Question about Askershus (sp?) Princess meals...

[ChrisMouse]

I'd love to hear a comparsion between the Epcot princess meal and CRT. I did CRT (after BBB) with my daughter last year and she loved it...but would maybe like something a bit different this year. Not sure if the princess meals in these two places are similar...??

Sure wish they had a Fairy meal!!!

TIA for any input. Please chime in if you have a character experience favorite for a girl who loves characters of all kinds. (We already have Chef Mickey planned and she's not nutty about Pooh and friends).

I'm considering 1900 Park Faire for a change of characters, but what is the "dress code" for grownups? And I read it's the stepmother and stepsisters...?

Thanks!!!

 

[momsoftwins]

hi ..well this is just my info i have on the norway princess dining
i have done breakfast and dinner...personal i liked the breakfast better. the food was more my taste. not that the dinner was bad but the food just wasnt me liking. both times we had great character meetings.
we also have done 1900 park fare (only for dinner) and for a buffet the food was great. we didnt have the step-mom or sisters just there too the characters were great. well i hope this helps ya out.
also we didnt notice a dress code for park fare...as we came in what we had on from the parks.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

I just returned from a trip where I did breakfast at both CRT and Akershus. It was my 2nd time at Akershus and first time at CRT.

The two meals are similar - we saw 5 "princesses" at both places - and many were exactly the same. We saw Belle, Aurora, Snow White and Jasmine at both. CRT had Cinderella and Akershus had Mary Poppins. (The characters can change, there's no guarantee)

The food is a little different. At CRT we got some fruit and a basket of pastries at the start. Then we each got our plate of food. If you could ask for more, they didn't act like it. At Akershus - it's all you can eat. They bring you a plate of hot food and you can ask for more of whatever you like. We were happy with the food at both.

The main difference to me was the general experience. At CRT, I definitely felt rushed, like we were being "processed" through the restaurant. The princesses were charming and did everything they needed to at each table, the server was very nice - but it was "let's move it along". (They asked for payment right as they handed us our meal.).

At Akershus, although they have a similar pattern to the serving and characters, I didn't feel rushed or like I was part of a process. I felt like I was in a restaurant and oh, look, here comes Snow White! She's stopping by each table to chat, how nice!

The main draw to CRT is "being in the castle". Honestly, for me, that gave me oooh's and aaah's for about 30 seconds. Same with my girls. Once inside, they had an equally good time at both CRT and Akershus. They didn't get any extra "wow" from the castle.

I would do Akershus again in a heartbeat. I'm glad we did CRT, but I don't think we'll do that again.

 

[jenb1023]

My DD is five and we have been to CRT for breakfast twice, Askershus for lunch and breakfast and 1900 Park Fare for dinner.

Askershus is a good place to go if your dd is more of a princess fan. Not as magical as CRT but very nice. From what I have read and experienced, breakfast seems to be more princesses and friends (we had Belle as greeter, Snow White, Jasmine, Mary Poppins and Mulan) and lunch seems to be more of a focus on princesses (we has Belle, Ariel as a human, Aurora, Jasmine and Cinderella - who is not a regular).

1900 Park Fare was a very big hit with my 5-year-old who loves everyone in the Cinderella story especially the stepsisters. The characters here at dinner are Cinderella and Prince Charming and Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella (stepmom and stepsisters). The Steps are all a riot and right in character and DD just looked smitten by Prince Charming and the attention he paid her. If your DD loves this story and the characters I highly recommend it. There is no dress code here for the adults - I think we all had on jeans and sweatshirts.

If I was choosing between the two, we would pick 1900 Park Fare. However, Askershus is just fine too.

Another option is 1900 Park Fare breakfast which I believe features Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger.

Have fun!

 

[tksbaskets]

My sister and I are in our 40's and enjoyed the princess breakfast in Norway (we were on a girl's trip and my boys would NEVER have gone there)

 

[janloz]

I just reviewed Akerhaus in my Dining report it you would like to see some pics. The link is in my signature.

 

[Torgue]

I'd love to hear a comparsion between the Epcot princess meal and CRT. I did CRT (after BBB) with my daughter last year and she loved it...but would maybe like something a bit different this year. Not sure if the princess meals in these two places are similar...??

Sure wish they had a Fairy meal!!!

TIA for any input. Please chime in if you have a character experience favorite for a girl who loves characters of all kinds. (We already have Chef Mickey planned and she's not nutty about Pooh and friends).

I'm considering 1900 Park Faire for a change of characters, but what is the "dress code" for grownups? And I read it's the stepmother and stepsisters...?

Thanks!!!

We have done Princess Storybook and CRT for lunch and 1900 PF for Dinner. My DD6 thought Storybook was the best. She is crazy about the princesses and at Norway they were able to stay and visit at our table longer and several actually came by more than once. Like everyone has said we always felt rushed at CRT but being in the castle is worth going back on every trip. We did not like 1900 PF. It was very crowded and the tables seem to be very close together. The buffet lines were also really long and it was not a good time for us. We are planning on having breakfast there, so hopefully it will be a better experience.

