Cinderella's Royal Table v Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

jrtoastyman

Purveyor of Fine Latex Products
Joined
May 22, 2011
Will be in the World this upcoming January with my then nearly 3 yr old Princess-loving daughter. We're looking to take her to one of these meals. For those that have been to both:

  • Does one have more Princesses than the other?
  • Is it basically the same Princesses at both of them, or would we see a different crop if we went to both?
  • How is the experience different at the two places, e.g., does one have more princess interaction than the other?
  • Is the food appreciably better at one over the other?
  • Is the food appreciably better at one meal over another?
  • Anything else that you think I might need to know in deciding which one to do?

Thanks much!
 
We have been to the Norway Princess breakfast twice. We chose breakfast because my nieces can be picky eaters but they love anything and everything breakfast. The food was very good and everyone got their moneys worth here.

The characters were fantastic. We saw Belle, Aurora, Ariel, Snow White and Jasmine the first time and the second time the same ones except no Ariel and sub in Mary Poppins. The interaction was just amazing and my niece still talks about those meals.

Reason why we chose Norway was easy, we were doing CP at MK on our MK day and needed a breakfast for our Epcot day...this was a no brainer for us plus the fact that I have ready lots of reviews that call the Castle a waste of money, not worth it, terrible food, rushed character interaction etc etc.
 
If cost or TS credits is no issue, go with CRT just for the experience of eating in Cindy's castle. IMO, eating in the castle is the only advantage of CRT over Akershus. They both have about the same amount of princesses (you are greeted by 1, either Cindy or Belle, and about 4 others visit the tables, but that can always change). We have had what seems to be better interaction at Akershus and have liked the food better there as well have had breakfast and lunch at Akershus and only breakfast at CRT). Even though Akershus has been an all around better experience for us, I think that everyone should eat at CRT at least once. :thumbsup2
 
We have done both and I preferred Norway more. We have only done the breakfast at each and I think by far the food was better at Akerhaus, more choices, and it is a buffet, of course. The cheesy hashbrown casserole @ Akerhaus was out of this world. The food at CRT is so so at best for the price you pay and we choose breakfast because of a picky eater.

They had only princesses the time we ate at Akerhaus. The first time we ate at CRT, they had princesses and Mary Poppins and they were wearing their regular daily wear (Belle). The second time was Christmas morning and all of the princesses were in ball gowns, and Mary Poppins wan't there. I think the character interaction was really good at both, but I would have to say it was better at Akerhaus.

DH and I are going to try Akerhaus again in January.
 


My niece goes with us on our trips and we like CRT. Mostly because I think the castle really adds to the experience. For so long we went and you get to look at the castle from the outside but, something about being able to go inside. I believe the princesses are pretty much the same.I think the Norway breakfast does have a cold bar in addition to the regular breakfast. I'm sure they are fairly similar. At CRT they give the girls magic wands and the boys swords. My mom even asked for one... Lol! Either way I'm sure you will have a blast:thumbsup2
 
We did both for dd's 4th b-day and the only one she talks about is CRT. So guess what we have booked for her 8th b-day.
 
My family has done both, and on every level, we thought CRT was superior.

As others have mentioned, dining in the castle, looking out over Fantasyland, is very special. My kids immediately recognized Akershus as being a "fake" castle. Yes, they're both fake castles, but somehow, Cinderella's seems much more magical.

Though I didn't go to either one for the food, really, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meal at CRT. At Akershus, not so much. Service was also considerably better at CRT.

Akershus has Ariel, and CRT does not-- it has Jasmin, who I don't remember seeing at Akershus, so that may be a factor in your decision. In our experience, the princesses spent much more time with us at CRT than at Akershus.

If you're paying OOP, keep in mind that the CRT price includes gratuity, while the Akershus price does not, so I think CRT is a much better value; if you're on the DDP, the math is a little tougher, perhaps.
 


We ate at both CRT and Akershus. CRT was much better. The dinner there was the best meal of our trip. The princesses were excellent there, too.

