CRT - a bit "disappointed" .....

[~Magical Princess~]

Hi, after much "hype" over the ever tough challenge of snagging CRT ressies, we ate there on our two week trip and I have to say one word: RUSH !! There were TONS of people in the lobby, they were seating people like mad, and just about as soon as you sat down your plates were in front of you, the Princesses were spending an extremely little time by each table and I was sorta basically disappointed.

We have two boys and the only "male" character there was Aladdin. Peter and Wendy were wondering around the MK entrance so apparently they didn't make it up to the castle until maybe later in the morning (our ressie was at 9:15).

The "princesses" were Cindy, Mary Poppins, Snow White, and Belle - that was all for our particular seating.

Again, after the hard work that goes into getting these ressies we felt it was rushed, rushed rushed! However, the food was very good! I had TWO of those apple deals with the cream inside! YUMMY! My dad had two plates of breakfast (he loves to eat!!). It just seemed you barely got a few bites in and then you were hurriedly hopping up to take a picture and then the characters were on their merry way.

Won't be doing it again ........... but like they say - it's nice to "try it" at least once!!! And there's certainly nothing like the satisfaction of snagging a ressie!

 

[CamColt]

Bummer! I know how disappointing that can be. We had a similar experience at Donalds Breakfastasaurus. They took us later than our PS time (8:10) and I think since they were running late they tried rushing us. Our waiter was like an army general shouting orders at us the whole time. I was so stressed I couldnt wait to get out of there. On the other hand we had the opposite experience at Cindys. They took us earlier than our PS and everything went along smoothly.
I guesss any place can have a bad day, and try to make up for it on the customers. Sorry it happened to you at Cindys. But wasnt that cheese filled french toast worth it?

 

[cigar95]

Originally posted by CamColt
But wasnt that cheese filled french toast worth it?

Oh, GOSH I love that dish. I may be the only guy who eats at CRT for the food - a mid-40s male eating there solo always gets an interesting reaction from Belle.

Anyway - is there *ANYWHERE* else at WDW that has the same french toast? Like maybe the Epcot princess breakfast? I've heard rumors about really good french toast at Trail's End, but it may not be the same stuff.

 

[luvmy2sams]

We had the same impression during our initial CRT experience in October 2000. We felt very rushed and were disappointed that Cinderella didn't ever make it to our table. At the time she was ready to visit with us, we were busy with Jasmine so she bypassed us. Since our DD was only 21-months-old at the time, we didn't bother asking the wait staff to bring her back over. We left the breakfast stating that we'd probably never do it again. Our impression was that it's nice to do once, and that cheesy pastry was DELICIOUS!!!......Having said all that DH and I started the CRT dance yesterday morning because our now 3.5-year-old is in love with Cinderella. Amazing the things we do for that precious smile!

 

[kdibattista]

I really think it is VERY overrated!!!! We thought the food was terrible, we were rushed and our server was awful. The only good part was the Fairy Godmother in the lobby. It was not worth the money, our time in the park and especially not worth the sleep I lost trying to get those darn reservations. Just my opinion and please believe me when I say I am normally not one to complain. Maybe we caught them on a "bad" day!!

 

[~Magical Princess~]

I'm SO glad I'm not alone! Maybe more people need to research this further before being so desperate to get ressies there! But I do see that you have to try it 'at least once' - but let me say - especially with that RIDICULOUS price increase - I will NEVER do it again! $19.99 per adult?!?!? That is LUDICROUS! I don't understand how Disney is raising all their prices when business has been so bad! But I guess the bottom line is people will "still" be there and "still" spend, so they can raise their prices to whatever they want! Stinks though!!

No more $19.99 buffets for me that don't offer 1/4 what you can find on a "normal" buffet!!!

 

[jwfla422]

We were lucky that we weren't rushed and the princesses spent "adequate" time with my 4 yr old dd. She was loving it! She did get a little impatient when we first sat because Aladin came by and the princesses were no where to be found (must have been on their "beauty" break)...

But, otherwise I was not impressed with the food this time and dd barely ate anything (she doesn't like pancakes or eggs), she ate a little bit of fruit. And, on top of it we were over charged, it was so confusing that I didn't even bother to talk to management about it. The deposit really messed us up because it was originally for 3 and not 2, long story...

It is quite an experience walking down Main Street to the castle before park opening with dd dressed in her princess gown, but at the same time I too won't be doing it this breakfast anytime soon.

We do have PS for PSB and we've never been. I know dd will be asking to see the princesses so we'll try this route. If we didn't have a DDE card we'd probably skip this breakfast all together because $19.99 is really steep! (that's what also messed up the check at CRT, when I used the card for a discount, instead I think they added more on??)

 

[rbuzzotta]

I will have to agree too. WE scurried for ressies during our 15 day trip this past August. DH was very disappointed. WE were very rushed!!! The food was down before we even got coffee!!!

The bill was down before the waiter even asked if we wanted more. DH was still hungry so he asked for more.....only to have to ask a second time again..........he wasn't happy!!!

For a family of 5 the meal was not worth the money.......it was however, great to see the Princesses for my 3 Princesses!!!

Been there, done that...........won't do it again......

But I'm glad we tried it!!

 

[Talky_Tina]

We were not able to get CRT for breakfast, so we booked a late lunch.
I had heard about people feeling rushed, so I don't feel so bad about not getting the CRT breakfast ps. We just want to have the experience of eating in the castle for the first time. My question is, how is lunch there? Are you still rushed through your meal? Any comments welcome.

Thanks!

TT

 

[thepoohbear]

We did lunch there a few years ago and LOVED it! We were very happy. Cinderella was in the lobby downstairs but I understand this is not typical. It was just great to be able to go inside the castle. The atmosphere is great and I thought the food was pretty good too!

