Looking for a RECENT Cindy's Royal Table Review

[geishagirl81]

Hi! I am looking at restaurants for our April 2012 trip. Yepp, I like to have my wishlist of ADRs and all options set well before I can make my ressies

My question: We have not done the castle. I just have an issue with using two dining credits. The food choices seem limited. Although the castle is cool, not sure if it'd justify it to me. BUT this is not about me. i will have a ds 5, and dd, 3, and my first time Disney parents. Parents are foodies. Not snobby as other foodies, but my mom rarely has a great meal if you know what I mean.

We did 1900 Park Fare with Cindy and loved it.

So, upon searching for reviews, I get conflicting details. food is terrible. food is great. cinderella does not stop at tables. gratuity is not included. gratuity is included. credit cards charged even thought on dining plan. no, credit card just holds the ressie. etc etc etc.

So I need to ask:

a. Who's been there very recently

b. Is the food better than Applebee's quality? (my mom says Applebee's is the equivalent to a fast food joint of the sit down restaurants)

c. Do characters come to tables for autographs and pics or not?

d. Do they charge or hold the dining plan ressie on your credit card?

and finally e. Are we better off at 1900 Park Fare again?


THANKS!

 

[shuckn]

Hi! I am looking at restaurants for our April 2012 trip. Yepp, I like to have my wishlist of ADRs and all options set well before I can make my ressies

My question: We have not done the castle. I just have an issue with using two dining credits. The food choices seem limited. Although the castle is cool, not sure if it'd justify it to me. BUT this is not about me. i will have a ds 5, and dd, 3, and my first time Disney parents. Parents are foodies. Not snobby as other foodies, but my mom rarely has a great meal if you know what I mean.

We did 1900 Park Fare with Cindy and loved it.

So, upon searching for reviews, I get conflicting details. food is terrible. food is great. cinderella does not stop at tables. gratuity is not included. gratuity is included. credit cards charged even thought on dining plan. no, credit card just holds the ressie. etc etc etc.

So I need to ask:

a. Who's been there very recently

b. Is the food better than Applebee's quality? (my mom says Applebee's is the equivalent to a fast food joint of the sit down restaurants)

c. Do characters come to tables for autographs and pics or not?

d. Do they charge or hold the dining plan ressie on your credit card?

and finally e. Are we better off at 1900 Park Fare again?


THANKS!

I just dined there May 9th. The food is better than Applebee's quality, but far from the best food available on Disney property. The menu is limited, but what they do offer is good. The appetizers we got weren't the best, but the entrees and deserts we had were delicious. My boyfriend had the lamb and I had the beef and both of us were very happy with our entrees. I also had a chocolate desert sampler that I was very happy with.

Each character does come to the table for autographs and pictures. I went with just my boyfriend and even though it was just the two of us at the table (no kids), each of the princesses still stopped to say hello.

You have two different options for booking a reservation. You can pay out of pocket if you don't want to use your dining plan, but then the cost of the meal needs to be paid up front. This is beneficial if your trip isn't booked yet, and also because of the fact that tip and tax are already included in the booking price. You can also book it using the dining plan, but you are still required to put down a credit card in the event of a last minute cancellation. They won't charge your card at all unless you need to cancel and don't comply with their cancellation rules.

I haven't been to 1900 Park Fare, so I can't compare the two, but I can say that I would go back to the Castle again. Like I said, the food is just average for what is on Disney property, but the experience makes the whole meal worthwhile. There is just something about walking up in that Castle knowing that everyone in the park wishes they had that chance is enough for me. The first time I went there you got to meet the Fairy Godmother and the mice, but this time they had Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Jasmine, and each of them made time to stop by and say hello. If you have young children, especially little Princesses, I would definitely suggest making an ADR for CRT. It's the perfect chance for them to meet all the Princesses without having to run you ragged all over the parks!

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

We just ate there on Easter Sunday and while the food quality is better than Applebees, it's definitely not the best.

As for the character interaction: You visit and get a picture (included with meal)with Cindy downstairs. After you are seated upstairs, they announce that some of her friends have come to the castle and then they all come to your table at separate times for pics/autographs/chat. We happened to see Belle, Jasmine, Ariel and Snow White, but they can change at any time.

You (sometimes they just give to children, but we were all adults and received them)are given wishing stars/wands or swords and they will have a little wishing ceremony--really cute!

We were on the DxDDP and I noted that when I made the ADR. The credit card was never charged and they told me that upfront.

Gratuity is included.

HTH

 

[sahm2two]

wait, gratuity is included? I thought it wasn't anymore? We're eating there next week. Is it included with the dining plan too?

Is there anywhere else gratuity is included?

 

[aggordon2]

wait, gratuity is included? I thought it wasn't anymore? We're eating there next week. Is it included with the dining plan too?

Is there anywhere else gratuity is included?

Hoop-Dee-Doo.

 

[aggordon2]

Hi! I am looking at restaurants for our April 2012 trip. Yepp, I like to have my wishlist of ADRs and all options set well before I can make my ressies

My question: We have not done the castle. I just have an issue with using two dining credits. The food choices seem limited. Although the castle is cool, not sure if it'd justify it to me. BUT this is not about me. i will have a ds 5, and dd, 3, and my first time Disney parents. Parents are foodies. Not snobby as other foodies, but my mom rarely has a great meal if you know what I mean.

