CRT or Norway for Princesses?

[PatricenPete]

My daughter will be 3 during our upcoming trip and she is IN LOVE with the Princesses. She knows all their names, has princess t-shirts, underpants, etc. Her favorite is Ariel (I know she is not typically at the breakfasts so we will take her to the grotto to meet her).

Anyway, we want to take her to a Princess breakfast. We have been to Disney numerous times. DH and I have done the castle breakfast a few times and DS did it once when he was 1. We are going to WDW this September on the dining plan and I am trying to decide if it is worth it to use the 2 table services OR just do the breakfast in Norway.

Taking the location out of the equation, which is better and why? Should I just do the castle just because its THE CASTLE? Where is the interaction better? Where is the food better? (we would be going for breakfast) Does Norway have typical breakfast food or is it ethnic food?

 

[Perditamarie]

Tough call! It is fabulous to eat in the castle just because it is the castle. However, I think you get an excellent experience in Norway. The breakfast is American family style and there is also a nice cold buffet w/fruit and pastries....overall more and varied food here. My daughter was able to eat a whole plate of strawberries here.

The service is good and a free photo package is also included. The princesses are very friendly and may have a bit more time to visit. If you only want to spend 1 TS credit, it is a super value in Norway. We went in Sept and met Belle (do photo package w/her), Aurora, Mulan (excited to finally meet her), Jasmine (first time meeting her too), and Mary Poppins....as always princesses may vary. This trip we are being brave and trying dinner in the hopes of meeting the elusive Ariel.

 

[Sophie_2003]

We did Akershus in Oct 07 and CRT last January.

Akershus hands down. The CRT princesses were soooo rushed it was embarrassing. DD could NOT get a word in edgewise. it went basically like this :"Hi princess, you look lovely. Give me your book I will sign. wold you like to take a picture? Cheese. Bue-bye"

JMHO!

 

[kristinw3girls]

We have done CRT 3X (2 breakfast, 1 dinner) and Norway 1X for reakfast. After the excitement for the surroundings at CRT (about 10 min) the thrill is off. The food is not as good as Norway and it is cramped and rushed. My 3 princesses LOVED, LOVED Norway. I must admit I started to cry when I met Belle. She is MY favorite princess and after 8+ trips to WDW, I never got to meet her! I thought my girls would think their Mom is a big dork, but they seemed to appreciate my happiness!!

 

[mamajojo]

We did the CRT for breakfast and went to Norway (another day) for lunch. We loved CRT. We were seated right beside the window overlooking the MK. It was my kids first visit to DW. We had an 8AM BBB appointment and then went to CRT for the breakfast. It was a very magical start to the vacation. We HATED the food at Norway. It was probably the worst food that I have ever tried. We ended up not eating anything. We found the interaction to be about the same in both. If I had to choose it would be CRT!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

My vote Norway all the way!!

We had breakfast there. DD was able to see all the princess'. She had a chance to talk to them and they asked her questions etc. My DS who is a special needs child was just mesmerized by Princess Aurora. The "handler" noticed this and had her come back a 2nd time so DS could hug her and play Patty-Cake with her. Since he is at an 18 month level he kept touching her face and I would try to move his hands so the Princess didnt get "Smudged". Princess Aurora told me, "Don't worry Mom, Princess' are smudge proof and if he does succeed I have a magic mirror and 3 fairy Godmothers to help me out." I teared up. The food was great and you can pick what you want from the buffet. Go with Norway. They took tons of time and Belle was the Princess who they kids had photos with...she was very nice and patient to make sure we got a great photo of the kids.....NORWAY all the way

 

[Darcy03231]

We've done both and I would definitely go with breakfast at Norway. I really didn't think CRT was worth the 2 TS credits. As PP's stated the character interaction was much better at Norway and we thought the food was better too.

