CRT breakfast and BOG dinner on same day...too much?

[sbd78]

For our upcoming trip, we only have 1 MK day planned and currently have breakfast reservations at CRT and dinner reservations at BOG. We have a 9:00 am BBB for my daughter and Pirates League for my 2 sons planned (hubby and I will divide and conquer for those) and then we meet up at CRT at 10:20 for breakfast. We've never done CRT before, we are on the dining plan and I hate to spend two credits on it. We've done Akershus twice in the past but my DD was young and doesn't remember much about it. I know everyone says CRT is iconic and something everyone must do once...so this will probably be our once. But I keep wondering if we should just do Akershus on our Epcot day instead and skip CRT. (Only 1 credit, same princesses is tempting!) The downside to Akershus, DD won't be in her BBB princess gear on our Epcot day. She will still eat in the beast's castle on our MK day, though. (Plus we are bringing the live action Belle dress for her BBB makeover.) She just says she wants to meet all the princesses and doesn't care which restaurant. I also wonder if 2 sit down meals will take too much time out of rides and FP selections (FP selections are next week) on our MK day. Thoughts? Are 2 TS meals too much for 1 day at MK anyway? TIA!

 

[Abby Hill]

I don't think it's too much at all, but it might be a long day. Since it's your only MK day and you do have the option to do Akershus with the same characters another day, maybe your time would be better spent hitting more rides in MK than eating at CRT. She will be in her Belle dress to meet The Beast at BOG (so cute!) anyway. Also might spread the *magic* across more days. Whatever you decide will be great!

 

[ElsasFan]

For our upcoming trip, we only have 1 MK day planned and currently have breakfast reservations at CRT and dinner reservations at BOG. We have a 9:00 am BBB for my daughter and Pirates League for my 2 sons planned (hubby and I will divide and conquer for those) and then we meet up at CRT at 10:20 for breakfast. We've never done CRT before, we are on the dining plan and I hate to spend two credits on it. We've done Akershus twice in the past but my DD was young and doesn't remember much about it. I know everyone says CRT is iconic and something everyone must do once...so this will probably be our once. But I keep wondering if we should just do Akershus on our Epcot day instead and skip CRT. (Only 1 credit, same princesses is tempting!) The downside to Akershus, DD won't be in her BBB princess gear on our Epcot day. She will still eat in the beast's castle on our MK day, though. (Plus we are bringing the live action Belle dress for her BBB makeover.) She just says she wants to meet all the princesses and doesn't care which restaurant. I also wonder if 2 sit down meals will take too much time out of rides and FP selections (FP selections are next week) on our MK day. Thoughts? Are 2 TS meals too much for 1 day at MK anyway? TIA!

Two sit-down meals and a session at BBBirate’s League will really decrease the amount of time you have to spend visiting other attractions at MK. With only one day there, I would not do both, but your priorities for the day might vary.

 

[Mrsbird1129]

I think it’s too much time indoors not doing rides and other character meets.

 

[dachsie]

If you have never done CRT and not sure when you could do it again, I would keep it and not do BOG. But if spaced far enough apart, then do them both if they want it. You would never get to do all the rides anyway. Just pick the ones you really want to ride and focus on them

 

[mousehockey37]

Sounds like too much for me. You need to hope that things are running on time with BBB and Pirates League to get to your ressie. Are you staying the course in the park the entire day or are you leaving and coming back later after a mid day break? I agree that 2 sit down meals of this magnitude is going to eat up, lol, a good chunk of your day.

 

[Meglen]

Literally doing this on our trip. 8am CRT. And 4pm BOG. No lunch for us that day lol

 

[sbd78]

Sounds like too much for me. You need to hope that things are running on time with BBB and Pirates League to get to your ressie. Are you staying the course in the park the entire day or are you leaving and coming back later after a mid day break? I agree that 2 sit down meals of this magnitude is going to eat up, lol, a good chunk of your day.

Thanks for the replies! Pirates League opens at 9:00 am so our appointment is at opening time. Hoping they won't be running behind because of this. BBB opens at 8:00 but I made DD's appointment at 9:00 so it would be at the same time as the boys appointment so we aren't wasting time doing one and then the other.

 

[sbd78]

If you have never done CRT and not sure when you could do it again, I would keep it and not do BOG. But if spaced far enough apart, then do them both if they want it. You would never get to do all the rides anyway. Just pick the ones you really want to ride and focus on them

Really don't want to drop BOG. The kids are really excited about it and it seems so fitting since DD will be Belle. Plus, this is our last time to do BOG before it also becomes a 2 credit meal, lol. CRT is on the chopping block because there is a similar restaurant in Epcot. (Granted not in THE castle.) BOG is more unique.

 

[dachsie]

Really don't want to drop BOG. The kids are really excited about it and it seems so fitting since DD will be Belle. Plus, this is our last time to do BOG before it also becomes a 2 credit meal, lol. CRT is on the chopping block because there is a similar restaurant in Epcot. (Granted not in THE castle.) BOG is more unique.

