IS CRT worth it?

[jse107]

Should I attempt it? My DD will only be 2, so she'll be happy anywhere we go. DS is really the one who would probably like it--he REALLY wants to be able to go inside the castle. Plus, he'd enjoy seeing Cinderella--although he's happy seeing any of the characters.

It's not seeing the princesses per se, otherwise I'd just go with Askerhaus.

What do you think? Plus, how impossible will it be to get ressies?

 

[morgy827]

I think you answered your own question

"he REALLY wants to be able to go inside the castle"

Even if the meal is terrible the memory of going inside the castle will be worth it.

AN if you call at 180 day mark and are flexible with your times and dates you should be able to get an ADR. We were flexible, called about 140 days out and had no probl;em getting an ADR. We just worked the rest of our schedule around the reservation.

 

[broberts]

We went for Thanksgiving dinner and really enjoyed it. The food was really good as well, we had the prime rib. You get a free (not really free with the cost of meal, but you don't pay any more when you get there) photo with Cinderella and a photo of the castle. I cannot remember what the girls get, but the boys get a little plastic sword that my DS loved. One other thing, the tip is included in the price of the dinner, so you have to take that into account. All that said, just the experience of eating in the castle is cool. I would recommend everyone try it once.

 

[Tina G]

I think it all depends on your situation. If money is no object then yes I'd say it's worth it. Personally, I feel it is very overpriced at every meal and you are basically paying for the experience of being in the castle. We did lunch in the castle on our first trip and that was back when you could order off a menu and pay a la carte. That was great because you could experience the castle but not have to pay the set prices they have now. There were no princesses but that was fine. On our last trip in 2007 we did breakfast there and it was OK but IMO not worth the money. Be prepared to wait in line to have your picture taken with Cinderella when you enter. Then you wait to go up for your table. The food was pretty much the same breakfast fare as you can get in any WDW restaurant. If you have girls that love the Disney princesses, then the experience is probably well worth the money. If not, then I'm not sure.

The cost for breakfast is $34.99 for adults and $23.99 for kids. To compare you can get a character breakfast at Crystal Palace, Ohana, or Tusker House for $18.99 adults and $10.99 kids. Even the princess breakfast at Akershus is only $22.99 adults and $12.99 kids. Yes you get the pictures included in the CRT breakfast and you get the experience of being in Cinderella's castle. But you are essentially paying almost double what you would pay for other character breakfasts. For your family it would be about $115 with tax and tip for breakfast in the castle. If you went to any of the other places it would be $60-72. So is paying the extra $43-55 worth the experience of the castle and the photos with Cinderella?

One idea would be to wait until your daughter was a little older and could more appreciate the experience with the princesses. But if you are not planning another Disney trip for a long time and your son really wants to go up into the castle, then you might feel like doing it.

Also, and this is just my own opinion, but I think using 2 TS credits for breakfast at CRT on the DDP is not a good value. A TS credit is worth about $25 so you are essentially spending $50 on a meal with a cash value of $32.99. So unless you are eating somewhere else where you will spend more than $42 for your meal, you will likely lose money on the DDP. The shows are a better value for 2 credits as they usually cost more than $50 if you paid OOP.

 

[TxRabbit]

if posting this is hijacking your thread. I am only trying to be helpful.

I cut and pasted my review of CRT with my then 6 DS.

This was our first trip to WDW. I originally was not planning on taking DS to the castle. First, it is 2 TS credits, and Second, he's a boy...would he really be interested? But then...I was the one that decided that I wanted to eat in the castle. I asked DS, would you want to eat in the castle with Cinderella and maybe some other princesses? And yes, as a matter of fact he would...luckily, I was able to get lunch ADRs...we decided to visit WDW with only 2 months planning time!

12:25 pm ADR on the last day of our trip. It was wonderful to have the anticipation, excitement build up as we would pass by or see the castle throughout our trip and know that on the last day, we would be eating in there .

We checked in at the podium downstairs, no problem, we got in line to take a picture. Line wasn't too long, it was interesting to watch the people and look around the throne room. Later, they give you your picture upstairs while you are dining. It comes in a nice keepsake folder and includes a beautiful picture of the castle. If you are planning on staying in the park for the afternoon, you can have the picture delivered to the front of the park for pick up on your way out, so you don't have to carry it around with you. Or, it can be delivered to your resort if you will still be there the next day.

So, up the stairs we went. Upstairs, the room seemed to be divided into 3 areas. The middle area was under a dome type ceiling with flags hanging, and on one side are the beautiful stained glass windows. The tables seem to be very close together, but the chairs have high backs to try to give more privacy to your table. This middle area is lower than the two flanking areas. One flanking area is right where you walk into the room, and the other is on the far side. We were seated on the side where you first walk in, by the railing separating the sections and overlooking the middle section. We were among the first in our area, but it filled up quickly.

Before we were seated, DS was given a sword and a wishing star. (Girls get magic wands.) Our server was very friendly, very nice service. The shared appetizer was very tasty. DH and I ordered the salmon, which was excellent. The lemon risotto with it was very good too and the asparagus was also good. The blueberry buckle dessert was awesome. DS had a complete kids meal which came with grilled chicken, penne with marinara, and green beans. It was very good. He had a Mickey sundae which he really enjoyed as well. I give the food, thumbs up.

There is a cute wishing ceremony where the children wave their swords or wands over their magic wishing star with their eyes closed. Then, when they open their eyes there are twinkling lights all over the room.

Character interaction was spectacular for us. Snow White came around first. She was so soft spoken and wonderful. She could tell DS was a little shy with strangers, but also very interested in participating in the event, and so she leaned over and gave him a big kiss on the cheek , leaving a nice red kiss behind. I was so upset that I wasn't ready for that and didn't get a picture that Snow White let me get my camera ready and get a picture of kiss #2 on his other cheek Side note: for the rest of the day, many CMs asked, which prinesses kissed you? DS loved being able to answer, Snow White, twice. Even, Push, the talking trash can noticed, and said, "oooooo, I'm soooooo jealous!"

Belle came around next. There were so many boys in our area. There were 3 alone at one large family gathering. Belle went and got 2 swords for herself and played mock sword fight with the boys. She had a sword fight with each table in our section. DS loved that!

Jasmine was very nice.

The Fairy Godmother was a little scolding to the 3 boys at the other table, and acted a bit more like an over bearing Grandmother than Godmother, but...she was okay with DS.

We had a wonderful time. I am so glad that we decided to go. It was one of the highlights of our trip. DS said that he was going to write about it in his journal at school.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Definately worth it. My 5 boys always loved it here when they were younger and still go now they are older.