Princess Meals: Worth the money?

[viaggiamo]

We did one when DD was 6yo and it was OK. The food was average and we wouldn't do one again. She loved having each princess come to the table and have a photo and a chat with her, but it was not her favourite thing that we did in the parks over the week. It didn't even rate in her top 5.

 

[Amanda999]

I'm one of the most frugal people I know, and I would pay for CRT if I had a child who was at the right age (and interested in princesses/stories) to find it 'magical,' if you know what I mean. There are so few opportunities to provide such an experience (its as if you are part of the movie), and while the cost is ridiculous if you think of it as a meal, its probably not a huge part of the entire vacation. I'd take a connecting flight (to save on airfare) if I had to find room in the budget.

PS We save $ by splitting up (only 1 parent and 1 child goes to the character meal), as only 1 of our kids enjoys character experiences. It doesn't add to his enjoyment to have his sibling there (while it would be nice to have dad there, its mostly about the characters not family time).

 

[crisi]

I took out DD when she was 6. Dad and DS went off exploring frontierland. I think it was one of the most magical things we ever did on a trip. She was the perfect age, it was just the two of us, we went to breakfast in Cinderellas castle, and soaked up every.single.minute. of magic. I have precious photographs and the fairy godmother gave us a handful of confetti that we still have pieces of, and my DD will be 21 this summer! Couldn't recommend it more

Mine is 17 and we did pretty much the same thing at the same age, but over in Norway - at the time CRT was really hard to get and MUCH more expensive. So it was just the two of us rather than four which kept the costs down. She still has the picture of her and Aurora up in her room.

 

[yellowjacketfan]

If you can swing breakfast in the castle, do it. She is at the perfect age and will love it. We did it on our first real trip (daughter was 6) and it was a stay offsite budget trip. Totally worth it. It is just a different feel than standing in line in the parks. I feel like it's a once and done though since the prices have gotten out of hand.

 

[Nicole F]

I am a vote against this being worth the money. Here was our experience:

Last year we went with our 5 and 2 year old. We were on a budget as well but decided that for the experience we should do a princess meal. We chose a breakfast (most economical option) at Akershus (Norway in Epcot). We were extremely disappointed. Now, I think our girls enjoyed it, but it is not an experience they raved about. We thought our in park experiences were vastly superior and much more personal. We had saved especially for that meal (which even for just a breakfast was NOT cheap!) and I felt like it was a waste of our money. I completely understand that this is not everyone's experience, but IMHO your interactions at the park will be more than sufficient. Have a wonderful trip!

ETA: We never waited more than 20 mins to meet a princess. And the time spent was worth it. I don't remember if you mentioned how long you'll be enjoying the parks, but if you will be there for several days I think it's worth it to save the money and see everyone in park. If you feel your time is limited, perhaps I'd consider a bit more. Regardless, we felt our girls did not receive much value in terms of personal interaction and we likely won't try again.

Thx for the advice! We will be there 5 days and we aren't huge ride people so I think most of my dd's park experiences will be focused on princesses. all the opinions on here have been super helpful. Thx!

 

[elaine amj]

I'm one of the most frugal people I know, and I would pay for CRT if I had a child who was at the right age (and interested in princesses/stories) to find it 'magical,' if you know what I mean. There are so few opportunities to provide such an experience (its as if you are part of the movie), and while the cost is ridiculous if you think of it as a meal, its probably not a huge part of the entire vacation. I'd take a connecting flight (to save on airfare) if I had to find room in the budget.

PS We save $ by splitting up (only 1 parent and 1 child goes to the character meal), as only 1 of our kids enjoys character experiences. It doesn't add to his enjoyment to have his sibling there (while it would be nice to have dad there, its mostly about the characters not family time).

I agree - I would splurge if the child was really, really into the magic of it. Mine wasn't and neither were the rest of us. We all thought CRT was cool but not something we would rush back to do. We'd have been fine if we had never done it.

 

[Travelstovegas]

Hello! We are going to Disney in late November/early December and it is an extended family trip. We will have two 6yo girls, and then three boys - 4.5, 4, and 20 months. We are planning to do one Akurshus breakfast. Since we haven't been yet, I can't say whether it will be worth it, but we anticipate that it will be.

Something that I didn't see mentioned yet that we are taking into consideration - based on when we arrive in Disney, EPCOT is actually going to be our first park. The Akurshus breakfast will be one of their first experiences, so the kids will not have anything to compare it to yet when it comes to meeting characters/Princesses. I think this will help to add to the value - if we had spent a couple of days in the parks and did a Princess meal at the end of our trip, possibly they'd be a bit "jaded" at the whole experience. However, doing the event early on will be more likely to leave them impressed, in my opinion. Plus it will be happening at a park that is not quite as child-focused as MK, so I imagine it will be even more of a highlight for them that day.

For our family, Princesses are the more popular interest in both the boys & girls, so it made it easy for us to choose them rather than a Mickey & friends meal.