 

[Talky_Tina]

Thanks thepoohbear! That is exactly what I wanted to hear! We are really looking forward to this.


TT

 

[musicfan]

Lunch is NOT rushed. We had a lovely late lunch around 3 pm and it was extraordinary. The Fairy Godmother spent a lot of time with my son and neice and sprinkled them with pixie dust, which my son (then 12) secretly saved in his pocket!

I have to ask this in the politest possible way, but when CRT breakfast reservations are all sold out by 7:01 when the phone lines open at 7:00, how can you honestly expect that you WON'T be rushed when you get there? Obviously it's popular!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by musicfan
...(snip)...I have to ask this in the politest possible way, but when CRT breakfast reservations are all sold out by 7:01 when the phone lines open at 7:00, how can you honestly expect that you WON'T be rushed when you get there? Obviously it's popular!

I agree with you. IMHO, Disney does as good a job as can be expected balancing conflicting demands. Some of us are disappointed because we can't get a reservation at all or aren't seated in a timely manner or don't get the seating location we prefer. Others are disappointed because they feel rushed or believe the price is too high or don't care for the food or think the restaurant is too crowded.

Except for the last quarter of 2001, Disney has not had any trouble at all filling up all the available breakfast slots at the castle. When faced with that situation, most businesses would happily raise their prices. Does anyone ever wonder what price Disney could really charge if they wanted to match the supply to demand? It's more than likely quite a bit more than $19.99!

Disney is a business and cannot please every customer no matter how hard it tries. IMHO, they please a lot more than they disappoint, especially if one considers how high most of our expectations really are. JMHO. YMMV.

 

[mommystieg]

I know what you mean about losing sleep trying to get a PS...got up 3 days in a row before we got through. My DH was on one phone, I used the cell phone and I even had my SIL up early calling for us. The food was not that impressive for the price-but the look on my 2 y\o DD face when Cinderella tickled her cheeks was worth it!! Maybe we will try lunch next time-is the food any better?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I agree with the original poster. We went last year. We felt very rushed! And we didn't get seated until 45 minutes after our supposed PS. I know their not reservations, but 45 min! Thats ridiculous. The characters were very nice, I thought. Now we have a 3 yo boy. Maybe if he were a girl I would feel differently but I just don't think its worth it.

 

[mickeyluv71]

Originally posted by CarolMN
I agree with you. IMHO, Disney does as good a job as can be expected balancing conflicting demands. Some of us are disappointed because we can't get a reservation at all or aren't seated in a timely manner or don't get the seating location we prefer. Others are disappointed because they feel rushed or believe the price is too high or don't care for the food or think the restaurant is too crowded.
Disney is a business and cannot please every customer no matter how hard it tries. IMHO, they please a lot more than they disappoint, especially if one considers how high most of our expectations really are. JMHO. YMMV.

I totally agree with you CarolMN! (And musicfan too!!) The sheer fact that it is so hard to get into really makes me not even want to try to get in because I'd know from that alone I was going to be rushed.

And when people fuss about the prices going up, do they even take into account that in most cases, the cost of FOOD has gone up? Do you fuss to the people at your grocery store? Before it went up, the Pooh and Friends breakfast (usually at CP and for the time being at Tony's) was pretty much what it was when we ate there in 1999 -- over three years ago. I know the cost of food has gone up since then!

The other thing that I think bothered me in the OP is that the breakfast is referred to as a Princess Breakfast, yet her other main complaint was that only Aladdin was there for her son. Now call me weird, but that tends to indicate to me that there will be princesses there, not random male characters. I understand that there probably is a need for something like a Toy Story breakfast or something that appeals to boys more than princesses or Pooh (and yes, I know there is Chef Mickey's and other breakfasts with what I consider "neutral" characters). I'd probably even like something like that. I held off on this for a while, but I finally decided that I needed to remind people of the fact that it is billed as a Princess Breakfast ! To book CRT knowing that it is princesses and then complain that there was only one male character for your son at a Princess Breakfast doesn't hold a lot of water for me. Sorry.

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by mickeyluv71

To book CRT knowing that it is princesses and then complain that there was only one male character for your son at a Princess Breakfast doesn't hold a lot of water for me. Sorry.

I have to agree. If you know your sons are not into the princesses, don't take them.

 

[cinmell]

We went to Cinderella's for breakfast on September 21. The food was not very good at all, except for the potatos. The food was cold and the egss were very watery. Our server was "in character" and had alot of interaction with the guests. The princess took a long time to come over to us. They were very nice when they made it to our table and I like the princesses at Cinderella's much more than at the Princess Storybook Breakfast. The pictures of my daughter in her cinderella dress with Cinderella are priceless. We thought the food at Princess Storybook was excellent, much better than Cinderella's Royal table. We are going back to WDW in May and will probably skip this breakfast.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Just wanted to chime in for all those folks planning to go to CRT that have not yet been. You will enjoy the overall experience and it is definitely worth doing. If you have a little princess, the experience is priceless - the enjoyment she will get will make it all worth it.

So, with that being said, and keep in mind that we will be going in November for probably the 10th time, I agree that many aspects of the breakfast are lacking. They do try and get you out in about 45 minutes it seems. We always linger for about an hour. The princesses generally come around once, and don't spend much time. However, there have been times that a princess has stopped and really talked to our daughter. The cream cheese stuffed french toast is great, but otherwise the food is nothing to write home about. Overall, as a meal, we find it overpriced and so-so.

We always say we aren't going back, but then we think of how much our daughter enjoys it, and asks if we can eat in the castle with the princesses - well, we can't say no. Therein lies the true test of how good the experience is - would you go back? We always do. So, if you have ressies, plan to go and have a magical experience, even though some aspects might be disappointing.