The Princess Track Meet- Lunch at Ariel's Grotto

[undertheradar]

Just back from a quick 1 night stay at DLH. Had an uneventfull dinner at Goofy's Kitchen(3 out of 6 characters made it to our table in 1hr 45mins.). Has an excellent breakfast with Lilo and Stitch(best character meal). Now about Ariel's....................

Arrived at 11:30 to wait in a long line to check-in. This line would be much shorter if Disney took ADRs in one line and walk-ups in another. One guest upset some of the kids waiting when she went outside to her daughters and announced that the Princesses weren't coming there today(she was offered a 1:00pm seating and didn't want to wait!). The seating is now being done in timed entries, I was not aware of this change. Apparently, seatings are at 90 minute intervals. The food was good, as always. Now, about those Princesses......................
The longest time that a Princess visited at our table was 45 seconds . Yes we did see Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty(Aurora), and Ariel. We watched with dismay as these face characters would hold conversations with children while signing autograph books(no eye contact), take a picture and run to the next table, The pace of the visits throughout the room left the impression that they must receive a bonus for quickest "lap" around the Grotto. While I understand the need to visit with everyone, the greed is becoming very obvious at this meal. Also, dessert is now included with this meal. Many tables were ready to leave and servers were NOT quick to remind them that it was included. Again, this meal was much more fun prior to the Princesses being relocated here.
With the changes at CRT, it will only be a matter of time before corporate greed adds those changes(and charges) to Ariel's Grotto.

 

[Mom2micayla]

We had basically the same experience in Oct. The Princesses just basically walked over, said hi and took a quick pic. Probably at each table for less than a minute. I did see them spend a little more time at a little girls table who was having a birthday. Otherwise that's about it. I felt bad for my daughters (2 & almost 4) because they were so excited to see them and didn't even get a chance to really talk to them.

That said, the food was excellent and we knew about dessert so that wasn't a problem. We're going to DL next months and do have PS there again. We debated on it but figured that though the interraction time was minimal, it was worth it to us. It's easy to find Mickey, Goofy, etc roaming the park, but we never seem to have luck finding the Princesses.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We went in Oct and had a good time with them. We had 3 little girls at our table and 2 boys and each child pretty much had a fair amount of time with each of the princesses. Each princess was probably at our table about 3-5 minutes, chit chatting with the adults as well. Maybe it was a slow time when we went. We sat outside and were the first ones the princesses saw when they stepped outside. I don't know if that helped.

 

[hlbtimes2]

The longest time that a Princess visited at our table was 45 seconds

That is how I would describe our visit to Goofy's in Oct. We only saw 4 characters, and it was the quickest visit to the table I've ever seen. They all acted as if it was break time and they had to hurry or they wouldnt get theirs. We had to ask Donald to please come back as he visited with grandma and grandpa while we were getting our food- and the kids didnt get to see him!

 

[undertheradar]

the oddest part is that it was my 7y.o.DD who noticed! We had been 2 times prior and the only noticeable change was the inclusion of the princesses!

 

[Rapunsel]

We went 1/6/06 and were in at 11:50.. About 12:15 the princess started coming. We had Aurora first.. My daughters name sake and she was wonderful She talked with my shy DS4 and my dd 13 mos. She signed the autograph book and evertything.took a lot of pictures..
Then came Snow white. kinda fast, but took pictures and talked with all 5 of us. Then Came Cinderella... She was at our table for a long time. my Dd loved her bling... she even gave her a kiss and it lasted all day! DD triend sharing her lunch wiht her.
Then came Belle. on a race and then Ariel. Who talked with us all and thanked us for coming..
I would think that an earlier time seating would mean that they are 'fresh' and ready to greet people. We had a blast and would go back in a hear beat. it was expensive, but so worth it. the pictures and memories will be treasured forever.

From our experience we had a nice time and they did not 'hop' around. they came to each table and spoke with every one. even all the grown ups next to us.

one thik that was nice was that our server asked us if we had ever been there before and took our entire order all at once. So we knew that we were getting dessert. Also they charged us for DD and I reminded them and they took it off..

 

[GreenGirl8]

I think the main problem with the Disney Princess meals is that they are trying to serve such a large population of people in a certain time frame. This was the problem when they were over at the Plaza Inn for Character meals...there were just too many tables to greet them all. The characters have their scheduled breaks...and unlike Mickey and other furry friends...who can reappear after only a VERY short "break", the face characters can not swap out. Managment was hoping with the new character location, this would cut down issues a bit. Looks like the problem is not totally solved.

 

[mAlien13]

I was thrilled to see you mention Lilo&Stitch in a positive manner. My youngest DS (about to turn 9) loves them and we are headed there for his b-day in April. I have seen the meal mentioned here and there, but still have no idea where it is or the rez policy or price...can you help me out? TYVM.

 

[SteffM]

I am sad to hear this. We booked an early lunch as a suprise for our daughter. We thought it would be fun. This just sounds frustrating. Thanks for the info.