked for this when we checked in and then also asked our waitress. She totally forgot to bring the cake and then disappeared. My mother-in-law asked another waitress about it. Our waitress then brought out a cupcake. When questioned if this was the cake she said we asked for a "cupcake." We’re thinking “this is $25??” The cupcake was decorated with gummy bears. YOU DON’T GIVE GUMMY BEARS TO A BABY!

She then brought the bill with her 18% gratuity added on (for a party of 6 or more). We then talked to management and they did agree that this was unacceptable and comp'ed the entire meal. We were treated like just another quick way to make a bunch of money at the end of lunch. It was horrible!

 

[Dancemom03]

We've done the last breakfast seating. I have to say that our experience was very similar, though not quite as bad, as that mentioned above. The food was rushed and not as fresh or hot as it could have been, tables around us were not cleared as promptly as they would have been if more people had been waiting to be seated, the princesses stopped by very briefly as soon as we sat down, barely posing for photos, and we missed Ariel entirely as "she was called away to help Flounder".
We were told we could return later to have a photo with Ariel, my daughter's favorite, who was the scheduled princess in the meet & greet entry photos that day for lunch but when we did, they looked at us like we had grown three heads and refused to let DD in to see her.

I've done it at other times and had a nice meal, though the menu offerings for lunch and dinner offer very little my family will actually enjoy. I guess a late character meal is better than no princess meal but, if I were doing it again, I'd be much more vocal about sharing any issues I had with the food or service caused by the late seating. It's a pricey meal experience to be rushed thru. If it isn't as you'd reasonably expect, that really should be communicated.

 

[stitch34]

What time is the last seating for breakfast? We have a 10:25, so now got me a bit worried!

 

[Pinkdiamond816]

I'm sorry you guys have had such bad experiences at the last seating!

I've never done this one as a last seating, but I tend to prefer the last seating for character meals. I find that their are less people in the place and the characters spend more time with you. At 1900 park fair Alice & the Mad Hatter came over and pulled up a chair and had tea with us as we were the only people left. They spent a good 15 minutes there. We had a similar experience at LTT with Chip & Dale. They got into a fight and were doing KungFu moves, one of them even got on a chair and did the Karate Kid thing.
As far as food, even at the buffets (CM, 1900, CP) I always find the food fresh and hot not matter the time. And if something doesn't look good to you, you can ask and everytime I was brought a fresh serving. Although as a disclaimer, I think CP ranks lowest on my buffet list since that place is hit really hard by tons of people and always seems a little messier to me than the others.

 

[Dancemom03]

Normally I like the last seating for character meals too - especially the last lunch or breakfast seating at CP. I agree, Pooh and friends are wonderful to those seated late and will often even pose for group pictures (2 or more characters together), which the characters don't normally do during busier periods.

OP wasn't asking about CP though. Akershus is the only character meal I've ever had a problem with service due to a late seating in over twenty years of addictive disney dining.
While it's a nice experience, for me it's just not as "magical" when you eat with the princesses over there in WS - definitely not anywhere near as warm and fuzzy when they greet you at the podium or on the way to your table.
The plated menu offerings are also often less appealing to children and families than the typical character meals found elsewhere on property, so it's extra nice to have a good selection on the cold bar to supliment your meal. DD19 won't even eat there anymore with us, but walks around WS and meets us afterwards as there's little on the menu she'll eat. It's just my opinion, but if I'm eating without one or possibly two members of my family due to a limited menu, I want to receive good polite service at least.
Then again, on the plus side if there are fewer of us at the table - it means there are fewer people to have to share desert with and I do really enjoy the rice pudding there.