CRT or Akershus (or both) for 5yo boy & 2 yo girl

[Wsmagee]

We currently have reservations to both CRT and Akershus during our December trip. Is CRT a good choice for a 5 yr old boy? I'm not sure how much our daughter (who is turning 2 just 2 months before the trip) will be into all the princesses just yet. Are there any special decorations during Christmastime that make is extra magical and worth doing?

I should add, this trip is obviously for both kids, but we realize that our son is at the "prime" of his magical experiences and really want to gear this trip toward him since we won't likely be back for 2-3 years.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

The food at Akershus is better (IMO).

The experience for a 5yo boy is probably better at CRT. He will be given a sword (useful for princes, knights, even visiting pirates ) & they will do a wishing star ceremony with the kids, in addition to meeting the princesses. DD will get a wand & star, too.

 

[lady_hlh]

I would wait and do CRT when your DD is older since she won't really remember it. We did Askerhus a few times when my DD was very young and I took her to a CRT breakfast when she was older without my DH and just paid OOP. I also agree that the food is better at Askerhus than CRT, we're going there again with 2 teen girls but I wouldn't go back to CRT again.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Depends...

Are you on a dining plan or out of pocket? What meal? We tend to like breakfast the best at Akershus (although all meals are good) and dinner at Cinderella's (wouldn't pay or waste my credits on breakfast). Since you 2 year old will eat free from your plates, this is a perfect time to let your 5 year old experience the fun though without one more expensive meal that will probably not get the value on food from.

If on the deluxe dining plan...BOTH. If you are on the regular dining plan and it's not going to take away from three other meal credits that you would prefer to use some place else...BOTH. If you are on the regular dining plan, I would do Akershus and save the other two credits to use at better dining venues.

If paying out of pocket, I'd go Akershus. At Akershus you have the cold bar that is Buffet style (and where my kids will spend most of their time and money! LOL) so that is a benefit with a 2 year old too. Cheese, fruit, deli style meats, etc...

We've done Cinderella's a couple of times but always on the deluxe dining plan...but I'm cheap so I have not been able to justify it out of pocket.

 

[Wsmagee]

Depends...

Are you on a dining plan or out of pocket? What meal? We tend to like breakfast the best at Akershus (although all meals are good) and dinner at Cinderella's (wouldn't pay or waste my credits on breakfast). Since you 2 year old will eat free from your plates, this is a perfect time to let your 5 year old experience the fun though without one more expensive meal that will probably not get the value on food from.

It would be for dinner...We have the free DDP, although I'm not horribly concerned about price...I do hate to waste the 2 credits (we have at least one TS meal scheduled each day) but this is our first Disney trip and probably won't be able to make it back for at least 2-3 years when my son will be older.

I guess my bigger question is which would my son enjoy more? I don't want to "cheap out" and miss out on a fun experience when he is at a good age...and I'm not horribly concerned about the food...I have heard bad things about almost every restaurant at this point. We will probably do CRT on our next trip but my son will be 7 or 8 by then and I doubt it will be appealing to him (but that trip will be geared a lot toward my daughter who will be 4-5)

So the big question is does the experience (for a 5 year old boy) at CRT outweigh the double dining credits enough to do CRT instead of Akershus?

 

[Vijoge]

As the mother of three boys and ten grandsons I'd have to say none of them would have tolerated CRT, or princess meals in general.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

My son is 17, daughter is 12. The first time we went to Cinderella's he was probably 10and she was probably 5. He is a true Disney lover though and the fact that it is girly characters vs manly ones doesn't matter to him...he proudly loves pictures with princesses, villains, hero, and animals. So his age at the next time wouldn't be an issue for me...fun is what you make it!

The princesses are usually pretty similar if not the same. We thought on our Christmas trip that the princesses at Akershus on Christmas morning were much more friendly and fun than at Cinderella's the next day.
There is no "fun" factor at Akershus other than the princesses.
Cinderella wasn't even at Cinderella's on our last visit on our Christmas trip.
None of us were offered swords or wishing stars...in fact, I don't recall seeing anyone with and there was no wishing ceremony.
Cinderella's is a bit more formal...but not much and it is not stuffy on non-family friendly at all.
Food at Cinderella's is a bit more "fancy" but on the kid's menu they are both pretty basic.
There is a certain "fun" in just eating in the castle and even though Akerhsus is a castle it isn't as impressive as one.
Depending on the time of your ADR you can see some fireworks out the windows at Cinderella's.
Both places do a great job of trying to make little boys happy too.

My choice would be Akershus this time...but again, price ALWAYS matters for me. And if you are thinking you will hit the Castle when your daughter is old enough to enjoy it fully and are worried your son wont care as much, I think Akershus would be my choice again.

 

[Wsmagee]

As the mother of three boys and ten grandsons I'd have to say none of them would have tolerated CRT, or princess meals in general.

So which ones do your boys enjoy if you don't mind me asking?

 

[friscofunfam4]

Our first trip to disney and CRT, my son was 6 and my daughter was just a few weeks shy of age 4. She doesn't have much memory of that trip. We didn't love the food (that's important to us). Every princess interacted with my son and had something really cute or funny to say! (He was dressed as a pirate.) Ariel really loved him and I think he enjoyed being admired! We liked it overall but we haven't felt the need to return especially since it is 2 credits. (We were on free dining.)

Second time, we did Akershus breakfast. The food is an easy win for our family b/c we all love breakfast anyway. The princess interaction was equally as good as CRT and we met the SAME Snow White from CRT the previous trip! They all doted on my son once again. Planning our upcoming trip, this was the only place that was requested by the kids and my husband! (My son is now 10.)

So Akershus wins for us b/c of our personal preferences! (and b/c it's 1 credit instead of 2 helps!) My kids are both pretty good about balancing out each other's interests in the parks too...sometimes we do boyish stuff and sometimes it's girly stuff.

 

[Wsmagee]

@friscofunfam4 Are you guys from frisco? We're from Ft. Worth! Thank you for the input...I guess I have some time to make up my mind but it sounds like either will be a win.

 

[friscofunfam4]

Yes!!! Hi there!

 

[Vijoge]

So which ones do your boys enjoy if you don't mind me asking?

Coral Reef, Rose and Crown, Whispering Canyon, Sci-fi, O'hana, and San Angel Inn (I think that's the name).

 

[cmph]

When we went two years ago, we didn't get CRT because extended family procrastinators meant we didn't book our trip in time. I thought oh well, DD was outgrowing princesses and DS , 5 at the time, wouldn't care. Of course he ended up extremely sad that he didn't get to go in the castle. So from my perspective, there was regret... Not because he cared about the princesses, but he absolutely cared about going up in the castle. Whether or not that's worth the cost to other family's, i couldn't say, but I sure wish we had gotten an ADR, and especially at that age when everything is so much more magical.