 

[GatorLady]

We love PSB! Had a great meal and DD6 loved getting her picture taken with Belle (her favorite princess)! 1900 was just o.k. for us, I'm glad we did it once because of the unique mix of characters, but it was very loud and food was nothing special. We are doing CRT for the first time next trip so we can say we ate in the castle once, but going back to PSB is a must!

 

[mom2cinderella]

I'd give a slight edge to CRT just because I like eating in the Castle!

You are a bit more rushed at CRT. And what I like about PSB (we didn't go this past trip so it might have changed) is seeing some different princesses. MK is so big on the main three (Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora) it was nice to go to PSB and see Mulan or Jasmine or Ariel.

Michele

 

[danielle.st]

Of the 3, I'd say we preferred Akershus the most.
CRT was very good, similar characters. DH liked the Akershus salad bar more, and also CRT is a 2 credit meal on the dining plan... Akershus is 1 credit, which makes Akershus a much better deal. The only thing CRT has over it is the wands and little wishing ceremony. Both have beautiful settings, etc.

1900 PF was ok. I didn't like as much of the stuff on the buffet as I thought I would though. There was enough I did like that I didn't leave hungry or anything. The strawberry soup was yummy as were all of the desserts. The setting wasn't as pretty or majestic. Maybe that is partly because we were not in the main room and were sort of cut off from some of the action.

 

[CinderellyCinderelly]

The food was better at Akershus lunch than at 1900 PF dinner. The Akershus was nice to see all of the princesses, but the 1900 PF dinner was GREAT with the step sisters and Lady Tremaine along with Cinderella and Prince Charming!

 

[sapereaude]

This was from last week - Sunday at the askerhaus and Tuesday at CRT.

We did both the akerhaus breakfast and the CRT lunch. It's tough to compare. I honestly was not as impressed with either of those as I was with our character meals at Chef Mickey's and the Crystal Palace, meal wise those were both fabulous, but they don't have the princesses.

Akerhaus breakfast (8:45am was our ADR) had a buffet of fresh fruit and pastries and some norweigan specialities (red herring I think). Then they brought our table a hot plate of eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage. For the $130 I spent on the 5 of us (2 kids) to eat breakfast, I felt the breakfast was seriously lacking.

CRT lunch (12:10pm) was a fix menu of 4 choices for the adults, 2 for the kids. The food as okay, but felt like it had been prepared en masse (like wedding food) rather than fresh for us.

The princesses - we felt less rushed taking our pictures with Belle at the askerhaus, perhaps as we arrived early for the first seating and no one was waiting. We had to wait in line for Cinderella, and the photographer (grrr) tried to take a picture of my son, whom we said didn't want to be in the picture, this meant we had to carry him up the stairs screaming that he didn't want to eat upstairs, I wish the guy had just taken the hint that he didn't want to be in the photo. Getting to enter Epcot early and go through while no one was there was very neat (this would also be a benefit of an early CRT seating at MK)

Askerhaus had Belle for the main photo - and Snow White, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan walking around.

CRT had Cinderella for the main photo - and Belle (in her blue simple blue dress), Jasmine, and Sleeping Beauty walking around.

CRT gave each of the kids wishing stars and wands (or swords for the boys), they happily gave my son both as he wants whatever his sister has now a days. My kids don't pay much attention to these things, so the whole wishing ceremony was only vaguely paid attention to.

I don't know, I think both are grossly overpriced for the meal you are getting - I told my mom & inlaws you are paying to see the princesses, they just throw a meal in for free. I felt like you got just as much attention at Askerhaus as at CRT from the princesses. I felt the CRT was a much neater setting (and my daughter was much more excited about going to it). I wouldn't do both again (we had different grandparents with us and wanted to do it with each of them). And I felt the other character buffets offered much better food for the money.

The pictures are also included in both meals. We got two 5x7 at each, one of just my daughter and the princess & one of the whole family. (My son would not participate) and then an envelope of 3x5s of every picture.

Oh, also, the more buffet-like setting of askerhaus let us time our meal between princesses or before or afterwards. They delivered our kids meals just before all the princesses started coming by our table at CRT, so this meant having to remind my daughter to put down her ketchupy hot dog (yup, a $25 HOT DOG) to meet the princesses. At the buffet meal, we would see where the characters were, and our server was always helpful in this regard and choose when to go to the buffet based on how much time we had.

 

[KnDWallace]

I did the lunch last year and lets face it.. we pay for being with the Princesses. The thing with Akerhaus is it's a buffet at the salad bar and then you choose what meal you want as a main course (lunch). If you want to experience a different taste, choose this. The salad bar has Norwegian cold dishes. You are greeted by a Princess as youwalk in, you take pix.. they take pix and then you go to your table. Later they try to sell you the pix (geesh) If you say you are celebrating a birthday, they bring you a really tasty sugar cookie with chocolate icing shaped like a viking helmet and sing happy birthday in (their language). I was GREATLY impressed by the amount of time and attention payed to my daughters. I suggest you call ahead, there is a pattern to which princesses will be there and when. (You have to get the right Reservation rep for that) Have an autograph book with you. They take the time to make their signatures really special at this and it beats standing in 5 princess lines! lol We had Aurora, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, & Cinderella. All in all, I would say pick a late lunch so you can gnosh for dinner to make up for the price. I did it to get into MVMCP early.

