CRT for 'older' kids? Do they enjoy it?

[kimkim]

I'm thinking about upgrading to DxDP, so I will have lots of TS credits to use!

If I do, Ithough of adding CRT just for the 'experience'. There are a few times available during our trip. I would most likely book it for lunch since that would work best with our schedule.

My DD is 9 and DS is 7. DD is definitely not into princesses anymore (they've been replaced with Miley, Selena, and Demi!!). We will not have the autograph book for either of them.

So would CRT just be a waste of 2 TS and time? My kids have never been to WDW and I hate that they never got to enjoy all the characters when they were little and it would have been more 'magical' for them.

Or, is CRT a great experience for older kids as well? Is dining in the 'castle' really that special?

Also, how long does the meal last if we won't need to wait for each princess to make the rounds? I don't want to tie up more than an hour or so.

Thanks!
Kim

 

[bellefromboston]

In my opinion, crt is magical for everyone to experience, not just little girls. I would book it. Dining in the castle is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I'm sure your children will love. Good luck deciding!

 

[catne]

well, first time my DD ate there, she was 20...as in 20 yrs. old, lol. We all enjoyed it (had a 20 yr old friend with her then.) Next time we ate there, was a 28 yr old son & his 30 yr old girl friend...and they enjoyed it, too. So I agree that anyone can find it to be a magical experience. The castle decor is pretty awesome - they did a really good job of making you feel like you really, truly, are eating inside a fairytale style castle.

 

[cydswipe]

My DD9 and DD6 LOVED CRT for their 1st trip Sept 09. We were there for supper... just fairygodmother and mice...

They really enjoyed it. I think my daughter went back to "princess" mode for the evening.

I say go for it!

 

[danceintherain]

The first time I ate there I was 22, and I REALLY enjoyed it. My husband really enjoyed the ribs.

He was a little disappointed that they didn't give HIM a sword, but he wouldn't ask for one.

Basically...as far as Signature Dining goes it's an amazing experience, and its one of the only 2TS locations where you can do lunch.

 

[Mouseturtle]

Nothing could be more embarassing than taking your 13 year old son which is what I did last month!

Although he loudly protested on the way there, he quickly warmed up to the idea.

Cinderella was so gracious and he was embarassed as all get out to get the picture done...but once we got inside (and yes, it really IS that magical inside!) and the princesses started coming around the fun began.

they interact with EVERY table and really used their charm to work on him...Ariel asked if he was a sailor...Snow White asked if he was a prince or a dwarf...hysterical! All totally "in character" and you just couldn't help but have fun.

The food was surprisingly good but stay away from scrambled eggs - runny - I sent them back for the "healthy" option of yogurt, granola with caramelized banana - yum!

If a 13 year old boy wound up asking to go back next time, your DD's will LOVE it. They're not as 'grown uop" as they like to pretend to be

Here are some pictures - we had a window seat which was cool

inside as seen from our table

Plus getting in the park early allowed for some MAGICAL photos of the castle!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

DS11 says go! We went went he was 9. It was for his sister, but he really enjoyed eating in the castle. Also, I don't think you really outgrow the characters at Disney even if you have outgrown the toys etc... My niece requested a princess meal for her 16th birthday this past April. Also, DMom and I really enjoyed it as we had never been in the castle before and we've been going to WDW since the 70's! We had lunch, but dinner has the princesses now, too. We're not big breakfast eaters so we didn't pick that meal. I always figure 1 1/2 hours at least for ANY WDW table service meal. If it takes less, then great. But, I don't want to stress myself out on vacation.

 

[vicki_c]

We just did CRT for the first time this year - my DD is 8, and my son was just turned 11. She had a great time, he had fun - lots of blushing around the "girls". And our breakfast was very good. So I really don't think your girls sound too old for it. My DD loves all the Disney tween shows as well but she still has a great time with the princesses at WDW.

 

[Momelie]

My girls were 11 and 14 when we went (for MY birthday) and they adored it! I highly recommend you go, it will be an experience they always remember - and I second what the above poster said about the runny eggs!

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

CRT has always been a Family Tradition...

DS is now 18....and was 'raised' on WDW.... He tells me that eating in the Castle is one of his FAVORITE things about WDW overall...

"Second" the PP's who talk about their sons getting attention from the Princesses (or Cinderella and Mary Poppins in our case ...since we haven't done the Princess dinner...but did the Fairy Godmother and previous dinners)

I say "go"... They aren't getting any younger... and eating in the CASTLE is Magical for children of all ages... 3-90+

Hugs,
Mary

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

Dining in the castle is perhaps one of the most iconic experiences you can have at WDW, IMHO. We never could get a reservation when my daughter was younger (meaning 3, 10 and 11) on our previous trips but when we went in 2008 and we had the DxDP I asked the family where they had always dreamed of dining and her first response was "In the castle! Please!" She was 20 at the time. I hadn't booked 180 days out and had to call over and over and finally scored a 10:20 ADR.

Was it magical? I nearly cried when I got the ADR and we all had so much fun. Even my DS13 was having a great time. He was flirty with the princesses and asked Mary Poppins about a wooden leg named Smith and when Jasmine left the table he winked at his dad and said "Hubba Hubba" We didn't do autographs but we did collect some wonderful memories and photographs. My older children had a wonderful and magical time there.

To answer your other questions, is it a good use of 2TS? Not really. The meal includes the photo package, drink and gratuity so that's nice but divide the total cost in half and then decide if you could book two other TS meals and have a better use of that price. For us it's better to pay OoP for CRT and use our TS elsewhere and remain on the regular DDP. We did DxDP and spent way too much time running from ADR to ADR and eating meals when we really werent hungry. It wasn't a great use of our time. Since you are thinking of costs not only in cash value but in time, I thought I'd toss that out there.

