Cindi's Royal Ripoff

[Kaycee]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, and such poor service. I hope the rest of your WDW meals were much more pleasant.

 

[Terry S]

We have been to CRT over a dozen times and I agree the food has always been so so. With the price hike this year we have decided to pass on this one. Not sure if I will regret this decision or not.

 

[Nickymouse]

When we took our family in 2002 - I will never forget one of my daughters LOVING the fruit cup....until I realized that the ice cream sized dessert cup was meant for our entire family of six.. (as she sat there happily eating directly out of it lol). Seriously, the food was terrible but it is something that you should experience once!!

I had to laugh when I read this, because I did the same thing. We were a large party (14) and they put the fruit cup in front of me. I just started eating out of it, never thinking that this little bowl could be for the whole table!

 

[mom2cookies]

i too, laughed out loud. literally (dh thot i was laughing at his "singing"). We have gone th CRT 3 times . First time it was over Easter vacation and there were 8 of us. WE had a great time. Our server made me laugh ( which was a much needed stress relief for me!) and we loved the food. The 2nd and 3rd time we didn't feel rushed and enjoyed the food ok. We won't even be going this time because of the price hike and the changes made. We've always had dinner there never did breakfast. Your experience sounds awful but i believe in 2nd chances for most things/people.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

Sorry you had a bad experience, hopefully this was just something that happened and they will work to correct it. Did you complain to a manager?

 

[patsal]

Our experience was not perfect though the Princess interaction was wonderful and the food fair. Everything was so rushed and the hostess was downright mean. As far as food is concerned, most especially since this will be considered signature dining in February--I believe that you should expect that the food be at least edible. Even if it is prepaid and gratuity is included if you feel service is subpar--and moving a bread basket form one side of the table to another is subpar--you should talk to the manager and request that the tip be modified. While I realize these are "experiences" and that the cost of these are built into the total price, the word breakfast/lunch/dinner are attached and should be equally part of the experience.

 

[jarestel]

I think it's safe to assume that most people wouldn't have the slightest interest in CRT if the princess characters weren't there. So the food and service has never been the main draw anyway. Since they could probably serve gruel and stale bread - - and still sell out due to the princess factor, we never expect much from them as far as food goes. It'll be interesting to see if the princess factor is finally tarnished by the recent price increase.

 

[lsteadman]

I am still having "buyers remorse" about a $76 dollar breakfast. I will be keeping a close watch on the reports after Feb 1 to see how people react to the food and the picture package offered.

I still have time to cancel as we don't leave to April 25.

Thanks again for your comments!

 

[Mom2Rae]

Our experience in 2003 was WONDERFUL. Throughly enjoyed the food and the Princess interaction. Went again this past December and ...YUCK!

We did the lunch this time and I didn't like the feeling of being "herded" around like cattle. You had a quick photo-op with Cindy in the lobby and she was dull as I don't know what and then once you were at your table the server wanted to know what you wanted to eat. Our server actually asked us every time she came around "so, where are you folks from". When she asked for like the 5th time I just giggled! Couldn't help it.

The Princesses were OK...very rushed. I have a feeling that the CRT staff wants you in and out in like 30 minutes! I also didn't like the whole picture thing. Coming around the tables and offering them to you. I would have like maybe just one but you HAVE to buy the entire packet..so I did knowing that would probably be our last time eating there.

And the cost is crazy. I hardly pay that for our family at the finest restaurant here at home right on the beach!

We do, however, enjoy the PSB in Norway. May do that one again this October.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

We did CRT a few years ago and we'll never do it again. It's nice to say we did it once- but even though we have a daughter who thinks she IS a princess, it wasn't worth it. Not worth the hassle of getting up early trying day after day to get a reservation there, paying enormous amounts, food so-so, service poor and princesses rushed. We MUCH prefer dinner at 1900 Park Fare... food is better, they don't seem as rushed there AND you get to see Prince Charming! It wins with us hands down.. now we do this every trip.

We enjoyed the Princess Storybook breakfast also- but will never do dinner there again. Talk about blech on the food..... LOL

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We at their for lunch once. I had trouble enjoying it due to my BIL. Why he agreed to come with us and couldn't (or wouldn't) eat a darn thing on the menu was beyond me. So we were 2 entrees down as my hubby joined him in not eating. I thought my meal was good--but it was hard to enjoy myself after that as I am confident there were service repercussions for our party of 5 only ordering 1 meal and 2 kids meals--one of which was special order pasta for my oldest as nothing appealed to her.

She doesn't know about the breakfast so I will just keep it a secret.

We did do the grand Floridian tea room...pretended we were going to a tea party and the girls LOVED that. Even if there were no princesses involved.

I'm not a big breakfast eater--so PSB and the castle will probably never happen for us. (I eat breakfast--just not the full large meals restaurants serve).

 

[FourFlans]

DH and I took our two DDs for a week in December (our first trip ever) and of course overdid the entire trip. We did both CRT at MK and PSB at Epcot for lunch.

I was totally unimpressed with CRT. Even with our ADR, we waited for almost 45 mintues for our table....while our server was very friendly, she was overworked with too many tables and our DDs had to wait far too long to request refills on drinks, etc....the food was mediocre, not terrible but not worth going back....and the princesses didn't even compare to those at PSB (in fact, Aurora never even visited our table, which broke DD5's heart since she had seen her the day before at the Perfectly Princess Tea Party and wanted to say thank you).

Now, lest you guys think we're a very grumpy family, CRT was only one so-so experience in a whole week of wonderful! The PSB at Epcot is so worth the money! The atmosphere is good, the food is fantastic, the princesses were so real and gave very individualized attention to DDs, and the service was exceptional.