We did 1900 Park Fare with Cindy and loved it.

So, upon searching for reviews, I get conflicting details. food is terrible. food is great. cinderella does not stop at tables. gratuity is not included. gratuity is included. credit cards charged even thought on dining plan. no, credit card just holds the ressie. etc etc etc.

So I need to ask:

a. Who's been there very recently

b. Is the food better than Applebee's quality? (my mom says Applebee's is the equivalent to a fast food joint of the sit down restaurants)

c. Do characters come to tables for autographs and pics or not?

d. Do they charge or hold the dining plan ressie on your credit card?

and finally e. Are we better off at 1900 Park Fare again?


THANKS!

When it comes to the credit card, I made the reservations online and my card was charged immediately. I had to get on the phone and talk to a resevation specialist. He credited my card the amount that was charged, then he used the card to just hold the reservation. Online, there is no option to use the dining plan. I found that CRT is the only place where this happens.

 

[geishagirl81]

Thanks for the insight! I didn't realize the other princesses are there now! DD loves Belle, hope she makes it when we are there. i guess I may as well book it. We have 2 extra dining credits since I bought a $50 restuarant.com cert to House of Blues, and we never use our sit down credit on the day of our first trip since we are just getting into Orlando.

 

[sjh0729]

We just reserved our dinner reservations the other day for our Christmas vacation . If we had not used our dinning plan the cost of the meal would have been 214 dollars for 2 adults and 2 children. They did not charge our card, just used the card to hold the reservations. They did say that gratuity was included. We called 190 days prior and got a time 15 min from what we asked.

I have done ALOT of research on every site you can think of, and especially with girls I suggest going. We have a 9 yr old and 6 yr old, and I am guessing this will be the highlight of our trip. We are doing bibbity boppity right before our dining reservations.

Good Luck with all your planning!!!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Hi! I am looking at restaurants for our April 2012 trip. Yepp, I like to have my wishlist of ADRs and all options set well before I can make my ressies

My question: We have not done the castle. I just have an issue with using two dining credits. The food choices seem limited. Although the castle is cool, not sure if it'd justify it to me. BUT this is not about me. i will have a ds 5, and dd, 3, and my first time Disney parents. Parents are foodies. Not snobby as other foodies, but my mom rarely has a great meal if you know what I mean.

We did 1900 Park Fare with Cindy and loved it.

So, upon searching for reviews, I get conflicting details. food is terrible. food is great. cinderella does not stop at tables. gratuity is not included. gratuity is included. credit cards charged even thought on dining plan. no, credit card just holds the ressie. etc etc etc.

So I need to ask:

a. Who's been there very recently

b. Is the food better than Applebee's quality? (my mom says Applebee's is the equivalent to a fast food joint of the sit down restaurants)

c. Do characters come to tables for autographs and pics or not?

d. Do they charge or hold the dining plan ressie on your credit card?

and finally e. Are we better off at 1900 Park Fare again?


THANKS!

We ate here for breakfast the beginning of June this year. It was our first time eating in the castle. I am glad we did it but will not do it again. We had breakfast here and I was glad for that. We got into the park before opening and got some great photos (the photopass photographers are there that early!!!). We got in and out of there in 30 minutes!!!! This was good for us because I was happy to eat, visit with the princesses, and get out to the park before they opened to the public to get in some really short lines. But it is short! The food was so-so. The juice and pastries were good and the egg dish was good but my stuffed french toast tasted microwaved and didn't have much cream cheese stuffing. Don't go for the food! But what a great way to see the princesses and not stand in line! THAT was worth it (and it always is!). Let's see, pictures with Cinderella were included, so was the gratuity, and so was a little extra something for the kids (sword & wand). We used our 2 dining credits and found it was worth it. But just once, we're good to eat other places now Here are some pics:

 

[Buckimion]

This definitely belongs in the funny pictures thread!

 

[KrysiaG]

We just did CRT on 7/6 for the first time at 2:30 pm (lunch meals).

Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Was the food spectacular? Nahhhh.
Was the experience worth it? Absolutely.

My kids were totally in love with the entire experience.

Cinderella did NOT visit any tables. She was stationed down at the bottom of the stairs and we got our photo taken with her (and a nice printed photo in a book with some 4x6 prints, as well) - that made it TOTALLY worth it for me, that those photos were included.

We loved it.
I will DEFINITELY book it again (regardless of the food/meal).

a. Who's been there very recently
ME! 7/6/11 at 2:30 pm.

b. Is the food better than Applebee's quality? (my mom says Applebee's is the equivalent to a fast food joint of the sit down restaurants?
yes, definitely as good as Applebees. I got the spare rib tips with mashed potatoes and they were awesome.

c. Do characters come to tables for autographs and pics or not?
Of course!

d. Do they charge or hold the dining plan ressie on your credit card?
I can't remember when they charged the card. I gave them the CC over the phone to book and I don't know if they charged immediately or within 24 hours. I think she MIGHT have said 24 hours.

Really, the day we did CRT at MK was our best day at WDW. I can't compare it to anything else because this was our 1st trip to WDW and we haven't been to other character meals besides Tusker House.

appetizer

signing autographs

Cinderella on the 1st floor signing autographs and posing for pictures with my family

Desserts (I got cheesecake, my daughter got a cupcake)

My daughter couldn't even EAT because of the excitement