At Akershus, we weren't impressed with the food, service, or princess interaction. When we started planning our next trip I asked DD5 what was one thing she wanted to do. Her answer was "eat dinner at Cinderella's Castle!"

It is a memorable thing. A 'fake' castle (as PP put it) is not as memorable.
 
Akershus has Ariel, and CRT does not-- it has Jasmin, who I don't remember seeing at Akershus, so that may be a factor in your decision. In our experience, the princesses spent much more time with us at CRT than at Akershus.

There are no guarentees on which princesses will appear - so I wouldn't let that affect your decision.

At CRT, you'll get the picture with Cinderella. In Norway, you'll get the picture with Belle. As for which princesses will be walking around - it could be any of them :)
 
We had breakfast at both with the exact same characters. That didn't bother DD. Food & characters at both were fine: food better at Akershus, character interaction better at CRT.

I'd go to CRT for a first-timer just to say I'd been.
 
My family has done both, and on every level, we thought CRT was superior.


Akershus has Ariel, and CRT does not-- it has Jasmin, who I don't remember seeing at Akershus, so that may be a factor in your decision. In our experience, the princesses spent much more time with us at CRT than at Akershus.


That is not entirely accurate.

Trip in May had all the same Princesses at Both restaurants including Ariel. Maybe it was just luck of the draw IDK. IMHO Akershus is waaaaaaaaaay better. Better Food Better interaction(princessess actually parade aaround the dining room with the kids) Service was better. Until my DD (4) doesn not want to eat at the castle anymore we will continue to go to CRT but that is the only reason. I would go to Akershus if i only had to go to one.
 
We did CRT dinner in Jan and while the princesses were good - we were at the "end of the rotation" so they were a little rushed with us. Also honestly the food at CRT was just not that good.
We are trying Akershus for lunch this fall....can't wait to see the parade!
 
We did Akershus on our last trip and loved it - we are doing it again our next trip as well.

Our daughter is still young do we are waiting on the castle experience until she is older as it is more expensive (2 TC vs. 1)

We really liked the foot at Akershus and the interaction with the princesses was great. We do want to do CRT at some point to experience eating in the castle, but I think Akershus will be are more frequent stop
 
My family has done both, and on every level, we thought CRT was superior.


Akershus has Ariel, and CRT does not-- it has Jasmin, who I don't remember seeing at Akershus, so that may be a factor in your decision. In our experience, the princesses spent much more time with us at CRT than at Akershus.


That is not entirely accurate.

Trip in May had all the same Princesses at Both restaurants including Ariel. Maybe it was just luck of the draw IDK. IMHO Akershus is waaaaaaaaaay better. Better Food Better interaction(princessess actually parade aaround the dining room with the kids) Service was better. Until my DD (4) doesn not want to eat at the castle anymore we will continue to go to CRT but that is the only reason. I would go to Akershus if i only had to go to one.

CRT certainly can have Ariel. I had my picture taken with her on Christmas Morning 2009, and Jasmine was there as well.

I think everyone should definitely eat at CRT at least once, but, and this is only my opinion, if my daughter was the age your is, I would wait until she is a little older and could enjoy eating at the castle. We ate at Akerhaus when my cousin was 3 almost 4 and she wasn't that interested in where she was and would not have appreciated being in the castle, she was more about seeing the Princesses, now that she is 6, she would definitely love eating in the castle.
 
I don't think you can go wrong with either, especially when it comes to a 3 year old who loves princesses.

I can't comment on the CRT experience because we haven't done that, but we've done Akershus 3 times (2 breakfast, 1 dinner). Loved it all 3 times. It was never the exact same lineup of princesses. For us, there one thing that made the decision easier....we were on the DDP, and as a PP mentioned CRT is 2 TS credits vs 1 for Akershus.

Also, Epcot serves adult beverages...sometimes they are nice to have after a very long day in the park!

The other character meal that we loved was dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step mother and step sisters. My DDs (4 & 7 at the time) thought the step sisters were hilarious!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top