 

[disneynuts777]

We did the CRT for breakfast and went to Norway (another day) for lunch. We loved CRT. We were seated right beside the window overlooking the MK. It was my kids first visit to DW. We had an 8AM BBB appointment and then went to CRT for the breakfast. It was a very magical start to the vacation. We HATED the food at Norway. It was probably the worst food that I have ever tried. We ended up not eating anything. We found the interaction to be about the same in both. If I had to choose it would be CRT!

And for our family it was the complete oppisite. While the Castle was nice the food was awful. It was a total waste of two TS credits. The interaction with the princess's was non existant. Norway was incredible. The food was okay but the interaction with the 2 DD's was awesome. I am hoping for Norway again this August and will do BBB in the castle.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

We did Akershus for breakfast in May of 2007 and Ariel was a princess we got to meet!

Food was delicious and the time with the princesses was ample.

This year I'd like to try CRT for breakfast on MY birthday but I'm also thinking of doing Akershus again as we loved the food.

 

[PrincessPeyton]

We took my DD2 to both CRT and Akershus in Sept 2008 and my vote is Akershus!
i didn't feel as rushed and I thought the interaction was much better at Akershus and we were rushed at CRT. And like the OP wrote, we got to see Ariel! She is my daughter's favorite too!

 

[Tinkerbell220]

Norway! We did both when we went in 2007, and just returned from our trip last week and only did Norway. Although the atmosphere is great at CRT, I think Norway is pretty good as well. The food is great and the princesses spend a lot of time with you. Also, although this may be a fluke, when we were there last Tuesday, Ariel was one of the princesses!

 

[Tanzanite]

Hi we did both &i liked Norway better it was relaxed & Belle was beautiful & all princesses went out of their way with the kids i had a camera problem and the princess came back again to retake photo was loveley .Ilike Royal Table but was rushed in and out.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We just returned and found character interaction at Norway VERY rushed. All 4 princesses were through our table so fast. We love CRT. We have only done it once but loved it when we did. We loved the character interaction there. It was not rushed at all and the atmosphere is so much less cramped and lound.

 

[foulkfamilyof5]

Funny you should ask my DD was 4 and she went to both. My husband took her to Norway and I took her to CRT. We swapped kids two mornings. My DD didn't know the difference. Loved them both...but she wished Ariel was there. We saw her in the grotto. Personally I loved the castle, we are planning a trip for Nov and funny thing my husband wants to go back to Norway. I don't think you could go wrong either way. One last thing, the pricncesses did seem rushed in the castle, in fact Belle forgot to sign DD book and she came back very apologetic...she ended up getting a lot of time with her. Also, Belle is not in her gown at CRT but she is in Norway if that matters. I think at the castle they really like to emphasize Cinderella.

 

[*Toadstool*]

I didn't realize how lucky my DD was to meet Ariel at Ankerhaus! It was a dinner I believe... (I wasn't on the trip *gasp*.. my parents took her)
No clue about the CRT one, but she had a blast at Norway!

 

[JoeMickey]

If your DD is looking to see Aeriel then Norway is the place. Each time we've been there she has been the one you get the Photopass Photo Shoot with before being seated, now this may have changed but she is in her Princess Dress. We've done both and DD has liked them both. With the Dining Plan we've paid CC (in advance) for the CRT and not used the 2 credits, when you do the math it just seemed more cost effective to pay for them with CC. Either one will be memorable.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

DD6 loved Norway and said it was the "bestest day of her life". We did not see Ariel at breakfast - she is there sometimes, but plan to do the grotto if she is not in Norway. We saw the very best Snow White ever, Belle (in her yellow gown), Aurora, Mulan (our first time seeing her) and Jasmine. DD6's favorite princesses are Snow White and Jasmine, so she was in heaven. We saw Cinderella in Toon Town that trip.

CRT is great for the location, but we haven't been in a few years. When we went, we saw some less common characters like Mary Poppins and Alice, which was nice, but the interaction was rushed and the food was not that good. We did also see Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle in her blue dress. Still very fun for a princess fan, but we liked Norway better.