Also - don't forget whether or not YOU would like to do this! Of course we want our children to enjoy these kinds of things themselves, but there is also something to be said for how much pleasure parents get from the experience - both seeing their kids react AND by getting their own photos with a character/Princess. Mulan & Rapunzel are my favorite Princesses, and much as I adore my children, I'd actually like a photo of just me with both of them!

 

[DisMommyTX]

We love the character meals, but if you are on a budge, they are certainly skippable. If you are on a short trip, a princess meal can be a great time-saver versus waiting in line for all of the individual meet and greets; however, the same meets can be accomplished with good planning without paying a fortune for the meal.

If you decide to forego the princess dining, I highly recommend dinner at Be Our Guest. You only have to pay for what you want to eat, so you can share a meal, or just get soup or coffee and cupcake! They also had no problem with older kids or even adults ordering a kids meal. Regardless, it is pretty cool to explore the different dining rooms and you get to meet the Beast.

Fwiw, We have tried both princess meals multiple times, and they definitely have a different vibe. We find that Akershus is more fun and festive with the kids parading around, but it tends to feel overly crowded and kind of rowdy. The Castle was more formal and relaxed with a 'royal' feel. The food is mediocre at both, so that has never been a deciding factor for us, but my kids do eat better at the castle than in Norway. We are looking forward to trying the Trattoria breakfast at Boardwalk on our next trip. Of course, Rapunzel and Ariel happen to be my kids' favorite princesses, so I'm sure it will be a hit as well.

 

[oktxregulators]

I think all the character dining meals need to be done at least once for the experienced especially if you have a long child. We always get the dining plan when we do character meals. My daughter wanted CRT for breakfast because her two favorite characters were Jasmine and Mulan and CRT for breakfast was the only place you could dine and meet Jasmine.

Akershus is also good place to meet Princesses as well and they do a parade around the restaurant as well.

 

[roylanc]

Hey all! We have a 5 yo daughter who loves princesses, and we are considering booking a meal with princesses (either Cinderella's Royal Table or Princess Storybook Dining, we think). But we are doing Disney on a budget. IYO, is a character meal worth the money, or should we just plan on visiting the princesses elsewhere?

We have done both & our 2 little ones love it.
Now eating in the castle is a real treat for the Girls & you do get to meet quite a few of the Princesses.
For me the food in the castle is not the best & your paying for the location.
But the best value if you are on a budget is the Story book meet.
The variety of food is better & the little ones still get to meet the princesses.

 

[Judique]

What is the cost of these meals now?

 

[TwoMisfits]

What is the cost of these meals now?

Could be a little higher b/c of when these prices were obtained (see dates below)...this is from the restaurant board thread...

Akershus Princess Storybook: (incl tax, excl tip)
bfast . . . 11/23/2016 Adult: $50.06, Child: $29.82
lunch . . . 02/14/2017 Adult: $60.71, Child: $36.21
dinner. . . 10/02/2016 Adult: $60.71, Child: $36.21

Cinderella Royal Table: (tax and tip included)
bfast . . . 10/02/2016 Adult: $62.95, Child: $38.36
lunch . . . 11/24/2016 Adult: $79.10, Child: $46.91
dinner. . . 11/24/2016 Adult: $79.10, Child: $46.91

 

[Judique]

Could be a little higher b/c of when these prices were obtained (see dates below)...this is from the restaurant board thread...

Akershus Princess Storybook: (incl tax, excl tip)
bfast . . . 11/23/2016 Adult: $50.06, Child: $29.82
lunch . . . 02/14/2017 Adult: $60.71, Child: $36.21
dinner. . . 10/02/2016 Adult: $60.71, Child: $36.21

Cinderella Royal Table: (tax and tip included)
bfast . . . 10/02/2016 Adult: $62.95, Child: $38.36
lunch . . . 11/24/2016 Adult: $79.10, Child: $46.91
dinner. . . 11/24/2016 Adult: $79.10, Child: $46.91

Thanks! Now we have the granddaughters to bring!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

https://touringplans.com/magic-king...l-elena-cinderella/wait-times/date/2017-07-04

These are the wait times for July 4th - Highest coming up. Today the highest wait time was 30 minutes. The other side runs shorter by 5-10 minutes.

I would be inclined to dine in the castle with a 5 year old, especially if you aren't going again for a few years.

If the pictures are what you are going for, you will get much better pictures at the meet and greets with the photopass photographers.

 

[LovesTimone]

If you go in with this is a princess meal as the main entrée and eating is the side. Then your good to go. But the interaction is so wonderful, and a princess of any age will enjoy it.

You could do breakfast in the room, and maybe a snack then go for a later lunch or early dinner to spread out the cost, then a snack later on or share a QS meal might work out. We always found that our girls around this age did better snacking, and sharing meals either with us or each other than wasting money buying the whole kids meal. There are all kinds of ways to save money while in the parks, doing your homework ahead is the best way to start out on the right foot. You can also ask for a plate and share at TS too.

You can use a fast pass for the character meet and greet and the cash for something else.