CRT vs. Akershus: which should I choose?

[sahm2kaitlyne]

I'm trying to plan out my ADRs for our upcoming trip and I've stumbled upon this conundrum. I'm looking for a princess character meal for us, mainly my DD who will be 4 when we go. I've always wanted to go to CRT, not necessarily b/c of the food, but just the atmosphere and to say we've eaten in the castle, etc. Last time we weren't able to do it, so I've always thought the next time we went I would book it as one of our ADRs.

But, now that I'm looking closer and planning, I don't know if I can justify it in my mind, price wise. I'm not sure if we'll be doing the dining plan or not yet (hopefully so), but even if we did have the dining plan, I would probably pay OOP for CRT just b/c I don't think it's worth 2 TS credits.

So I need some advice here. Does the atmosphere at CRT really push it over the top as an "experience" kind of thing? Which one has better character interaction and which has better food? Thanks!

 

[o2bnoz]

Subscribing... I want to know the answer to that very question!

Thank you!

 

[dawnbu40]

We have done both breakfasts and preferred the food at Akershus to CRT. We also found the princesses more engaging there. That said CRT has the advantage of location. It's great to look out over Fantasyland! So in choosing you must decide which is important food and interaction or the castle experience.
Personally, I think all princess fans should eat at CRT once but only you can decide if it's worth the money to you.

 

[sahm2kaitlyne]

We have done both breakfasts and preferred the food at Akershus to CRT. We also found the princesses more engaging there. That said CRT has the advantage of location. It's great to look out over Fantasyland! So in choosing you must decide which is important food and interaction or the castle experience.
Personally, I think all princess fans should eat at CRT once but only you can decide if it's worth the money to you.

Thanks for your input! I thought that as well, that we should eat there at least one time. I'm kind of leaning towards Akershus as of now, maybe we'll do CRT when my youngest daughter is a couple years older and then I'll have a 6 and a 3 year old and it will be worth it times 2

Still not sure though....

 

[kydisneymom]

We went last October and we went all in for the Princess experience! We did both CRT and Akershus. We paid OOP b/c as stated previously, we couldn't justify 2 TS credits. We paid $120 for breakfast for DH, DD and myself. It was good but not that good! The princesses were fine and the atmosphere was beautiful, but we won't be doing that again. The Akershus experience was wonderful! More princesses and more interaction. You have to decide what is best for you and your family and CRT is worth it ONCE! But you can't go wrong with Akershus plus it's only 1 TS on the dining plan.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

If you're on the dining plan, you can always do both

I've done the math, and I think CRT is worth the two credits. After you take into consideration that the tip is included at CRT, the amount of $/credit at CRT is more than what you'd get at many 1 TS locations. This includes almost all breakfasts, many lunches, and quite a few dinners.

I would NOT do breakfast at either place. I think the the lunch and dinner menus fit into the theme of a royal banquet a lot better.

But, if you HAD to pick between the 2, here are advantages of each:

Akershus
1. 1 TS credit
2. Buffet appetizer is amazing
3. Dessert sampler platter

CRT
1. Inside the Castle is absolutely amazing, and this is your only chance to see it.
2. Great view of Fantasyland while you eat
3. This is the more memorable experience
4. MUCH smaller restaurant, and you feel you are with the princesses the whole time, as they are always in the same room with you
5. Magic wishing ceremony is a nice touch, as is the wand and swords they give out
6. Princesses have a royal introduction, which adds to the ambiance
7. No buffet means don't need to worry about missing anyone

Same at either place
1. Main courses, both very good
2. Princess interaction: depends on the CMs there that day (we actually had the same "Ariel" at both places) more than the location (in our experience)
3. Get a photo package at each location (CRT comes with Cinderella, Akershus comes with Belle)

If I had to pick just one, I would pick CRT.

 

[o2bnoz]

I love this board! So helpful!

I think we're going to do CRT. These are my reasons:

1. The experience of the Castle... that is probably the biggest reason

2. The wishing ceremony that I've heard about sounds like something memorable.

3. The fact that there aren't a lot of TS restaurants in MK, and there are TONS in Epcot. We are planning to do Chefs De France for my husband's birthday meal, and also Biergarten on the second day of Epcot, so to add Askershus would be difficult to do.

I would love to spend about 10 days straight in Epcot, but we will only have 2 days there. 2 days in MK, too. So, on our MK days we will do CRT and CP. Other meals will be CS at MK. (Geesh.... does anyone else get totally confused by all of the abbreviations!).

In Epcot, I have a list a mile long of restaurants I want to try, and Askershus is probably about 6th, so I guess we will be doing CRT.

I appreciate all of the help, because this has been a difficult decision. Still can't decide whether Chef Mickey's is worth it. Such bad reviews!

THANKS ALL!!!

 

[texasgirl73]

I did both on my last trip and it was a toss up for me as far as food goes- I liked but did not love both. I found the service at Akershus to be much friendlier and less rushed and checking in was less chaotic. But in the end it was the Castle that the kids remembered- when we talk abut the trip they remember the castle and the wishing ceremony. They don't remember a thing about Akershus. As for Chef Mickey's that's one other place that they remember.

 

[Chelley00]

DD and I did both on our trip in November. I have reviews listed in our dining report below. We had eaten at both places previously.

I'd pick CRT because it's something everyone has to do at least once. We personally loved it, had great service, princesses were not rushed etc. We love breakfast there (stuffed french toast = yummy!) We liked Akershus too, but if you ask my DD where she'd want to go again, she'd stay CRT hands down (and she's a tomboy that's not into princesses!)

 

[BuenaVistaBound]

I can't comment on Akershus, since we'll be doing the Princess lunch there for the first time in a few weeks. I will say, however, that my daughter (who was two at the time) still excitedly points to the castle at the beginning of Disney movies and yells, "We ate there!"

 

[2DisPrincesses]

I have to agree with CRT. It was the one thing my DD(4 at the time) told EVERTONE about when we got home from that trip.

 

[HunnyJar]

We haven't been to the CRT yet, looks like we will be trying it next trip. Yay! Can't wait! However we have been to Akershus twice and I can honestly say it's the one restaurant that no one in our family is wanting to go back to any time soon. We didn't care for the food at all with the exception of the cold board. It wasn't that the food was too unusual for my family it just didn't have a good flavor or in some cases any flavor at all. And honestly the princesses seemed really rushed. The only one that really spent time with my family was Snow White. The others went by so quickly we just didn't feel like it was worth it at all. Maybe breakfast is better than dinner (both times we went for dinner) but I think it will be a few years before we head back over to Akershus again.