Lastly, how long does it last? In our experience they have seatings for the meal rather than ongoing reservations. We all lined up for our seating with our card, went for our photos and then filed into the dining room. On cue the waiters brought our drinks and as the dining room filled, as if on cue they began to serve the food. The princesses all arrived at the same time as they had the wishing star ceremony and then spread out, each working a different section. It took about an hour and 15 minutes or so to be served and seen by all the princesses. It was wonderfully fun.

So, is it worth it? Yes. Can older kids enjoy it? Yes. Is it a good use of 2TS, for us it wasnt and time was around reasonable.

Hope that helps. Have a magical trip!

 

[kayrosek]

My kids, DD's 12 and 10 and DS 9 at the time of our first trip were not that impressed when we first told them we had booked CRT for Thanksgiving Dinner. Once we got there thier tunes changed. The girls thought they were too old for characters but ended up loving them and all three LOVED the castle. The girls even got into it and wore Cindy crowns (never thought I'd see one of those on my 12 year old again. Disney has a way of bringing back the child in all of us.) The castle truly is that magical and something they will never forget. I'd say go for it, I'm sure your daughters will be much more thrilled than they can imagine now.

 

[CathieArms]

My DD is 9 and DS is 7. DD is definitely not into princesses anymore (they've been replaced with Miley, Selena, and Demi!!). We will not have the autograph book for either of them.

I *really* think you should rethink that so you don't get caught like I did! DD was 13 and DS was almost 5. We never imagined that DD would enjoy the character interaction so much because she was sooooooooo not about princesses and the Disney characters. And then she got to WDW.

About the 4th day in, she got very upset when she realized that we had NOTHING planned with the princesses for her. I had to switch gears and was lucky to land a spot at Akershus the next night.

Before leaving, I made canvas bags for autographs, and each bag had a character on it (DD's was Tink and DS had Mickey). DD thought they were "interesting," but she wasn't the least bit "into" them...until we got to WDW. We got to WDW and she had way more fun with them than I ever imagined.

You have to understand that this is a girl who was just "too cool for Mom and Dad." She'd outgrown the princesses and even the Hannah Montana. She was into Lady Gaga. It never occurred to me that she'd get such a kick out of the character meals or getting autographs.

Oh, and that bag? She has it on her bulletin board in her bedroom and her friends think it's really cool. She'll be 15 when we go to WDW again, and this time she's part of the planning process and wants to know which character meals we'll do and what type of item will we bring for autographing this time.

Jus thought you might benefit from my experience.

And, to answer your question, DEFINITELY do Crystal Palace and CRT.

 

[kimkim]

Thanks to ALL of you! You are all the BEST!!

You talked me into it! So I have a lunch ressie at 12:55 at CRT on our MK day.

Now another quick question, I also had an 8:15 AM ADR for Crystal Palace that day. Should I cancel it? It will be our only chance to have breakfast there. Is that just WAY too much?? I'll probably be on the DxDDP, so the TS credits aren't an issue. We can try to eat 'light' there as well. I'm not a big breakfast eater anyway. I booked the CP breakfast more to experience the 'empty' park. My kids love breakfast buffets though.

Thanks!
Kim

 

[CathieArms]

I think you'll be fine. My "rule of thumb" is that I need an absolutely minimum of 4 hours between meals. You ought to be done with your 8:15 breakfast no later than about 9:15. Your 12:55 lunch probably won't even get you seated until nearly 1:15 or 1:30 (pictures, etc), and then you still have to wait for your food. So I'm guessing that the earliest you'd eat is 1:30. That means you'll have nearly 4.5 hours...maybe more if your breakfast ends early, as I expect it will.

Just remind the kids not to overdo breakfast. Or, better yet, see if you can move that 12:55 lunch to something like 1:30 or 2:00. That's usually what I try to do. Breakfast at 8, lunch at around 1:30, dinner around 7:30.

 

[PoohsFan1]

My girls are 9 and 6 and they too are getting out of the Princess faze. However, they both always request eating in the Castle, not for the princesses, but the fact that they both love eating there. We have always done Breakfast, but we are going to be trying Dinner in September before our MNSSHP....Can't wait. Also, my DDs both love Akershus too, more so for the food and ambiance than for the princesses....plus it is a tradition to start our first day there so it is also habit and they both get really upset if DH or I suggests another place.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

I think you'll be fine. My "rule of thumb" is that I need an absolutely minimum of 4 hours between meals. QUOTE]

I TOTALLY agree ! It's funny how I just realized this last visit... that as long as I keep 4 hours between each meal... we'll be pretty hungry by then.

It must also have something to do with all the walking you are doing...

But that's a Great 'rule of thumb' and I agree... OP should be fine.

It's not like you'll be eating at 1:55pm. You'll check in...do the entry visit...head to table when ready...etc....

Have a magical visit...and check back on this blog and tell us all about it when you return !

Mary

 

[MournNStar]

My husband and I went together just a few months ago... both 27. We loved it! My husband wished reeeeally hard when it was time for everybody to make their wish and Snow White was impressed! Eyes squeezed shut and shaking his sword in the air... What can I say, we're big kids! It was a lot of fun and the castle was beautiful! You soo should go!

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

So far as the timing goes and the CP ressie, you should be fine. I love a CP breakfast before the park opens. So I'd keep it. Is it too much? Can there be too much magic in the Magic Kingdom? The time between breakfast and lunch should be fine too.

You might want to consider any time changes if that is an issue for you. For example, we live in the central time zone so we tend to have a later lunch because our bodies still think it's an hour earlier. Hope you have a wonderful time!