Opinions on the Food at Cinderellas Royal Table

[dchronister]

We are taking my niece to BBB and we had planned on going ahead to eat afterwards at the castle since she was already all fixed up, but after I looked at the menu, I am having second thoughts. It did not look to appealing, somebody convince me otherwise. We also thought about leaving and going over to the Grand Floridian to the 1900 Park. What are the opinions of the food at both places.

 

[TLSnell1981]

They food is still good, at CRT..even though the menu is greatly reduced. We have fond memories of dining in the Castle. Although, it's a bit pricey, photos and gratuity are included.

 

[magicbob]

We enjoyed CRT food (dinner) a lot. 1900 Park Fare food (dinner) was mediocre at best IMO.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) You are paying for characters.
2) You are NOT paying for food quality.
3) And, you don't get it.
4) Food is average.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I've had lunch and dinner last year and have to say I enjoyed both of my meals. Is it worth the money, probably not as you are paying more for the experience then the food anyways but the food is in no way gross or not good.

 

[disneybliss2]

We found the food at CRT to be good, but nothing that was so outstanding that justified the huge expense. You're paying for the experience of eating in the castle. While we enjoyed it, we thought it was too costly. My girls actually enjoyed Akershus better at Epcot. It still has a castle feel on a smaller setting and all of the princesses are there. Another great option is 1900 PF. In fact, it was one of our favorite dinners. The food was better than at the castle and the character interaction was amazing!

 

[1Jackpot]

We have eaten only breakfast at CRT and it was delicious. We've had both breakfast and dinner at 1900 PF and both meals were delicious. We would repeat both places! I don't think you can go wrong with either restaurant.

 

[Brian Noble]

CRT is pretty average for a character meal. Many are better, all are less expensive.

The point of CRT is "eating in the castle with princesses." If that's not why you are going, go elsewhere.

 

[TLSnell1981]

CRT is pretty average for a character meal. Many are better, all are less expensive.

The point of CRT is "eating in the castle with princesses." If that's not why you are going, go elsewhere.

But, photos and gratuity are included in the price. Pretty much, brings it down to 1900 prices. We usually purchase the character photo packages, so this averages out for us. (TIW helps too).

 

[karibritt01]

We weren't impressed with the CRT dinner menu either, and opted for the breakfast. We thought that was wonderful... food, interaction, experience, photos all well worth the price. We did 1900 PF last trip for dinner after a BBB trip, and thought it was excellent as well. We will be going back to 1900 PF this trip and can hardly wait!

 

[kadesha]

We've had lunch there once and weren't impressed. The food wasn't good and the characters were more rushed than any other character meal we've had. We weren't impressed and have no desire to return.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We have eaten breakfast there twice and dinner there 3 times with a 4th time coming up in a few weeks. The breakfast is good but we really enjoy the dinners there. 1900 Park Fare dinner is o.k., but that is a buffet rather than at CRT which is served to you at your table. Plus there is nothing like eating in the castle, especially for a little girl .

 

[eliza61]

1) You are paying for characters.
2) You are NOT paying for food quality.
3) And, you don't get it.
4) Food is average.

LOL, you know rusty I've never understood the "you're paying for characters" argument.

Are the characters doing the cooking? why is it exclusive? Can you not have a decent chef and Cinderalla at the same place?

Op, I've only done breakfast and all I can say is never again. 55 bucks is a lot to pay for cold, 1/2 done waffles even with the fairy godmother.

 

[recmouse]

We are taking my niece to BBB and we had planned on going ahead to eat afterwards at the castle since she was already all fixed up, but after I looked at the menu, I am having second thoughts. It did not look to appealing, somebody convince me otherwise. We also thought about leaving and going over to the Grand Floridian to the 1900 Park. What are the opinions of the food at both places.

For years I've been going back and forth reading all these opinions and then not making reservations at CRT.

Well you know what? I WANT TO EAT IN CINDY'S CASTLE! So I made reservations there for our trip in April when we visit our daughter who is doing the College Program at Disney.

I'm sure the food's not horrible and now I can cross that off 'my list'!

 

[mickeyinthehouse]

Can anyone order from the kids menu? My kids want to eat in the castle - they aren't particular about the food that is served, again, just the experience. My 10yo would not be interested in any of the adult food options for lunch or dinner. Can he order from the kids menu? In fact, I wouldn't mind eating from the kids menu either, is there any restriction that says we have to eat from the adult menu because of age?

Since my son will be 10 this trip, we will not be doing the dining plan. I do not want to pay adult prices for a "child" that hardly eats. I know I can't get around the dining plan with his age, but if I'm paying out of pocket for the meals, do they frown on him ordering from the kids menu?

 

[ktlm]

For years I've been going back and forth reading all these opinions and then not making reservations at CRT.

Well you know what? I WANT TO EAT IN CINDY'S CASTLE! So I made reservations there for our trip in April when we visit our daughter who is doing the College Program at Disney.

I'm sure the food's not horrible and now I can cross that off 'my list'!

Good for you! I love eating in the castle, and I think the food is good. We usually do lunch there and even DH has always enjoyed it. We've never had a bad meal there.

