Debating Akershus?? Help!

[NicholeB630]

I am considering Akershus for our next trip for dinner. We have done the castle at MK and loved it but trying to decide on food at Epcot while were there. I already want to do Rose and Crown for lunch. We have a 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son. My concern is the princesses if its worth seeing the same ones more than once. We will be doing Enchanted tales with Belle which I know you don't get a signature so it will be a bit different at dinner and then Cinderella we will see at 1900 Park Fair for dinner which I def want to do one night. The website says Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Mary Poppins and Aurora. But I've seen pictures of Jasmine and Mulan on Trip Advisor. Is it worth doing this dinner? How is the experience for the kids and is it worth seeing some princesses more than once. I really wish Disney offered a bigger variety of character meals. Its a bit annoying how many have the same characters when there are SO MANY to choose from within all the different Disney movies and shows. Thanks!!

 

[nco91590]

On our trip in 2014, we saw like, 3 Belles, 2 Cinderellas, 3 Ariels, etc. We did the Princess lunch at Akershus and it was OK. Pretty hectic, not a ton of time spent at our table, the food was not great. We had M&G's, ETWB and a Princess Lunch and we really could have done without the lunch.

 

[NicholeB630]

On our trip in 2014, we saw like, 3 Belles, 2 Cinderellas, 3 Ariels, etc. We did the Princess lunch at Akershus and it was OK. Pretty hectic, not a ton of time spent at our table, the food was not great. We had M&G's, ETWB and a Princess Lunch and we really could have done without the lunch.

Im thinking we will just skip it. I wish they had another character dining at Epcot. We've done Garden Grille and did not like it.

 

[crabbygal902]

We did not see Jasmine, Mulan, or Mary Poppins on our last trip. We saw Snow White, Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Cinderella. The food was very good and my family really enjoyed the food bar with cold fish and meats and cheeses. My boys, ages 9 and 14 on our last trip, did not give one whit about the characters. We went because my DH loves Northern European food and he was very happy. We also went because it was a great way to spend a dining credit on the DDP and we hadn't tried it. Would we go back? Yes, but it is not on our must-do list. Is it worth seeing the same princesses more than once? It was cold the night we went and it was neat to see the princesses dressed up in their winter outfits. We have some great pictures from the meal, including a "free" professional photo. That may be the thing that makes it worth it to you.

 

[nco91590]

You could do breakfast at Cape May? It's Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy in beach wear. It's a very quick walk over from Epcot

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

Cape May Cafe is a good choice. I like their breakfast. The beach attire on the characters is cute.
I wish WDW would add another character meal that has rarely seen characters.
I also enjoyed Chef's de France when they brought Chef Remy around to the tables but they don't anymore.

We went to Disneyland the first time last yr in Sept.
One character meal that was truly awesome was The Plaza restaurant breakfast in Disneyland park.
It was a buffet and we had 10 characters! Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, Chip, Dale, Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, Stitch and 2 others that I can't remember azat the moment.
Another fun one was Chip and Dale's Critter breakfast in the Grand Californian.
It had Chip n Dale, and the Brother Bear Characters Koda and Kenai

 

[canadiandisneynut]

Akershus breakfast is wonderful, especially if you finish just before the world showcase opens- it is quiet and a wonderful walk back to the front of Epcot. If you are looking for something different, try the 1900 Park Fare breakfast to see Mary, Alice, The Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger

 

[twinsmama]

I have done Akershus dinner twice now and I absolutely love it, princess character interaction was excellent! The looks on my daughters faces even at 2.5 years old were worth it! Food was fantastic, and I love the princess promenade--the first year we went, I had long red curly hair akin to Merida, and was wearing a toy crown and a green dress. A stray child thought I was part of the princess promenade and followed me around--when I turned around and noticed her she realized I was not a princess lol I redirected her to the actual "parade".

The only thing I didn't like about Akershus is we waited an extreme amount of time to be seated the first year, but I wonder if that was related some how to A&E being across the way back in 2013. We waited over 45 minutes to be seated for our ADR and had arrived maybe 10 minutes early.

In 2014, everything went smoothly though and we didn't have that lengthy wait. We are doing breakfast there next week!

If you guys love princesses, why not see them more than once? If your party isn't really princess oriented, then I can see skipping it. We did CRT, Akershus, and Park Fare last year in one trip...but we can't get enough of princesses!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Do your kids know that there are multiple people dressed up as princesses? Our DDs were 5 and 6 last year. We were told that the princesses will all look alike so they shouldn't notice. But the two Ariels we saw were OBVIOUSLY different. One was probably 30 lbs heavier than the other. We said it was because she was human at lunch and mermaid in the Grotto but the 6 year old was completely tipped off by that and the different signatures. But if they know or you're ok with that, no other reason not to see them again.

 

[nilla]

We preferred Akershus to the CRT, to be honest. Better character interaction. The food wasn't anything special, for the most part, but I wasn't blown away by the food at CRT, either. Of course, Akershus is where we discovered gjetost (brown cheese), which is now our favorite cheese

We found Akershus to be a great place to meet several princesses in one shot. We skip it now that our daughter's a little older, but we still enjoyed it.

 

[Dug720]

Do your kids know that there are multiple people dressed up as princesses? Our DDs were 5 and 6 last year. We were told that the princesses will all look alike so they shouldn't notice. But the two Ariels we saw were OBVIOUSLY different. One was probably 30 lbs heavier than the other. We said it was because she was human at lunch and mermaid in the Grotto but the 6 year old was completely tipped off by that and the different signatures. But if they know or you're ok with that, no other reason not to see them again.

The signature thing surprises me. I understood that the friends of the characters spend part of their training mastering the autograph so they all look the same. (That said, even my signature has variations every time I sign it, so...)

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

The signature thing surprises me. I understood that the friends of the characters spend part of their training mastering the autograph so they all look the same. (That said, even my signature has variations every time I sign it, so...)

It surprised me too. Long story short we have two different Elsa signatures a day apart and they are very different. I'll have to look again, because I don't remember exactly how, but DD6 definitely noticed and found it odd.

 

[NicholeB630]

Thanks for the advice all. My daughter who just turned 7 still believes everyone is real there. Despite friends telling her they are not I tell her she can believe in whatever she wants so I think she still wants to believe they are real. Im not sure she would notice a difference but I'm thinking she may. It wont be until September when we go and she will be closer to 8 by then (Birthday is Jan) My son wont know any different he will only be 4. We are going to do these Character meals
Tusker House Breakfast
1900 Park Fair Dinner
Crystal Palace Lunch
Ohana Breakfast
So really we are seeing pretty much all the characters they offer for dining. Except Chip and Dale who we saw last year at Garden Grill and I wont do that ever again. Were getting the main characters, then Cinderella, Prince and Step family, Lilo and Stitch and the Pooh gang. Everywhere else is really just repeats of them except for 1900 for breakfast but they have Pooh and Tigger too. I just would hate to do Akershus and it be Snow white, Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. Because we will see Cinderella and Belle already at other things.

 

[alliecat523]

The characters can change at the meals. It's been awhile since I've been there but we did have Mulan, Jasmine and Mary Poppins before. You can find Mulan in WS, Jasmine by the flying carpets, and Mary Poppins by the UK if you skip the meal.