If anyone is debating between which princess meal to book, I would definately recommend the PSB!

 

[Webbie]

This is an example of Disney greed run amuck. The platter of food (if you want to call it that) is thrown at you followed closely by a check. Eggs were cold and the blueberry sauce on the french toast was dried out. We were a big group so gratuities were included or I would have reconsidered my tipping. When we asked for more pastries at one end of the table, Scott, our server picked up the basket from the other end and gave it to us. The family members at the other end wanted them back. There are a lot of fine dining experiences at WDW. This is not one of them!!!

Sorry your experience was not the best. To make you feel a little better...when we went to eat in the Castle back in the late 80's it was advertised as a charactor lunch. Not one charactor made an appearance. My 2 DD's were so disappointed.

 

[tiff211]

We went to CRT January 9th for breakfast and we too were disappointed. Yes, it was neat to eat in the castle and see the princesses but the food was so-so (for WAY too much money) and our server didn't even bring DH and me juice until we sat for 15 minutes looking for her to do so. Even then, it took her over 5 minutes to get it to us. The princesses were okay but not overly friendly - which may or may not have been tainted by our attitude towards the situation with our waitress. We did the Princess Storybook Breakfast last year and LOVED it. I think part of the reason we preferred it was because it was our DDs first experiences with the princesses but evn so we found the atmosphere just as inviting, our server more attentive, and the food much better. Even the princesses there seemed to spend more time and seemed much more friendly with the girls. Who knows....separate experiences render different opinions.

I am so glad to know that about the storybook breakfast. We went for Lunch last year and thought the service and princess interaction was great, I just wasn't into the food. So I booked breakfast for April instead.

 

[VINN127]

First I would like to say we were there for my daughters wedding. It was at the wedding pavilion with a luncheon at Aariels and a dessert and late night buffet at epcot. We had a wonderful time and all the food and service was spectacular. There are many good restaurants in WDW but I take exception with anyone who believes that maybe I got a bad day. For what Disney charges for the breakfast there should never be an excuse. I notice many saying they would only do it once. That's a shame!!! Disney's premier breakfast should always be perfect and memorable. No one should ever have a bad experience or bad food for what they charge. I might add that Belle didn't even crack a smile and when she introduced herself she said she was Aurora... We got a laugh out of that one. My family was in the restaurant business for years and if we served food like that with that service we wouldn't have been in business a year. We were in business for fifty years.

 

[La2kw]

I think it's safe to assume that most people wouldn't have the slightest interest in CRT if the princess characters weren't there. So the food and service has never been the main draw anyway. Since they could probably serve gruel and stale bread - - and still sell out due to the princess factor, we never expect much from them as far as food goes. It'll be interesting to see if the princess factor is finally tarnished by the recent price increase.

I disagree. We have eaten meals at CRT for many years, since before there even was a character breakfast. It has always been a busy restaurant whenever we have eaten there, so saying most people wouldn't have the slightest interest if the characters weren't there is not true. The only reason Disney has made all three meals character meals is so they can get even more people to go in and pay twice as much than what the non-character meal would cost. The food was much better when they focused on the food and not the character experience. I am not happy that they have turned three of their most unique restaurants into all-day character meals. First Crystal Palace, then Akershus, and now CRT. It really stinks, IMO.

 

[dawgfan]

I have seen bad reviews before on this place. Let me just describe my experience. We have two little girls. In 2002 they really wanted to do this charecter breakfast. I was lucky and got it scheduled after much stress. We arrived and were called into the inner chamber to wait. We waited a good while with some photo ops offered and then were directed upstairs. We were seated and waited on fairly quickly. There were charecters all over the room and most were ones that my girls would love.We ordred and received our food which was very good I must say. Not cold and certainly not mediocre. I had a wonderful breakfast. Th echarecters then began to stp by and we had great photo ops with them but they were a little rushed. In any event we had a wonderful time. I would recommend this to any first timer especially with small girls. I would also add that when I asked the kids if they wanted to do this breakfast again the said no. I do not know why and they only said it was because they had already done this on ean dwanted a different experience. Go figure. I would do thi sagin though. Sorry for your bad experience but I think you just caught it on a bad day. It still does not excuse the poor experience.

 

[gigi1313]

I'm not a big breakfast eater--so PSB and the castle will probably never happen for us. (I eat breakfast--just not the full large meals restaurants serve).

we have found a great way to get a good meal and great character interaction and if you are not a big early-morning eater, it may work for you... schedule the latest possible ADR and enjoy it as "brunch" we have found that near the end of the shift, the characters are less rushed and busy and have time to smell the roses w/us... it's been successful at CRT, PSB, DB-asaurus, 'ohana, and CP

 

[jonimce]

We also had breakfast here twice. But not again with the new pricing. It is not worth 2TS's. With a family of four, ten dollar increse means you are paying 40.00 for photos. I think thats kind of steep.

 

[Gagebre]

I have to say that when we finally tried this about a year ago, it was wonderful experience. I thought the food was above average and we all really loved it. The princesses took a while to get to our table but when they got to our side of the room they each spent a minute or two with my kids and I got pictures with all of them which I'm sure I will cherish forever. Having said that, since the price has gone up considerably we will probably not do this again. They should have left a good thing alone. Remember Garden Grill! - although I read today that it is almost back to what it was before, which I was so excited to hear. My first meal in the castle was for lunch, we loved the food and it was magical just being inside the castle for the first time even without the characters, but no more of that!