I've done both CRT and Akershus,. There is just something magical about eating in Cinderella's Castle. I would keep both of them.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

If you only have one day at MK I would probably skip CRT and keep BOG, then do Akershus on your Epcot day.

 

[GillianP1301]

If you're talking strictly about if it's too much food, then my answer is no. You're only talking about 2 meals and I'm one that always advises sticking to 3 meals a day, especially with kids. It's one of my keys to minimizing meltdowns. Now the debate about whether a TS meal takes too much time out of your park day is subjective and comes down to how important dining is to you for the overall enjoyment of your vacation. For me personally, I view TS meals at WDW like an attraction in themselves and if you factor in the ones that are character meals, you're actually taking care of several meet & greets at the same time and since you have to eat anyway, I see it as maximizing time, not wasting it. So for all those reason, I definitely do not see any issue with a CRT breakfast and a BOG dinner other than the breakfast is late and I know with myself and my family, that would cause some major hangry issues, so I would probably try to grab something really light or to go for first thing in the morning. But because that breakfast is later, you could get away with skipping lunch and just filling in with a snack, if needed.

Now, if you're talking about is it just too much scheduled and is the day too long overall, that's a different question and would depend a lot on whether or not this is your only day at MK. You will pretty much be tied up most of the morning with BBB, PL & CRT - which is fantastic morning and great experiences for the kids, but it does mean you are now relying on the prime afternoon hours for your attractions. I think that would be just fine if you have more MK time planned, but may be an issue if it is your only MK time because in that case, I'm assuming you would also want to be using the evening hours after your BOG ADR for more attraction time and that may start to be a long day with no break planned. That really is going to depend on the age of your kids and the stamina of your party to do an open to close type day.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You have to do CRT at least once. The kids will LOVE IT. Esp being all decked out in princess/pirate gear. its so fun. I'd keep it! And i'd also keep BOG too. In your shoes i'd do both. You'll need breaks from the park anyway.

 

[sbd78]

Thanks for the replies. I think you have convinced me to keep both. Kids are 11, 7 and 5 so past napping age. I figure we will use a snack credit for a muffin or something at our resort to tide us over until our late breakfast and skip lunch. We have a 4 day park ticket plus one waterpark day so we wanted to spend 1 day at each of the 4 parks. MK is the park we've spent the most time in on previous trips and I do agree dining is an attraction in itself. Plus, if we do Akershus on our Epcot day that will be our only table service meal and there are so many other restaurants I want to try there. My concern was too much time taken from attractions, not too much food. Thanks everyone!

 

[rg35]

It's really your choice. It sounds like you have been to Disney before, and probably will be again, so you have the chance to make this trip age appropriate and iconic for your entire party. Maybe that means missing some rides, but they'll still be there next time you go. So many approach WDW with the goal of only riding as many rides as possible that they miss out on all the other things that are offered.

It sounds like you have a special MK day planned - one that probably wouldn't make sense next time you visit and your kids are older and will be interested in doing things like riding coasters more than once and so forth.

 

[KenHutch]

I have been forced ( I have girls ) to do the CRT 3 times and Akershus 4 times so far. I tell people who ask a lot about CRT and tell them its a meal most people should do once. However with you eating at BoG for dinner I would cancel CRT and do a meal at Akershus. You save a credit and the food is better than at CRT. At CRT the food has ranged from amazing to I can't believe they charge for this. We have always had a decent meal at Akershus.

 

[kniquy]

only have 1 MK day

I also wonder if 2 sit down meals will take too much time out of rides and FP selections

With everything that you have said -- I would cancel one of the meals - probably CRT -- you can eat at Akershus and still get another TS meal. She gets to meet the princesses -- she can still get dressed up, and you get to plan another meal for the family. For 2 TS it is ok food -- you are really paying to meet the princesses and visit the castle, which is great, but if you had another day at MK then i would say go for it, but with limited time - I think you are not getting the most out of your day. It really seems like most of your day would be BBB, CRT, Pirates and then you might be able to squeeze in a few rides in the afternoon. I think you are just adding stress to your day and you might not really get to enjoy the park. If princess and pictures w/ the princesses all dressed up are important then maybe get a FP for you and DD for one of the princess meet and greets.

Here is a compromise -- Take your 2 TS credits for CRT -- use one for Akershus and get another TS reservation (that you may have had to pay OOP for) -- then plan the HEA dessert party - so you get great viewing of the fireworks without again spending time waiting to stake out a spot.

It is tough to plan your time at Disney and think about giving up certain things, but when planning our April trip for our DD4 first trip I went in putting too much on our plate. I realized we would be rushing and not taking in all the sights and sounds. I backed off on our plans -- listed the must do, do if we can and what we can live without - canceling some TS reservations because it was going to take up too much time. Ever since this i have felt much better about our trip. I don't want to be running and worrying about our next FP and ADR and not really watching my DD enjoying being at WDW for her first time.