 

[GatorLady]

Later they try to sell you the pix (geesh)

The photo package is now included with your meal at Akershus.

 

[2Monkeys]

The princess interaction at Askershus (not sure of the spelling either!) was great...but the food was not. We really did not like the food at all, and my husband and I are really not picky. Our server was rude, and not attentive. Maybe breakfast would be better. WE have eaten at CRT 2x for breakfast and LOVED it! We thought the food was good, but you do pay more for being in the castle. We did not feel rushed at all, but maybe we just had good servers. The princesses talked to our kids, took pictures, signed books, and spent a good amount of time with them. We were very pleased with the whole experience.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We LOVE CRT and eat there every trip for breakfast. This trip was no different and the food was amazing, the characters were great and we did not feel rushed at all. In fact, I had ordered the slipper dessert for my girls and took about 25 photos of it, and they enjoyed it very much eating every last drop of it and I thought we were taking too long. I said we should hurry up and our waitress said to take our time. By the way, that dessert is amazing and a great price at $12.50. It came out right after we did the wishing ceremony (which I did in place of DD14 who didn't care to). My girls had no idea and asked why we got it. I said I had wished for something special for them and to this day they (DD9 and DD6) have no idea that I ordered it, they think it was just magic. I did feel a little bad though, we had lots of girls come over to our table to see it and asked their moms for it. I ddn't think about that when I did it, I just wanted a surprise for my girls.

Anyway, back on topic. This time we tried Akerhaus for the first time (for dinner). I had said I was not doing it for the meal but for the experience before my girls get too big. I had posted questions about it and gatorlady told me she loved it, that was reassuring. I also loved it. I loved the salad bar, I loved the interaction, I loved watching my girls having a great time. I didn't love my meal, but that was my own fault. I am too picky and I got sared to try anything too adventorous so I ordered the pasta dish, it was yucky. My DH, however, ordered the salmon and thought it was the best meal of our trip which included LeCellier and Cali Grill. I wish I had ordered the salmon (I don't eat fish) and had given it to him because he loved it so much.

I love CRT and will continue to eat there every trip, but Akerhaus was a nice surprise. I would go again, but would make a better meal choice. Oh, and school bread. I never had the original but the new one was very good!!!!

 

[sapereaude]

Our server was rude, and not attentive.

Our server at Askerhaus was okay, but nowhere near as good as our servers at CRT, crystal palace and chef mickey's (our other table service character meals). It seemed to me that the servers at those other places were extremely experienced, they were all older (meaning like 45+) and seemed to really enjoy their jobs and interacting with us - whereas at the Askerhaus, the server was younger (like college age) and his nametag said he was from Norway. My guess is that the other servers all chose to work at Disney as a server and enjoy doing that, whereas our Askerhaus server was doing an internship at Disney and because he was Norwegian got stuck as an Askerhaus waiter and wasn't terribly happy about it. I don't want to disparage him, he was decent, just nowhere near as enthusiastic as I saw elsewhere.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Our server at Askerhaus was okay, but nowhere near as good as our servers at CRT, crystal palace and chef mickey's (our other table service character meals). It seemed to me that the servers at those other places were extremely experienced, they were all older (meaning like 45+) and seemed to really enjoy their jobs and interacting with us - whereas at the Askerhaus, the server was younger (like college age) and his nametag said he was from Norway. My guess is that the other servers all chose to work at Disney as a server and enjoy doing that, whereas our Askerhaus server was doing an internship at Disney and because he was Norwegian got stuck as an Askerhaus waiter and wasn't terribly happy about it. I don't want to disparage him, he was decent, just nowhere near as enthusiastic as I saw elsewhere.

I have to agree. Our ws fine, but not great. He too was youn g and from Norway. Could be the same guy, or could be that is where they all are assaigned to work...

 

[jcemom]

We've done CRT breakfast twice, lunch once. We tried Akershus lunch on our last trip for the first time.

I think CRT wins for atmosphere. It's just plain cool being inside the castle.

Akershus wins for character interaction, food and service. Our server was friendlier and more attentive, we felt less rushed, the characters spent more time with us and didn't seem to be in as much of a hurry, and our meals were great.

We're doing CRT again on our next trip because it's been a couple of years and DD wants to eat in the castle this time around. On the next trip we'll do Akershus again.

 

[GatorLady]

I didn't love my meal,

Oh no, now I feel !! (that's supposed to be a guilty face )

Well, at least your DH and DD's won't be at me.

I'm glad the overall experience was a good one though and I'll make note to myself not to order the pasta!!!