Questions about CRT

[Dervis]

The last time my family has been to CRT was sometime in the early 90's....when I was about 5. Anyway, on our last trip, my friends said that they would have really liked to eat in the castle. My family usually doesn't do the character dining, so CRT never even crossed our mind while making the ADRs.

Anyway, for this trip, I was trying to find a good way to supprise everyone on our last day, and I thought...why not end the trip with dinner in the castle!? Anyway, now I'm having second thoughts since A) I'm paying for 7 people (it's thier Christmas gift) and B) I'm dealing with the world's pickiest eaters.

I see that the menu is pretty well set. Is it possible to subsitute side items? Like, if someone wanted the chicken, but not the mashed potatoes, could they get something else instead?

I realize that at Dinner, the characters don't take pics/sign autographs/whatever. Thats fine. The youngest in our party is 20...characters aren't a big deal. Do they do the show periodically, or is it a once a night thing? I've seen it on Youtube, and it seems completely idiotic and manic...i'm kind of hoping to miss it.

How is the lunch compared to dinner? It seems like a great way to save a few bucks while still dining in the castle. Plus, the characters aren't important, but they are a nice bonus.

Is dining in the castle really worth the price tag? Thats really the main reason why I'm doing this.

Any personal opinions and recomendations are appreciated as well!

 

[bunkkinsmom]

The characters don't sign autographs at dinner? Really?

 

[TattooedMermaid]

DH and I ate at CRT a week ago. It was a great experience. Don't know about dealing with picky eaters, but I'm sure they would do their best.
We weren't there too long but did see the little "show". It doesn't take long and you can ignore it I'm sure. I didn't see anyone getting autographs from the mice but they did pose for pictures.
We enjoyed the castle but were on the dining plan. I don't think we would have ever eaten there without it. It was very expensive. Food was very good though.
Don't know if that answered everything but hope it helped a little.

 

[koolaidmoms]

You can substitute sides within reason. There may be an extra charge.

The show with the Fairy Godmother and mice is usually done once during your meal unless you are there for over an hour or more. They flit around the room so you can take pictures I do not remember autographs.

There is a review in the dining review section of my blog - link in signature - with a few photos.

Hope this helps some.

 

[princssdisnygina]

The characters don't sign autographs at dinner? Really?

No, not at CRT. They don't come around to your tables like that. You can have Cinderella sign when you get your pictures done but other than that no.

DH and I ate at CRT a week ago. It was a great experience. Don't know about dealing with picky eaters, but I'm sure they would do their best.
We weren't there too long but did see the little "show". It doesn't take long and you can ignore it I'm sure. I didn't see anyone getting autographs from the mice but they did pose for pictures.
We enjoyed the castle but were on the dining plan. I don't think we would have ever eaten there without it. It was very expensive. Food was very good though.
Don't know if that answered everything but hope it helped a little.

My family is picky eaters and we enjoyed it pretty well. The BLT salad was good for a picky eater and they do have substitutes (dont remember what they are). We all enjoyed the prime rib which was really good! I have never had lunch there but have you considered having breakfast there? That would be safe for picky eaters and you would still get the experience of dining in the castle.

We like dining in the castle but we don't do it every trip. It is magical to be there when its time for Wishes because they dim the lights and pipe in the music and you are right in the middle of the action! It is cool. The food is good, not great but I do think it is a little overpriced. But, you do get pictures with it that are included in the price so it would be a great souvenir for the family. You get 4 - 4x6s and 1 - 8x10. If you have never done it I say do it. Just remember you are going so you can be in the castle.

 

[PoohsFan1]

I am glad to hear the good reviews of eating dinner at CRT, have read many negative reviews on it. We are dining there for dinner in December, the last time we ate there was for breakfast, and we are excited about it. This is going to be a surprise to our girls because they were very young the last time we ate there so they don't remember it and have been asking to eat there since. We normally eat at Akershus for breakfast in Norway so they can get their princess fix, but I think this will be a nice change for us (even though we are still doing Akershus ). The only draw back is that my girls will probably want to have the mice's autographs, but I guess just a picture will do. Thanks again everyone, you really put my mind at ease.

 

[Cafeen]

No, not at CRT. They don't come around to your tables like that. You can have Cinderella sign when you get your pictures done but other than that no.

For the PP asking about this, this is only the case at dinner here. The character entertainment at dinner is different than other meals, and it is more of a show than the standard character meal interaction. For Breakfast and Lunch with the princesses, they do indeed come around to the tables and sign, just like the typical character meal.

 

[mommy*RN]

We just returned from our Disney trip where we had two opportunities to eat at CRT. The first was dinner on our MNSSHP on 10/27. At this meal the characters did their show and moved around the room, but there were no autographs. Cinderella in the lobby will sign an autograph when you have your picture done, but that's it. The food was good. I'm a picky eater myself (won't eat things on a bone)...and I had the vegetarian dish...it was good...a bit too mushroom-y for me but good. My appetizer was a yummy salad with blue cheese. My DH had the salmon and really enjoyed it, but I can't remember what appetizer he had.

Our second trip to CRT was lunch on 11/3. Here the characters did come to the table and sign autographs and pose for pictures. We had Snow White, Princess Aurora, Princess Jasmine and Belle (blue dress). The meal, in my picky opinion, was better. I had the beef pot pie and it was VERY good. The mashed potatoes were under the pot pie so I don't know if you could really change it. At this meal there was a set appetizer of cheese, grapes, artichoke salad and crackers.

I loved CRT and thought it was well worth the 2 TS per person. I don't know if I would pay out of pocket for it though. That's a tough call. Dining for seven people would be really expensive and if you don't think your party would be happy with the menu (which you can find on the disney website) I probably would look elsewhere for a spectacular meal.

HTH!

 

[Dervis]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Glad to hear the good reviews!
I have considered lunch instead, but this was a snap decision made a few weeks after our 90 day window. Dinner was the only availability.

After thinking it over, I've decided to keep my ADR. The way I'm seeing it...its a gift. I paid your way in, heres what we have on the menu, if you don't like like it, you can't really complain since it cost you....your time? Lol.

My main concern is my friend, who doesn't eat steak, fish, salad, or mashed potatoes (don't ask). I'm not 100% sure that the pasta dish will pull him, and if I could just find something to satisfy him, I'd feel a whole lot better. My other friends are just as picky, but they at least appreciate a nice steak.

Still, the reason that I'm doing this is to supprise everyone on our last night in the World. I think that dinner in the castle, and then one final Wishes is a great way to go out!

Also, that morning, everyones going to find a letter from Cinderella, inviting us to dine with her. Corny, but....hey, Disney magic?

 

[djp0630]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Glad to hear the good reviews!
I have considered lunch instead, but this was a snap decision made a few weeks after our 90 day window. Dinner was the only availability.

After thinking it over, I've decided to keep my ADR. The way I'm seeing it...its a gift. I paid your way in, heres what we have on the menu, if you don't like like it, you can't really complain since it cost you....your time? Lol.

My main concern is my friend, who doesn't eat steak, fish, salad, or mashed potatoes (don't ask). I'm not 100% sure that the pasta dish will pull him, and if I could just find something to satisfy him, I'd feel a whole lot better. My other friends are just as picky, but they at least appreciate a nice steak.

Still, the reason that I'm doing this is to supprise everyone on our last night in the World. I think that dinner in the castle, and then one final Wishes is a great way to go out!

Also, that morning, everyones going to find a letter from Cinderella, inviting us to dine with her. Corny, but....hey, Disney magic?

Very nice...have a magical time! I think that sounds wonderful!