DD(5) is a princess nut so our last 2 trips we have done CRT, 1900 Park Fare and Akerhus (we've also done CRT and Akerhus on other trips). If I had to choose one, it would be CRT hands down. There is just something special about eating in the castle. We have never had bad character interaction there, except for one lobby Cinderella one year that DD (then 3) deemed an imposter and declared that the real Cinderella was obviously busy in Toontown and couldn't make it. Other than that, we have always thought the princesses were great with DD and spent a decent amount of time (for a WDW character meal) interacting with her. Plus, the kids get a wand (girl) or sword (boy) and a wishing star and keep their "invitation" and the photo is included in the price of the meal.

As far as Akershus. I think the food at CRT is better. It is also a more relaxed meal. The tables are too close together at Akershus, and people around you are up and down for the buffet appetizers, so we always feel like people are knocking into us quite a bit. Other than the picture with Belle, we rarely get good pictures of the Princesses there because it is just too crowded to get enough space to do it. We have always felt like the characters were really rushed there too. The photo with Belle is included, but there are no items at the table.

As far as 1900 Park Fare, we were there last month and thought the food was really good. Last year when we were there, we thought the food was mediocre. It is definitely not a relaxed meal. It is a very loud and hectic place. The characters can get really spread out and it can be stressful trying to figure out when you can go up to the buffet to get food without missing one. The characters are great though (love those stepsisters), DD adores Prince Charming, and we do really enjoy having a meal there. There is no photo included with that meal. I want to say they charge around $20 for it, but it is in front of a painted castle so it is no big loss if you don't want to buy it (although in my experience, as soon as you make up your mind you aren't going to do it, it will turn out to be a really fantastic shot of your family!).

 

[TLSnell1981]

LOL, you know rusty I've never understood the "you're paying for characters" argument.

Are the characters doing the cooking? why is it exclusive? Can you not have a decent chef and Cinderalla at the same place?

Op, I've only done breakfast and all I can say is never again. 55 bucks is a lot to pay for cold, 1/2 done waffles even with the fairy godmother.

Well, they must compensate the characters for their appearance, so their cost is additional. Of course, you are also paying for the venue, photos, magic wand/sword and automatic gratuity. The restaurant isn't large and demand is high.

Alas, Cindy's isn't what is was, "once upon a time". I miss the ala carte menu and the Fairy Godmother's "dinner show". I can't stomach Disney's breakfast prices, anywhere. We've only booked dinner for quite a while (CRT). Although. $35 for fake chicken nuggets is obscene.

 

[ElizabethB]

Haven't done breakfast or dinner. Lunch is not good at all.

Lunch used to be good and included choices like prime rib. We used to love doing lunch in the Castle. Not anymore.

A few years ago, when we loved doing lunch in the Castle, there were princesses making the rounds of the restaurant. So, the fact that there are characters does not mean the food has to be bad and cheap quality. It's just that Disney has figured out there are certain experiences that guests will pay any price for (and put up with the food no matter how bad). Eating at the Castle is one of those "priceless" experiences that can be exploited to the hilt. But, we won't be part of it.

 

[eliza61]

Well, they must compensate the characters for their appearance, so their cost is additional. Of course, you are also paying for the venue, photos, magic wand/sword and automatic gratuity. The restaurant isn't large and demand is high.

Alas, Cindy's isn't what is was, "once upon a time". I miss the ala carte menu and the Fairy Godmother's "dinner show". I can't stomach Disney's breakfast prices, anywhere. We've only booked dinner for quite a while (CRT). Although. $35 for fake chicken nuggets is obscene.

I guess thats why I can't understand the "you pay for the experience" argument.

Really, how hard is it to get some one to make decent chicken nuggets? (In the interest of full disclosure my family owned a restaurant for 30 years)
We are not talking hiring Emeril lagasse here, we talking 1/2 way decent short order cook from brooklyn can make a great batter and deep fry some boneless white meat.
same with waffles. we had breakfast there one day and the waffles were inediable. cold and mushy. You mean just because cinderalla is prancing around outside there is not one freshmen culinary student in all of florida that can use a waffle iron? LOL. heck, Orlando has to have a couple of "waffle houses" around.

the size of the restaurant makes it even worse. It's small so you can calculate exactly how long batter will take to serve, hence how to get them out to a guest hot and completely cooked.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

LOL, you know rusty I've never understood the "you're paying for characters" argument.

Are the characters doing the cooking? why is it exclusive? Can you not have a decent chef and Cinderalla at the same place?

Op, I've only done breakfast and all I can say is never again. 55 bucks is a lot to pay for cold, 1/2 done waffles even with the fairy godmother.

1) It does sound like a lame argument.
2) But, for $55 +tax+tip, I would expect
. . . an appy and dessert and,
. . . the best steak at Shula's or Ruth Chris
. . . the best seafood at Flying Fish or Oceanaire
. . . not beef tenderloin
. . . not fried chicken with mac & cheese
. . . not salmon
3) The quality of the food does not meet that criteria.
. . . the chef's are good
. . . but the base quality of the food is not of a high level
. . . even the best chef can't elevate chicken and mac & cheese
. . . at least to $55
4) So, if the quality is less, then the money goes somewhere else. *
5) That "somewhere else" is labor/escort/costume costs.

* Frankly, the way people pour into the the princess meals,
they could serve eggs, french toast, and bacon for $45 and
get away with it. Wait a minute, they are already doing that.